He added that the university would have plenty of room to expand on the site.

The station will be located between Tai Po Market and University stations and the project will be financed by allowing the rail giant to build and sell private flats near the new station.

The proposed project also includes a footbridge spanning the Tolo Highway, and linking the station with Chong San Road near the science park.

The railway station was first mentioned in the 2021 policy address as part of the East Rail line, which connects Admiralty to Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau at the border, to serve the Science Park.

Lo noted that CUHK had risen to 18th place in the latest QS World University Rankings 2027 and attributed the result to the institution's strong global profile.

He said more than half of CUHK's professors had been recruited from outside Hong Kong, helping the institution achieve an especially high score in the international faculty category.

He added that the school had also improved in its reputation among employers, reflecting the success of its efforts to build a stronger international profile.

QS earlier said Hong Kong universities were among the most improved institutions in the world this year after achieving significant gains in their research performance and reputation among employers.

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The SCMP learned that the missing man entered the water at around 6.12am but did not return to shore.

Marine police searched the area while Fire Services Department divers also entered the water to look for him.

The forecaster said that more than 30mm of rain was recorded in most parts of the city, while rainfall in some areas of Lantau and Sai Kung exceeded 50mm - the threshold of a red rainstorm warning.

It said it immediately activated an emergency response protocol and contacted relevant government departments to launch a rescue operation.

"We are deeply concerned about the incident and are fully cooperating with emergency services in their search and rescue efforts. We will continue to release updates as the situation develops," it said.

According to the organiser's inclement weather policy, the race would be cancelled if a No 8 typhoon signal or higher was issued at or after 12pm on the day before the event.

The race would also be called off if a No 3 typhoon signal, a red rainstorm warning or black rainstorm warning was in force two hours before the start of the first wave on race morning.

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Chan said the city's exports would continue to benefit from strong global demand for artificial intelligence products in the second half of the year.

Sustained overseas demand for Hong Kong's financial and business services and a rise in tourist arrivals would also drive growth in services exports, supporting local consumption and investment sentiment.

However, Chan cautioned that geopolitical developments, US dollar interest rates and other uncertainties could still affect the city's economic outlook.

"We will remain highly vigilant and work hard to grow the economy while safeguarding economic and financial security," he said.

Hong Kong's GDP rose 4.3 per cent year on year in the second quarter of this year, on the back of robust merchandise exports and resilient domestic demand, marking the 14th consecutive quarter of expansion.

Chan attributed the performance to a 28.8 per cent year-on-year growth in goods exports in the second quarter, while private consumption expenditure rose 2.9 per cent.

A buoyant financial market supported the positive outlook. The benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped about 3,000 points in July, its biggest monthly gain in nearly two years, and the average daily turnover remained above HK$300 billion (US$38.3 billion) for two straight months, according to Chan.

Funds raised through Hong Kong initial public offerings in the first seven months of the year had already exceeded the full-year total for 2025 by more than 13 per cent, while post-listing refinancing rose more than 20 per cent year on year, he added.

Chan said Hong Kong's efforts to internationalise the yuan would reach a milestone on Monday with the debut of an offshore Chinese government bond futures contract on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Chan added that the launch completed a risk-management loop between the cash and futures markets, building on the Bond Connect and Swap Connect cross-border trading schemes.

According to the finance chief, the new futures contract would provide a standardised, exchange-traded and liquid offshore hedging tool for treasury bonds.

"We will continue to play our roles as a bridge connecting the mainland and global markets, and push for the offshore renminbi market to develop in a smooth, stable, and deepening manner," Chan said.

He added that the goal was to consolidate Hong Kong's position as the world's largest offshore renminbi hub.

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Viral pictures circulating online showed a silver-and-black humanoid robot with a head and two arms and hands lying at the bottom of a staircase, with its arms broken into pieces. The staircase led to an emergency exit.

An authority spokeswoman said the accident occurred in a non-public area of the airport.

"The robot operations contractor's staff were present on site and monitored the whole testing process," she said.

She said the robot had been undergoing trials at the airport for four months and had been operating normally until the accident.

According to the pictures taken before the accident, there were at least two robots undergoing trials.

One had a screen on its chest displaying the words "security patrolling".

The accident drew responses from many internet users, with one post on social media platform Threads attracting hundreds of comments overnight.

One user teased the robot for ignoring the "beware of staircase" warning, while others said it looked spooky.

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The city leader met more than 130 residents at South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School in Tuen Mun. The session, attended by all ministers, was the first town hall meeting held as part of a public consultation exercise launched in June to solicit residents' opinions for the two documents.

Only residents and district representatives selected by the government were invited to the event.

"Whether it is the development of new urban areas or the redevelopment of old districts, we often face challenges such as extreme weather and different types of disasters. It is important to unite government and community efforts in handling these issues," he said.

"I believe we need to upgrade our [urban management] systems, including how we handle public complaints, to make district governance more effective. We must also integrate different fields in a systematic way, such as drainage systems, emergency response and even daily traffic management."

Lee added that this approach would enable the government to use technology to better understand current, medium-term and long-term challenges in urban management.

His remarks came as lawmakers called on authorities to revamp the 1823 public complaint hotline using Beijing's one-stop, artificial intelligence-assisted 12345 Citizen Hotline Service Centre as a benchmark, following their study trip to the capital last month.

Residents raised a range of suggestions during the two-hour forum, covering housing, healthcare, social welfare and support for ethnic minority communities.

However, the city's economy and technological advancement emerged as the most common topics.

A businessman expressed concern about the high threshold for local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to establish a presence in the Northern Metropolis, worrying that the district-based development model could be dominated by large conglomerates.

He urged the government to require successful bidders to set aside space for SMEs and to improve coordination within the business community.

A university student highlighted rising unemployment among graduates and the dwindling number of junior positions in the innovation and technology sector. He proposed introducing targeted on-the-job training subsidies and greater regulatory flexibility for single-person companies to encourage young people to start businesses.

Lee responded that the primary goal of technological development was to foster high-quality industries and create more well-paid jobs, adding that the government was seeking to develop cutting-edge technologies in quantum technology and aerospace.

"We will offer programmes to enhance residents' skills, but the most important thing is to upgrade our industries and provide more quality jobs," he said.

The city leader promised that SMEs would have a place in the development of the Northern Metropolis, adding that the government would support their transformation amid technological advances.

Lee noted that the 30,000-hectare (74,132-acre) megaproject and the university town it would house would play a crucial role in the overall upgrading and transformation of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's first five-year plan aims to better align the city's development with the national 15th five-year blueprint, which guides the country's development from 2026 to 2030. It will outline the city's vision for the Northern Metropolis, the advancement of innovation and technology, and the development of finance, shipping and trade.

The city leader said his annual policy address would serve as a progress report on the city's five-year plan, adding that the latter would provide direction and strategic guidance for the city's future development.

All officials and attendees first took part in a one-hour forum, during which residents raised questions and offered suggestions. They were then divided into groups for more in-depth exchanges, with the city leader joining each group briefly.

At the forum, a resident urged the government to open more border crossings to vehicles under the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles scheme to strengthen the city's connections with mainland China.

Under the current scheme, eligible private car owners can only drive to Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Another resident pressed the authorities to create better pathways for ethnically diverse professionals to enter mainstream healthcare and social services.

"I treat every one of the 7.5 million [residents] as members in this big family of Hong Kong," Lee said.

"We will do all our best to ensure that the best development and contribution can be made for different ethnicities."

The two-month public consultation will conclude on August 14. Lee earlier pledged to deliver the five-year plan in the third quarter of the year.

Since the launch of the consultation in June, the government has held more than 80 in-person and online sessions to gather feedback from various sectors.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Janice Tse Siu-wa said earlier that the government had already received 2,500 submissions on the five-year plan, with nearly half focusing on livelihood issues.

The first town hall meeting was originally scheduled for July 26 but was postponed due to Typhoon Noul.

A second district session is expected to be held next Sunday.

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Unions said workers had been put in danger as they had gone to work as required because a No 8 signal had not been hoisted, while the swirling winds toppled cargo, blew down trees, caused traffic and flight chaos and stranded thousands of people at the airport.

Some people even suffered bee stings, as hives were knocked from the branches of trees and the occupants took out their fury on bystanders.

He said it was outdated since the population had sprawled into the New Territories and outlying islands.

But the Observatory defended the system, saying it considered average wind speeds, not gusts. "The wind speed in Victoria Harbour only met the standard for issuing a No 3 signal," a spokesman said.

Speaking to RTHK, Mr Fong said the Observatory had put the public at risk, with the lower signal lulling them into a sense of false security. "Very high wind speeds were recorded in some parts of the city. We really wonder why the observatory still did not issue the No 8 signal," he said.

The Observatory said the strongest wind was at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island, reaching 209 km/h at 4pm. High winds were also recorded in populated areas such as Tsing Yi with a speed of up to 108 km/h, and 98 km/h at Peng Chau.

Under the present system, the No 8 signal will be issued when gale or storm force winds are expected or blowing in "Victoria Harbour" with a sustained wind speed of 63-117 km/h.

"I think the No 8 signal should have been issued in the morning, as the conditions were very bad. Employers might still think it is still appropriate for workers to work, as the Observatory only hoisted the No 3 signal."

Hundreds of passengers were trapped at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and China Ferry Terminal, as ferry services to Macau and mainland cities was suspended.

More than 90 seamen on two mainland barges were rescued by government helicopters as they battled raging waves.

Across the city, 531 trees were uprooted, two of them disrupting East Rail services for 20 minutes and an hour at 6am and 9.30am. Eleven people were injured.

In a similar incident, a Citybus driver and three pedestrians were stung after a tree with a hive collapsed on to Mount Davies Road, Western. They were treated at Queen Mary Hospital.

More than 10 shipping containers were toppled at the river trade terminal in Tuen Mun but no injuries were reported.

"The museum is the main activity for us. We'll also get some food together after. There should be lots to see," Leung told the South China Morning Post in Shenzhen on Saturday.

"While you can occasionally see dinosaur fossils in Hong Kong, too, they are not on permanent display like they are here."

The four, who said they were not frequent visitors to Shenzhen, budgeted about 500 yuan (US$74) per person for the day out.

"There are not as many facilities for children in Hong Kong," the mother of one said.

The educational professional in her thirties travelled from Tseung Kwan O in Hong Kong via the Liantang border checkpoint and arrived at the museum on Saturday at noon with her family and friends - a group of 10 including children.

She added that the children were most excited about the 3D cinema, as well as the dinosaur fossils and meteorites.

The museum is part of a broader push by the Shenzhen authorities to expand its cultural infrastructure since 2008, with 10 major facilities planned across the city, such as the Shenzhen Library North, which opened in 2023.

Alex Cheung planned a weekend getaway in Shenzhen with his girlfriend, with a visit to the museum specifically to see a painting by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet from the Hungarian collection.

"Hong Kong recently had an exhibition featuring his famous works of water lilies, too. Having seen them, I wanted to come see this one here," the administrative worker in his thirties said, adding that he visits Shenzhen twice a month.

He usually stayed for the weekend, spending at least HK$1,000 (US$128) per trip, and would sometimes visit with friends, who were interested in letting their hair down in entertainment complexes that offer activities such as go-karting, trampoline, ice-skating and more under one roof.

"Hong Kong doesn't have such complexes, and even if the activities are on offer, they're more expensive," he said, adding that the pair also enjoyed hunting down speciality restaurants and visiting markets for cultural products.

Maggie Lai also visited the art museum, located in Guangming district, as part of a day trip with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects to study the buildings and visit the exhibitions.

"If it wasn't for this trip, I would not have planned to visit Shenzhen," said the architect in her thirties, who came via the Shenzhen Bay border crossing from Hong Kong for the trip, which included a stop at the neighbouring Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum - also newly completed.

Lai said that she would also go to exhibitions in Hong Kong, such as those at M+ and the Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District, as her interest was driven by the themes of the shows.

The trio said their takeaway from the trip was that it would be difficult to see comparable architecture in Hong Kong because of funding or regulations, while noting that Shenzhen appeared to have more new cultural facilities.

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The weather forecaster said there were thundery showers over the coast of Guangdong and the northern part of the South China Sea, while an area of low pressure was bringing unsettled weather to the seas east of the Philippines.

"The Observatory will issue rainstorm warning signals or localised heavy rain advisory when necessary," it said, urging residents to be aware of weather changes.

Temperatures will range between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

More showers were expected with thunderstorms at first on Monday, the Observatory said. There would be a few showers in the following couple of days, it added.

The area of low pressure over the seas east of the Philippines could develop and move towards Luzon, where it was expected to linger for the next couple of days, the forecaster said.

"The broad trough of low pressure is expected to weaken gradually midweek next week. The weather will be brighter over the coast of Guangdong, but there will still be a few showers," the Observatory said.

"However, its subsequent movement remains uncertain, with a higher chance of edging closer to the vicinity of the East China Sea in the latter part of next week," it said.

"Its outer subsiding air will bring very hot weather to the coast of southeastern China. High temperatures will also trigger thundery showers."

The typhoon's name, Dolphin, was contributed by Hong Kong and refers to the Chinese white dolphins living in the city's waters.

The Geotechnical Engineering Office, meanwhile, said it received six landslide reports from Friday to 6pm on Saturday, and a report of damage to a retaining wall facing on Pok Fu Lam Road.

"Geotechnical engineers from the office, together with relevant maintenance departments, have completed inspections for all cases and recommended the necessary emergency repair works," it said.

It appealed to the public to remain vigilant over the risk of landslides.

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However, Ho said authorities were collecting public feedback to explore whether there was a basis to adjust the ratio further to 50:50.

"We previously adopted a 70:30 ratio - 70 per cent public rental housing and 30 per cent subsidised sale flats - as the ratio was used to clear the long waiting queue for public rental housing as quickly as possible," she said.

"But the current government has already proposed in the policy address that over the next 10 years, this ratio will gradually shift to 60:40, moving towards providing more subsidised sale housing."

She added: "We are currently listening to feedback from various sectors of society on whether there is a basis to adjust the ratio further to 50:50."

The city's second-largest public housing provider, the Housing Society, would gradually expand the supply of its subsidised sale flats, aiming for them to account for 40 per cent of its home supply in future projects to meet residents' strong desire to own homes, chairman Ling Kar-kan said in April.

Separately, Ho also said at Saturday's housing planning forum that the Northern Metropolis megaproject would provide 150,000 homes over the next decade, with the first batch of about 8,000 public rental flats set for completion within the year.

"We will have 150,000 homes in the Northern Metropolis over the next 10 years, including public rental housing and subsidised sale flats, and also there will be private residential developments," she said.

First announced in 2021, the Northern Metropolis is a government megaproject to transform 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of land near the border with mainland China into an economic and residential hub.

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"[The garrison] has steadfastly supported the Hong Kong government to exercise governance in accordance with the law, defending Hong Kong's safety with absolute loyalty [and] safeguarding the special administrative region's journey ahead with staunch responsibility," Lai said.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu offered his congratulations and extended a salute to the PLA for its service in safeguarding national sovereignty.

"Since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the garrison has always provided a strong backing for Hong Kong's safety and social stability, unwaveringly supporting the government's governance in accordance with the law," Lee said.

The city leader added that the garrison had also forged deep ties with residents through open days held at its barracks.

The 30-minute ceremony featured three song-and-dance performances by the honour guard and the garrison's art troupe.

Guests were also able to view exhibitions on the PLA and the history of the garrison in Hong Kong, as well as displays of weapons and military food.

Among the guests who officiated at the ceremony were former city leader and vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying, the head of Beijing's liaison office Zhou Ji and the head of Beijing's Office for Safeguarding National Security Dong Jingwei.

Local ministers, heads of disciplined forces, leaders of major mainland Chinese enterprises in Hong Kong and figures from the media and education sectors also attended.

Besides officials, political heavyweights such as Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, Executive Council member Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung and former secretary of justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie were also among the guests.

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Police said on Saturday that the operation, launched last month, had dismantled an illegal debt collection syndicate, along with a prostitution venue, a drug den and three illegal gambling parlours.

Fifty-seven people, aged 14 to 70, were arrested and some of them had triad backgrounds, police said.

Inspector To Hing-lui said officers identified a triad-controlled illegal debt collection syndicate following an investigation, intelligence analysis and a review of surveillance footage.

The investigation found that the syndicate specifically recruited young people eager to make "quick cash" to take part in illegal debt collection through messaging apps and everyday social settings.

After securing debt collection orders via online groups or referrals from criminals, core members would use messaging groups under their management to subcontract the work to the young recruits for a fee ranging from HK$500 to HK$800.

Common collection tactics included splashing red paint, and making harassing phone calls or threats via WhatsApp.

To said officers intercepted a 14-year-old local boy during an operation on July 13 in Sau Mau Ping Estate, seizing a bottle of red paint and a knuckleduster from him. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing anything with intent to destroy or damage property and possessing prohibited weapons.

In a follow-up investigation between July 22 and Tuesday, police arrested another 10 people, including a mainland Chinese man, six local men and three local women, aged 18 to 58, on suspicion of criminal damage and criminal intimidation.

"There is a growing trend of younger people becoming core members of illegal debt collection syndicates," To said.

"Young people are not only being recruited into operational teams, but are also being persuaded by criminals to act as recruiters because, compared with adults, they have more channels to reach other young people looking to make quick money."

To said police also raided a prostitution venue, a drug den and three illegal gambling parlours from Tuesday to Thursday, arresting 41 people, aged 19 to 70.

He added that the operation was still under way to crack down on triad groups and their related illegal activities.

Chief Inspector Chung Man-ling warned teenagers not to take risks for quick money.

"Criminal intimidation and criminal damage are very serious offences. Upon conviction, they carry maximum penalties of imprisonment of five years and 10 years, respectively," she said.

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Under the law, only licensed doctors can perform procedures involving injections, while beauty salons providing such services are also required to obtain a clinic licence.

The South China Morning Post found an advertisement on Instagram offering Russian-style lip filler treatments for Hong Kong customers, with sessions available on Thursday and Friday.

Responding to inquiries, a Russian-speaking woman who claimed to be a cosmetologist offered to provide lip injections with fillers ranging from HK$2,000 (US$255) to HK$3,000 for 1ml, depending on the brand used.

Her social media account included a price list for services in Hong Kong, with lip filler priced from US$200. She also offered "full face rejuvenation" for US$2,000, covering the lips, chin, jawline, cheeks, and other facial areas requiring "correction".

Lip fillers by licensed practitioners in Hong Kong usually cost between HK$2,000 and HK$4,000 for 1ml, depending on the brand.

Asked where her "clinic" was located, the woman gave an address in a commercial building in Causeway Bay. An SCMP reporter visited the address and found that the premises claimed to sell medical-grade skincare products.

On Thursday, the shop's lights were switched on and one of the four rooms inside the office was open, but the "closed" sign was displayed at the door.

The shop is not registered as a private healthcare facility with the Department of Health.

The Russian-speaking woman, who used a female name in Cyrillic letters for her WhatsApp account, was also not a registered medical practitioner with the Medical Council of Hong Kong.

"Cosmetologists coming to Hong Kong to practise, this is definitely illegal and it's considered practising medicine without a licence in Hong Kong, which is a serious offence," she said.

Unlicensed practitioners were able to carry out repeated illegal procedures because they usually entered Hong Kong for only a short period, Lam said.

Nelson Ip Sai-hung, founding chairman of the Federation of Beauty Industry, said "inner circles" were common in the underground cosmetic injection market, driven by demand from women seeking cheap treatments and beauticians who benefited from positive word of mouth.

Ip declined to state specifically how much cheaper the unlicensed treatments could cost, but said they were also designed to encourage repeat visits.

"These small circles, or groups, once they feel right about a service or a treatment, they often make private arrangements for more follow-up sessions," he said.

Ip described these networks of friends as "secret societies". They often exchanged insider tips, such as which practitioners offered cheaper hyaluronic acid injections, with prices ranging from HK$7,000 to HK$8,000.

"It's not surprising for groups like this to have their own chat channels, or even an organiser coordinating things. Those who set up the chat groups, people call them 'middlemen'," he said.

Ip said black market clients often cared more about a practitioner's skill - specifically whether their portfolio matched the desired result - than their actual qualifications.

"Not only do the patients expose themselves to the risk of unclean practices, but there is also no guarantee of the level of experience these people have," she said, adding that she had seen patients who had suffered from botched procedures.

Lam stressed that the Department of Health had warned the public as far back as 2013 that any procedure involving an injection could lead to complications, including infection, bleeding, bruising and blood clots.

She said that beauticians who were not licensed to administer injections would not be able to obtain injectable products from official channels and tended to source them through parallel importers.

Under Hong Kong law, administering an injection without a proper medical licence is an offence under the Medical Registration Ordinance, and offenders can face up to seven years' imprisonment upon conviction.

In a reply to the SCMP's queries, the Department of Health advised the public to check the professional qualifications of service providers against a list of licensed practitioners in Hong Kong on its website.

"Injection procedures, irrespective of whether they are for aesthetic or treatment purposes, are medical procedures," it said.

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While the city leader has held town halls to collect the views of residents in previous years, the current round will simultaneously gather opinions on Hong Kong's first five-year plan.

The plan is aimed at better aligning the city's development with the national blueprint for 2026 to 2030. The two-month public consultation will end on August 14, and Lee has pledged to release the plan by the end of the year.

Writing on social media, the leader said that since the government launched public consultations in June for both blueprints, he and his team had attended more than 80 sessions, held both in person and online, to collect feedback from various sectors.

"[The Sunday session] will feature small-group discussions allowing residents to exchange with officials under two themes: boosting the economy and improving livelihoods," he wrote.

The public could watch live broadcasts of the town hall on television and online, he said.

The consultation was originally scheduled for July 26 but was postponed due to Typhoon Noul.

The public consultation for the policy address began on June 29, with the speech expected in September or October.

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Compared with 2021, which saw a peak of 4.47 million registered voters, the latest overall figure was down by about 347,300, or 7.8 per cent.

The largest drop this year was among voters aged 21 to 25, falling by 23.7 per cent to about 108,000, down from 141,000 in 2025.

Over five years, the number of voters in that age category has dropped by 159,858.

Annual declines were also recorded in the 26 to 30 age bracket, where the number fell by 5.1 per cent to 247,000, and in those aged 56 to 60, down by 3.7 per cent to 381,000.

Voter participation has fallen considerably since 2021 when Beijing overhauled the electoral system under the "patriots ruling Hong Kong" principle, introducing stringent vetting for eligibility and reducing the number of directly elected seats.

Just 31.9 per cent of voters cast ballots in the Legislative Council election last December, just above the record low of 30.2 per cent in 2021. The highest turnout rate for a Legco poll was 58.28 per cent in 2016.

John Burns, an emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong's department of politics and public administration, said that young people in particular were opting out of the elections.

He noted that before the overhaul, the majority of support from that age group went to the city's opposition parties.

But all of the opposition parties have since folded, with many of their leaders handed jail sentences for violating national security laws.

"They [young voters] have nowhere to go in the new set-up," Burns said. "I believe, until they are won over, total voter registrations will continue to fall."

Veteran political commentator Sonny Lo Shiu-hing said that the "political cynicism" expressed by young Hongkongers had not been met by stronger voter mobilisation efforts.

Parties did not have a strong incentive to register new voters, he said, adding there was also a lack of public campaigns by the government targeting young voters.

"The entire atmosphere is a mass apathy from below and a lack of action from above," he said.

Despite the overall decline, new voter registration applications rose by 78 per cent year on year to 64,900, the highest since 2021.

The number has fluctuated in recent years: it stood at 35,800 in 2022, hitting 31,300 in 2023 before falling to 18,900 the following year. The number rose to more than 30,000 last year.

