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The Great Solar Wall: China doubles down on its ambitious effort to tame deserts
Industry

The Great Solar Wall: China doubles down on its ambitious effort to tame deserts

Desert regions are being transformed into clean energy hubs that also halt deserts and create habitats for wildlife The idea is to transform the desert into solar power hubs to generate clean energy while at the same time halting desertification and creating habitats that will allow plants and wildlife to thrive. This would be equivalent to the capacity of around 20 of China’s Three Gorges – the largest hydroelectric facility in the world – and more than seven times the planned Yarlung Tsangpo mega-dam project.

Brazil to become regular borrower in China, treasury official says
Industry

Brazil to become regular borrower in China, treasury official says

Brasilia cannot guarantee debut will happen this year, but wants it repeated to give companies a yuan benchmark to aim for The debut is expected before the end of the year and is small enough that the government is not relying on the proceeds, with external debt at four per cent of the federal stock. “Given our size, it is much more qualitative than quantitative for now,” he said. “It is obviously a welcome resource, and it tends to be cheap. But it is much more about unlocking new investors.” What the treasury wants is a price, because selling Brazilian companies to Chinese investors is harder without a sovereign curve to borrow against, and Brazil has never had one in yuan.

China competition looms large in 2027 US defence bill
Industry

China competition looms large in 2027 US defence bill

Even as Congress remains divided over the latest US defence bill, lawmakers in both parties remain united on one issue: China. The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), which sets US defence policy and authorises military spending each year, reflects a broad bipartisan consensus on expanding Washington’s military, technological and economic rivalry with Beijing. While the House and Senate versions differ on a number of provisions, both include new measures on Taiwan, artificial...

US hawks push Trump on multibillion-dollar Taiwan arms deal ahead of Xi summit
Industry

US hawks push Trump on multibillion-dollar Taiwan arms deal ahead of Xi summit

Observers say US leader may be ‘miscalculating’ if he attempts to use the US$14 billion package to ramp up pressure on Beijing Washington has reopened discussions on billions in arms sales to Taiwan, casting a shadow over a leaders’ summit just weeks away – a meeting already burdened by bilateral trade frictions. Although observers doubt the deal will go through before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the US, they warn that Taiwan is a strict red line and any arms package could derail bilateral talks. The package remains under review by the Trump administration and was described by the US president as “a very good negotiating chip” with Beijing during his high-stakes state visit to China in May.

PLA scientists say submarine cables carrying 99% of global data could be ‘easy target’
Industry

PLA scientists say submarine cables carrying 99% of global data could be ‘easy target’

Cables that support US$10 trillion in daily cross-border transactions could be increasingly vulnerable to attack from uncrewed vessels “The barrier to entry for undersea warfare is lowering,” Shi Guanglei and Shi Haiming from the National Defence University wrote in Science and Technology Daily, pointing to the Aukus pact between Australia, Britain and the United States as a key driver of this change. “In the past, underwater operations relied heavily on crewed submarines, which were expensive and posed significant risks to personnel, making it difficult for small and medium countries to conduct underwater military activities.” They added that small and medium-sized unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) were “low-cost, easy to deploy in batches and pose no risk of casualties, allowing countries to seize control of the seabed”. The article said undersea cables carried 99 per cent of intercontinental data traffic and played a key role in supporting online services and daily cross-border financial transactions widely estimated to be worth US$10 trillion.

Bangkok airport apologises after clash with Chinese tourists at boarding gate
Industry

Bangkok airport apologises after clash with Chinese tourists at boarding gate

Employee’s ‘inappropriate behaviour’ cited following incident in which celebrity’s fans were denied boarding over security concerns Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport has apologised for “inappropriate behaviour” following backlash over an employee making a slant-eyed gesture towards reportedly disruptive Chinese nationals. The apology came soon after Thai authorities insisted that individual clashes would not harm bilateral relations. In a statement on Tuesday night, airport management expressed regret over the “inappropriate behaviour and expressions of the personnel concerned”, noting that disciplinary action had been taken against the guard involved. The incident happened around 11pm last Wednesday when fans of a Chinese celebrity taking a Beijing-bound flight reportedly breached boarding area procedures and refused to cooperate with ticket and document checks, the airport said. According to the airport, the fans caused continuous disruptions, prompting officials to deny them boarding. Ten fans later refused to offload their luggage and engaged in “provocative behaviour towards the staff during the operation, which led to the incident that occurred during situation control”.

