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Industry

China’s rare earth weakness, new rocket to rival SpaceX: 7 science highlights

We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s satellite engine smashes record, leaves US rival far behind China has tested a satellite engine with a record-breaking operating life, a key technology that could help propel the world’s largest communications, military and deep-space spacecraft into their intended orbits faster and more reliably. 2....

July 15, 2026

Industry

Will AI kill English classes? Chinese university to drop them as tech booms

The institution will replace English lessons with intercultural communication courses as translation tools bridge language barriers In a video posted to the university’s social media account on July 2, Zhao Wei, the provost of Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology (SUAT), announced that the institution would do away with standard English courses in favour of classes that emphasised cross-cultural skills. “If you apply to SUAT in 2026, we will be running the experimental [curriculum], which will gradually phase out university English and replace it with intercultural communication courses,” Zhao said. He said that technological progress, particularly real-time translation tools, allowed people to communicate effectively even if they did not know each other’s language. “Today, I don’t need to understand English at all,” Zhao said. “You can speak in English, and the translation comes through my earphones in Chinese. I can speak Chinese, and your earphones may receive it in Spanish. Real-time translation has become impressively effective.”

July 15, 2026

Industry

US says Nvidia’s H200 exports to China remain ‘trivial’ despite approvals

American chipmaker Nvidia has shipped “very few” H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to mainland China and Hong Kong, a top Trump administration official told lawmakers on Tuesday, marking the first deliveries since the United States approved such sales. US President Donald Trump cleared the sale of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China in December, with the Commerce Department approving around 10 Chinese firms to purchase the powerful AI processors this year, including Tencent and ByteDance. “For...

July 14, 2026

Industry

Trump scraps Hormuz toll plan but presses ahead with Iran blockade

In latest flip-flop, US president says Gulf investment deals will replace shipping fee, while restoring blockade targeting Iranian trade Trump said the proposed fee would be replaced by trade and investment agreements with Gulf states following discussions with regional leaders. He said the investments would be “MASSIVE” and beneficial to the countries involved, but did not identify the participating governments, specify the value of the commitments or say whether they represented new pledges. The reversal came after Trump declared on Monday that Washington would charge eligible vessels a fee equivalent to 20 per cent of the value of their cargo to help cover the cost of securing the strategic waterway. Trump had described the United States as the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of globally traded oil and natural gas passed before the conflict.

July 14, 2026

Industry

China used a giant net to land a reusable rocket. Does the idea have legs?

China’s successful recovery of a reusable rocket has sparked debate among aerospace experts over whether its unconventional approach could actually cut the cost of reaching space. On Friday, the country’s Long March-10B became the first orbital-class rocket outside the United States to return to Earth and be recovered intact. The rocket’s first-stage booster deployed four hooks as it descended and was then caught by a giant net on a ship waiting in the South China Sea. SpaceX and Blue Origin do...

July 14, 2026

Industry

How Beijing proposes to solve South China Sea disputes 10 years after Hague ruling

China should keep engaging in good-faith diplomacy and use International Organisation for Mediation to help ease tensions, analysts say Beijing responded on the same day by describing US-led military deployments as the “primary threat” to regional peace in the South China Sea. It dismissed the Hague ruling as “null and void”, calling it a politically motivated process that lacked state consent. It has also refused to recognise the tribunal’s authority to hear the case and said it would not implement its findings.

July 14, 2026

Industry

Clash of the tech titans: China’s quiet industry vs loud US innovation

Great leadership doesn’t start with what you do but who you are. There are generally two leadership styles: loud and quiet. Loud leadership considers visibility for effectiveness and often focuses on showing dominance to drive results. Quiet leadership focuses on depth rather than volume. It is marked by clarity and consistency. If the West favours highly visible, charismatic leaders, in the East, leaders are often valued for their discipline and vision. The rivalry between the East and West for...

July 14, 2026

Industry

China’s No 4 official Wang Huning to head to North Korea as visits multiply

The move shows that the nations are rapidly deepening ties after reassessing each other’s strategic value, analysts said China’s fourth-ranked official, Wang Huning, will head to North Korea this week, the latest in a flurry of high-level exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang. Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday that Wang would lead a Communist Party and government delegation on an “official goodwill visit” to the country from Wednesday to Friday. Wang is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s leading decision-making body. He is also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body. In the meeting, Xi called on Beijing and Pyongyang to expand cooperation, maintain “firm strategic resolve” and “resolutely defend our respective sovereignty, security and development interests”, according to a Chinese statement.

July 14, 2026

Industry

Should heavy-duty drones be used to rescue China’s flood victims?

Photos and discussions about China’s recent use of heavy-duty drones to “airlift” villagers affected by flooding in Guangxi have gone viral but almost two decades ago, the disaster-prone country once relied on risky, low-tech means to fight natural calamities. China’s rapid tech advancement, represented by the development and deployment of drones, has helped it better handle emergencies, as shown by first responders rescuing residents from widespread rainstorms and floods since June. In the...

July 14, 2026

Industry

China links family of ex-Politburo member Ma Xingrui to ‘rampant corruption’

The former Xinjiang party chief ‘lost his ideals and beliefs’ and betrayed the party’s principles, watchdog finds Ma, 67, who once headed China’s new-generation carrier rocket programme, is the third member of the Politburo – the party’s elite political body – to come under investigation in the current term that began in 2022, a situation unseen in decades. Before his role in Xinjiang, Ma became deputy party secretary of the southern province of Guangdong in 2013 after a brief stint at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. He went on to become party secretary of Shenzhen, provincial vice-governor and then governor. The Politburo reviewed and approved the report on Ma’s cases by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party’s top disciplinary and anti-corruption body, on June 30, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday. Ma was found to have “lost his ideals and beliefs”, abandoned “his political conviction”, “betrayed the party’s principles and original mission” and “seriously violated [the party’s] political discipline and rules”, the report said.

July 14, 2026

Industry

Fifa World Cup semi-finalists Argentina pledge donations to China’s flood victims

The Argentine national football team expressed solidarity with China’s flood-affected Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday, offering to donate supplies to victims of the disaster. In a statement online, the national team, beloved by Chinese fans, said it would contribute provisions such as water bottles, towels, clothing and backpacks to aid post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The team said it wanted to give back to Chinese supporters, who had cheered them on during this year’s...

July 14, 2026

Industry

Will Manila and Hanoi’s maritime deal challenge Beijing in the South China Sea?

A new cooperation agreement chips away at China’s bilateral negotiation tactic, but experts say its value is mostly symbolic A decade after Beijing rejected the ruling by The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration on its South China Sea claims, rival nations continue to manoeuvre for control. In the second of our series on the anniversary, Alyssa Chen explores how deepening maritime cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam could affect China’s regional strategy. “Maintaining peace, stability and the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea remains non-negotiable,” Marcos said. The two countries “remain resolute in their commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes”, he said, adding that this approach would be grounded in international law. As part of that upgrade, Manila and Hanoi also agreed to implement a hotline and improve coordination between their coastguards to prevent accidental clashes in disputed waters. The move came at a symbolically important time – just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the ruling by The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration that dismissed China’s expansive claims to most South China Sea features.

July 13, 2026