The largest group among this year's new voters consisted of residents aged 36 to 40, with 7,876 people.

It was followed by 7,586 new voters aged 41 to 45 and 7,064 new voters aged between 18 and 20.

The age group with the fewest new voters was the 66 to 70 bracket, at 2,939 people.

Among the newly registered voters, women outnumbered men by 2.5 per cent, with 33,287 women and 31,649 men.

As of this year, the constituency with the largest number of voters was New Territories South West, which includes Kwai Tsing and Tsuen Wan districts, with 466,727 electors.

The constituency with the lowest number of voters as of August was Kowloon West, encompassing Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts, with 341,366 voters.

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They include operational trials, transport tests and anti-terrorism exercises.

"Similar to the stress test before the opening of Kai Tak Stadium, we will need to mobilise civil servants."

In February last year, civil servants and volunteers attended two major drills at Kai Tak Sports Park ahead of the stadium's opening in March, including one with more than 60,000 participants.

Saturday's site visit came a day after Hong Kong officially assumed legal jurisdiction over its designated areas inside the new nine-storey building. Dozens of workers were seen cleaning up dust and construction debris at the site as preparations were under way.

Tang said the revamped 24-hour land crossing was expected to handle 200,000 daily travellers, with clearance times set to be slashed from 30 minutes to just five.

Under an unprecedented "joint inspection" crossing mode, passengers only need to undergo departure and arrival clearance at a single checkpoint by presenting the travel document required for their destination at either automatic or manual counters, instead of passing through separate counters.

On Saturday, the government led about 30 Legislative Council members on a tour of the facilities, including the public transport hub, the joint inspection machines and private vehicle checkpoints.

Legco president Starry Lee Wai-king said she was deeply impressed after visiting the facility, which she described as a crucial piece of infrastructure for Hong Kong's integration with national development.

She noted concerns about public transport options and called on the government to complete testing and finalise public transport routes so the revamped building could go into operation "as soon as possible" to better serve residents.

"With the advancement of the national 15th five-year plan and the development of the Northern Metropolis, the new Huanggang Port plays a pivotal role in accelerating the flow of people and goods between Shenzhen and Hong Kong," she said.

The first floor of the building houses vehicle entry and exit facilities, while the public transport interchange is located on the second floor.

The exterior is modelled after a giant cornerstone with horizontal metal ribbons resembling erosion marks created by water, while the latticed ceiling of the departure hall features bougainvillea, Shenzhen's emblem flower.

Travellers can choose to cross using either one of the 134 automated gates or 68 staffed counters.

Residents with a valid Hong Kong identity card and a home-return permit, including those belonging to non-Chinese permanent residents, are eligible for the automated gates.

The gates are further divided into two types, one that requires scanning physical identification and another using facial recognition.

Residents only need to line up for the automated gates, present their documents and have their identities verified, including by facial scans and fingerprints, as required by mainland authorities.

Travellers requiring manual processing will have to queue at the counters, with Hong Kong and mainland customs officers seated adjacently.

Residents crossing the border by private car must alight and clear immigration on foot, similarly using the joint inspection machines, in an area separate from those using public transport.

Drivers and their vehicles can undergo a "five-in-one" inspection using 26 dedicated lanes, where they have their temperature, identity, facial features and fingerprints recorded in one go via an integrated data collection machine.

The information will be shared with Hong Kong and mainland immigration and customs authorities, as well as the Department of Health.

The port will be served by seven franchised bus routes and six minibus routes, as well as services by private cross-border bus operators.

Daily traffic is expected to rise to 300,000 after the opening of the MTR Northern Link Spur Line linking the port to San Tin station on the main line that connects to the Tuen Ma and East Rail MTR lines.

The MTR station is expected to be commissioned by 2034 or earlier alongside the Northern Link main line.

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"At present, most fixed penalty cases have been uncovered through surprise inspections, with some arising from referrals and reports from the public."

The ban was introduced in the wake of the devastating fire at Tai Po's Wang Fuk Court housing estate last November, which killed 168 people and was suspected to have been caused by workers smoking while carrying out renovation work.

Under the legal amendments, anyone caught smoking on a construction site faces a fixed penalty of HK$3,000 (US$380) for individual breaches. Contractors face a fine of up to HK$400,000 if they fail to ensure their sites are smoke-free.

As for main contractors, Hui said the department was currently considering whether to prosecute two cases in which measures to prevent workers from bringing lighters and cigarettes onto sites were inadequate.

Nine improvement notices were issued to contractors, who have been required to upgrade their site management systems.

With only two potential prosecutions out of more than 1,000 inspected sites, the official described overall compliance with the new regulations as "satisfactory", while noting there was still room for improvement.

"Achieving zero smoking on construction sites is a long-term and continuous goal. Public awareness has been high during this period, with both sites and workers consciously complying with legal requirements," he said.

"But we must not let this awareness wane over time, as that could cause a rebound in smoking."

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"Our vision is to position Black and White as the 'true taste of Hong Kong experience' and to play the role of promoting food culture in a wider range instead of just milk tea," Looi said, noting that the product was also essential for making red bean ice, egg tarts and baked buns.

The brand recently gained online traction after a viral video showed a South Korean tourist couple at a Hong Kong cha chaan teng trying to buy a thick-rimmed Black and White teacup-and-saucer set.

Because the sets are strictly supplied to restaurants and not sold at retail, the cafe owner simply gifted them a pair out of hospitality, a heartwarming interaction that has garnered 2.1 million views since March.

Looi said the attention was entirely unexpected, adding that the heavy ceramic cup was designed purely for utility, thick enough to retain the drink's optimal temperature.

"Over time, people started to really appreciate this cup, and it slowly evolved into a beloved cultural symbol of Hong Kong," Looi said.

"It's actually a testament that we do have a role to play in terms of promoting Hong Kong food culture and tourism to a more international stage."

Wong Cheuk-yu, owner of Lam Yuen Restaurant, which has been a fixture in Diamond Hill since 1972, said crafting the perfect cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea was a precise balancing act in which the choice of dairy was just as critical as the brew itself.

"A good cup of milk tea ultimately depends on boiling water, high-quality tea leaves and great evaporated milk. Premium milk is vital because it elevates the overall quality of the tea, bringing out its full potential," he said.

While the company takes pride in preserving decades of heritage, it is pursuing a strategic commercial pivot to ensure it remains relevant to a younger generation increasingly captivated by speciality espresso roasters and international bubble tea chains.

"While we honour tradition, we also embrace trends," Looi said.

"We have been collaborating with all these different businesses like bubble milk tea, patisseries, as well as mixologists, to make sure that Hong Kong-style milk tea can be relevant, modern, stylish, as well as Instagram-worthy."

Among its high-profile partnerships was a collaboration with premium French patisserie Paul Lafayet, which infused the signature Dutch dairy richness into limited-edition yuen yeung macaroons, a Western dessert with a distinct local twist replicating Hong Kong's nostalgic blend of coffee and milk tea.

To support this market expansion, Looi said that the company had also diversified its distribution, pushing deeper into local supermarkets and e-commerce channels alongside its traditional business-to-business cha chaan teng base to make the product highly accessible to home cooks.

Looi emphasised that moving with the times did not mean losing the brand's cultural soul, saying its ultimate goal was to remain anchored in the simple, daily rhythms of the city.

"Our vision is simple," he said. "It's to be the trusted companion in every Hong Kong person's daily life and also to remind people that the true taste of Hong Kong experience is right here."

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As loot boxes contain randomised rewards, Lee often ended up spending significant amounts before getting his desired products, even though each individual transaction was not costly.

A single weapon might cost HK$100 (US$13), but he could cumulatively spend HK$2,000 by the time he acquired the one he wanted. Over the past six years, he has splashed out HK$90,000 on loot boxes.

Lee said gaming companies' tactics included periodically launching newer, stronger products, and allowing players to draw for free after a certain number of purchases.

"It is a sunk cost. If you cannot obtain what you want, you just continue [buying] … The amount accumulates and becomes huge," he said.

They have called for a study into new gaming trends and the development of intervention measures, as the government proposed stricter oversight of popular, prize-based games with gambling elements and addiction risks.

Augusta Yim Ting-ling, service director at Zion Social Service Yuk Lai Hin Counselling Centre, said her centre had held workshops from 2022 to 2025 for more than 200 parents whose children frequently played games with gambling elements, such as claw machines and mobile games with loot boxes.

"Parents seek help as they sense that their children always stick to their phones or plead to play claw machines … The parents think their children just like to play games and are not aware of the potential gambling elements and the risks," she said, describing the pattern of behaviour in which players increasingly lost control, spending more and more on products to improve their chances of winning.

Yim warned of the potential impact of such games on the younger generation, who had easy access to claw and pinball machines and mobile games.

"They are not fully mature yet when they start playing these devices at a young age. We are concerned about whether they will get obsessed easily," she said.

Sunshine Lutheran Centre also observed a rise in inquiries related to loot boxes, from 10 in 2023 to 25 last year. It saw adolescents who stole their parents' money and spent up to HK$100,000 on loot boxes.

According to a separate study conducted by the centre between 2024 and 2025 with the help of the University of Hong Kong's department of social work and social administration, 71 per cent of 792 secondary school students surveyed had played games with loot boxes, and 57 per cent of them had paid actual money.

The data showed that about one-fifth of those who bought loot boxes spent more than HK$500, with this group displaying a higher rate of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

Nine per cent of the students who played games with loot boxes displayed risks associated with problem gambling, including financial difficulties and mental stress.

Associate Professor Paul Wong Wai-ching from the department said the study showed that loot boxes could become a gateway to gambling behaviour among adolescents and urged a review of new addiction trends in the digital age.

"Regardless of whether loot boxes are considered gambling, they have somehow become a kind of addiction, which affects the youth's daily life," he said.

"It may not be necessary to dive into regulation, but at least society should review the situation and the risk of addiction for Gen Alpha."

Irene Wong Lai-kuen, president of the Asian Association of Addiction Prevention, an NGO that provides research and consultation services, called on the government to provide more resources for studies, as civil society groups struggled with funding.

"The government focuses more on traditional gambling. It is lagging behind new games with gambling elements," she said.

"Studies can help look at the latest trends, identify protective and risk factors, devise treatment approaches, as well as develop strategies for parents, schools and corporations."

Other jurisdictions have already recognised the potential harms of loot boxes and have rolled out regulatory measures.

Loot boxes are considered illegal gambling in Belgium, but authorities there have struggled with enforcement due to a lack of funding, according to assistant professor Leon Xiao from City University's school of creative media.

Xiao, who specialises in consumer and technology laws, said companies in South Korea were legally required to disclose loot box probabilities, with authorities taking proactive enforcement action such as conducting checks on games and sending notifications to firms.

Xiao said that either a new law could be set up, or authorities could explore reinterpreting the current Trade Descriptions Ordinance to include probability disclosure.

Under the ordinance, traders are prohibited from engaging in a misleading omission. They can be held liable for failing to provide sufficient material product information deemed necessary for an informed transaction.

"A misleading omission means something that is important about the product has either been hidden or not provided at all," Xiao said.

"The existing law is enough, and we have consumer law across the world interpreted in this way to require the disclosure of probabilities."

The Customs and Excise Department received 127 complaints related to loot boxes, trading cards and blind boxes between 2021 and 2025.

The department said it would take appropriate enforcement action if it discovered any breach of the ordinance.

*Name changed at interviewee's request.

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Currently, students who receive dependant visas or entry permits when they are minors are considered local and can apply for government-funded programmes, paying HK$47,000 (US$$5,990) in tuition fees for the coming academic year. Non-local students must pay three times that amount.

Some non-local families arrange for their children living on the mainland to take the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams for university admittance, and have been labelled "examination immigrants".

Coleman said in his judgment that the policy had been well-considered by authorities and that it was not within the court's "constitutional remit to determine matters of government policy" unless there were issues regarding legality.

"It would be futile to quash the policy, or the one-year rule, at this point because the government has now fully considered the factor and nevertheless found the policy justifiable," he said.

The judge noted that should he make any decision to quash government policies and refer them back to authorities, the result would likely be the ministers making the same decision again.

Coleman stressed the court should "avoid the temptation of finding a policy irrational simply because it produces harsh results for a small subset of claimants".

He admitted that the policy might affect a small batch of mainland students, but the government had given them time to make plans after learning of the changes.

Coleman also dismissed the parents' contention that the policy discriminated against dependants, saying a system that needed to be workable "will have to deal in broad categorisations which will inevitably affect some people more … than others".

Concluding his judgment, Coleman said that "the court's role is not to draft policy, or to identify the best available policy which the court thinks would best address the perceived concerns".

He also ordered the applicants to pay costs to the bureau.

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A video showing the incident surfaced in June this year. Yung apologised after the clip went viral and sparked public concern.

In the footage, Yung is seen taking a jacket from the boy's hand and throwing it to the ground. He then grabs the student's left hand and uses it to slap the boy's left cheek three times in quick succession.

He then releases the boy's hand and gestures at him, prompting the student to slap his own right cheek again. The incident occurs at a school playground as other students watch.

The SCMP earlier learned that the Form Two student was punished for being late and was accused of neglecting basketball training.

According to a letter issued to parents by the college, the coach was suspended after the incident, which took place in the 2023-24 school year.

A source earlier said Yung was released on bail after his arrest and told to report to police in July.

Under the law, a person convicted of common assault is guilty of an offence triable either summarily or on indictment and can face up to one year in prison.

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The Air Accident Investigation Authority published its report on Friday on the July 3 incident involving flight CX509, carrying 203 passengers and 12 crew, from Tokyo's Narita airport.

During an aborted landing - known as a "go-around" in aviation - in adverse weather, the tail section of the Airbus A330-343's fuselage made contact with the surface of the south runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

The aircraft later landed safely and there were no reports of injuries.

In the investigation report, the authority classified the case as an "abnormal runway contact" accident and said a post-flight inspection found signs of abrasion on the lower fuselage skin, as well as damage to the potable water service door, waste service door and aft water drain mast.

The aft cargo compartment was deformed, with cracks in several floor beam webs, floor beam supports, slope panel supports, and frame beams. A floor crossbeam support strut was broken and a 10-inch crack was found on the bottom section of the aft pressure bulkhead, the report said.

"The investigation team is conducting a detailed analysis of the data and information collected in order to determine the circumstances and causes of this accident in conjunction with identifying areas that need further investigation and/or lines of investigation to pursue," the report said.

The authority's chief inspector ordered the investigation after Cathay Pacific reported the incident, with participation from France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, representing the country where the aircraft was designed and manufactured.

According to the report, the Airbus A330 involved was manufactured in 2001 and was issued a certificate of airworthiness in August last year.

The pilot in command had 11,695 hours of flight experience, including 1,119 hours on the A330.

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While models range in price from HK$749 to HK$1,579 (US$95.50 to US$201), all of them come equipped with a mobile security camera. Select high-end products also feature built-in laser lights, cat teaser wands, treat dispensers or simulated animal sound effects.

"Cats often hide under tables or beds where they are hard to find," he said, adding that most conventional cameras could only pan horizontally and might miss those hiding spots.

"Especially when owners are out or travelling, these devices navigate into those tight spaces to help owners locate their pets, interact with them, and keep them from feeling lonely."

Koo added that the booth received many inquiries and finalised several sales within the first few hours of the expo's opening, which aligned with his expectations.

One exhibitor capitalising on the pet care market is Gin-Juice Hong Kong. The business offers Chinese ginseng supplements that aim to relieve common feline illnesses, including watery eyes and respiratory and gastrointestinal issues.

Founder Stephanie Luk said the business originally specialised in human ginseng products but shifted into pet care after her two cats fell ill and failed to recover using conventional veterinary treatment.

After trying white ginseng with positive results, she decided to launch a dedicated product line for pets. A three-pack treatment course costs more than HK$600.

"This white ginseng is non-heating in nature, making it safe for pets of any constitution," Luk said, adding that the primary benefit was supporting immune system health and easing chronic inflammation.

"Our company initially faced scepticism when developing ginseng as a pet supplement, but we are seeing an increasing number of owners showing interest after seeing tangible health improvements," she said.

Despite the amber and red rainstorm warnings issued on Friday morning, many visitors still turned up, but some were discouraged by the heavy foot traffic.

"The venue was so overcrowded compared with previous years. It completely killed my urge to shop," said 27-year-old Lily Tung, who attended the event with her friend and their cats.

They originally planned to buy whatever caught their eye, but after spending hours at the expo, they only bought a HK$50 cat teaser wand.

The same survey from the organiser also showed cat owners spent an average of HK$2,062 per month on their pets, 2.8 per cent higher than last year.

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The crossing, which uses a new "joint inspection" model, was designed to highlight the commonalities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, from their shared natural history to their joint technological efforts, its architects told the South China Morning Post on Friday.

"Huanggang represents the cornerstone of the relationship between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and that translates immediately into the shape and form of the building," said Keith Griffiths, founder and chairman of global architectural firm Aedas.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung inspected the facilities on the same day as Hong Kong took up jurisdiction of its section of the facility and continued preparations for its opening.

A source had said the checkpoint was expected to open as early as September.

Griffiths' firm won a competition to design the revamped checkpoint in 2019, with construction work beginning in 2023 and completed in July this year.

Spanning about 700,000 square metres - around 10 times the size of a standard office building - such a structure would typically take five to six years to construct.

But Aedas and 17 contractors completed it in just three years by using advanced modular prefabrication techniques.

"What you've got is a pre-made, pre-manufactured thing arriving on site. It's got a number on it. You know where exactly it's going to go," Griffiths said.

"The beautiful textures of levels four and five are the texture eroded, created by water flow, which is kind of like relating back to the centre river," he said.

The fourth and fifth floors, which house the departure and arrival clearance halls, are enclosed in a brown, symmetrical structure with edges that feature horizontal metal ribbons along a glass wall that slopes inward.

The lower three floors, which house vehicle clearance facilities, a public transport interchange and another clearance hall for railway passengers, feature a grey structure with flowing horizontal marks in a nod to the Shenzhen River.

The interior also paid homage to the checkpoint's location, with a latticed ceiling featuring the bougainvillea, Shenzhen's emblem flower.

Griffiths added that the inward-sloping glass walls would reduce sunlight hitting the facade and minimise heat during summer. The rooftop also features a patch of grass with planned spots for solar panels as another heat-reduction measure.

He described the design as "Shenzhen's turn" after the Aedas-designed West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus, the city's first "co-location" border checkpoint with mainland China, which embodied Hong Kong's vertically oriented landscape.

"This is a very natural metaphor for Hong Kong - the trees, the forests, the canopy, the business, the craziness, whereas Huanggang is much calmer," Griffiths said, noting the larger space allowed for more horizontal designs.

Hong Kong authorities previously said the clearance time at the revamped checkpoint would drop from 30 minutes to five minutes under the joint inspection model.

Passengers will only need to display one travel document required by their destination using one e-channel machine and pass through immigration counters placed within 50 metres of each other.

They will then head through clearance halls and transport drop-off spots that are designed to be stacked on top of each other.

The Hong Kong government has said the redeveloped 24-hour port's capacity will rise from 40,000 to 200,000 passengers a day, and could be further increased to about 300,000 upon the commissioning of the MTR Corporation's Northern Link Spur line.

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On Sunday, the state news agency Xinhua said the death toll in Gansu's Weiyuan county had risen from 10 to 25, adding that the flash floods which struck last Sunday had also injured a further 23 people.

The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief has asked the provincial government to investigate the incident and improve its emergency response measures, the report added.

Meanwhile, as heavy rainfall continued in many areas, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a level 4 emergency flood control response - the lowest level in a four-tier system - for the northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Saturday.

Level 4 flood alerts are also in place in many other parts of the country - from Gansu and Shaanxi in the northwest to Sichuan in the southwest, and in the central provinces of Henan and Hubei.

A total of 19 rivers in Heilongjiang have flooded, with some water levels exceeding warning thresholds by up to 1.3 metres (4.3 feet), Xinhua reported.

One of them, the Sandaohezi, a tributary of the Mudan River, recorded its highest flood levels since records began in 1958, exceeding the warning threshold by 0.89 metres.

The central authorities have sent 11,000 disaster relief items, including blankets and household emergency kits, to Heilongjiang and neighbouring Jilin province to support local disaster relief efforts.

Forecasters have said rain will continue across much of northern, central and southwestern China in the coming days, while the northeast will see moderate to heavy rain from Monday through to Friday.

With extreme weather events becoming more common as a result of climate change and the current El Nino weather patterns, China is trying to improve its artificial intelligence-powered weather forecasting.

Researchers have developed an ensemble forecasting system - which generates multiple simulations to map out potential storm tracks rather than producing a single trajectory - Xinhua reported on Friday.

Unlike conventional AI-based forecasting models that rely mainly on data pattern recognition, the new model also uses information about atmospheric dynamics to make its predictions.

This allows it to accurately filter out meteorological disturbances that can alter storm tracks, and explain why and where a storm's trajectory might change, according to the report.

Scientists said that following an analysis of 62 typhoons, the model matched leading global systems when making short-term forecasts and outperformed them for medium and long-term forecasts.

Xinhua also said the model used fewer computing resources compared with other systems by using 31 data sets, rather than the more common 51.

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Aly-Khan Satchu, a Nairobi-based analyst on sub-Saharan African geoeconomics, said that China offered a "full suite" package that included financing, construction and often operation.

China's advantage stemmed from flexible financing and lower costs, he explained.

"Western companies are simply not competitive," Satchu said, noting that Western firms had "very elevated" prices due to the risks of doing business in Africa.

According to Hong Zhang, an assistant professor of international studies at Indiana University Bloomington, this diversification was not a sudden "shift" but rather showed how emerging players were filling gaps as Western presence receded.

"The numerical presence of Chinese companies in Africa makes it inevitable that multiple of them show up in many tenders," she noted.

Zhang said European and American firms had moved to the higher-value-added segments of consultancy. "In fact, they dominate these segments, a goal that Chinese firms aspire to as they struggle to compete in less profitable segments of construction."

W. Gyude Moore, a distinguished fellow at the Energy for Growth Hub, noted that the competitive advantage of these nations often boiled down to structural costs. China remains a capital-surplus country where the cost of expertise is lower than in Europe or the United States.

"This tracks with what we have seen in the global economy where China runs a surplus in goods and the US runs a surplus in services," Moore said.

However, China is not without competition in Africa, most notably from companies based in Turkey and the Gulf states.

For instance, Turkey's Yapi Merkezi has built sections of railway in Tanzania, connecting the metropolis of Dar es Salaam to the capital Dodoma.

In Uganda, Yapi Merkezi was appointed as the primary contractor for the Standard Gauge Railway between the Kenyan border city of Malaba and Ugandan capital Kampala, after the government cancelled its deal with China Harbour Engineering due to persistent delays in financing.

Turkey competed effectively on labour costs while successfully closing the gap on capital, while the United Arab Emirates used its financial strength to lower the cost of capital as it recruited top talent to address labour requirements, Moore said.

Dubai-based DP World manages and modernises container terminals across Africa through long-term concessions. Key projects include transforming the Port of Berbera in Somaliland into a regional logistics gateway and developing the Ndayane Port in Senegal, a major deep-sea facility. The firm is also investing in the Port of Maputo in Mozambique to deepen berths for larger ships.

They often brought a different mix of capital, logistics, port management, aviation, construction, diplomacy and risk appetite. "This means African infrastructure markets are now more multipolar," Gu said.

Satchu said both Turkey and the UAE had a very defined Africa strategy.

"Turkey has been a geoeconomic player on the continent for a while and is leveraging that positioning to good effect," Satchu said, adding that the UAE had long been focused on ports across the continent.