Trump claims China is fuelling resistance to AI data centres in the US
Industry

Trump claims China is fuelling resistance to AI data centres in the US

US president also threatens Iran with ‘a tremendous attack’ if it doesn’t comply with his demands on Strait of Hormuz “Look, whoever wins the AI race is going to win AI. It’s bigger than the internet. It’s bigger than maybe anything that has happened for literally hundreds of years.” Trump alleged that China was actively encouraging resistance to new AI infrastructure in the US. “The communities that are giving us a hard time, a lot of people think that’s China-oriented. You know that China doesn’t want these … They’re spending a lot of money on promoting ‘don’t … you know, build’ because we’re beating China in AI,” he said. Calling AI data centres a “tremendous thing”, Trump argued that the facilities brought significant economic benefits. He said many of the new plants generated their own electricity and could sell excess power back to the grid at low cost, helping reduce taxes while boosting nearby property values. Communities rejecting such projects, he warned, were “making a big mistake”. “We’re really doing a great job. I approved … It was my idea, actually,” Trump said.

Narrow escape: how ANA flight from Shanghai avoided a collision at Tokyo airport
Industry

Narrow escape: how ANA flight from Shanghai avoided a collision at Tokyo airport

Flight NH968 lands safely with 197 on board after 2024’s deadly crash at the same airport and last year’s mid-air disaster in Washington An All Nippon Airways passenger jet took evasive action after coming close to a government inspection aircraft near Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, in the latest aviation safety incident at the airport since a deadly runway collision in 2024. According to Japanese media reports, ANA flight NH968 from Shanghai was approaching the airport at around 6am on Tuesday when its traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) was activated, warning of a potential collision risk with another aircraft. The Boeing 767, with 197 passengers and crew, was descending towards runway C when the pilots followed the TCAS instructions and climbed to avoid the other aircraft, the reports said, citing Japan’s transport ministry and the airline. The aircraft landed safely at around 6.10am and no passengers or crew members were injured. The other aircraft was a Civil Aviation Bureau-operated flight inspection aircraft, known as Dr White, which took off from runway D and was conducting checks on navigation and airport facilities, Japanese media said. The bureau is a division of the transport ministry.

Most Americans say US has not achieved war goals in Iran, survey finds
Industry

Most Americans say US has not achieved war goals in Iran, survey finds

Marquette Law School poll also found 75 per cent of respondents nationwide did not believe the conflict was worth the cost The poll also found that 75 per cent considered the war with Iran not worth the cost, a slight increase from 72 per cent in April. “There’s a conversation and a negotiation that we are involved in between Oman and Iran, on how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. He added there had been “progress in talks, but not finality yet”.

How an amputee Chinese scientist is fortifying the country’s military software
Industry

How an amputee Chinese scientist is fortifying the country’s military software

After life-threatening emergency, researcher returns to help make the code behind weapons and defence equipment free of bugs Much of the global debate on Chinese military power focuses on hardware but a vital part of the modernisation process is in the niche field of software verification. Wang Ji, a computer science researcher at the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), is mentoring a new generation of scientists to treat the software code in national defence systems with the same precision as doctors diagnosing patients. After losing both legs to a life-threatening emergency, Wang, 56, has stayed at the forefront of China’s military modernisation, leading efforts to secure the complex software underpinning the country’s most strategic defence assets. For his efforts, Wang was last week awarded the title of “role model of the times” by the Communist Party’s publicity department, adding to his recognition last year as a self-improvement role model with disabilities.

Bachelet-led panel urges Latin America not to choose sides in US-China rivalry
Industry

Bachelet-led panel urges Latin America not to choose sides in US-China rivalry

Latin American countries should resist pressure to choose between the United States and China and use their vast reserves of lithium, copper and other strategic resources to strengthen their negotiating power, according to a high-level commission co-chaired by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and former Colombian president Ivan Duque. But the commission acknowledges that the region’s room for manoeuvre is sharply constrained in security, technology and critical infrastructure, areas in...

Trump ex-lawyer Blanche advances in attorney general bid after Republican deal
Industry

Trump ex-lawyer Blanche advances in attorney general bid after Republican deal

Senate panel clears path for nomination as acting AG confirms US$1.8 billion fund for president’s allies is scrapped The closely scrutinised Senate Judiciary Committee vote followed two hours of debate about Blanche’s relationship with Trump and the unusual settlement that almost derailed his confirmation, with Republicans voting in favour and Democrats opposing the nomination by a 12-10 vote. Blanche didn’t participate in the meeting as it was not a hearing. Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had delayed the committee vote for a week. They threatened to oppose Blanche unless he dismantled the proposed “Anti-Weaponisation Fund” and narrowed an agreement limiting Internal Revenue Service audits of Trump and his family. The fund emerged from the Trump administration’s settlement of a lawsuit the president filed against the IRS over the leaking of his tax records. It was intended to compensate people who claimed politically motivated government investigations had targeted them.