California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu is seeking to become the next chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, one of the top leadership jobs in the US Congress, and potentially making history again as the highest-ranking Asian-American on Capitol Hill. He announced his caucus chair candidacy in a letter to fellow Democrats on Thursday. He’s currently the most high-profile Asian and Chinese-American in Congress, serving as vice-chairman of the caucus, the fourth-ranking position in the House...

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Chinese lawmakers are proposing to restrict a contentious form of detention and police surveillance measure, among other changes to the country’s Criminal Procedure Law. Known as residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL), the measure was originally intended as a mild restriction of personal freedoms to lower the rate of detention and arrest. Since RSDL’s introduction in 1996 and expansion in 2012, it has become the harshest form of detention used in state security cases, including...

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As Republican losses in the US midterm elections highlight how unpopular the war in Iran is, all eyes are on Washington’s next moves and whether the election results could set the stage for a quicker end to the conflict. However, experts remain sceptical, arguing that while the results will cripple the Trump administration and force it to rethink its strategy, they leave the broader US position unchanged, making a protracted war far more likely than diplomatic talks. Democrats seized full...

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China may start looking for ways to make its deals with the United States less dependent on the personal relationship between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump after the midterm elections left the US leader in a weaker position to deliver results, analysts have said. Some observers believe Beijing will start paying closer attention to what the White House can achieve without support in Congress, while others say it may seek closer engagement with the Democrats given their ability to...

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Travelling through South America earlier this year, I was repeatedly reminded of China’s growing importance. At Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, I spotted the logo of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. ICBC acquired an 80 per cent stake in Standard Bank Argentina in 2012, establishing a significant presence. In Buenos Aires, my friend Diego García, a publisher, offered a useful perspective: Argentina does not have to choose between China and the United States. It should...

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has faced backlash online after writing a social media post celebrating Japan’s shodo calligraphy without mentioning its Chinese roots. On Thursday, Unesco released this year’s nominations for inclusion on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The 59 nominations submitted for consideration for the UN cultural body’s list include Chinese cuisine, Spain’s traditional jota music and dance genre and Japan’s shodo...

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Amid a national Democratic wave in the midterm elections, a California Democrat has made history as the first Asian-American elected to the state’s second-highest executive office, with roots tracing back to a prominent military and political clan in China. Fiona Ma, 60, a Chinese-American and the state’s current treasurer, was elected lieutenant governor, marking a milestone for Asian-American representation in California politics. “I am deeply humbled and honoured to be elected California’s...

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For people living with refractory epilepsy, the brain is like a city that can suffer a blackout any time lightning strikes. Without warning, an abnormal neural discharge can sweep through the intracranial circuits, leaving behind convulsions, loss of consciousness and years of lingering panic. Around one-third of epilepsy patients worldwide are completely unresponsive to existing medications, while traditional craniotomy resection surgery often carries the risk of irreversible neurological...

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a phone call with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday as both sides moved to finalise preparations for President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen later this month. “Secretary Bessent emphasised the importance of China fully and immediately implementing its commitments made in Busan and raised concerns about recent Chinese actions,” a statement from the Treasury...

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Chinese commercial space firm Light Year Explorer has manufactured a rocket fairing with a wooden outer skin as part of the company’s push for lower-cost, mass-produced launch vehicles. The design of the protective shell uses low-density plywood formed into a smooth aerodynamic curve, supported by an internal metal framework to bear loads, according to the Jiangsu-based company. “This configuration matches traditional composite fairings in key performance areas such as weight, structural...

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American voters have spoken. In the midterm elections, Democrats won both the House and Senate in a sweeping rebuttal of US President Donald Trump’s erratic management of domestic and foreign affairs. Despite this, the trajectory of US-China geopolitical rivalry will remain unchanged for decades, with every chance of escalation. Foreign Affairs re-examines “The Delusions of American Power” in its latest issue. The lead article, “The Limits of American Power”, concludes that even with the...

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The European Union and the United States plan to revive talks about China after a two-year hiatus, according to multiple people familiar with the planning. The dialogue had stalled since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but after being approached by Washington, talks are expected in the first week of December, despite the deterioration in transatlantic relations in the meantime. The once-regular forum was used to discuss areas of shared concern with regard to Beijing. During Joe Biden’s...

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The Family Business Summit wrapped up on Friday with delegates weighing China-US relations, Southeast Asia’s growth trajectory and the Russian economy, against a backdrop of geopolitical flux shaped by Washington’s post-midterm political landscape and expected high-level diplomacy at this month’s Apec forum. The South China Morning Post and Blue Pool Capital co-hosted the fourth edition of the summit, with UBS as the presenting partner. The two-day closed-door event in Hong Kong served as a...