"In both instances, these countries are aggressive where the infrastructure opportunity dovetails with their Africa strategy."

This regional strategy is further reinforced by state-backed support. Zhang said that the countries had long provided aid and financing to regions with which they had close trading or cultural ties, such as North Africa.

"Turkish firms have been very competitive in Africa, especially northern Africa, due to cultural proximity," Zhang added. "It is not surprising that they continue to be active in Africa … but it may become more visible when the Western presence recedes."

Gu said the old picture of "China versus the West" was too simple.

"In many sectors, the real competition is between Chinese firms, Gulf capital, Turkish contractors, Indian conglomerates, African pension and sovereign funds, and multilateral or development finance institutions."

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Rather than a gateway, the Philippine Sea could be a critical battleground.

Northeast Asia is home to land-based missile networks that could make operating near shore too risky. So, the Philippine Sea would be a "decisive location for carrier operations", said Michael Bosack, director of the non-profit Parley Policy Initiative.

"There, their utility and capabilities can be maximised in shaping the wider maritime battlespace. This supports the establishment of a regional buffer, frustrating foreign maritime forces before they can even enter the fray."

By putting carrier groups in the Philippine Sea, China could not only intercept enemy ships, but also deter potential actors from even initiating the long voyage, he said.

Brendan Mulvaney, director of the US Air Force's China Aerospace Studies Institute, agreed.

"I do not regard carriers as the [PLA Navy's] primary weapons against Taiwan," said Mulvaney.

"The most common error is to assume that, because Beijing is acquiring ships that resemble American carrier strike groups, it must intend to use them according to the American operational model."

China already possessed ample land-based aircraft, missiles, surface ships and submarines for operations near its coastline, making carriers less important as strike platforms than as part of a broader "maritime joint-fire system" linking warships, submarines, bombers and missiles, Mulvaney said.

He argued that rather than delivering the main strikes, carriers would help cue and coordinate the wider force.

The first island chain is the arc of islands stretching from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.

"The carrier fleet is part of the effort to guarantee access beyond the China seas," Holmes said, describing a "fortress fleet" approach in which carriers extended China's reach while remaining integrated with mainland-based aircraft and missile forces.

The PLA Navy "would be expected to weigh the operational value of its carriers against the risks of employing such high-value assets in heavily contested waters", said Christopher Sharman, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College.

Chinese military publications describe a layered defensive system in which aircraft, submarines and escort ships shield the carrier, allowing it to function as the group's command-and-control hub.

"This layered defensive architecture", Sharman said, suggested that the Chinese navy would seek to "preserve the combat effectiveness of its carriers rather than expose them unnecessarily in the most heavily contested portions of the battlespace".

Mulvaney argued the carrier's greatest value lay in information rather than firepower.

"Preventing the opponent from maintaining a continuous targeting picture may matter more than conducting spectacular strikes against Taiwan itself," he said.

Instead of seeking a symmetrical carrier-on-carrier duel with the US Navy, Chinese carriers "would probably operate as part of a larger system that included submarines, bombers, long-range missiles and land-based aircraft", pushing the contest for air superiority into the Philippine Sea.

However, operating farther into the sea brings its own risks.

Japanese naval forces, Tokyo's expanding missile capabilities, allied submarines and long-range air power could all threaten a carrier strike group operating east of Taiwan, beyond the densest protection of mainland-based air and missile forces.

"If China thinks these carriers are going to throw the conflict easily into their favour, they will likely be disappointed," said Jeffrey Hornung, Japan lead at the Rand Corporation.

He added that Japan's expanding counterstrike capabilities and submarine fleet could threaten PLA carriers well east of the Taiwan Strait.

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Far from a radical policy shift, industry observers view the directive as a long-overdue enforcement crackdown designed to inflict short-term contractor pain for long-term national security gain.

While contractors face immediate hurdles to requalify suppliers and find non-Chinese alternatives, US analysts said the market adjustments were manageable, though delivery timetables for future military hardware could slightly stretch.

They also warned that true strategic independence needed sustained, long-term capital investment in non-Chinese midstream processing.

Signed on July 20 by US President Donald Trump, the executive order significantly tightens the conditions under which the Department of Defence can issue waivers for defence-critical imports from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

US defence procurement rules strictly prohibit sourcing from adversary states certain "covered materials" - ranging from rare earth magnets to newly added inputs like gallium and germanium - with exemptions available under waiver conditions.

However, because China controls about 90 per cent of global processed rare earths and two-thirds of mining capacity, the Pentagon has routinely granted waivers to keep military production lines moving.

Beginning next year, such routine exemptions will end.

Contractors seeking waivers must submit formal mitigation plans proving "exhaustive efforts" to source compliant materials, detailing explicit steps to phase out non-compliant suppliers and setting strict implementation timelines.

The order also mandates comprehensive supply-chain mapping within 180 days, requiring companies to trace components "from raw materials to end products".

A White House statement said: "Despite long-standing prohibitions on the use of sensitive materials sourced from geopolitical adversaries, supply-chain resilience and domestic production have been historically underprioritised."

The latest directive tells defence contractors that the era of relatively easily available waivers and the Trump administration's repeated retreats from enforcing policies in this area is over, according to Eugene Gholz, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.

"The executive order is about finally enforcing laws that have been on the books for a while," said Gholz, who formerly served as senior adviser to the US deputy assistant secretary of defence for manufacturing and industrial base policy.

"It is not a major policy shift … There is a bipartisan consensus in the United States in favour of limited decoupling from China on critical materials supply."

Cory Combs, head of supply-chain research at advisory firm Trivium China, said the order raised the bar for waivers to force technical diversification and stimulate non-Chinese supply growth.

"To the extent it works, it is designed to be 'short-term contractor pain for long-term national security gain'," Combs said.

Yet, implementing full supply-chain visibility presents formidable practical challenges.

Courtney Weatherby, a fellow at the Stimson Centre's energy, water and sustainability programme, highlighted two major bottlenecks: the administrative burden of tracing deep-tier supply chains and the practical difficulty of finding feasible non-Chinese alternatives.

Weatherby said a primary obstacle on the supply side lay in China's midstream refining, where critical minerals from disparate sources are blended into mixed batches, making it hard to trace the origin of a single raw material.

"In the short term, the informational gaps may pose challenges to companies seeking to meet requested levels of traceability," she added.

"In the long term, it could pose challenges in terms of pricing and deliverable timelines if waivers are not approved due to potentially higher costs and lower availability of limited alternative sources."

According to Mineral Commodity Summaries issued by the US Department of the Interior and the US Geological Survey, China is one of the leading foreign suppliers for several "covered materials", including tantalum, tungsten, gallium and germanium.

The US relies entirely on imports for materials like gallium and tantalum, while its net import reliance for tungsten exceeded 50 per cent of apparent consumption in 2025.

Heavy rare earths, such as dysprosium and terbium, are vital for manufacturing high-performance permanent magnets.

These components underpin critical US defence technology, from radar arrays and missile guidance units to advanced propulsion systems.

According to Combs, "The US' first strategic imperative is to diversify military supply chains. Despite all the political focus, commercial supply diversification is in practice a secondary and much longer-term objective."

Amid the hurdles, Gholz said market adjustments were manageable and would not compromise current military readiness.

The main hurdle for major defence primes is that they rarely buy critical minerals directly, forcing procurement teams to trace complex, lower-tier supply chains. But he viewed this administrative audit as "manageable" within months rather than years.

Government or defence demand for many critical materials was a small fraction of overall demand, Gholz added, noting that non-adversarial suppliers could meet military needs if Washington was prepared to absorb higher costs.

"This executive order has to do with sourcing for production of weapons in the future. It also is unlikely to impact readiness. It may cause some production timelines for the future to slip, but probably not much if at all."

Meanwhile, Weatherby said that sourcing was only half the battle, and that Beijing's stranglehold on processing and refining techniques would require a certain scale of investment to catch up.

She argued it was unclear whether the supply-chain tracing process "will lead to long-term gain without a strategic, multi-step approach to nurture robust alternative and diversified supply chains. That will take time and investment."

Meanwhile, Combs anticipated that the new waiver restrictions would not drive new large-scale investments, saying the defence demand alone was inadequate to set up the mining and processing infrastructure for diversification.

"Though we do expect it'll help transfer some value from contractors to select existing non-Chinese suppliers, which will be a boost to the latter's financial health."

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The July 6 launch - in which a dummy warhead travelled 8,000km (5,000 miles) - was China's first confirmed submarine-based missile test since 1982, and the first known firing from a nuclear-powered submarine.

The type of missile used has not been officially confirmed, but a report in the Global Times - a newspaper owned by the party mouthpiece People's Daily - suggested it was a JL-3, which can be fired from nuclear-powered submarines.

The intercontinental-range ballistic missile is expected to become a key pillar of China's nuclear arsenal by boosting its ability to strike back in the event of an attack.

The missile programme

The JL-3 made its first public appearance at a giant military parade in Beijing last September.

By 1986, the first JL-1 missiles were ready to be deployed on the Type 092, the country's first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

But a modest operational range of 1,770km limited their strategic reach, prompting the development of the second-generation JL-2.

The JL-2, which entered service around 2015 and is carried by Type 094 subs, significantly expanded the operational range to 7,200km.

But this still leaves much of the continental United States out of range when fired from secure Chinese waters.

However, the JL-3 was designed to extend that range to 10,000km - far enough for missiles fired near the Chinese coast to target the continental US.

This and two other tests were reportedly carried out using a Type 032 diesel-electric auxiliary submarine, before a test involving a nuclear-powered Type 094 in December 2019.

The JL-3 is believed to have entered service in 2022.

The Chinese nuclear programme is shrouded in secrecy and the missile's detailed specifications have not been made public, but analysts believe it is a three-stage, solid-fuelled missile along the lines of its predecessor, the JL-2.

Unlike liquid-fuel missiles, these rockets store their fuel and oxidiser together in a hardened state, which makes them safer, easier to maintain on board submarines and ready for immediate launch.

The JL-3 is also known to be capable of carrying multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, which can carry at least three nuclear warheads each with a blast yield of around 250 to 1,000 kilotons, allowing a single missile to strike multiple targets.

The submarines

At least six of these are currently in service, each equipped with 12 launch tubes, meaning China could deploy up to 72 ballistic missiles on its fleet of Type 094s.

The JL-3 is eventually expected to be deployed on the Type 096, when it replaces the Type 094 as the core of the PLA Navy's sea-based nuclear deterrent.

The first Type 096 submarine is expected to be completed by the end of the decade. It is believed they will be able to carry 16 to 24 long-range missiles - either the JL-3 or its successor the JL-4.

With an estimated displacement of around 15,000-20,000 tonnes - far more than the Type 094's 8,000 tonnes - the subs are also likely to be fitted with better stealth technology and have a longer range.

Role in China's deterrence strategy

The JL-3 is a key element in Beijing's drive to strengthen the naval arm of its nuclear triad - a structure that gives the PLA the ability to launch weapons by land, by sea or by air.

These submarines typically have a longer operational range and deployment period compared with conventionally powered vessels because they can spend more time underwater without refuelling.

This endurance and their low acoustic signature also make them much harder to track and destroy pre-emptively - making them the most likely arm of the nuclear triad to survive a pre-emptive nuclear attack.

This in turn makes them central to maintaining the country's second-strike capability, the ability to hit back after a nuclear attack.

China currently has 620 nuclear warheads across all branches of its armed forces, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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Yang featured in a documentary that aired this week on state broadcaster CCTV and described a life-threatening incident in which his plane lost pressure at an altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 feet) following a leak in the cabin.

"If the aircraft does not descend, the cabin pressure will completely dissipate. If the pilot becomes incapacitated, the aircraft will lose control and [the situation will] become uncontrollable," Yang said.

But he was not able to make an immediate descent because a civilian flight path lay directly below him, forcing him to maintain his course for 13 minutes before he could land.

"My physical sensations were getting worse, but unless instructed otherwise, we had to maintain our current altitude," he said. "As I descended, my physical sensations gradually returned, including my hearing."

He took part in test flights for the KJ-600, China's first fixed-wing, carrier-based early warning aircraft, a programme in which many of his fellow aviators also encountered challenges.

The KJ-600 is engineered for catapult-assisted take-offs and arrested landings using the electromagnetic systems aboard the Fujian.

The aircraft successfully completed such trials on the carrier alongside J-15T fighters and fifth-generation J-35 stealth jets last September.

Yang spoke of the challenges he faced flying KJ-600s, adding: "We could not simply copy and paste our experience from flying fighter jets."

"The early warning aircraft is huge, and the launch force must be surgically precise. In just a few seconds, the speed jumps from zero to hundreds of kilometres an hour, and the pilot is slammed into his seat," he explained.

"When we completed the catapult launch on the ship, the initial reaction rate to handle the control stick was nearly one second. Towards the end, our data showed that the reaction time had to be only a fraction of a second.

"If comrades in the military encounter problems after launching, being able to regain control even a fraction of a second earlier can save the aircraft in critical moments."

But he said landing on the carrier was more challenging than taking off.

"Early warning aircraft experience extremely high wind resistance and turbulent airflows can cause them to sway. The first carrier test encountered strong winds at sea, making it very hard to maintain a precise trajectory," Yang told CCTV.

"The early warning aircraft's slow speed and weak acceleration meant that improper handling could have serious consequences. The strong winds during the first test helped our overall test and I became more confident."

Wang Zhongyuan told CCTV about an incident in which he confronted a plane from an unnamed foreign country somewhere in the western Pacific.

He said he got the sense the other pilot was testing whether China's carrier-based forces could hold their own in high-intensity situations.

"After several rounds of aerial manoeuvring, I successfully locked onto the opponent," Wang said. "Whether in fighting spirit or aircraft control, in this close-quarters arena, I prevailed."

Wang said he got the sense that to the other pilot it was "just a job" while he "just wanted to fight".

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In a dialogue held at the Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS) last month, leading scholars discussed the hurdles China faces with Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine.

Lu Bai, a neurobiologist and the president of SANS, noted that China had been able to use Western scientific advances to make swift progress across multiple fields for decades, but this model of catching up was becoming less viable.

"The path is narrowing for two reasons: first, resistance from the external environment is growing; second, China has reached a stage where there's not much left to simply replicate," said Lu, according to a transcript of the dialogue published on July 27 by The Intellectual, a social media account he co-founded.

Lu said scholars had identified China's rigid institutional system, which prioritises metrics over creativity, and an ingrained deference to authority as the core challenges slowing the country's tech and scientific momentum.

Xi argued that "original and disruptive innovation" had become ever more important in global tech competition.

Beijing has made innovation a priority in the 15th five-year plan, the country's strategic blueprint through 2030.

Yet, bridging policy and reality remains tough.

For scientists, hitting these targets can lead to larger research grants, higher income and more senior positions.

"Over time, KPIs have become the conductor's baton, severely suffocating the space for innovation and invention," Lu said.

Lu said truly innovative work could not be measured by metrics alone, and noted that a KPI-driven system made radical research difficult to conduct, as it did not allow a researcher to spend years tackling a single fundamental problem without worrying about funding.

He said the relentless pursuit of publication in top journals and academic titles was an "absurd driving force" and that "science should be fuelled by curiosity, imagination, a desire to solve problems and even a vision to save humanity".

The SANS president said another constraint stemmed from traditional Chinese culture, which emphasised hierarchy and respect over critical thinking, open debate and questioning established ideas.

Kelly echoed this view, pointing out that dealing with failure remained a challenge. He suggested Chinese researchers learn to "fail forward" and draw lessons from setbacks.

While top-down support could deliver progress in clearly defined fields, it inherently narrowed research horizons and stifled diversity, which was a critical bottleneck in China's tech rivalry with the US, neurobiologist and SANS member Wang Liping said at the event.

Centralised agenda-setting often led researchers and entrepreneurs to align only with official preferences, Wang said. To break this conformity, Wang stressed the need for diversified funding sources - particularly outside the scientific establishment - to empower scientists with unconventional ideas.

Hong Bo, a professor of biomedical engineering at Tsinghua University, described China's technological progress as resembling engineering refinement - moving from one to N - rather than from zero to one.

Kelly cautioned that a highly innovative society would pay a "chaos tax" - the inevitable friction, disorder and societal disruption that comes from questioning authority and tolerating failure.

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Quantum technology harnesses the physics governing individual atoms, in which they exist in multiple states simultaneously until they are measured, a phenomenon known as "superposition".

This can be used to measure, compute and communicate data in a variety of ways. While its applications are only beginning to transition from research labs to the real world, it can offer major advantages, especially in precision, speed and security.

"The operation has proved that quantum technology is not a 'showpiece', but a 'hard support' for guaranteeing the power supply and promoting development," Tian Teng, a researcher with Anhui Electric Power Company, was quoted by the report as saying.

Officially commissioned in November 2024, the first-of-its-kind facility has developed and applied dozens of quantum solutions spanning three domains: measurement, communication and computing.

The report described the project as a "landmark integration of the new-type power grid with cutting-edge quantum technology", representing the first systematic application of quantum tech to power grid engineering.

Multiple other quantum products have already been deployed across Anhui and are gradually being rolled out nationwide, the report noted.

It revealed that insights gained from the Hefei project would be used to inform similar demonstration projects across higher-level substations.

In the substation's switchgear room, where high-voltage electricity is distributed through the system, a specialised quantum sensor monitors minute changes in temperature and humidity in real time.

Crucially, it can also detect weak partial electrical discharges, a common fault that can damage equipment and trigger grid outages.

In addition, a different kind of quantum sensor is used to track how much electricity is being channelled through power lines, swiftly pinpointing fault locations.

Quantum technology is also applied to locate cracks in ferromagnetic materials like iron and cobalt as well as to spot fire hazards.

Beyond physical inspections, the facility has integrated quantum encryption devices into the power system's fibre-optic links and 5G communications to make them more secure.

This breakthrough "is expected to further enhance the power system's capacity for real-time analysis and computation", Tian noted.

Tian said that conventional power grids were constrained by issues including imprecise and delayed equipment monitoring, weak data security and computational bottlenecks.

For instance, traditional substations often suffer from discrepancies between the electricity actually transmitted or consumed and the figures recorded by metering devices.

To tackle this, the researchers developed a diamond-based quantum precision measurement technology capable of sensing tiny fluctuations in current.

According to the report, it is estimated that this technology allows the substation to reduce electricity measurement errors by more than 500,000 kilowatt-hours per year, significantly improving both reliability and efficiency.

The researchers are continuing to iterate and develop new quantum applications, such as a tool for detecting gas leaks caused by equipment defects far earlier than conventional technology.

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"This is a necessary action taken in light of the current situation in the South China Sea and in response to the acts of certain countries within the region that have undermined regional peace and stability," the PLA Southern Theatre Command wrote in a social media post.

"The training exercise aims to test and enhance the forces' real combat capabilities to safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."

Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is one of the main flashpoints in the long-running territorial dispute between the two countries.

Saturday's drills were staged in and around the reef's territorial sea and airspace, testing the PLA's ability to coordinate air and sea operations and provide rapid reinforcements, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

It added that the exercise covered areas such as reconnaissance and warning, deterrent patrols, control of the air and sea, as well as joint strikes.

H-6K bombers armed with YJ-12 anti-ship missiles were deployed during the drill, video footage released by the PLA Southern Theatre Command showed.

The YJ-12 is an air-launched anti-ship missile that maintains supersonic speed throughout its flight and accelerates to Mach 4-5 during its terminal phase. It has an estimated range of 400-500 km (250-310 miles).

The missile's heavy explosive payload could pose a significant threat to large surface combatants, "which could serve as a powerful deterrent against provocations by relevant parties", the CCTV report quoted Chinese military commentator Zhang Junshe as saying.

China has repeatedly accused "external forces" - a reference to the United States and its allies - of interfering in the South China Sea disputes.

Since July, the US has stationed six coastguard vessels at Subic Bay in the Philippines and deployed the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to the South China Sea.

The exercise footage also shows Z-20J assault helicopters and Z-8C transport helicopters conducting take-off and landing operations on a Type 071 amphibious transport dock, alongside Wild Horse air-cushioned landing craft entering and exiting the ship's well deck.

Type 054A and Type 056A guided-missile frigates were also seen taking part in the exercise.

The exercise demonstrated the PLA's multidimensional amphibious warfare capability, combining vertical air assaults with heavily armed amphibious beach landings for potential contingencies, Zhang told CCTV.

"By deploying this elite naval and air force contingent on a combat readiness patrol, the Southern Theatre Command sought to send an unequivocal signal to the Philippines and external actors, underscoring China's determination to defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," he said.

"This is a clear warning to relevant parties to cease their futile provocations and infringements."

The China Coast Guard also held an exercise in the area, with focus on operations such as intercepting ships, boardings and inspections, and towing vessels away, according to spokesman Jiang Lue.

The official PLA Daily published an opinion piece that urged the force to "keep a close eye on changes in technology, warfare and adversaries, and intensify practical, combat-oriented military training".

"[We should] strengthen the building and application of forces for new domains and new modes of warfare … to effectively safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests," it added.

Also on Saturday, China released a set of rules for the nature reserve it established last year to assert its control over the reef.

The regulations ban unauthorised fishing, mining and the harvesting of corals or giant clams.

State news agency Xinhua said the island had a unique coral reef ecosystem and distinct geological formations, as well as significant populations of rare and endangered marine species.

Earlier this week, the Philippines formally presented a bid to the United Nations to extend its seabed rights off the island of Palawan beyond its 200-nautical-mile (370km) exclusive economic zone, arguing that the area in question was a natural extension of its continental shelf.

China's sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.

China did not take part in the 2016 arbitral proceedings and rejects the ruling as "null and void".

Last week, the Philippines also formally deposited its official nautical chart of Scarborough Shoal with the UN in an effort to "reinforce the legal certainty of its maritime entitlements".

The Chinese foreign ministry responded by saying it would never accept Manila's establishment of a "territorial sea baseline" on the shoal.

"The Philippines has frequently provoked and stirred up trouble near Huangyan Island, violating China's sovereignty and maritime rights, escalating maritime tensions and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea," it said.

"China demands that the Philippines earnestly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, and refrain from any infringing or provocative actions in the Huangyan Island area; otherwise, China will resolutely respond."

In 2024, China released its own baselines for the territorial sea around Scarborough Shoal.

China's mission to the UN also criticised the bid to extend Philippine seabed rights off the coast of Palawan, saying the move violated its sovereignty and urged the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf not to consider it.

Manila condemned the Chinese actions as "illegal, coercive and aggressive".

Manila's efforts to strengthen defence and security ties with Washington and Tokyo have also put Beijing on high alert.

The Philippines is considered a vital link in the "first island chain", a series of archipelagos that form a barrier between mainland China and the open waters of the western Pacific.

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The move underscores growing tensions between US lawmakers and industry, as Chinese AI models have become increasingly popular among US companies looking to save costs of AI adoption.

The letter also requests that DoorDash staff "with responsibility for DoorDash's AI infrastructure, software security, model evaluation, procurement, and legal or compliance review" appear for an in-person briefing with the lawmakers by August 21.

"[The] Committees recognise that US companies, from large technology firms to start-ups, may evaluate and deploy PRC-developed open-weight models because they can provide competitive capabilities, lower costs, greater customisation, and alternatives to reliance on a small number of proprietary model providers," the letter said.

"Those practical considerations do not eliminate the need for risk-based safeguards or diminish the national security concerns associated with growing dependence on models developed by entities subject to PRC jurisdiction."

"DoorDash proudly supports American AI leadership and is working to ensure AI benefits Main Street, not just the biggest companies," a DoorDash spokesperson said in response to the lawmakers' letter.

"We look forward to engaging with the Committees on how we safely and responsibly use AI, including American-developed frontier models and open-weight models."

