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Industry

Xi Jinping urges Chinese armed forces to ‘strengthen military application’ of AI

Comments made ahead of the PLA’s 99th anniversary offer a rare insight into how military modernisation is progressing Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to enhance its use of AI as part of a drive to develop an intelligent military. He told a Politburo group study session on Thursday that the PLA should “strengthen the military application of unmanned intelligent technologies, deepen the development and application of network information systems, and gradually build an intelligent military system”, according to state news agency Xinhua. Xi’s comments are a probable reflection of the leadership’s current thinking about how the PLA is progressing towards its centenary targets. While Beijing has never explicitly defined the specific capabilities required to achieve this goal, the PLA has said the target involved the accelerated development of an intelligent force, as well as modernising its weapons and equipment. These efforts are widely believed to require the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) into the military.

July 31, 2026

Industry

Chinese data challenges US-Iran war claims; bamboo vs desertification: SCMP’s 7 highlights

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese satellite imagery analysis challenges US-Iran war claims Chinese scientists have used detailed satellite imagery analysis to examine damage to US military bases in the Middle East, uncovering discrepancies in both Washington...

July 31, 2026

Industry

What China’s hypersonic anti-ship missile fired from a smaller destroyer signals

A Type 052D destroyer fired a YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile into the air, Chinese media footage released this week showed, highlighting capabilities that could pose defence challenges for the US and its allies. A YJ-20 missile was launched from a vertical launch system (VLS) of the Type 052D destroyer, according to a video clip released on Wednesday by state broadcaster CCTV. It is not known when the video was taken. The YJ-20 missile, also known as a carrier-killer, debuted at Beijing’s...

July 31, 2026

Industry

Will US red tape and other infrastructure delays give China the lead in AI race?

Senators told of need for rapid expansion of data centres and fibre networks as Washington fears losing ground to Beijing “We are in a strategic competition with China to lead the world on AI, and winning that race requires massive capital investment to build the networks that will power tomorrow’s AI applications,” said US Senator Ted Cruz, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The hearing concentrated on the impact of AI on American infrastructure and the need for strong, high-speed networks to support US advancement in a race against China. Data and computing centres, which have emerged as key elements to the growth of AI in both countries, were a key focus of the discussion. The rapid expansion of US data centres has been opposed by communities concerned about their water and electricity consumption, environmental impact and, in some cases, a lack of public consultation. “Today’s data centre buildout has no coherent governance strategy at all and it’s provoking real backlash around the country,” hearing witness Asad Ramzanali, director of AI and technology policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, told the committee.

July 31, 2026

Industry

China’s exports feed the Global South’s industrial engines

A scaremongering narrative has taken root in Western corridors and financial press columns: China, having saturated developed markets, is now aiming to crush fragile industries in developing nations, effectively slamming the door on their industrial dreams. It is a convenient little tale. However, it does not hold up against empirical evidence. The premise assumes that China and the Global South are fighting over the same slice of the global consumption pie – cheap T-shirts, plastic sandals,...

July 30, 2026

Industry

US sanctions Mahan Air’s China network over alleged support for Iran’s IRGC

Two Shanghai companies and a Chinese executive targeted as Washington expands pressure campaign from Iranian oil to aviation and cargo The United States sanctioned two China-based companies and a Chinese executive on Thursday over their alleged support for Iran’s Mahan Air, which Washington described as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “airline of choice” for transporting weapons, military personnel and equipment. The US Treasury Department said Shanghai Wings International Logistics Co served as a general sales agent for Mahan Air and had coordinated the transportation of electronics from China to Iran. It also sanctioned the company’s managing director, Tang Xin, who was accused of coordinating travel for the Iranian carrier. Tang is also the executive director and 50 per cent owner of Shanghai Elite International Travel Co, which represents Mahan Air in China, according to Treasury. The travel company was designated because of its ownership and links to Tang. The sanctions freeze any assets the designated parties hold in the United States or under US control and generally bar Americans from doing business with them.