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Beijing has given the go-ahead for the Long March 9, a super heavy rocket often seen as China’s answer to SpaceX’s Starship, weeks after the American megarocket first reached orbit, according to a lecture slide circulating online. The stainless-steel giant received official approval last month, according to the slide. At 110 metres (361 feet) tall and 10.6 metres wide, it will be the most powerful and expensive launcher China has ever built. The slide, presented in the northwestern city of Xian...

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The Democratic US Congress may push for faster arms sales to Taiwan following the party’s resounding midterm election victories, but there will be no fundamental shifts in broader US policy towards the island, according to analysts. And if the likely next House speaker, Hakeem Jeffries – a long-time supporter of Taiwan – “crosses the red line” on the issue, Beijing was expected to take strong countermeasures, one analyst said. “A Democratic-controlled Congress will ramp up pressure on Trump to...

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China’s top legislature passed on Friday a landmark law targeting cross-border corruption, equipping Beijing with expansive new tools to pursue illicit offshore assets while countering foreign attempts to investigate wrongdoing in China. The Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law was approved at the close of the 25th session of the 14th National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) and took effect immediately, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The statute establishes formal mechanisms...

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Beijing has said responsibility for the “serious difficulties in China-Japan relations lay entirely with Tokyo” one year on from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s controversial comments about Taiwan. Takaichi is planning to visit China this month for the Apec summit, but on Friday foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun accused the Japanese authorities of continuing to evade the issue and showing no willingness to correct her remarks. “A year ago, the Japanese leader made erroneous remarks on...

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At their October meeting in South Korea last year, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, recognising mutual vulnerability to export restrictions, agreed to suspend some of the most draconian measures they had imposed on each other: US port fees on Chinese-built vessels and Chinese export controls on rare earths. They also announced further summit-level talks. The leaders have since met twice: Trump visited Beijing in May, Xi visited Washington in September. They are...

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Chinese state media showcased several Dongfeng-series missiles on Thursday to mark a key anniversary, including the nuclear-capable DF-61 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and the rarely seen DF-100 long-range supersonic cruise missile. The coverage coincided with social media reports suggesting that the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force might have conducted an inland ICBM test, potentially involving a ground-based mid-course missile interception, although neither activity has been...

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US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said he will “not back down” against a “lame duck” Congress, and that the drives for his impeachment will “not work” in his first reaction after Democrats’ landslide victory in Tuesday’s election. In a video uploaded by the Pentagon on Thursday, Hegseth said that “a disgruntled, defeated congressman, along with all his Democrat allies,” have been submitting bills for his impeachment, resembling that of the similar attempt against US President Donald...

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In the space of roughly 10 days, the two largest democracies in the Americas delivered setbacks to the populist right. In Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva staged a narrow but remarkable comeback, defeating Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, in a run-off election after trailing in the first round. This week, American voters handed control of both chambers of the US Congress to Democrats in a sharp rebuke of candidates riding on US President Donald Trump’s “Make America...

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The US military has expanded its cybersecurity presence in Hawaii and set up a regional centre to better detect threats and disruptions to its Pacific communications networks. The new initiatives come amid US accusations of Chinese cyber operations targeting critical infrastructure, including on Guam, and concerns about the security of undersea cables linking the Pacific to the US mainland. Neither initiative has been explicitly linked to China. Brigadier General Michael Smith, US Pacific...

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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. US midterm shift could squeeze China on AI, bring clarity to bilateral talks Beijing has vowed to continue working with Washington towards a “constructive relationship of strategic stability” following the Democrats’ sweeping victory...

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Weeks after the European Union and China struck a deal aimed at averting a looming trade war, the two sides remain at loggerheads over what is wrong with their relationship, how to fix it and who is to blame. At an event in Brussels this week, threats were exchanged and differences rose to the surface. With the ink barely dry on their fragile trade peace, the dynamic made clear that both are still preparing for a trade war. “If the EU insists on adopting restrictive and discriminatory measures...

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Chinese scientists have chilled atoms aboard the Tiangong space station to the lowest temperature ever measured, smashing US and German records and paving the way for ultra-precise space sensors that could find hidden minerals, track climate change and test Einstein’s theory of gravity. Researchers from Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought thousands of rubidium atoms, packed into a cloud smaller than a grain of sand, to less than 10 trillionths of a degree above absolute...

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