Chinese AI model developers also offer official channels through which their models can be accessed.

As AI adoption grows, some US companies are experimenting with cheaper Chinese models to cut costs while achieving similar performance levels.

In the latest letter, the lawmakers said that both companies had since engaged in discussions with the committees on their use of Chinese models after the first letters were sent.

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The USTR first proposed it on June 3, opening a window for the Chilean foreign ministry and the export associations to make their case.

Santiago said in a statement that it would keep talking to the Trump administration to improve access conditions, including the exclusion of products it considers essential to the country's export basket.

Kast uses Trump's strategy to gain power, flatter US

He also promised a closer alignment with Washington, and flew to Miami days before his inauguration to attend the launch of Trump's Shield of the Americas initiative.

That alignment was already in trouble by the time he reached La Moneda, the seat of the president of Chile, in March.

Then Transport and Telecommunications Minister Juan Carlos Munoz signed the decree on January 27 and rescinded it two days later, citing typographical errors, after warnings from the American embassy.

The dispute wrecked the handover between the two governments. Kast said he had not been properly briefed, dissolved the transition coordination task force after a 22-minute meeting with Boric, and announced an audit of ministerial communications.

Niu defended the cable in public at the time, calling it a mutually beneficial idea and dismissing American claims about strategic risk as not grounded in fact.

US tariff threat raises concerns in Santiago

The tariff imposed by Washington has also unsettled parts of the governing coalition, with Agriculture Minister Jaime Campos and Defence Minister Fernando Barros both criticising the American decision in public.

US ambassador to Chile, Brandon Judd, responded by warning that statements of that kind make trade negotiations harder, and the government moved to lower the temperature, insisting that the talks were being handled exclusively by the foreign ministry.

Speaking to CNN Chile on Thursday night, Senator Arturo Squella, president of the Republican Party that Kast founded, said the tariff had shown how little Chile had got in return for courting Washington.

"At the end of the day you draw your conclusions and you say, look, there was no interest here in even recognising and respecting what has been signed with Chile," he added, calling on the foreign ministry to argue the case as far as necessary "so that the word that is written down, when it comes to respect for free trade and everything that goes with it, counts for something again".

His assessment of the two powers was blunt once that caveat was out of the way.

"If you ask me which one I would like to go deeper with, in terms of doctrine or of how a society should be run, obviously I see the United States as much closer," Squella said.

"But I have no recollection of China creating difficulties or failing to respect the rules of the game."

Squella said the episode had left him weighing what the relationship with Washington is worth in practice.

"It seems there is not much point in making so much effort to have a good relationship if in the end they arrive and out of nowhere impose tariffs on us that hit us at the waterline, in activities that are fundamental to us."

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It would also mark Kallas' first solo trip to Beijing since taking on her role in 2024.

The trip - with a date yet to be confirmed - would revolve around the bilateral "strategic dialogue", a mostly annual format in which the sides discuss foreign and security policy issues.

High on the EU agenda will be hot topics such as China's relations with Russia, the ongoing crises in the Middle East and the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait.

Insiders described the encounter as tense from the outset, with minor protocol mix-ups and a combative on-camera opening from Kallas in which she pressed Wang over China's support for Russia.

The mood further soured when Wang felt obliged to raise a toast after the Europeans had not done so, sources said at the time.

Since then, the former Estonian prime minister has maintained her tough line towards Beijing. In June, she said the bloc had verified reports that China's military had been "training Russian military personnel to fight in Ukraine" - charges denied by Beijing.

Ordinarily, the dialogue sets the political agenda for an EU-China summit, although such an event is not expected to be held this year. While Beijing has offered to send Premier Li Qiang to a summit in Brussels, the EU believes the talks should take place at President Xi Jinping's level.

Xi has no intention of travelling to the Belgian capital, the bloc has been told, while EU leaders are not keen to travel to Beijing for a third summit in a row, wary of the optics of such a concession at a time of heightened rivalry.

"The EU-China Strategic Dialogue is held annually. The HRVP's travel plans for autumn are not set yet, but both sides are in touch regarding schedules," Kallas' office said in a statement, referring to her full title of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

While both Wang and Kallas attended the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila this month, there was no bilateral meeting.

After meeting several counterparts, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and new British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, Wang left for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Kyrgyzstan.

Kallas' Beijing trip will come amid a ramping up of EU-China dialogue across the board, but also at a moment of extreme tension. The sides are on the brink of a trade war, with the European Commission setting an October deadline for progress in rebalancing ties. Otherwise, it has pledged to adopt a more forceful trade policy towards Beijing.

Kallas' European External Action Service (EEAS), meanwhile, published a paper this month that accused China - along with Russia - of trying to "reshape the global order in line with their interests" and "fostering a return to a sphere-of-influence logic".

The paper is seen as the bloc's strongest-ever official criticism of Beijing. It accuses Beijing of being both a "key enabler" and "crucial enabler" of Russia's war on Ukraine, language previously used by Nato.

China has denied the widely held perception in Europe that it has taken Russia's side, claiming to be neutral in the Ukraine war. In response to the paper, its EU embassy issued a diplomatic demarche against the EEAS, the bloc's de facto foreign office.

In recent encounters with European officials, Beijing has blasted their accusations that it provides dual-use goods that power Russia's military, insisting that Ukraine's war effort would also cease to function without products from China.

This illustrates the fine line Europe has to walk amid fears Beijing could cut off supplies of products such as drone components to Kyiv. The dilemma was illustrated late in 2024. At the time, European officials from several countries said that a drone factory in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region was making craft for Russia's military.

Soon afterwards, the freshly appointed Kallas and European Council President Antonio Costa went to Ukraine. There, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told them to stop talking about the factory lest it jeopardise Kyiv's own supply lines, according to multiple people familiar with the exchange.

Since meeting in Brussels last July, Wang and Kallas have spoken twice. The first was a brief exchange on the margins of the 2025 Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Malaysia, a week after their explosive talks in Belgium.

The second was a more substantive call on April 2 to discuss the Iran crisis, scheduled after months of silence from Beijing in response to EU efforts to set up a conversation.

The pair clashed again in that call - this time over trade. As Kallas explained recent EU proposals, including the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Cybersecurity Act, Wang fired back with ferocity, according to sources familiar with the exchange. Wang said Beijing would retaliate fiercely and Europe would end up being hurt more than China.

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The regulations also open the door to exit bans for officials found to have sought foreign nationality or residency, as well as Chinese nationals who have committed crimes overseas.

The restrictions carry particular weight given that Beijing has placed export controls on an increasing number of items, including critical minerals, rare earths and dual-use goods with both civilian and military applications.

The regulations also take aim at technology transfers, seeking to prevent know-how in sectors Beijing considers strategically vital - such as artificial intelligence (AI) and computer chips - from moving overseas.

In March, authorities banned the company's co-founders from leaving the country while regulators examined whether the acquisition violated investment regulations.

While civil servants and military officials have long faced restrictions on their overseas travel and connections, the new rules toughen enforcement.

"Exit-entry intermediary service agencies are prohibited from processing such applications when they violate regulations," the State Council said.

"When agencies receive such requests, they must refuse to process them and immediately report those matters to supervisory authorities."

Citizens who commit crimes abroad that harm national security or China's interests may face an exit ban of six months to three years after returning to the country.

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Daines, a Montana Republican, has emerged as an important backchannel figure between Washington and Beijing. He visited Beijing in May as the two sides sought to stabilise relations ahead of Trump's trip to the Chinese capital later that month.

One person familiar with the matter said Daines had been carrying messages ahead of leader-level engagements and helping narrow differences on issues expected to dominate the coming summit.

Daines' role positions him as a pivotal intermediary as preparations enter their final stretch, according to the source.

"Both sides understand his role very well," the source said. "He has become an effective channel for communicating President Trump's concerns to the Chinese side and vice versa."

According to multiple sources, officials are now working through a checklist of understandings reached when Trump and Xi met in Beijing earlier this year, with the goal of turning several of them into concrete deliverables for the Washington summit.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to feature prominently during Xi's visit. Trump and Xi discussed the issue in Beijing in May, with officials now preparing a formal bilateral AI dialogue in September as one of the main follow-ups to that meeting.

One source said momentum had recently picked up on the proposed trade and investment boards, pointing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's recent public comments in the Philippines that Washington hoped to have the trade board operational by the time Xi visited.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.

Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

According to a person familiar with the planning, both Washington and Beijing believe understandings reached on Iran during the leaders' previous meeting need to be revisited because regional dynamics have shifted significantly since then.

Behind the scenes, planning for Xi's state visit to Washington has been progressing smoothly, according to two people familiar with the preparations.

"The communication channels are all open," one source said. "Both sides talk regularly."

Top financial officials of both countries spoke by phone on Thursday, and on Tuesday, a senior Pentagon official made a rare public speech at a Chinese embassy event in Washington, hailing stronger communications between the two militaries.

The current plan calls for Trump to host Xi for a formal state banquet.

In addition to the traditional larger bilateral meeting involving senior officials, the two leaders are expected to hold an extended small-group session reserved for the most sensitive strategic issues, the source added.

What remains far less certain is whether Xi will also travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

Xi's trip to Washington on September 24 coincides with the General Assembly's high-level general debate, scheduled for September 22 to 28.

A source said the Chinese leader was increasingly unlikely to include New York in his itinerary and was instead expected to spend virtually all of his visit in Washington.

The reasoning, the source said, was straightforward: this year's UN gathering is the 81st session of the General Assembly rather than a major anniversary year, reducing the diplomatic value of a New York stop.

The source also noted that Trump's earlier visit to China was limited to Beijing rather than including multiple cities.

However, another person familiar with the discussions said plans for Xi's US trip had not yet been finalised.

"There are many moving parts currently … Nothing is 100 per cent confirmed. Beijing is clearly not happy with some of Washington's latest moves.

"Both sides need to manage the recent trade tensions well to avoid potential disruptions to the summit."

Security planning in New York had become much more complicated - particularly following a self-immolation incident involving a Tibetan activist in early July - the source noted, making any presidential visit more challenging.

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In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV, Cui Daohu, an officer with a PLA Rocket Force engineering unit, described his contribution to building the missile positions that he called China's "strategic trump cards", saying the schedule was tight but had been completed on time.

Although Cui did not identify the type of missile involved, he said the team faced challenges erecting an extremely heavy core component and precisely assembling two large sections on site "without a tiny scratch".

"It falls to us to conquer the mountains and the deserts, ensuring that our country can play her ultimate strategic trump cards," he said.

Cui said the missile positions they built were "well capable" of "withstanding strikes" and "supporting counterstrikes".

Cui's comments are consistent with China's declared nuclear policy of "no first use" and its pursuit of a credible second-strike capability.

The DF-5 series is China's liquid-fuelled, silo-launched ICBM. Its latest variant, the DF-5C, was described as having a "strike range covering the entire globe" when it was introduced during the Victory Day military parade in Beijing in September. DF-5 missiles are the largest among the Dongfeng family and must be launched from a silo.

Cui's most explicit nod to the silos might have been his use of a viral military meme: "Dongfeng express, delivery guaranteed." The phrase - a play on courier service slogans - has been used by the PLA online when discussing Dongfeng missiles.

Since 2021, governments, think tanks and media outlets in other countries have pointed to satellite imagery as evidence that China has sought to massively expand its ICBM silo fields in its northwestern provinces.

However, Beijing neither confirmed nor denied the reports, instead repeating its adherence to a self-defensive nuclear strategy. The defence ministry also said it opposed any attempt to hype up the misleading "China nuclear threat".

State media, including People's Daily, have suggested that some of the sites identified through satellite imagery were "wind farms".

In the documentary on Thursday, Cui gave some sense of the timing of the building programme.

Cui recalled that each time he attended the National People's Congress session in Beijing over the past few years, he was asked whether the new positions under construction would be completed on schedule.

Cui has been a member of the PLA's delegation to the national legislature since 2023, and his comments indicate that at least part of the construction took place during this period.

"The schedule was tight, and there was no room for mistakes," he said, adding that his team had looked for new ways to speed up construction.

The documentary said the new technologies dramatically reduced the time required for many procedures and the project had been "delivered on schedule".

While Cui worked across more than "a dozen work locations" as needed, many of his colleagues spent years at construction sites without returning to their home base, according to the documentary.

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The cabinet has proposed a NT$210 billion (US$7.1 billion) special budget for the next five years to procure more than 200,000 locally produced drones and unmanned surface vessels, including coastal surveillance drones, coastal strike drones and small suicide boats.

But the main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), wants to allocate NT$240 billion over six years through the regular annual budget.

It said that yearly legislative scrutiny would strengthen fiscal oversight while allowing procurement plans to adapt more readily to rapidly evolving technology.

The smaller opposition Taiwan People's Party also wants to finance the programme through the regular budget rather than a special appropriation.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification. Most countries - including the United States, Taiwan's main international backer - do not recognise the self-ruled island as an independent state. However, Washington is opposed to any attempt to take it by force.

Analysts said the debate reflected the tension between rapidly closing critical capability gaps and reassuring the island's drone makers over future funding and orders.

"The cabinet's proposal is driven by immediate defence needs," said Su Tzu-yun, a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defence and Security Research.

"Given that Taiwan faces a clear and potentially immediate threat, using a special act to accelerate drone procurement is essential. It would not only strengthen the military's capabilities more quickly, but also drive industrial upgrading and development."

Su said there was a "growing political consensus on the importance of developing Taiwan's unmanned capabilities" after a clause on drones was removed from a previous NT$780 billion special defence budget.

He added that the opposition's proposals also contained positive elements, such as localisation targets, incentives for local manufacturers and measures to strengthen supply chains.

"But requiring joint reviews by multiple legislative committees could prolong the process and reduce the sense of urgency," he argued, referring to the opposition's proposal to have the legislature's economics and finance committees join the defence committee in reviewing the legislation.

During a recent visit to Taiwan, former US assistant secretary of defence Randall Schriver highlighted the importance of drones without directly commenting on the legislative row.

Schriver said the United States did not interfere in Taiwan's internal politics but added the island "absolutely needs an unmanned [military] component" because it was facing "an adversary that is so much larger and can put so many conventional platforms" into the battlefield.

He also highlighted the US National Defence Authorisation Act, which would allow both sides to build trusted, non-mainland supply chains.

"I think the United States is a serious security assistance partner to Taiwan. Congress has spoken on that through the National Defence Authorisation Act. Our executive branch has been directed to develop these programmes with Taiwan," Schriver said.

Representatives from Taiwan's drone industry have said they need greater certainty over orders and funding.

Lu Yi-hsuan, acting general manager of Taiwan Aerospace Corporation, told a legislative hearing that local companies were ready to expand production but needed long-term commitments.

"The cabinet's proposal provides the clearest procurement volumes and funding," Lu said. "Industry invests on the basis of long-term orders, not year-by-year projects where companies have to worry every year about budgets being cut or frozen."

She said exports of complete drones manufactured in Taiwan had increased more than one hundred times over the past two years, adding that the island should seize the opportunity to become a trusted supplier in the global supply chain.

Chen said Taiwan's private sector possessed strong research and development capabilities but lacked the large-scale government contracts needed to expand production. He added that prolonged uncertainty could cause it to miss a critical opportunity to establish itself as a major hub for drone supply chains.

The opposition has rejected suggestions it was slowing Taiwan's military modernisation.

KMT lawmakers said they wanted to boost the island's drone capacity, but added that special budgets should remain exceptional measures rather than becoming a routine funding mechanism.

They also said annual appropriations would strengthen legislative oversight, while measures promoting local production, decentralised manufacturing and stricter auditing would create a more resilient industry.

Alexander Huang Chieh-cheng, a professor of strategic studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, said there was "already broad consensus on developing unmanned systems" and the parties should not allow their differences to delay the legislation.

Huang said the procurement process should remain flexible because drone technology had evolved rapidly, suggesting that annual budgets would allow Taiwan to respond more easily to technological change than a single long-term package.

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In the following months, reported yield claims soared from 5,000 to 7,000 and even 10,000 jin per mu. The exaggerated statistics led to nationwide chaos in agricultural production and one of the deadliest famines in human history.

Now, Chinese farms are once again reporting yields of 3,000 jin per mu - not in single unverified harvests but through annual two-crop rotations.

A farmland programme in Dezhou in China's eastern Shandong province has achieved these ultra-high yields.

Sixty‑eight years after the disastrous Great Leap Forward began, Chinese agricultural scientists are turning ultra-productive farms from a deadly illusion into a concrete reality.

But this time the numbers have attracted little attention. Food is so abundant and cheap in China nowadays that most Chinese can have fresh vegetables and fruit every day or go to restaurants regularly.

Average national grain yields have continued to rise, reaching about 750 jin per mu this summer.

Measured by land productivity, China has become one of the world's highest-yielding major grain producers, despite having far less arable land per person than countries such as the United States.

China produces about 820 million tonnes of vegetables and nearly 360 million tonnes of fruit annually - roughly 23 times and 14 times the respective US outputs, which are about 35 million tonnes for vegetables and 26 million tonnes for fruit and nuts.

In 2025, China produced 660 million tonnes of cereals, including 301 million tonnes of corn, 209 million tonnes of rice and 140 million tonnes of wheat. Average cereal yields reached 874 jin per mu - about 45 per cent above the global average.

Rice yields, at about 960 jin per mu, rank among the world's highest and are comparable with Japan and South Korea, while wheat yields are roughly double the global average.

Much of the recent boost in yields has come from experimental farms designed to test the biological limits of crop production.

Super rice demonstration plots have repeatedly exceeded 2,000 jin per mu under carefully managed conditions. That is roughly double the yields achieved in many conventional rice fields.

Recent breakthroughs have included gene-edited, densely planted maize and new super rice varieties.

"We experts should step forward and put science and technology on the front line whenever farmers need us and agriculture needs us," Yu said.

One of the latest examples was reported by People's Daily Online on July 22, when Chinese researchers announced a breakthrough in hybrid rice breeding that had achieved more than 99 per cent cloning efficiency.

"This research [is] carrying forward [late 'father of hybrid rice'] Yuan Longping's unfinished vision for securing future food production," People's Daily Online said.

"It was totally beyond our expectations," an institute spokesman said of the project on June 26.

Combined with drip irrigation, soil improvement and precision field management, the variety reportedly produced harvests roughly twice the national average.

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Cryptocurrency transactions are growing rapidly, but their pseudonymous and cross-border nature can provide channels for money laundering and other illegal activities.

It also "provides an innovative technological pathway for regulatory authorities to combat illicit cryptocurrency transactions and economic crimes", Sun, a researcher specialising in criminal investigation and cybersecurity, wrote.

The May study, conducted by researchers from the People's Public Security University of China, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Public Security, comes as authorities continue to focus on cryptocurrency-linked financial crime.

In March, the Supreme People's Procuratorate reported that prosecutors indicted 3,259 people in 2025 for money laundering involving virtual currencies and underground banks.

However, such cases may represent only a fraction of illicit activity, as tracing cryptocurrency flows can be difficult even when transactions are publicly recorded.

Traditional rule-based systems can struggle to detect such evolving patterns.

The Chinese team's system combines a dynamic graph neural network with a memory mechanism and a large language model (LLM) to analyse cryptocurrency transactions.

The dynamic graph neural network treats the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a constantly changing network, analysing transaction structures, money flows and their evolution over time.

The system then uses a memory module to retrieve historical illicit transaction patterns that resemble a new case, allowing it to compare current activity with previously identified behaviour.

The researchers also introduced an LLM, which combines extracted transaction features, historical patterns and structural information from the network.

The LLM then turns these complex signals into a natural-language risk assessment, producing not only a legal-or-illicit classification but also a risk score, key evidence and a reasoning chain.

"Our method has significantly enhanced the model's generalisation ability to identify new and evolving illegal trading practices," Sun wrote.

The researchers tested the system on the public Elliptic bitcoin transaction dataset, which contains 203,769 transaction nodes, 234,355 edges and 166 features for each node.

The model achieved an overall accuracy of 89.4 per cent, while its precision for illicit transactions reached 89.1 per cent and its recall was 64.5 per cent.

The 89.1 per cent precision meant that nearly nine in 10 transactions flagged as illicit by artificial intelligence (AI) were indeed unlawful in the actual data set, while the 64.5 per cent recall indicated that the model identified roughly two-thirds of labelled illegal transactions.

"Experimental results on a public bitcoin transaction dataset demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms mainstream baseline models," Sun wrote.

The researchers argued that the memory component could help the system recognise new or evolving laundering techniques by matching current money flows, transaction timing and network structures with similar historical patterns.

"Through the semantic reasoning capabilities of large language models, the system provides intuitive and traceable decision-making evidence for high-risk alerts, enhancing its operability and interpretability in real-world regulatory scenarios," they wrote.

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"The Chinese Communist Party, once famous for pillaging from the natural world, has set to protecting parts of it. But the country's 'eco-authoritarian' approach deserves scrutiny," The Economist said in a social media post linking to the article.

The article describes the government's environmental approach as "top-down and intolerant of resistance" and alleges that at times officials did not listen to environmentalists or the people harmed by the policies.

The Economist article acknowledged the results of the recovery efforts, stating that the river was making a "remarkable comeback" and could offer a lesson for other degraded watercourses in Asia.

However, it cautioned that this came at a "human cost", including the loss of livelihoods for fishers.

The post drew immediate backlash, with many commenters calling out the quote and questioning what "eco-authoritarianism" meant.

Shen Shiwei, a Chinese journalist and commentator who runs the Substack titled The China Briefing, said in reply to the post: "'Eco-authoritarian'? You guys really have a talent for inventing buzzwords to describe things that don't actually exist."

Other users, including Turkish-American live-streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker, as well as Silk and Steel Podcast host and political commentator Carl Zha, replied to the post to point out use of the "but at what cost" narrative.

This refers to a common framing used particularly by Western media and analysts where China's economic or developmental achievements are explained through the lens of potential negative consequences or trade-offs.

A popular Chinese blogger with 2.6 million followers on social media, who posts under the name Han Fei - the Future Man of Science, said in a Chinese-language post that The Economist "cannot just report the positive aspects of China; it always adds a footnote".

"It starts with an ideological stance and even if it acknowledges the model's effectiveness, it emphasises its shortcomings and only solutions that align with its stance are better [regardless of their effectiveness or applicability]," he added.

In reference to the US, author and investigative reporter Seth Harp replied to the post with: "The Economist doesn't understand how good 'eco-authoritarianism' sounds to the youngest denizens of the dying corpse of the neoliberal war state, where it's 100 degrees [Fahrenheit or 37.8 degrees Celsius] in upstate New York and [President Donald] Trump is this close to doing drone strikes on endangered grizzly bears."

The United States, and much of the world, has been experiencing summer heatwaves that have driven temperatures up to record highs.

China's fishing ban came after decades of ecological decline from overfishing, water pollution, dam construction and shipping traffic. This degradation led to dwindling fish stocks and the loss of species, including the functional extinction of the baiji dolphin, which was found exclusively in the river.

With the imposition of the ban and the accompanying Yangtze River Protection Law, over 111,000 fishing vessels were recalled and more than 230,000 fishermen resettled.

According to the Science paper by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Toulouse, University of Washington and Carleton University, the ban and other measures like water quality improvement have led to improvements in species diversity, recovery of threatened species and fish biomass and body condition.

"Ambitious conservation actions can halt biodiversity loss in the Yangtze River, bringing hope for biodiversity recovery in other large rivers," the team said in their paper.

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Researchers are working on ways to use bamboo, one of the most resilient and sustainable materials on the planet, in the fight against desertification in China's arid north.