July 30, 2026

Industry

Selection for next UN chief gets underway with Grynspan early front runner

Rebeca Grynspan, the former vice-president of Costa Rica, emerged as an early front runner to be the next United Nations secretary general on Thursday, as the Security Council began the selection process, with a first “straw poll” held behind closed doors to evaluate support for candidates vying for the role at the embattled world body. Antonio Guterres, the current UN chief, is set to complete his second five-year term on the final day of 2026, leaving the high-profile role open for a new...

July 30, 2026

Industry

China voices ‘serious concern’ over new US curbs in trade talks between Bessent and He

Beijing raises objections during high-level call as both sides work towards economic outcomes ahead of an expected Xi-Trump summit China on Thursday voiced “serious concern” over recent US economic restrictions during a video call between Vice-Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. “The Chinese side expressed serious concern over the recent economic and trade restrictions imposed by the United States on China,” according to a readout by Chinese state news agency Xinhua. The readout added that the two sides engaged in “candid, in-depth and constructive” exchanges, centred on implementing the “important consensus” reached at the Beijing meeting between US President Donald Trump and the Chinese leader. Bessent said that he expected Beijing to “fully meet its commitments on rare earths and US agricultural products”. “We also discussed implementation of the Trade and Investment Boards as a mechanism to secure concrete progress toward a more balanced, fair, and constructive US-China economic relationship,” he wrote on social media.

July 30, 2026

Industry

Top US science journals more likely to reject paper by Chinese authors: study

Even among American-based scientists, those with Chinese surnames had lower publication rates than those without, team finds Researchers based in China or having a Chinese surname were far less likely than their US and Canadian counterparts to have papers published in the world’s most prestigious journals, according to a new study. Just 2.5 per cent of submissions from China-based researchers were accepted, compared with 8.3 per cent overall for those from North America, a team found after analysing a rare dataset of more than 110,000 manuscripts submitted to Science and Science Advances between 2015 and 2020. Even among US-based scientists, those with Chinese surnames had lower publication rates than those without Chinese surnames, they reported in Science Advances on July 15. Sam Zhang, the study’s lead author and a computational social scientist at the University of Vermont, said one reason might be that China’s research system offered career and financial incentives for scientists to submit to elite journals such as Science. That could encourage submissions even when some studies were not the best fit for the journals’ broad scientific scope.

July 30, 2026

Industry

China accuses Philippines of ‘flagrantly infringing’ on sovereignty in seabed claim

Beijing accused Manila of “flagrantly infringing” on Chinese sovereignty and undermining regional peace after the Philippines formally presented its bid to the United Nations this week for extended seabed rights in the South China Sea. The rebuttal, issued by China’s mission to the UN on Thursday, followed Manila’s presentation before the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) on Tuesday and Wednesday. Beijing said the filing violated its sovereignty, sovereign rights and...

July 30, 2026

Industry

Ex-PLA colonel on US’ decline and China’s nuclear arsenal

Zhou Bo is a retired senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army, a senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy, and the author of the book Should the World Fear China? SCMP Plus readers get early access to articles in the Open Questions series. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is approaching its 2027 centenary, a major benchmark set by Beijing to achieve military modernisation. What is that goal actually about? China has set two major military...

July 30, 2026

Industry

Triassic fish for lunch? Chinese fossil reveals oldest preserved reptile stomach

Specialised features of preserved 240 million-year-old skeleton suggest water-dwelling archosaurs existed earlier than originally thought A Chinese-led team has analysed a 240 million-year-old fossil with the oldest known preserved stomach, liver and intestinal soft tissue in reptiles. The fossil of the Austronaga minuta from the Early Triassic period also offers a “unique opportunity” to study how Triassic reptiles made the vital evolutionary transition from land to sea. “We report on a well-preserved Triassic reptile representing the earliest stem-archosaur to evolve unequivocal aquatic specialisations,” the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)-led team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances on Thursday. “The fossil exhibits the oldest known stomach, liver and intestinal preservations in reptiles.”

July 30, 2026