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned a group of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong shipping companies accused of operating vessels that transported Iranian oil to China, extending Washington's economic campaign against Tehran alongside its naval blockade.

A Singapore fitness instructor identified as allegedly linked to former acting minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs Faishal Ibrahim's resignation has denied rumours that she was the woman with whom he had inappropriate interactions.

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Long associated with Cold War-era strategy, the first island chain has become a principal arena of military competition between China and the United States, with the Pentagon's latest China Military Power Report identifying it as central to Beijing's regional strategy.

A year ahead of its 2027 centenary goal, the PLA has shown progress in areas that could challenge the US defence line - specifically its dual-carrier operations, large-scale arms production and improved nuclear deterrence beyond the island chain.

Meanwhile, the US and its allies have also ramped up their input, including the expansion of American base access in the Philippines and increasingly sophisticated defence drills involving Washington's regional partners.

More than geography

Stretching from Japan's home islands and the Ryukyu archipelago through Taiwan to the Philippines and Borneo, the first island chain forms the maritime boundary between mainland China's near seas and the open Pacific Ocean.

It encompasses narrow waterways and air corridors, including the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel and the Luzon Strait - the few routes through which the PLA can reach the wider Pacific.

During the Cold War, the first island chain formed part of a broader US strategy to deter Soviet and Chinese expansion in the Pacific.

Japan has accelerated defence spending and strengthened its military posture along its southwestern islands with new anti-ship and air-defence capabilities, while the US has expanded rotational access to military facilities in the Philippines, including several sites facing Taiwan.

Trilateral cooperation involving Washington, Tokyo and Manila has likewise evolved from largely symbolic exercises into sophisticated naval, air and amphibious training, transforming what was once a collection of bilateral alliances into a more integrated regional security architecture.

According to Oriana Skylar Mastro, director of the Indo-Pacific Policy Lab at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute, expanded basing and overflight access represents a consequential shift.

This perspective also stemmed from the PLA's transformation, Erickson added, from a force focused mainly on coastal defence into one seeking to operate across and eventually beyond the first island chain.

Chinese discourse had begun framing the objective in explicitly offensive terms, with Beijing "increasingly talking about 'breaking through the first island chain'", said Zhao Tong, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In Zhao's assessment, the PLA now believes the military balance along the chain is gradually shifting in its favour and that it could steadily erode long-standing US military dominance to establish itself "as a power willing and able to advance its perceived core interests" through its expanding capabilities.

In that vein, Mastro observed that Chinese thinking about the first island chain went beyond pure defence.

"Part of the reason China wants freedom of manoeuvre in the first island chain is to defend against attack, but also to defend against responses to its own aggression," she said.

"It's offensive. It's defensive. It's about power projection. It's about great-power competition."

Going further, Tang argued that the first island chain had "become more, not less, strategically important over the past decade".

As the PLA's power-projection capabilities grew, he said, "the chain's value as a defensive barrier has therefore increased for all sides, even as it has become a central operational arena where control of key straits and air and maritime corridors could be decisive in wartime".

Beijing's push

In recent years, the PLA has undergone significant military changes that could help it better respond to the first island chain, ranging from naval expansion and doctrine to joint operations and deterrence.

Zhao cited the PLA's naval expansion as the single most important driver of that transformation, alongside China's possession of the world's largest arsenal of theatre-range missiles, enabling Beijing to threaten strategic targets across the region.

Looking ahead, he said Beijing also appeared to be eyeing "a substantial expansion of its nuclear-powered submarine fleet".

By combining stealth, endurance and long-range strike capability, the force could challenge one of America's most enduring military advantages, Zhao added.

Once focused largely on coastal defence, the PLA Navy has evolved into the world's largest naval force by hull count, conducting increasingly sustained operations east of Taiwan and Japan in waters that until recently lay largely beyond its routine reach.

For Beijing, these deployments reflect a deliberate effort to build a navy capable of protecting its expanding overseas interests while operating in an ever more contested environment.

"China has many more bases. They have the mass," she said, noting that Beijing could also produce ships, missiles and military equipment far faster than the US.

"The United States is losing that numbers game, and we have for quite some time."

Yet, further south, Mastro sees the balance as less favourable for Beijing.

China could increasingly complicate US operations across the wider first island chain, but projecting and sustaining military power over greater distances remained far more demanding than denying access close to the Chinese mainland, she said.

"Keeping the United States out of Asia is much easier than projecting power across those distances," Mastro added.

From coastal defence to power projection

Analysts have noted an important shift in Beijing's strategic purposes in the region, from keeping adversaries away with anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategy to operating farther from home and remaining there.

The strategy is underscored by Beijing's pursuit of carrier strike groups, amphibious assault ships and replenishment vessels, as well as a growing overseas logistics network.

Those deployments allow the PLA to rehearse the difficult requirements of sustained blue-water warfare, from coordinating multiple carrier strike groups to integrating escorts, carrier aviation and logistics over extended distances.

Tang regarded the Fujian and the maturation of China's carrier strike groups as the most consequential development to watch.

"China's earlier ski-jump carriers faced limitations in sortie generation and carrier-based fixed-wing airborne early warning," he said.

"The Fujian's electromagnetic catapults and KJ-600 aircraft can extend the fleet's sensor coverage and improve the efficiency of sustained air operations in the Philippine Sea."

As those capabilities matured, Tang added, forces positioned along the first island chain might have to prepare for pressure "coming simultaneously from the Chinese mainland to the west and carrier forces operating to the east".

Learning to fight as a joint force

A more fundamental change has been under way in joint combat. Instead of treating the navy, air force, rocket force and support elements as largely separate services, the PLA now trains and organises to fight as an integrated joint force.

The effort is instrumental to denying US and allied forces the ability to operate effectively around the first island chain.

Central to that approach is the concept of "system destruction warfare": prioritising the disabling of an adversary's sensors, communications, command networks and decision-making processes rather than destroying individual platforms one by one.

The philosophy is reflected across the PLA's force structure.

Long-range ballistic and cruise missiles are intended to hold forward-deployed forces at risk, bomber patrols through the Miyako Strait and around Japan have become frequent, and Beijing continues to expand its reconnaissance, surveillance and command networks across multiple domains.

Mastro described the arrangement as an "alliance grey zone", saying Russia could, for example, close portions of its far-eastern airspace or provide logistical support to help China sustain operations during a prolonged crisis.

As Zhao sees it, the value of defence coordination for Beijing lies less in Russia's capability than in the signal of "strategic coordination, shared objectives and mutual resolve in countering US military influence".

Mastro said Chinese strategists had told her privately that closer coordination with Moscow was intended to send a signal to Washington and Tokyo about the potential costs of deepening US-Japan defence cooperation.

Beijing has simultaneously strengthened its strategic deterrence to show it could complicate US defence considerations beyond the first island chain.

According to Tang, these capabilities reinforce deterrence in complementary ways - carrier strike groups extend China's conventional operational reach beyond the first island chain, while the submarine-launched ballistic missile strengthens the credibility and survivability of its nuclear second-strike capability.

That said, having such capabilities is different from successfully employing them in combat.

China "appears to enjoy certain advantages stemming from its industrial base and capacity to manufacture and field systems at scale", he said.

But the US and its allies "may retain important advantages in innovation, operational adaptability and a more agile defence ecosystem".

The PLA still had "comparatively limited operational experience" testing its new capabilities in large-scale joint operations, Zhao added.

"The jury is still out on which side will ultimately gain the more decisive military leverage along the first island chain."

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In December 1929, then Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong led a pivotal meeting in Gutian, Fujian province.

The next two decades witnessed some of the defining moments leading up to the Communist victory of 1949, including the Long March, the consolidation of Mao's leadership and the renaming of the armed forces as the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

In 1938, as the party faced a turning point following the departure of co-founder and Mao's revolutionary rival Zhang Guotao, Mao wrote: "Our principle is that the party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the party."

Urging the PLA to reflect on discipline and uphold its revolutionary tradition, Xi said: "Upholding the party's absolute leadership over the military is the soul of building a strong army."

These ideological doctrines drove the massive PLA overhaul launched the following year. Paired with the military's most aggressive anti-corruption campaign in decades, the reforms swept through every level - from service branches and theatre commands to equipment procurement and top-level appointments.

They were also central to Beijing's messaging during the latest anti-corruption drive targeting the Central Military Commission, the PLA's top command body led by Xi. Five of the seven-member CMC, including former vice-chairmen Zhang Youxia and He Weidong, have been removed from office.

Only Xi as chairman and Zhang Shengmin, a vice-chairman who previously oversaw anti-corruption work in the military, now remain on the body whose current term began in 2022.

Zhang Youxia was the CMC's first-ranked vice-chairman, China's most senior military officer after Xi.

An editorial in the official PLA Daily shortly after Zhang's downfall said he had "seriously trampled on and undermined the CMC chairman responsibility system" as well as "seriously fuelled political and corruption problems that affect the party's absolute leadership over the military and endanger the foundations of the party's rule".

As the PLA gears up to mark its centenary next August, analysts say Beijing's relentless focus on "the party's absolute leadership over the military" highlights concerns that extend well beyond corruption.

Control of the military is foundational to the party's power, they note. This mindset - shaped by the historical lessons from the collapse of the KMT in mainland China and later that of the Soviet Union, as well as the political turmoil of the Mao era - helps to explain Beijing's resolute rejection of what it calls the "nationalisation of the military".

Zhang Youxia was placed under investigation in January, alongside Liu Zhenli, fellow CMC member and chief of staff of its Joint Staff Department.

This came three months after CMC vice-chairman He Weidong and Miao Hua, former head of the commission's Political Work Department, were expelled from the party and the military over allegations of corruption and serious discipline violations.

In October 2023, former defence minister Li Shangfu was removed from office and expelled from the party eight months later, also over corruption.

Joseph Torigian, a professor at American University's school of international service and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Xi's view was that corruption could affect the military's political choices at critical moments.

"He believes that the military will only serve the party during moments of political crisis at home and in wars abroad if it has the right world view," Torigian said.

"When a military leader is corrupt, that means materialism and consumerism have eroded the conviction and idealism Xi believes are necessary for the PLA to make the right decision."

Lessons from the KMT

The Communist Party has long viewed discipline and organisational capacity as central to its 1949 victory over the KMT in the civil war. Peking University historian Wang Qisheng has similarly traced the KMT's defeat in part to weak organisational structure.

In his 2003 book, Party Members, Party Power and Party Struggles: The Organisational Form of the Kuomintang, 1924-1949, Wang wrote that the KMT borrowed organisational techniques from the Soviet model in the 1920s, but never replicated its substance.

Unlike the Soviet system - where party authority was supreme over the state and military at every level - local KMT branches remained weak and marginal, lacking the authority to oversee or discipline officials. After the civil war broke out in 1927, real power shifted decisively towards the military, leaving KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek increasingly dependent on forces under his personal control, according to Wang's book.

Elizabeth Perry, Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government at Harvard University, said that the Communist Party "is proud of its revolutionary heritage, in which the Red Army had a reputation for not stealing from the peasants".

"It sometimes broke those rules, but for the most part the Red Army was a well-disciplined army, whose connection to the peasantry helped the Chinese Communist Party win the revolution," she added.

"The difference in levels of corruption between the Kuomintang and the CCP, and between their militaries, is often cited as an important reason for the victory of the Chinese Communist Party."

Unlike the KMT, the Communist Party brought the PLA under direct party control.

Party organisations exist at every level of the PLA. Political commissars and military commanders share leadership responsibilities, while the appointment, education and disciplinary supervision of officers are also handled by party bodies within the military.

A Beijing-based political scientist who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the arrangement was a result of the military's somewhat unique status in China.

"After all, the PLA is largely a system on its own," the academic said.

As an example, the academic noted that the party's organisation department did not handle military personnel - a responsibility that fell to the CMC's political work department.

Within this relatively closed system, the flow of information, personnel and resources becomes central to party control over the military.

"So the party's rule over the military basically hinges on the party's general secretary being the sole and final decision-maker on the CMC," the political scientist said.

"That requires detailed and strict workflow design in the CMC's daily work to ensure the chairman holds the ultimate decision-making power on key things like personnel, budget, major military actions and technology developments."

The CMC "chairman responsibility system" sits at the top of this institutional structure.

China's constitution - adopted in 1982 - stipulates that the state CMC operates under a chairman responsibility system. Xi further strengthened the system after taking the helm in 2012.

Following the 2014 Gutian meeting - which came in the wake of a corruption scandal involving a former top general - the CMC set up three mechanisms to ensure that critical issues and information were reported directly to the chairman.

The mechanisms covered requests and reports, supervision and inspection, and information services.

A new command structure was created, under which the CMC retains overall authority, the theatre commands oversee joint operations, and individual services focus on force development.

According to the anonymous analyst, the reforms elevated joint operations while curbing the agency of the former general departments and individual services over personnel, equipment, and resource allocation.

In 2017, the CMC chairman responsibility system was written into the party constitution. Follow-up regulations mandated that the military treat the system's roll-out as its highest political requirement and core disciplinary standard.

According to Beijing, the CMC chairman oversees its overall work and makes final decisions on major military issues. The vice-chairmen and other members assist him and are responsible for implementation.

But the military's daily operations still require extensive delegation.

"The most critical part of the system is where you draw the line," the Beijing-based political scientist said.

"The CMC chairman's office cannot make all the decisions … The CMC must have clear guidelines on what are classified as 'major decisions' to be decided at the top and what reports shall be sent to the chairman's office.

"That is a very delicate balance. It seems the trend now is to over-report rather than under-report."

The present arrangement gives CMC vice-chairmen, commissioners and the leaders of the services and other forces significant intermediary authority.

They can influence what information is reported, how the chairman's orders are interpreted and which officers are placed on promotion lists. Personnel networks can also lead subordinate officers to direct their loyalty first towards the superiors who promoted them, according to the anonymous observer.

At the heart of history

Time and again, the PLA has proven to be a decisive factor at the party's most critical historical turning points.

China's party-army system is sometimes compared with North Korea's state policy of songun, or "military-first politics".

After then-leader Kim Jong-il implemented songun in the 1990s, the Korean People's Army (KPA) gained greater political status and priority in resource allocation, while becoming extensively involved in infrastructure, agriculture, trade and other economic activities.

Jongseok Woo, an associate professor of political science at the University of South Florida, argued in a 2014 paper that Kim adopted songun as a strategy for regime survival, shifting "the locus of political power" from the party to the military.

But Woo also wrote that Kim developed mechanisms to prevent the armed forces from dominating politics.

In a 2018 paper, Woo drew a distinction between the military's elevated institutional status and its independent political influence. "The military has not been a politically influential organ from the state-building to the current Kim Jong-un era," he wrote.

China's official description of its own party-army system is more direct.

A document issued by the CMC in 2017 said: "The system of ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central Military Commission is a major system stipulated in the constitution and the party constitution, and is the fundamental system and fundamental form of realising the party's absolute leadership over the military."

Yet both systems reject a professional military that remains neutral during a political crisis.

In China, this rejected model is usually described as the "nationalisation of the military". Beijing believes that such a model could undermine party rule.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union further reinforced this wariness.

In Beijing's view, the Soviet Communist Party's loosening grip on its armed forces led directly to the military's failure to defend the party during the 1991 political crisis.

"Xi believes that the Soviet Union collapsed because the party lost control of the military," Torigian said.

In September 2025, a PLA Daily commentary said the Soviet military had at the time "become estranged from the party and disobeyed its commands, and even colluded with the opposition".

For Beijing, the collapse of the Soviet Union offers a clear lesson: the PLA must always uphold the principles established by strong leaders Mao and Xi at Gutian - the party must always lead the military.

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The following is a breakdown of the planning, rationale and key projects for the period through 2030.

What exactly is the 2030 completion target?

China's Ministry of Transport announced the 95 per cent completion goal at a press briefing last week hosted by the State Council Information Office.

The core network, now at 91 per cent built, was first sketched out by Beijing in 2021 and is organised around six axes, seven corridors and eight routes for passenger and cargo transport throughout the country.

The six axes are intended to improve interconnectedness between China's four primary megalopolises: the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang); the Greater Bay Area (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau); the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster; and the Chengdu-Chongqing hub.

The eight transport routes will link up border regions - from the Tibet autonomous region and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Heilongjiang province - and add lines connecting western regions with the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.

Why build more when coverage is already so extensive?

As of 2025, this core transport network already covered more than 80 per cent of Chinese counties and 90 per cent of the total population, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Despite this density, vice-minister for transport Xu Chengguang said at a recent press conference that additional projects were required to eliminate remaining "weak links" across road, railways and other transport infrastructure.

"The total mileage of the core network now exceeds 6 million kilometres," Xu said. "So, there is a question: given the size and achievement, do we still need to pursue large-scale construction in the next five years?

"The core network still has notable shortcomings and chokepoints, especially in interconnectivity, integrated coordination, efficiency and the capacity to connect domestic and international markets."

Consequently, Xu stressed the need for better planning and optimisation to tackle gridlocks. "Going forward, we can no longer tread the old path and merely pursue a bigger scale," he said.

How will Beijing prioritise transport funding and projects?

Underscoring their systemic importance and potential for synergy, Xu said key projects for the next five years fall into a few major categories.

"The first category is interconnected transport links along China's coast and land borders, made up of high-speed railways, expressways and other roads for tourism, resource development and border-region stability," he said.

The second category will focus on Tibet and Xinjiang, including railways between Tibet and Xinjiang and between Tibet and Sichuan, according to Xu.

A third focus involves new high-speed rail projects in affluent regions, such as a sea-crossing link between Shanghai and Ningbo in eastern China, more bridges that straddle the Pearl River estuary in Guangdong, as well as Yangtze River bridges and tunnels.

Additionally, China is looking to modernise and digitalise 80,000km (49,710 miles) of existing roads, railways and other assets, and related renovations will pivot to more "provident budgeting".

"The guidelines aim to improve the efficiency, resilience and low-carbon performance of existing facilities with better use of limited funds, land and other resources," Xu explained.

The vice-minister also added that China would invest to make its international transport and supply chains more diversified and resilient.

"We will improve the global shipping network … by strengthening connectivity with major global air cargo centres and improving overseas ports and other key overseas hubs," he said, without elaborating.

What is the current scale of China's transport network?

Long cited as a symbol of its rise, efficiency and engineering prowess, China now has 50,000km (31,070 miles) of high-speed railways and 199,000km (123,653 miles) of expressways in service.

China also has 3,061 berths of the 10,000-tonne class along its coast, as well as 270 airports for civilian use, according to official figures.

Additional reporting by Sylvia Ma

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China's State Administration of Market Regulation released the draft revision of an e-commerce law on July 4 for public consultation until August 4. The draft raises the accountability level of e-commerce platforms for the safety, wages and basic social security of outsourced labour - including drivers.

But the move has also sparked pushback from the very people it aims to protect.

"What we want is higher per-order pay and more reasonable delivery times, so that we can work shorter hours and stay safer while on the job," Zhang said. The 34-year-old former manufacturing and sales worker began his job in 2020 and now works about 12 hours daily to make roughly 300 yuan (US$44) per day.

"If the e-commerce law reforms mainly mean that both platforms and drivers have to pay more into social security funds, it helps us the least," he said.

Higher social security payments, a hallmark of the revisions, could eat into the cash income they rely on for daily living expenses, some drivers said.

"Right now, liquidity is our priority to survive," Zhang said.

Delivery driver Wen Yonghua, 28, who came to Guangzhou after working in factories, said that he sent most of his earnings back home to support his wife, two children and elderly parents at their rural dwelling in southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

He was also unwilling to tie up cash in a non-refundable, long-term fund while struggling to meet his daily expenses. Before reaching the statutory retirement age, typically 60 for men, these non-refundable contributions remain locked in pension accounts and cannot be withdrawn.

Deng Jianping, a labour expert and senior lawyer at Guangdong Lawsons Law Office in Guangzhou, said the challenge was designing rules that could improve gig worker protections but without adding costs that many could not afford.

Social security contributions have become an increasingly heavy burden for many flexible workers because of China's economic pressures, she said.

The expansion of gig work reflected a broader shift in China's labour market, with companies facing uncertain demand becoming increasingly reliant on temporary workers instead of offering long-term employment, said Zhang Dandan, deputy dean of Peking University's National School of Development.

"This ultra-low labour cost is precisely what fuels China's export competitiveness," she said in a July 21 video interview sponsored by Hexun.com, a Chinese investing portal.

Formal employment in major enterprises has contracted by 20 million to 30 million jobs in recent years, driving more than 10 million workers into the gig economy, Zhang said.

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Last week, China gazetted a policy document to boost the supply and quality of home services. Among other measures, foreign institutions with domestic work programmes that lead to certification will be encouraged to set up shop in the country.

A document jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other agencies said China would "enhance the opening up of vocational education and encourage cooperation with foreign entities … overseas domestic-service vocational institutions can establish operations in China".

Professionals from the Philippines may benefit, even though mainland China still bans local families from hiring overseas migrant workers.

There have already been programmes offered in partnership with Filipino entities.

Since 2022, Guangzhou Light Industry Technician College has teamed up with a Filipino vocational agency to offer courses focused on practical skills and service etiquette, China Business Journal reported last month.

In Chengdu, Sichuan province, some schools also run courses that adopt curriculums promulgated by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the Philippines. Chinese graduates are said to be able to offer services "comparable to" professionally trained Filipino helpers, according to their recruitment notices.

TESDA accreditation certifies a trainee has the requisite skills in housekeeping, food safety, first aid and caretaking.

Fish Ip, regional coordinator for Asia at the International Domestic Workers Federation, said China's move could encourage exchanges between the Philippines and China and some instructors in domestic work courses might be lured to work in China.

"Middle-class Chinese families have strong demand for professionally trained workers under TESDA standards, given the good reputation of Filipino workers in Hong Kong and elsewhere," she said. "More vocational exchanges and partnerships in China using Filipino know-how and standards can benefit both countries."

Ip said that even though China was not importing workers from the Philippines, its huge market would provide attractive career opportunities for Filipino domestic work instructors.

But Chinese society's hidebound prejudice against domestic work as a profession remains as a cultural barrier.

The owner of a domestic worker employment agency in Shanghai said China's new backing for the sector might not instantly entice more people, especially the young, to join it, but she hoped professional training from the Philippines could change people's perceptions.

"Working as a domestic maid or nanny is still not widely considered a decent job," she said. "Hopefully the sector's importance will be recognised when China aims to encourage child-rearing and elderly care," she said.

Alluding to some Filipinos working as domestic helpers in Shanghai while on student or other employment visas, she said that showed there was strong demand for well-trained helpers.

"Many Filipino workers hold college degrees or have backgrounds in nursing and teaching, who can bring more than just housekeeping to their employers," she said, adding that Chinese vocational qualification standards would need to be changed when overseas standards and talent were brought in.

The policy document said China would support "qualified localities" in establishing procedures to recognise professional home service qualifications conferred by foreign entities.

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However, the 35-year-old Rios-Lovell winery ships a couple of containers per year to China, said event manager Joe Feng.

It may be sampling the future.

After a sharp decline in US wine exports to China under US President Donald Trump, the worst should now be over with a sparkle of hope on the way, said Christopher Beros, the California Wine Institute trade association's director for Greater China and Southeast Asia.

"There is anecdotal evidence that this decline has bottomed out and there is hope that exports will resume in the months and years ahead," he said.

Around Livermore, a wine-growing region of California well-known for about 140 years, the consensus is that since the Covid-19 pandemic American youths have been avoiding drinking wine to save money. Many wineries are now banking on events such as weddings to stay in business.

Yet between 2022 and 2024, exports of US wine to mainland China increased from US$33.5 million to US$95.8 million, the Wine Institute found.

Most of those shipments came from California, which generates $73 billion in local economic activity every year. Over that period, China became the third-largest export market for California wine after Canada and the UK.

"Uncertainty about the future of the trade relationship between the countries has paralysed [Chinese] importers and caused them to hesitate to order new wine."

"It does appear that there is a will on the part of both countries to establish a permanent and realistic trade dynamic, which should benefit the resumption of robust exports of California wine to China in the future."

Following China-US trade talks late last year, Chinese tariff rates on US wine imports stood at a nominal 64 per cent, but traders could pay 39 per cent if they applied to the US government for an exclusion, Beros said. Rates topped out at 200 per cent at the height of the US-China trade war in 2025.

When tariffs and other taxes were combined, US wines faced a total rate of about 74.5 per cent with the exclusion, he said. European, Argentinian and South African wines paid closer to 45 per cent.

A "fresher and more fruit-driven style" compared with other regions made California wines popular in China, Beros said, adding that a zinfandel from the state had been the top-selling wine unit at Sam's Club stores in China in recent years. At the US wholesale retailer owned by Walmart, California varietals compete with Australian, French and Spanish labels.

In the meantime, the seeds for a China future are being sown in the minds of winery operators.

Those not exporting now still have the capacity to do so, said Sherri Souza, CEO and president of the 430-member Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce.

"Some of them who are able to penetrate the national market, they're still able to shift and sell products internationally," Souza said.

Concannon Estate and Winery in Livermore bottles 20,000 to 30,000 cases per year, at 12 bottles per case. After 143 years in operation, it has begun chasing younger customers by hosting events such as wine clubs and comedy nights. It's also looking to expand its retail options beyond its 230-acre compound - and possibly offshore some day.

"We should be getting into the China market because Concannon is big enough," said company marketing director Harrison Miller.

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"We are bullish [on] the Chinese yuan as a hedge against war, but potential stimulus is a reason to stay bullish even in peacetime," Abbas Keshvani, Asia macro strategist from RBC Capital Markets, said on Thursday, pointing to the Politburo's pledge to accelerate fiscal spending amid slowing growth.

In a note earlier this month, the strategist said the Chinese currency had outperformed traditional defensive currencies such as the Singapore dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran, adding that Chinese authorities tend to "marshal the currency through periods of volatility".

Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and north Asia at Standard Chartered, said the yuan had been appreciating steadily, reflecting Beijing's support for "balanced trade development" - a phrase highlighted in the Politburo meeting readout.

Separately, the yen briefly rose more than 3 per cent against the US dollar on Thursday, reaching its strongest level in two months after weakening to a four-decade low and sparking speculation of official intervention.

Nikkei Asia reported that the Japanese government had stepped into the market on Thursday to buy yen and sell US dollars to support its currency, while US authorities also conducted a rate check.

ING described the move as "well timed" in a note on Thursday, pointing out that the US dollar was already under pressure after the US Federal Reserve governor, Kevin Warsh, "sowed doubts about a September rate hike".

The US Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, though three policymakers dissented and said they would have preferred to raise the policy rate by a quarter percentage point.

Shusuke Yamada, chief Japan foreign exchange and rates strategist at Bank of America, said in a Friday note that while the latest intervention episode "could prove more effective than previous attempts", market sentiment towards the yen had become "excessively bearish" despite a meaningful improvement in Japan's balance of payments.

A break below 155 per US dollar of the yen could trigger "a meaningful shift in market dynamics", he added.

As of early Friday afternoon, the yen was trading at 160.476 per US dollar.

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The push for cooperation comes as Chinese carmakers seek to validate their driverless technology in European markets, which have become increasingly important as sales growth lags at home.

Europe's automotive sector is under pressure as low-cost competition from Chinese rivals squeezes operating margins and accelerates domestic restructuring.

In the past week, major German carmakers have signalled significant workforce reductions to curb costs. BMW planned to eliminate as many as 8,000 jobs by late 2027, according to media reports citing company sources, while Porsche announced it would cut around 9,000 positions - representing one in five jobs in its workforce - by 2035.

Working teams from China and the European Union had held more than 20 meetings in the past month, following an initial round of trade talks in Brussels between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and his European counterpart Maros Sefcovic, commerce ministry spokesman He Yadong said on Thursday.

"China is ready … to explore practical, workable solutions to each side's concerns in trade and economics," He said.

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The ratio slipped 1.1 percentage points to 308.2 per cent, the National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD), a Beijing-based think tank, said in a quarterly report on Thursday.

The ratio compares debt with the size of the economy, measured by nominal gross domestic product growth. China's second-quarter nominal GDP grew by 5.9 per cent.

Households had been cutting debt since mid-2024, with their debt-to-GDP ratio falling a further 1.3 percentage points to 57.7 per cent, according to the report. Mortgage lending shrank for a 13th straight quarter, while the decline in consumer lending accelerated to 1.8 per cent from 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, as sliding home prices and sluggish income growth curbed borrowing.

The report pushed back against the view that household balance sheets were recovering by stopping borrowing to accumulate net assets, saying household credit was "not just lying flat, but shrinking".

Private companies pulled back further, with investment falling 8.5 per cent year on year. Nearly 60 per cent of listed private firms reduced their debt-to-asset ratios during the quarter, while about 30 per cent cut fixed-asset investment.

The report said private manufacturers, concentrated in mid- and downstream sectors, were squeezed as factory-gate prices outpaced consumer prices by 3.1 percentage points in June, the widest gap since July 2022. That left many firms with higher revenues but weaker profit margins, further discouraging investment.

Corporate debt still grew 7.8 per cent year on year, with bond issuance - a funding channel largely limited to larger, highly rated firms - rather than bank loans accounting for most of the increase.

The government was the only sector where leverage rose. Its debt-to-GDP ratio climbed 0.7 percentage points to 71 per cent, with borrowing up 13.5 per cent year on year. The increase came almost entirely from the central government, whose ratio climbed to 30.5 per cent from 29.9 per cent, while local government leverage remained flat at 40.4 per cent.

"Whether better inflation expectations and faster nominal growth can be sustained depends on the repair of private-sector balance sheets and on the government taking on more debt," the report said.

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The monthly index measures factory activity through surveys of supply chain managers across a variety of sectors. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below 50 signals contraction.

The new orders subindex, a gauge of manufacturing demand, fell to 48.5 in July from 51.2 in June, while a separate measure for new export orders also slipped into contraction territory, falling to 49.6 this month compared with 50.1 a month earlier.

"Under the combined impact of a high comparison base from recent rapid growth and the traditional off-season in select manufacturing sectors ... factory activity cooled from last month ... [as] both production and market demand eased," said Huo Lihui, a statistician at the NBS, in a statement.

Analysts said the July PMI marked a "sharp fall" and underscored the growing need for Beijing to roll out supportive policies.

"Although the PMI's correlation with industrial output has weakened in recent years, the latest reading remains an unpromising start to the first wave of economic data for the second half of the year," said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

With ex-factory prices remaining in contraction for a second month, falling to 47.8 in July from 48.2 in June, Song noted that China's reflation trend "could face increasing challenges in the second half of the year if this continues".

Meanwhile, non-manufacturing PMI, which tracks activity across construction and services, also fell to 49 in July. That marked the lowest level since the pandemic in 2022, Song said, cautioning that it was a "negative sign amid the recent push to unleash the potential of services consumption".

"The incremental policy easing signalled at the Politburo meeting seems increasingly necessary," he said.

The party's upper echelon vowed to accelerate fiscal spending and speed up the transition from old to new growth drivers.

Zhang Zhiwei, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, also observed that the manufacturing sector "slowed more than expected", while the Politburo's message suggested policymakers would "focus on the quality of growth rather than the speed".

"The development of the new technology sector is on the top of Beijing's policy agenda," he said, adding that the strength of the export sector - crucial to the broader manufacturing industry - would remain a "critically important" factor to watch for the rest of the year.

China's official composite PMI, which tracks both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, also dropped in July to 49.3, compared with 50.6 a month earlier.

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The machine, dubbed "Linghang", completed an 11.3km (7-mile) underwater stretch - the longest distance ever bored by a 15-metre-wide model in a single run, state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. The work demands extreme technical precision to accommodate trains scheduled to run at 350km/h (217.5mph), making it the fastest underwater high-speed tunnel worldwide once operational.

"Even minor alignment deviations during excavation could compromise rail travel safety and comfort," Wang Yi, deputy project manager at China Railway Tunnel Group, told Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper in April.

"With a design speed of 350 km/h (217.5mph), we have tightened precision requirements for the tunnelling machine to the millimetre scale."

Such massive boring machines rely on a rotating metal-cutting wheel, hydraulic thrust jacks and a protective outer steel casing to excavate and reinforce underground paths.

The Chongtai project is estimated to require total investment exceeding 7.1 billion yuan (US$1.05 billion), according to an April report by Shanghai-based financial news outlet Yicai.

Once fully operational, the line will form a roughly 2,000-kilometre (1,243 miles) economic corridor connecting more than a quarter of the country's advanced manufacturing clusters and 40 per cent of its strategic state laboratories, according to figures in a March report by state-owned broadcaster China Global Television Network.

"The 'Linghang' shield tunnelling machine proves China has mastered core technologies for high-speed underwater rail tunnels," said Wang of the China Railway Tunnel Group.

"The Chongtai Yangtze River Tunnel delivers a replicable and scalable Chinese solution for future infrastructure projects."

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The device entered Vietnam through the China-Asean regional medical products trading platform, a cross-border healthcare channel established by the NHSA and Guangxi authorities to help Chinese pharmaceuticals, medical devices and medical consumables reach Southeast Asian markets.

The NHSA said the volume-based procurement platform would next focus on expanding the registration of Chinese-made large-scale medical equipment in Vietnam, including radiotherapy and interventional treatment devices, while supporting broader medical exports.

Surgical robot exports jumped 344 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026 to US$70 million, according to customs data. About 10 per cent of those exports went to Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets, where shipments surged 246 per cent from a year earlier.

The global market has historically been led by American firm Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci Surgical System, which accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the market in 2024, according to UK-based data analytics and consulting firm GlobalData.

Chinese companies have only recently moved into the international commercialisation stage, with Shanghai-based MicroPort MedBot, Ronovo Surgical and Shenzhen-based Edge Medical among the leading domestic players.

The China-Asean platform has become an important channel for Chinese healthcare companies seeking to enter overseas markets. It provides services ranging from registration and product listing to trade matching and cross-border settlement through online procurement and trading channels, according to the NHSA.

Since its launch in January last year, the platform has showcased information on 1,228 medicines and 2,253 categories of medical consumables and equipment, attracting 381 Chinese healthcare companies and 44 overseas buyers.

According to NHSA figures, it had helped 10 companies complete 41 export transactions and supported 29 Chinese companies in obtaining registration and market approval for 62 medical devices in Vietnam.

Chinese customs data showed that surgical robot exports expanded from 23 economies in the first half of last year to 49 markets this year, with major destinations including the Netherlands, India, Argentina, Turkey, Thailand and the United States.

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Hengli Heavy Industry, a Liaoning-based shipbuilder, has secured construction contracts for six very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) from three international shipowners within one week, its parent company Hengli Group said on Wednesday. Four of the vessels have a capacity of 93,000 cubic metres, while the other two have an 88,000-cubic-metre capacity.

Hengli said the breakthrough, combined with its in-house capabilities, had given the company "a differentiated competitive edge ... in areas such as delivery timelines and construction costs".

Also on Wednesday, Shanghai-based Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding secured a contract from Cosco Shipping Development to build 10 bulk carriers of 210,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt), worth 5.28 billion yuan (US$781.31 million), according to the buyer. The Jiangsu-based Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering would build another five vessels for the company under a separate 2.64 billion yuan contract.

The slew of new orders comes amid China's broader expansion in global shipbuilding, as the country continues to strengthen its position across both traditional and higher-value vessel segments.

Some of China's leading shipyards had order backlogs extending through 2029 and 2030, the CCTV report said.

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Shanghai's current fare structure - 3 yuan (44 US cents) for journeys up to 6km (3.7 miles), with an additional 1 yuan for every 10km beyond that - has been in place since 2005, making it one of the longest-running unchanged pricing regimes among major Chinese cities.

Shentong Metro, the listed subsidiary of Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, reported a total profit of just 9.3 million yuan for the first quarter this year, a year-on-year decline of 41.8 per cent, even as revenue rose 6.3 per cent to 135.67 million yuan. However, the subsidiary operates only limited assets such as the Pujiang Line, and parent-group financial data is not publicly available.

Treated as a public service with artificially low fares, urban railway transit is often unable to cover its staggering construction and maintenance costs through ticket sales alone. This leaves municipal governments to step in with multiple forms of financial support to keep systems running.

Official figures show the mainland's urban-railway-transit sector generated an average operating revenue of 18.07 yuan per car-kilometre in 2025, against an operating cost of 35.28 yuan per car-kilometre - meaning the money earned or spent for every individual train moving a distance of one kilometre. That gap, according to a March report by the China Association of Metros, underscores just how far fares are from covering the bill.

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Amid growing concerns from Western politicians over China's widening trade surplus, the leadership also urged the country to "expand the scope for mutually beneficial international economic and trade cooperation" and "promote more balanced trade development."

The Politburo also said the fifth plenary session of the party's powerful Central Committee would be held in October. This session carries particular importance, as it comes a year before the party's next national congress, when a major leadership reshuffle is expected and Xi could be elected to a fourth term as general secretary.

Analysts said the meeting sent a more supportive signal to stabilise growth as the country's economy faced "challenges and difficulties," but stopped short of suggesting a large-scale stimulus package, instead pointing to more targeted measures.

"The focus remains on making better use of existing policies, while keeping additional measures in reserve," said Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered.

"It's not simply a matter of spending more money," Ding added. "The emphasis is on measures that are practical and effective - in other words, policies that deliver tangible results."

The meeting was held in the wake of second-quarter figures that showed a slowdown in gross domestic product despite strong trade numbers, a dichotomy indicating a widening gap between surging exports and sluggish activity at home.

The elevated trade surplus has also fuelled pushback from the West, with politicians in the European Union and the United States threatening or taking action against China's industrial overcapacity - a claim Beijing denies.

Su Yue, principal economist for China at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said the explicit reference to "trade balance" in the readout suggested Beijing was becoming more sensitive to international concerns over China's trade surplus and sought to create greater room for external cooperation.

"Although this alone is unlikely to fundamentally ease trade tensions, it points to a more pragmatic tone that could provide a modestly more stable backdrop for US-China economic relations," she added. "EU-China trade relations will remain under strain due to structural issues."

Working teams from Beijing and Brussels have held more than 20 meetings in the past month, following an initial round of trade talks in Brussels between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and his European counterpart Maros Sefcovic, commerce ministry spokesman He Yadong said on Thursday.

"China is ready … to explore practical, workable solutions to each side's concerns in trade and economics," He said.

Top policymakers have also been wary of heightened volatility in global capital markets, with hi-tech stocks facing a broad sell-off on concerns that an artificial intelligence-driven rally may have outpaced fundamentals.

Against this backdrop, the Politburo underscored the importance of deepening reforms to capital market investment and financing, while "enhancing the resilience and confidence of capital markets."

Ding pointed to recent intervention by the "national team" - state-backed institutions that support domestic markets - and said stabilising the capital market can help improve household balance sheets and support domestic consumption.

The Politburo reiterated the importance of "effectively expanding domestic demand" and unlocking the potential of the services sector, and said Beijing would make comprehensive use of monetary policy tools and "adjust them as appropriate", while improving co-ordination between fiscal and financial policies to boost domestic demand.

It also stressed the need to strengthen social welfare, protect the rights of flexible and gig workers, and ensure agricultural production.

Su Jian, an economics professor at Peking University, said the readout placed greater emphasis on boosting domestic demand, expanding service consumption and promoting trade in services.

"Strengthening social welfare can help reduce income inequality and ease consumers' concerns about the future, thereby supporting consumption," he said.

Meanwhile, analysts also pointed to infrastructure investment as an effective tool for boosting domestic demand and stabilising growth in the second half of the year, as the readout underscored the need to advance the construction of the "six networks" - a broad infrastructure initiative covering water, power, computing, next-generation telecommunications, underground utilities and logistics networks.

China's contracting fixed-asset investment, coupled with a higher incidence of natural disasters this year, leaves policymakers ample room to ramp up infrastructure spending, Ding said.

Amid a rise in extreme weather events this year, the readout stressed the need to "resolutely prevent major accidents", strengthen risk identification and mitigation, and step up flood control, emergency response and disaster relief efforts.

Other priorities outlined in the readout included continuing efforts to tackle "involution-style" competition, stabilising the property market and pressing ahead with the government's debt-restructuring plan.

Separately, Xi held a symposium on Friday with representatives of the country's non-communist political parties to hear their views on the current economic situation and priorities for the second half of the year, the People's Daily reported on Thursday.

Xi said that China's economy had "pressed ahead under pressure" and "showed strong resilience and vitality" in the first half of the year, while acknowledging "some difficulties and challenges", as reported by the Communist Party's official press organ.

The president emphasised the need to strengthen the effectiveness of macro policy in the second half of the year, prioritising the tapping of potential domestic demand, deepening the integration of technological and industrial innovation, improving people's livelihoods and continuing to defuse risks in key sectors.

Additional reporting by Xiaofei Xu

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Exports reached 26.2 million units worth US$11.28 billion, rising 23.2 per cent in volume and 26.3 per cent in value year on year, according to Chinese customs data.

CFMoto, based in China's eastern Zhejiang province, recently announced that its pre-production sportbike prototype reached a top speed of 315km/h (195mph) during a test run in June, setting a Chinese record.

French rider Valentin Debise won two races in March riding Zhang's ZXMOTO 820RR-RS model, making Zhang a hero on Chinese social media and pushing the sport firmly into the spotlight.

ZXMOTO has now won six WorldSSP races and sits third on the manufacturers' ladder behind Yamaha and Ducati. Debise is second in the riders' championship race.

But for now Chinese brands remain concentrated at the cheaper end of the market.

The five bestselling brands in Europe - scooters included - in the first half were Honda, Yamaha, Piaggio, BMW and Kawasaki, according to MotorcyclesData.

Sixth was Voge, from China's southwestern Chongqing municipality. Its sales rose 55.4 per cent year on year.

Additional reporting by Mia Nurmamat

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Underlying net profit declined 10 per cent from a year earlier to HK$1.44 billion (US$184 million) in the six months ended June 30, while revenue rose 23 per cent to HK$6.11 billion, driven by the handover of residential units at Hong Kong projects including The Aperture in Ngau Tau Kok. Net profit attributable to shareholders decreased 17 per cent to HK$758 million.

The company also announced a change in management. A CEO-designate will join the company on September 7 and succeed Weber Lo as CEO on October 1, ending Lo's eight-year tenure. Chairman Adriel Chan credited Lo with leading the company through "challenging" years which included the coronavirus pandemic and China's prolonged property downturn.

Chan described Hang Lung's performance this year as "relatively good" given China's uneven property recovery. While consumer spending started the year strongly, momentum faded in the second quarter, though he said he remained "cautiously optimistic" that the full-year outlook "won't be too bad".

The biggest drag came from the development business. Although revenue from home sales surged more than sixfold to HK$1.04 billion thanks to a recovery of Hong Kong's luxury property market, the segment still posted a wider operating loss after the company took HK$124 million of non-cash impairment charges on slow-selling mainland residential projects such as Heartland Residences in Wuhan, central Hubei province.

Lo said the writedowns reflected a "prudent" accounting approach, particularly for the Wuhan flats.

The contrast was most evident in Hang Lung's investment-property portfolio, which generated the bulk of the group's earnings.

Lo said the growth reflected a broader mix of tenants rather than sole reliance on luxury brands.

That shift prompted Hang Lung to rethink its plans for Plaza 66 in Shanghai, long regarded as mainland China's benchmark luxury mall. Lo said the company was adding rooftop gardens, art spaces and expanded dining areas to encourage visitors to spend more time at the mall rather than simply shopping for luxury goods.

Offices remained the company's weakest link. Rental revenue from mainland offices fell 11 per cent in renminbi terms, with income at Plaza 66's office tower down 17 per cent. Lo said the company was willing to cut rents to retain "the best tenants" and keep occupancy rates above 80 per cent.

Finance costs also weighed on earnings as completed projects reduced the amount of interest that could be capitalised, pushing more borrowing costs onto the income statement.

Chief financial officer Kenneth Chiu said the company planned to increase its use of lower-cost yuan borrowings, which already accounted for about half of its debt.

The company maintained its interim dividend at HK$0.12 per share.

Looking ahead, Hang Lung plans to open three hotels in Wuxi, Hangzhou and Shanghai over the next 18 months, betting that domestic tourism will continue to outpace other parts of China's consumer economy.

While the hotels segment "is not the most profitable", Lo said they helped to drive traffic and lifted the value of the group's surrounding malls and office buildings.

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"For assets such as office buildings, prices have already retreated significantly, plunging 30 to 40 per cent from their peaks," said Candice Wang, head of capital markets for eastern China at commercial property services firm CBRE.

"We believe there is limited room for further [price] declines. Consequently, we think a strategic opportunity to enter the market is offered to investors this year."

In Shanghai, the number of commercial property deals jumped 77 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026, while the total value of those transactions was up 18 per cent at 27.4 billion yuan (US$4.05 billion), CBRE data showed.

Half of those deals involved office assets, and 60 per cent of the buyers were purchasing the properties for their own use, according to CBRE.

In many cases, corporate buyers felt office prices would soon bottom out after a series of recent drops, and they had decided to invest now to avoid higher costs further down the line, said property services firm JLL.

Investors had been buying up prime assets located within Shanghai's Inner Ring Road in particular, according to Sun Ling, head of JLL's capital markets ­division in east China.

More than 31,000 pre-owned homes in Shanghai changed hands in March, the highest monthly total for five years, according to data from property agency Lianjia.

Monthly transaction numbers hovered above 25,000 over the following three months - well above the 20,000-transaction baseline that local brokers view as indicating a bullish market for second-hand homes.

"If the market could sustain its strong momentum for another three to four months, more would-be buyers of homes and commercial properties would become bullish about the outlook of the real estate industry," said Li Yan, a sales manager at 5i5j Real Estate Brokerage in Shanghai.

"Confidence is much needed to support further [property] price gains."

The upturn is not confined to Shanghai. In Beijing, the value of commercial property transactions reached 25.7 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 50 per cent from a year earlier, while Chengdu reported a 92.5 per cent year-on-year jump in deal value, according to CBRE data.

In late June, the mainland's first four exchange-traded Reits backed by commercial properties made their trading debuts on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, opening the floodgates for fundraising by office developers, shopping centre builders and hotel owners.

Reits allow asset owners to raise cash from valuable but ­illiquid assets without losing control of them. The investment vehicles also give investors the opportunity to collect regular dividends with income generated by the underlying properties.

Sun of JLL said the market liberalisation had fuelled buying interest in mega shopping malls since it helped developers or owners to diversify risks.

Pacific Securities predicted that the exchange-traded Reits could deliver annual returns of 4.4 to 5.65 per cent, compared with one-year deposit rates of around 1 per cent offered by commercial lenders.

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At the start of this year, the building was only about 20 per cent occupied, according to Ada Fung, chief operating officer of advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong.

The uptick has also started to translate into firmer rents. Recent leasing transactions at Cheung Kong Center II have exceeded HK$100 per square foot, bringing the building closer to rental levels achieved by Central's leading office towers.

CK Asset did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prime buildings such as One and Two International Finance Centre (IFC) have recorded rents above HK$130 per square foot, with both buildings seeing rental growth of more than 20 per cent, according to JLL.

The recovery also appears to have validated CK Asset's decision to hold firm on rents rather than prioritise faster leasing during the downturn.

Executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said at CK Asset's March earnings call that the company "can wait for market conditions to improve" and was "under no pressure to rush" leasing at Cheung Kong Center II, citing the project's relatively low cost base and the group's strong financial position.

Unlike new developments acquired through costly government land tenders, the tower was a redevelopment of Hutchison House, giving CK Asset more flexibility to wait for market conditions to recover.

"CKC II's occupancy rate has increased in recent months. We would fully expect a strengthening in rental tone, with the outperformance of newer high-quality buildings in Central," said Sam Gourlay, head of office leasing advisory at JLL Hong Kong.

Gourlay said the spillover effect remained concentrated in grade A1 buildings and select properties, and cautioned that asking rents could differ significantly from achieved rents.

Fung at CBRE said mainland Chinese companies accounted for a relatively high proportion of Cheung Kong Center II's tenants, while more technology firms had also moved into the building.

She said the tower's harbour views and smaller office suites - which start from about 3,000 sq ft - have helped attract occupiers looking for a Central location.

The people said those concerns had now "faded", while a redesign of some subdivided office floors had also helped support leasing activity, as an earlier layout had proved less attractive to prospective tenants.

According to Centaline Commercial, the vacancy rate for grade A office space in Central fell to 10.41 per cent in June from 14.19 per cent a year earlier, highlighting the improving conditions in the district's prime office segment.

Lewvis Choy, senior regional sales director of Centaline Commercial's office department, said demand from hedge funds, asset managers and financial institutions remained resilient.

Marcus Chu, senior regional director at Ricacorp Properties, said mainland financial firms and state-owned enterprises had become more active in leasing grade A offices in Central and Admiralty.

"Cheung Kong Center II had room to catch up with rental levels at The Henderson and IFC II, but those buildings were unlikely to wait for competitors to close the gap as their own rents continued to rise," Chu said.

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The WSJ, citing unidentified sources, said Musk wanted to reorganise Tesla with a "laser" to address potential conflicts of interest arising from SpaceX's role as a major US defence contractor amid US-China tensions.

Technically, any sale of Tesla's operations in the world's second-largest economy cannot be completed unless the American company receives the green light from Chinese regulators.

Analysts said Tesla's Shanghai assembly, which accounted for 52 per cent of its total vehicles delivered to global customers in 2025, would not be easy to dispose of. China is Tesla's second-largest market worldwide after the US.

"Given the role of its Shanghai factory and China's strong EV supply chain, any potential plan to separate its China business will not be economically viable for Tesla," said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai.

"Nowadays, Tesla remains a global leader in the EV sector, although its Chinese rivals have been growing fast in both the domestic and overseas markets."

More than 95 per cent of all the parts in Tesla's Shanghai-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were supplied by local vendors, she added.

In November, Tao posted on social media platform Weibo that Tesla would not exclude suppliers based on their country of origin as the American EV maker applied unified standards in selecting global vendors.

She appeared to make the statement in response to another WSJ report suggesting that Chinese-made parts would be omitted from the production of Tesla vehicles in the US.

In that earlier article, the US newspaper reported that Tesla planned to stop using Chinese-made components in cars assembled in the US as it sought to reduce reliance on China amid tariff uncertainty between the world's two largest economies.

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In the US, four billionaires have dominated the rankings for nearly three decades. Bill Gates, founder of global software giant Microsoft, was listed as the country's richest man roughly 17 times from 1999 to 2017, according to data from Forbes and Hurun, while Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX and Tesla, has led the rankings since 2022.

Jeff Bezos, founder of e-commerce and cloud giant Amazon, and Warren Buffett, former CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, claimed the top spot in the years between.

"From the diverse backgrounds of the richest people in China, we can see the dynamism of the market of the world's second-largest economy," Hurun Group CEO and co-founder Sinclair Lyu said recently. "China is currently the most diverse and dynamic market in the world."

Lyu said China's wealth creation was closely linked to its industrial development phase and the country's macroeconomic policies.

Over the same period, China's gross domestic product skyrocketed over 16 times from US$1.1 trillion to US$19.5 trillion, securing its place as the world's second-largest economy since 2010, according to World Bank data.

That was much faster than the more than threefold growth of the US economy, even though at US$30.77 trillion last year it remains the world's largest economy.

Though both China and the US are embracing artificial intelligence - a significant source of new wealth in recent years - the holdings of China's richest people trail well behind those of their US peers, with Musk's net worth soaring to US$792 billion by mid-January to claim the top spot globally in Hurun's 2026 list.

However, Lyu said he was confident that China's artificial intelligence-related start-ups could extend the wealth creation seen during the current tech boom, leveraging the country's manufacturing prowess and the potential emergence of tech-savvy young consumers.

"The new economy featuring AI has just started," he said. "The Chinese market continues to offer many outstandingly talented people brand-new opportunities for development."

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The sale price was based on the portfolio's value of A$36 billion (US$25 billion) as of the end of January, plus a premium related to changes in interest rates, collections received and costs. The net proceeds will be used for HSBC's corporate purposes, the filing said.

"The disposal follows a strategic review of HSBC Australia's retail business and forms part of the ongoing simplification of the HSBC Group," the bank said. "HSBC continues to invest in and grow its corporate and institutional banking franchise across Australia and New Zealand, supporting the banking needs of corporate and institutional clients, as well as its private banking and asset management businesses."

Following the completion of the sale, HSBC Australia's corporate and institutional banking, asset management and private banking businesses in Australia will be consolidated into the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Sydney branch.

HSBC said the restructuring would incur US$300 million in restructuring costs and write-offs. After all transactions and reconstruction, it is estimated that the recycling of foreign exchange reserve losses will amount to US$300 million in 2028.

Following the announcement, which took place before the market opened, the shares of HSBC rose 2.4 per cent on Friday morning to a one-year high of HK$168.5 and closed at HK$168.2. The bank will announce its first-half results next Tuesday.

The buyer of the portfolio is Virgo BidCo Pty, an Australian company which is wholly owned by funds managed by affiliates of Blackstone.

"This represents the largest home loan portfolio transaction globally, showing Blackstone's ability to deliver scaled, complex capital solutions to back leading financial institutions and critical sectors of the real economy," Blackstone said in a separate statement.

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Hong Kong actor Fung sold his mid-level Unit C in Tower 2 at 63 Pok Fu Lam for HK$7.05 million this March. He originally listed the property for HK$8.7 million in mid-2023, but lowered the asking price multiple times, which resulted in a cumulative reduction of HK$1.65 million, or 19 per cent. A paper loss of HK$1.35 million was incurred, representing a 16 per cent depreciation in value, after holding the property for six years.

Singer Chan listed his unit with a terrace at The Pavilia Hill in North Point for HK$34 million in 2022 and sold it at a 23 per cent discount in May for HK$26.28 million. A paper loss of HK$233,000 was incurred after he held the property for 11 years.

Joseph Yan, senior principal district sales director at Centaline Property, said that 30 per cent of owners listing luxury homes in The Peak and Southern district had indicated a willingness to lower their asking prices by around 10 per cent.

"I believe there is likely still room for further price negotiation," he added. "Another 20 per cent of secondary owners with listings stated they would 'discuss further' when receiving an offer."

In Mid-Levels Central, only five secondary market transactions for luxury homes were recorded in July, down 75 per cent from the 20 transactions seen in June.

Secondary market sellers had slightly widened the scope for price negotiation to around 3 per cent to 5 per cent, said John Fong, chief district sales director at Midland Realty.

He cited the example of a bank-repossessed property at Sunshine Villa, in the row behind the house owned by Chow, that sold for nearly HK$60 million in late July. With an initial asking price of HK$62.49 million, that represented a negotiation margin of 4 per cent.

Paul Cheung, regional sales director at Centaline Property, said some owners in Mid-Levels who previously set aggressive asking prices had been lowering them in recent months, with room for negotiation of around 5 per cent, though in some cases that extended to over 10 per cent.

He said Unit H on the middle floor of Grenville House, Mid-Levels, had an original asking price of HK$165 million but that had been reduced by 9 per cent to HK$150 million.

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Within six months, 96 per cent of Golomt's yuan payments had migrated from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) messaging network to CIPS, cutting settlement times from one or two days to near real time, while lowering transaction costs for importers and small businesses trading with China.

"Before that, all those transactions were made through correspondent banks, but now Golomt Bank is a direct participant in CIPS, so we don't need to route through other banks," chief executive Amarzaya Odonbaatar said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. "It's quite affordable and saves time for our customers who do cross-border business."

"The main thing is the speed," Odonbaatar said. "We showed customers it is very convenient."

He added he expected Golomt's early adoption of CIPS would trigger a broader shift across Mongolia's banking sector.

"I'm pretty sure within one or two years almost all the big banks [in Mongolia] will be joining CIPS," he said. "That means yuan transactions through CIPS will increase rapidly."

"Year by year, those banks based in Hong Kong are moving into Mongolia more and expanding their customer base rapidly," Odonbaatar said.

Golomt, whose international bonds were listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in 2025, was exploring a London listing because "Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York and EU-based debt investors know us very well" after backing its recent international bond offerings, Odonbaatar said.

But he said Hong Kong would be "an easy route" for future Mongolian mining companies, as China's dominance of Mongolia's commodity trade had made the city a natural fundraising hub.

Mongolian banks have been aggressively pursuing overseas expansion and international initial public offerings to build global awareness in recent years, tapping into massive pools of foreign capital and elevating their own internal governance standards.

However, Odonbaatar said high foreign exchange hedging costs would remain the biggest hurdle, as proceeds raised in yuan would require a swap into Mongolia's tugrik before being lent domestically.

Beyond payments and fundraising, the lender is accelerating its push into artificial intelligence.

Golomt allocates between 60 and 85 per cent of its annual capital expenditure to IT and AI, and it plans to meet Hong Kong-based AI and consumer-scoring companies later this year.

Golomt is the principal sponsor of Mongolia's National AI Campaign, a five-year programme aiming to train 2,500 teachers in AI skills by 2030.

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Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said at a launch event that the smartphone vendor and EV start-up had spent three and a half years developing its Kunlun architecture for assembling the new cars. He added that the new vehicles would have "off-road capabilities while offering users expansive interior space and flexibility in reconfigurable seating".

"We attribute the SkyNomad series' aggressive pricing to the company's ambitious full-year volume target of 550,000 units," Deutsche Bank said in a research note on Friday. "With only 180,055 units sold in the first half, Xiaomi needs to sell an average of 61,000 units per month in the second half of 2026 to reach this target."

The extended-range classification applies to cars that can travel more than 1,000km on a single charge, thanks to a small petrol-powered engine that recharges the battery but does not drive the wheels.

Lei said the SkyNomad vehicles featured its Dragon Armour battery system, with a battery-pack structure optimised for better performance and safety in range-extended vehicles.

Debuting in China at the end of 2019, the Model 3, assembled at the Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai's Lingang free-trade zone, led the country's premium electric sedan category until 2024, despite massive efforts to unseat it by rivals, including Nio, Xpeng and IM Motors.

At the end of June, global consultancy AlixPartners predicted overall sales of light vehicles - passenger cars and pickups - in China would slump 10 per cent year on year to 24.6 million units in 2026, owing to a shaky economy and softening government support.

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"Amid recent equity weakness, this appears to reflect policymakers' commitment to supporting the market," said Scarlett Liu, an equity derivative strategist at BNP Paribas.

That was echoed by brokerages including GF Securities and China Merchants Securities, which said that the tone regarding capital markets at the Politburo meeting signalled an increased chance that Beijing would take more meaningful actions to stabilise stocks.

State buying may have been behind surging purchasing interest in exchange-traded funds tied to mainland-listed stocks this month, with about 460 billion yuan of inflows being recorded, according to BNP. While government intervention might not put an immediate floor on stocks, the French bank added, historical data showed that China's markets were inclined to post solid performances in the medium term on the back of the support.

China's fresh supportive measures would likely be measured and specific, mainly targeting the technology sector that was at the centre of the US-China rivalry, according to Stephen Innes, a managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

"Beijing remains committed to building a sovereign technology stack, while US restrictions make domestic capability more strategically valuable," he said.

"Chinese platforms continue to develop competitive models and applications, and there will almost certainly be another cycle of policy support, capital expenditure and technological progress."

"In the near term, investors are likely to focus more on the pace and scale of follow-through implementation, particularly regarding fiscal spending, monetary easing, property policies and capital market reforms," said Zhu Chaoping, a strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

"If more concrete measures are delivered, the meeting could provide a constructive backdrop for Chinese equities and broader risk assets in the second half of the year."

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The state-backed maker of memory chips saw its market capitalisation surpass 4 trillion yuan (US$592 billion) on Friday amid a broader chip stock surge. It first ascended to the top of the list on Monday, ending its first trading day with a value of 3.28 trillion yuan after hitting 3.68 trillion yuan amid unprecedented turnover during the day.

CXMT's top ranking ends two decades of market-cap dominance by state-owned energy conglomerates, lenders and traditional consumer brands on China's onshore stock market.

Below are some of the defining corporate giants that have held the top spot among mainland-listed, yuan-denominated stocks, also known as A shares.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

The state-controlled commercial lender had the largest onshore market capitalisation in 2006, from 2015 to 2019, and again in 2024.

As a pillar of China's banking system, its landmark 2006 IPO featured simultaneous offerings of A shares and Hong Kong-listed H shares, ushering in an era of credit-supported infrastructure investment.

In 2007, ICBC surpassed Citigroup to become the world's most valuable bank. It hit its all-time combined A+H market capitalisation peak of US$387.9 billion in July 2025.

Two of China's other state-owned banks, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank, have also held the top spot in market capitalisation at various times.

The state-owned baijiu distiller, controlled by Guizhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, dethroned state industrial and financial titans to hold the top spot in market capitalisation from 2020 through 2023.

Dubbed "liquid gold", the high-proof sorghum spirit is China's national liquor. Famously used to toast foreign dignitaries like Richard Nixon, it blends deep political heritage with elite social status.

At its peak in February 2021, when its overall market capitalisation hit US$453.9 billion, the luxury spirit producer became the single most heavily bought stock among domestic mutual funds.

The state-owned energy giant claimed the top market-cap spot upon its Shanghai debut in November 2007, as China's heavy industrialisation drive pushed the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to a record high.

At its intraday peak, the dual-listed oil major reached a combined A-share and H-share market capitalisation of US$1.22 trillion, surpassing ExxonMobil as the world's most valuable company and accounting for more than 23 per cent of the Shanghai benchmark's weight.

The state-owned refining giant went public in August 2001 and was one of the most influential blue chips in the early growth phase of the mainland stock market.

Following its debut, the refiner became the first onshore enterprise to break 1 trillion yuan in peak total valuation, ending each year from 2001 to 2003 as the most valuable listed company on the A-share market.

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While the campaign has sparked some concern in Hong Kong, CICC expressed optimism about the city's fund development prospects and its open-ended fund company structure.

"We have strong confidence in CICC's asset management scale and business, expecting double-digit annual growth. This is based on our long-term positive view of Chinese managers going global and cross-border capital flows between the two markets," said Qingchuan Liu, the firm's head of asset custody services and also a managing director.

More Chinese asset managers are choosing Hong Kong as the primary base for their going-global strategies, according to CICC, which was the biggest sponsor of initial public offerings in Hong Kong during the first half of the year.

This year, the trend has shifted from "strategic overseas trials" - mostly consisting of single product launches - to a new phase of "globalised operations", with managers building large teams, setting up entities, obtaining multiple licences, and launching multicurrency products, Liu said.

Hong Kong now has more than 130 mainland private equity firms holding a "type 9" licence, which authorises them to act as asset managers in the city, according to CICC data. More than 40 of those players are domestic private funds with more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.48 billion) in assets.

"As Chinese entrepreneurs expand industries overseas, they generate substantial demand for US dollar asset financial management and allocation, naturally creating demand for long-term private fund partners to offer corresponding offshore products," Qiao said.

Mainland Chinese private managers looking to go global tend to first extend their operations to Hong Kong, with most investors initially choosing Greater China assets as they align with domestic investment frameworks, according to CICC.

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Still, China remained No 1 in dollar volume at US$7.6 billion, indicating an average purchase price of roughly US$1 million, according to the report released on Wednesday.

High prices and tight inventory outweighed a favourable exchange rate. International buyers bought 67,100 properties, down 14 per cent year on year to the second-lowest level since the association started tracking foreign buyer activity in 2009. The median purchase price was US$465,000.

"Foreign buyers from Canada and Mexico - countries that border the US - bought the most housing units. However, Chinese buyers (from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) spent the most dollars because they bought higher-priced homes, specifically in California," Yun said.

Florida, with its beaches and favourable winter climate, was the top US destination for foreign homebuyers, with 20 per cent of all international buyers purchasing properties there. The next most popular states were California, Texas, New Jersey and Georgia.

However, Florida has imposed stricter curbs on overseas buyers. Last November, a federal appeal court approved a controversial law that restricted Chinese buyers who were not US citizens or permanent residents - also known as "green card" holders - from buying property in the state, enabling enforcement of the ban.

The report also noted that foreign buyers living in the US as recent immigrants or visa holders bought 37,600 homes, representing 56 per cent of all foreign purchases. Foreign buyers who lived abroad acquired 29,500 homes.

Over the 12-month period, foreign buyers bought US$45.3 billion worth of existing US homes, making up 2 per cent of total home sales, down 19.1 per cent year on year.

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Private home prices in the city rose by 0.3 per cent in June from a month earlier, extending their gains for a 13th consecutive month, according to data released by the Rating and Valuation Department on Wednesday.

The city's home-price index climbed 7.9 per cent in the first six months of 2026 - the strongest first-half increase since 2019 - but still remained about 19 per cent below its September 2021 peak.

The latest figures suggest the market has already achieved most of this year's expected gains, with analysts increasingly expecting prices to stabilise rather than continue climbing at the same pace.

"As prices have already advanced by 7.4 per cent year to date, this suggests limited upside for the remainder of the year, with the market likely to enter a consolidation phase as earlier gains are absorbed and price momentum softens," said Eddie Kwok, executive director of valuation and advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong.

The consultancy maintains its forecast of 5 per cent to 10 per cent growth in Hong Kong residential property prices over the course of 2026.

Derek Chan, head of research at Ricacorp Realty, said June's slower monthly price increase reflected changing market conditions after a strong run earlier this year.

"The market was still active in late May, with both the primary and secondary sectors recording healthy transaction volumes," Chan said. "However, sentiment cooled quickly in June as the conflict in the Middle East unsettled financial markets, stocks fell and concerns over interest rates resurfaced."

"Demand continues to be supported by ongoing talent inflows and a steady rise in non-local student numbers," Kwok said.

CBRE expects residential rents to rise 5 per cent to 8 per cent this year as leasing activity picks up during the summer peak season.

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The acquisition comes as Hongkong Land steps up efforts to grow its fund-management business.

Wheelock Place comprises a 21-storey commercial building with offices, a retail podium and two basement levels containing shops and car parks. The property has a gross floor area of about 43,280 square metres (466,000 sq ft) and is directly connected to the Orchard MRT station.

Hongkong Land established SCPREF in February to acquire income-producing commercial properties in Singapore's central business district and Orchard Road precinct. The developer, which is the fund's manager and largest unit holder, said it would inject additional equity to maintain its majority stake following the acquisition.

Group CEO Michael Smith said the transaction represented the fund's first acquisition and marked Hongkong Land's entry into Singapore's Orchard Road commercial market through SCPREF.

"While this S$1.1 billion acquisition only represents 1.7 per cent of [Hongkong Land]'s US$51.8 billion [in assets under management], we view it as a meaningful step forward for its fund platform and an important milestone as [it] transitions from capital recycling to capital deployment," said a Citi research report issued on Thursday.

Hongkong Land said in its earnings statement on Tuesday that it had recycled US$3.7 billion of capital under its Strategic Vision 2035, equivalent to 93 per cent of its end-2027 target, while reducing net debt to US$3.4 billion. It also reported a 13 per cent increase in first-half underlying profit, helped by lower financing costs following asset disposals.

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The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index of the biggest Chinese companies listed in the US has bucked a broader sell-off since the Fed's July rate-decision meeting, rising 1.7 per cent.

Chinese stocks trading in the US aren't a crowded trade or high-leveraged bets and they are now viewed more as defensive in an uncertain market

"Chinese stocks trading in the US aren't a crowded trade or high-leveraged bets and they are now viewed more as defensive in an uncertain market," said Wang Chen, a partner at Xufunds Investment Management in Shanghai.

"For US stocks, the rate issue is like a knife hanging overhead that will cause disruption until a hike really materialises."

Migrations into companies with a defensive profile and clearer earnings outlook also took place in US stocks, with funds flowing to the pharmaceutical and consumer sectors from AI-linked names.

The Golden Dragon China Index, whose biggest constituents include Alibaba, JD.com and NetEase, is on course to outperform key US benchmarks this month. It has risen 7.4 per cent in July, beating a 10 per cent decline in the Nasdaq 100 and a 2.4 per cent retreat in the S&P 500.

The Hang Seng Tech Index tracking the likes of Alibaba and Tencent Holdings has risen about 7 per cent this month, withstanding the unravelling of AI fervour. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

The gap between Warsh's commitment to fighting inflation and the Fed's inaction could pose a challenge for market pricing, with the bond market throwing into question the central bank's resolve, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.

Investment banks are split over the monetary outlook. Bank of America predicted that the Fed would raise the borrowing costs by 25 basis points each at the remaining three meetings this year, while Citigroup forecast cuts amid cooling inflation and a softer labour market.

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The transaction, executed by China Construction Bank's (CCB) Xiamen branch in coordination with its Labuan branch in Malaysia, enabled a local importer to pay directly in e-CNY, China's central bank digital currency.

The deal completed a bilateral digital-currency loop following an inbound trial in January.

Traditional cross-border settlement has long been a key industry pain point for perishable tropical imports like durian, which are highly sensitive to processing speed and transaction costs.

By contrast, the e-CNY bilateral mechanism slashed clearing times to 30 minutes via direct bank-to-bank ledger transfers, bypassing intermediary clearing banks and allowing overseas recipients to convert e-CNY directly into Malaysian ringgit without extra fees.

Frozen durian shipments reached nearly US$202 million, with Kuala Lumpur aiming to expand the annual value of its total durian exports to China to more than 900 million ringgit (US$220 million) by 2030.

As a hub for Southeast Asian agricultural imports and exports, Xiamen, in China's southeastern Fujian province, saw CCB process several billion yuan in cross-border digital-currency transactions in the first half of 2026.

To lower technical integration barriers for foreign institutions, China launched the commercial operation of its upgraded Cross-Border e-CNY Express Service (CBETS) platform in Shanghai on June 16. Connected via a Hong Kong access point, the infrastructure allows overseas banks to process round-the-clock digital payments without overhauling legacy IT systems.

CBETS signed up 26 licensed financial institutions at its launch, covering trade, investment, and regulated digital assets across Hong Kong, Macau, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Industry experts said that while operational hurdles like cross-jurisdictional compliance remained, the two-way corridor offered a scalable model to reduce reliance on single international clearing networks.

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They were both reacting to the collapse of Situational Awareness, a fund founded in 2024 that bet big on AI. It offloaded billions of dollars' worth of technology shares - funded with bank loans - to Citadel on Thursday, suffering heavy losses after it was unable to meet the collateral demanded by the lenders.

In July alone, Situational Awareness, which bet heavily on the AI supply chain including memory-chip makers SK Hynix and SanDisk, and AI cloud-computing provider Nebius Group, saw its portfolio value plummet 67 per cent, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a letter from the firm to investors.

A similar fate befell Shanghai investor Zhang, who borrowed money to double down on AI and semiconductor stocks. "Now it's all been wiped out," he told SCMP on Friday, adding that he has been stuck paying the high margin interest - 8 per cent annualised.

"Over the past month, there was one day when I lost more than 200,000 yuan (US$29,576) - or [the value of] a Tesla car", he said.

But Zhang remains bullish over the long term. "The future belongs to technology, belongs to AI. Even if there's a bubble in the short term, I still believe in the long-term story," he said.

Similarly, Shen said that AI would eventually generate substantial profits, but getting the long-term direction right was not enough because clients, risk managers, counterparties, prime brokers and distributors could all force an early exit.

"Any one of those links can break," Shen said. "You may not live to see AGI," referring to artificial general intelligence, a high level of cognitive intelligence where AI can match or even exceed human beings.

Achieving AGI and the enormous value that it would unlock was also a belief held by Situational Awareness founder Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher in his mid-20s, whose 2024 essay on the subject went viral. In the 165-page article, he argued that "AGI by 2027 is strikingly plausible", and he then turned bullish on AI infrastructure stocks.

Aschenbrenner's theory helped his investment business grow, even though he had no professional experience with capital markets. Starting with a few hundred million dollars, the fund was worth US$45 billion at one point.

The substantial returns attracted big banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America (BofA), with some offering to lend four to five times the size of the fund's capital, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

"The lesson is old: an investment thesis may ultimately prove correct, but leverage won't give you time to wait for it to be validated," Dan said.

Since OpenAI's ChatGPT ignited AI market momentum in late 2022, experts have been divided on whether there is a bubble around the technology. A February survey by BofA found that 23 per cent of investment-grade clients said the threat of an AI bubble was their top concern - even higher than geopolitics.

Chinese economist Justin Lin Yifu last year warned that the US AI bubble would burst in 5 years, causing another global shock comparable to the 2008 financial crisis.

Michael Field, chief equity strategist at Morningstar, noted in May that "AI isn't a bubble that's going to burst any time soon - the underlying fundamentals are robust".

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In a post on social media platform X on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced an 80 per cent drop in developer pricing for its lightweight GPT-5.6 Luna model, bringing application programming interface (API) costs down to US$0.20 per million input tokens and US$1.20 per million output tokens.

API fees are what developers pay to integrate AI features directly into their own apps and services.

The San Francisco-based company also cut rates for its mid-tier GPT-5.6 Terra model by 20 per cent - to US$2 per million input tokens and US$12 per million output tokens - while introducing a "fast mode" for its flagship GPT-5.6 Sol that it said would boost performance speed up to 2.5 times.

The trio of models was introduced earlier this month.

OpenAI's dramatic price cuts instantly propelled GPT-5.6 Luna into the "most attractive" tier in intelligence-per-dollar rankings by research firm Artificial Analysis, placing it above Chinese rivals such as Zhipu AI's GLM-5.2 and MiniMax's M3.

The move highlights mounting pressure on Western technology giants as open-weight and accessible Chinese alternatives win over international developers with aggressive pricing and rapidly improving capabilities.

Earlier this week, Beijing-based Moonshot AI launched API access to its flagship open-weight Kimi K3 model. The model outperformed OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 on Arena AI's benchmark for front-end web development tasks.

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Kimi K3 scored higher than GPT-5.6 Terra and Luna, though it still trailed GPT-5.6 Sol.

In the intensifying model war, cost-efficiency has become a key competitive metric, investment bank Jefferies said in a research note on Friday. While Chinese models had historically been offered at a fraction of Western prices, recent reductions by US leaders had significantly narrowed the gap, it said.

Despite OpenAI's reductions, several other Chinese models remain highly competitive on price.

Zhipu AI's GLM-5.2 is priced at US$1.40 per million input tokens and US$4.40 per million output tokens, while MiniMax's M3 costs as low as US$0.30 per million input tokens and US$0.60 per million output tokens.

DeepSeek's V4-Pro also remains affordable, at US$0.435 per million input tokens and US$0.87 per million output tokens.

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"The happiest part is often the waiting," Song said of his decision to buy the female version of the U1 Pro, made by Shenzhen-based UBTech Robotics.

Unlike industrial robots built for repetitive tasks in controlled settings, household humanoids must navigate unpredictable spaces, interact naturally with people, and eventually deliver real companion value - or even domestic help.

UBTech is among the first Chinese makers attempting the leap. The company said its U1 series had racked up 13,361 orders by June 30 - less than a month after opening pre-sales in early June - with initial deliveries scheduled to begin on September 16.

The line-up spans three models - Lite, Pro and Ultra - ranging from partial-body units to full-sized humanoids, with prices running from 119,800 yuan to 990,000 yuan. Designed primarily for emotional companionship, the robots were capable of facial expressions, voice interaction and artificial intelligence-driven conversations, according to the company.

For some early buyers, the draw is less about everyday utility than securing a front-row seat to technological advancement.

Yang, a 30-year-old tech enthusiast from China's southwestern province of Yunnan who also bought a female U1 Pro, admitted his expectations were modest. "I usually buy automated devices and emerging tech products," he said. "I don't have very high expectations, but since I bought it, I don't plan to return it."

Ma, from the eastern province of Jiangsu, requested a full deposit refund after watching the launch event online. Initially drawn to the idea of an emotional companion, she said the current tech fell short of her expectations.

These mixed responses highlight the sector's challenge: consumers are being asked to buy into a grand vision before humanoids can handle the everyday chores long associated with household assistants.

UBTech founder and CEO Zhou Jian acknowledged these limitations, saying emotional interaction was a realistic entry point while physical capabilities catch up.

"With AI capabilities developing … robots can first achieve companionship through large language models and emotional AI models," Zhou said in an interview during the launch event. "Household tasks such as cleaning, washing clothes and cooking can eventually be integrated with emotional interaction."

Despite the hurdles, market watchers see long-term upside driven by shifting demographic trends.

Investors argue that domestic robots could eventually dwarf the industrial market by overcoming traditional barriers to home help, such as privacy concerns and personal friction.

"If a machine could take care of household chores, the potential market would be enormous," said Zebin Wang, an investment manager at JG Investment, likening the trend to the early adoption of robotic vacuum cleaners.

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"Why is Huawei's chip placed right at the estuary?" someone asked.

"And why are AI ethics drawn as twin peaks?"

A staffer reminded us, more than once, that it was art - not an official statement of facts.

The institute, a local government-backed incubator in Shanghai designed to bridge academic research and commercial application, seemed to embrace this sense of theatre. Even its entrance made a statement: to open the doors, visitors pressed their palms against a giant silicon chip that glowed as the panels slid apart.

Yet during my recent tour of labs, tech firms and think tanks across Shanghai and Hangzhou, that ink-wash atlas felt less like artistic whim and more like an expression of ambition.

The China-US technology contest has evolved far beyond a race for chips, models and benchmark scores; it is now a struggle over soft power. The ultimate prize is not just owning cutting-edge technology, but the power to dictate its rules, frame its ethics and command global influence.

In short, it is a battle over who gets to draw the map.

Around the same time, Beijing-based Moonshot AI released Kimi K3 - a massive 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model - reigniting fierce debate in Washington over open-source security risks.

As the superpowers lock horns, researchers on the ground are left navigating the divides.

"Openness is not the fundamental aspect of AI risk," said Dai Jiarun, an assistant professor at Fudan University and cofounder of Nuwa Frontier AI Safety Lab.

What mattered more, he argued, was what a model could do, how costly it was to deploy and what access it received. The lab is building third-party evaluation infrastructure.

Large open-weight models still required expensive computing systems to run, Dai noted, while malicious actors could still exploit powerful closed models through APIs.

Yet as cross-border data controls tighten and model access is restricted, the lack of collaboration is becoming the default setting - with serious consequences. Researchers at Nuwa warned that fracturing the global AI community eroded the shared standards, benchmarks and empirical evidence needed to govern the technology safely.

High-level dialogue remains sporadic. While Washington and Beijing were expected to hold formal AI talks in September, according to US President Donald Trump, China's foreign ministry, responding in familiar diplomatic rhetoric, said that Beijing was willing to work with Washington to "implement the important consensus reached by the two presidents" on AI.

While navigating external tensions, China is rapidly assembling its own internal regulatory scaffolding. Academia, industry and state authorities are working closely together, trying to move as fast as the technology itself.

"China's policymaking process isn't a black box," said Yao Xu, secretary-general of the Global AI Innovation Governance Centre, a Fudan-based think tank. He noted that policymakers actively consult industry experts and players before drafting rules, with think tanks serving as bridges.

At Ant Group's sprawling Hangzhou campus, where the fintech giant is deploying AI in payments and healthcare, that pragmatism takes a concrete form.

"We govern through development, and develop through governance," said Wang Weiqiang, head of Ant's model safety team, pointing to the strict risk controls demanded by the financial and medical sectors.

Ant is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.

An industry representative who sat in on AI standard-setting meetings described rooms breaking out into heated debates. A reassuring sign, I think, that the process was being taken seriously.

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H3 was currently the world's most powerful AI model in video editing, according to benchmark platform Artificial Analysis. However, it trailed Google's Gemini Omni Flash in text-to-video tasks, and ranked behind both ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 and Gemini Omni Flash in image-to-video capabilities.

Designed for commercial content creation across film, advertising, video games and product design, H3 is currently available via an application programming interface and MiniMax's consumer-facing Hailuo AI platform.

Full model weights were slated for release "in the coming days", MiniMax said on Friday.

While MiniMax's previous Hailuo video models were proprietary, it decided to open up H3's weights to "support the open-source community" and let users customise their own versions with "a broad range of AI hardware", MiniMax said, citing hardware compatibility as a "key consideration" in H3's design. Weights are the underlying parameters that encode an AI's intelligence.

"Closed-source models have long dominated video generation, with slower iteration and a less open ecosystem than fields like large language models," the company said in a blog post on Friday.

MiniMax would release H3's weights under the MiniMax Community License, which permits free non-commercial use and commercial use for organisations with under US$20 million in annual revenue with attribution requirements, according to Artificial Analysis.

When available for download to the public, MiniMax H3 would become the world's "strongest" open-weight video AI model, Artificial Analysis said.

H3 was priced at about half as much as peer offerings at 768p resolution (1,366 by 768 pixels) and only a third as much at so-called 2K resolution (usually 2,048 by 1,080 or 2,560 by 1,440 pixels), Jefferies analysts said in a note on Friday.

For instance, MiniMax H3 costs US$7.80 per minute at 2K resolution with audio, while ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 at 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) costs US$22.45 per minute, according to Artificial Analysis. The new MiniMax video model is, however, pricier than Google's Gemini Omni Flash, which costs US$6 per minute, it said.

Chinese tech giant ByteDance also released its new proprietary video model Seedance 2.5 on Friday, boasting its ability to create 30-second videos in a single run with advancements in editing capabilities.

Seedance 2.5 would enable deeper AI use in industries such as education and industrial manufacturing, ByteDance said in a Friday blog post.

ByteDance's annual recurring revenue - a metric that projects 12-month income based on current monthly subscriptions - from large language models had reached US$4 billion this month, sources said.

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Shanghai-based RedNote is planning the 600-megawatt project, either in Ulanqab proper, which is known for its wind and renewable energy projects, or west of the city, with a budget of around 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) excluding semiconductor costs, according to an individual who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the information.

With investment in computing infrastructure coming mostly from enterprises, the Chinese government sees major room for private investment in the sector, Jiang said during the briefing, adding that the agency would strengthen guidance and support to create a more favourable environment for private investors.

RedNote had been in talks to VNET, one of China's largest data centre operators, on the Ulanqab data centre buildout and was targeting delivery in the first quarter of 2027, the person said.

RedNote and VNET did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

RedNote, where users share notes and recommendations on products, travel, fashion and other interests, has also developed its own AI assistant, dubbed Diandian, that summarises content, makes recommendations and plans trips for its users. It joins a slew of Chinese technology firms, from food delivery giant Meituan to e-commerce platform Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, that leverage AI to enhance their products and improve the user experience.

More Chinese companies are looking to strengthen their AI infrastructure.

Chinese frontier AI lab DeepSeek said in April that it was recruiting for new roles, including server maintenance engineers and delivery managers, to oversee data centre launches in Inner Mongolia's Ulanqab, according to job postings.

Inner Mongolia, which has a large amount of renewable energy and relatively low electricity costs, has emerged as a key hub for large-scale data centres, particularly for AI workloads that require vast processing power.

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Mainland Chinese consumers would first get a targeted suite of original Apple Intelligence capabilities, including the Clean Up photo-editing tool, which allows users to erase unwanted objects in photos, according to Cook.

"We are working now through the roll-out of those, and there will be more work required down the road for Siri AI, but we are at the front end of that," Cook told analysts during an earnings call on Thursday afternoon California time.

The roll-out is critical for Apple, which is leaning on AI features to stave off fierce domestic competition in China - the world's largest smartphone market. The news of its expansion arrived alongside disappointing regional financial performance.

Apple's total revenue in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau - rose 22 per cent to US$18.8 billion for the quarter ended June 27, but still fell short of Wall Street estimates of US$19.6 billion.

Globally, Apple's revenue rose 16 per cent year on year to US$109.4 billion, driven by a 22 per cent surge in iPhone sales.

However, Apple warned of worsening "supply constraints" for semiconductors ahead in the September quarter, which would affect iPhone, Mac and iPad manufacturing, leading the company to issue weaker year-on-year sales growth guidance of 9 to 11 per cent.

"With less flexibility in the supply chain, we expect the impact from the supply constraints to increase significantly, sequentially," Cook said, adding that the shortage was driven by stronger-than-expected demand for iPhones and Macs.

Memory costs were expected to be even higher in the September quarter, Cook warned, as the company aimed to offset the pressure with stockpiled inventory amid a global crunch he called a "hundred-year flood".

"We've got a quarter that we're going to be scrambling on the supply side, essentially," Cook said in the earnings call, which was his last as CEO before handing over the reins to John Ternus in September.

"However, Apple is expected to outperform the industry across its key hardware categories, driven by the strength of its installed base and initial positive reception of Siri AI," Pathak said. "June quarter results reinforce this view."

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After the listing, Unitree founder Wang Xingxing and related parties will hold 31.29 per cent of the company's shares and 65.31 per cent of its voting rights.

Unitree will begin book-building on August 5 and set an offer price the following day, with the final results set to be published on August 14.

Unitree said in an IPO filing updated on Friday that its G1, H2 and R1 humanoids and Go2, B2 and A2 quadrupeds had received Federal Communications Commission certification, meaning the models would not be impacted by the new ban.

The US accounted for 18.4 per cent, 19.5 per cent and 13.3 per cent of Unitree's revenue in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively, the company said.

It earlier announced a partnership with Nvidia on a new humanoid model named Isaac GR00T or H2+, due later this year. The restrictions raise questions over whether it will secure US authorisation.

Unitree warned that further adverse US trade, tariff or regulatory measures could hurt growth. It remains on a Pentagon list of Chinese military companies, restricting US defence procurement.

One of China's most high-profile robotics firms, Unitree had its listing application accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange in March. China's securities regulator cleared the registration on July 2.

The company's accounts showed a profitable business in a sector that mostly burned cash. Unitree booked revenue of 1.7 billion yuan last year and adjusted profits of 591 million yuan.

By contrast, its peer UBTech Robotics - which is listed in Hong Kong - generated revenue of 2 billion yuan over the same period, but made a loss of some 700 million yuan.

Unitree has achieved huge popularity in China after its humanoid robots performed during the country's Spring Festival Gala - one of the world's most watched television shows - for the past two years.

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Ant Digital Technologies is preparing a financing round ahead of its initial public offering, according to Chinese financial news outlet STAR Market Daily, marking the latest strategic move from one of the units that it spun off. Details regarding the round's valuation, target size, timeline or planned listing venue were not disclosed. The company declined to comment on Thursday.

The pre-IPO push follows a series of capital moves across all three entities.

Meanwhile, database developer OceanBase was seeking its first external equity financing, according to multiple Chinese media reports this week. In response, OceanBase said it was focused on data technology and product innovation in the era of artificial intelligence, adding that it would continue to engage openly with capital markets.

These moves show how the three entities are building separate capital structures, allowing them to raise funds independently following Ant Group's aborted listing in 2020.

In March 2024, Ant said Ant International, OceanBase and Ant Digital Technologies would each establish their own boards and operate independently. The three companies also introduced separate employee share-option programmes designed to better suit their start-up-like status, while Ant Group remained their holding company.

Ant International also connects with banks, card networks, with mobile-payment providers and technology companies collectively reaching about 150 million merchants and 2 billion consumer accounts, according to the company. It processed more than 2 billion cross-border transactions in its core emerging markets last year.

Ant Digital Technologies, meanwhile, sells enterprise technology based on know-how it developed inside Ant Group, including blockchain, privacy computing, digital identity, risk control, mobile-development tools and cloud-native infrastructure.

OceanBase, which developed the distributed database technology originally created to support Alipay, began establishing a more independent ownership structure in 2024.

Ant transferred its shares in OceanBase to 35 new shareholders through a share-swap arrangement, meaning that the database company was no longer wholly owned by the fintech group. The shareholders included entities linked to Ant employees and investment firms such as HongShan, Yunfeng Capital and China Capital Investment Group.

OceanBase subsequently described itself as an independent software company, while continuing to work with Alibaba Cloud to sell its database products.

Alibaba Group Holding owns the South China Morning Post.

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While initial reports largely focused on humanoids and quadrupeds - with the FCC citing supply-chain vulnerabilities and cybersecurity threats - the ban broadly covers devices capable of locomotion, obstacle navigation and certain network connectivity that weigh more than 2kg (4.4 pounds), including docking stations.

That scope appears to encompass a wide range of consumer home tech, including robotic vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers, window cleaners and pool scrubbers. US tech publication The Verge reported that an agency official had confirmed on Wednesday that the restrictions applied to smart vacuums.

The FCC did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Thursday, outside work hours, regarding the scope of its ban.

The policy strikes directly at Chinese manufacturers, which dominate the global home automation sector. Chinese brands Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal Robotics combined to account for 68 per cent of the global robotic vacuum cleaner market in 2025, according to data from research firm IDC. Global shipments rose 17 per cent, year on year, to 24.1 million units last year.

On Thursday, Chinese brands accounted for five of the top 10 bestselling robotic vacuums on Amazon.com.

Beijing-based Roborock captured a leading 24 per cent global market share in 2025, buoyed by top positions in major markets such as the US and Germany, IDC data showed.

None of the Chinese manufacturers immediately responded to requests for comment on Thursday.

The ban threatens to disrupt years of aggressive overseas expansion efforts by Chinese robotics firms.

Roborock's overseas sales jumped 63 per cent, year on year, in 2025 as it expanded its international footprint, contributing 56 per cent of its total revenue, according to the Shanghai-listed firm's annual report.

While the company did not break down its revenue by country, Roborock identified the US as a "key sales market". The firm previously diversified its manufacturing with partners in Vietnam and Malaysia to mitigate tariff risks from the US.

For Ecovacs, based in Jiangsu province, US sales surged 110 per cent in 2025, according to its annual report. Overseas markets accounted for 46 per cent of the company's revenue last year.

Beyond vacuum cleaners, Chinese companies have leveraged deep supply chains and artificial intelligence innovations to secure dominance across multiple consumer-robot categories, including window cleaners, lawnmowers and pool cleaners, according to IDC's findings.

"Chinese manufacturers are setting pricing benchmarks, accelerating cordless transitions, commercialising AI navigation, and scaling globally through e-commerce," IDC analyst Claire Zhao wrote in the report. "Supply-chain depth and rapid iteration have become decisive competitive advantages."

Customs data released last week showed that China exported nearly US$600 million worth of industrial, cleaning, surgical and bionic robots in June, with about 8 per cent of those shipments destined for the US.

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The Beijing-based company decided to integrate the product team of office tool Lark, known as Feishu domestically, into the product team in charge of the Doubao AI chatbot, according to an internal memo seen by the South China Morning Post on Thursday.

The new bigger section would be led by Zhao Qi, who previously oversaw Doubao only, while David Xie Xin, the CEO of the Lark unit, would report to Zhao, the memo said.

Meanwhile, Lark's sales, marketing and customer services personnel would merge with a team under the cloud unit Volcano Engine, establishing a new department responsible for sales and customer service for the firm's model-as-a-service and software-as-a-service offerings, as well as other cloud services, according to the memo.

Tan Dai, the president of Volcano Engine, would take over the new team, the memo said.

Similarly, Lark's development and infrastructure team would be merged into Flow, a division that focuses on AI applications.

ByteDance said the moves aimed to build "stronger AI product competitiveness and customer service capabilities".

While the reorganisation reduces the internal influence of Lark, once considered a promising business, Doubao has emerged as a strong revenue source.

ByteDance's annual recurring revenue (ARR) - a metric that projects current monthly subscription income over a 12-month period - from large language models had reached US$4 billion this month, sources said.

The projected income is the largest known to the public among Chinese AI rivals.

ByteDance, which owns the TikTok and Douyin short-video apps, has been acting quickly to monetise AI.

In early May, the company announced optional subscription plans for the Doubao chatbot, with charges between 68 yuan and 500 yuan per month. A cheaper annual package is also available.

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Reichmanis is best known for her groundbreaking work on chemically amplified photoresists - light-sensitive materials used to etch microscopic circuits onto silicon wafers.

Her chemistry made it commercially viable to pack tens of millions of transistors - or more - onto a single silicon chip, laying the groundwork for the nanoscale semiconductor industry.

"I was shocked," said the 72-year-old Reichmanis, an accomplished US chemistry and materials scientist, in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

China held the award ceremony on July 8 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Recipients came from eight countries: the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Australia, Belgium and Portugal, representing marine engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), photovoltaics and oncology, among other fields.

The award, established by the State Council - China's cabinet - in 1994, honours those who collaborate with Chinese partners on significant scientific achievements, introduce advanced technologies, cultivate domestic scientific talent and promote international scientific exchange and cooperation.

Reichmanis said fundamental scientific research should remain distinct from technological competition.

"Science is a universal language," she said. "Scientific collaboration and communication, and having diversity of interactions … provides global society with a knowledge base that can benefit everyone.

"In a sense, the development of technology can be independent from the science", she added, saying the discipline could be used to build pathways and understanding across borders to help further innovation globally.

Reichmanis' own relationship with China developed gradually, beginning with early exchanges between the two countries' chemical societies before expanding to collaborations with Chinese institutions.

A little over two decades ago, she began taking part in joint activities between the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Chinese Chemical Society, helping organise academic exchanges and build ties with Chinese researchers.

Organisational exchanges gradually developed into a research partnership with Shanghai-based Donghua University. Since 2013, she has worked with the university's State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials to jointly train doctoral students, advance research collaboration and cultivate talent.

Reichmanis said decades working with China had given her a first-hand view of the country's rise in research capabilities.

When she first visited Chinese laboratories in the early 2000s, state-of-the-art scientific instruments had begun to appear, she said, though some were still relatively underutilised.

But since then, she had observed sustained investment in research infrastructure, growing numbers of scientists and students, as well as steadily improving research quality.

As one of the executive editors of the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials, Reichmanis said she had seen a sharp increase in submissions from Chinese institutions.

"The number of manuscripts being accepted is increasing," she said, calling it "a testament to the quality of the research that is being done", adding that the research taking place in China was globally competitive.

Despite her long collaboration with Chinese institutions and early focus on chemically amplified photoresists, Reichmanis dismissed suggestions that she had helped China develop photoresist technology.

Reichmanis said that since her research in the field had been published openly in peer-reviewed journals decades ago, it now served as part of the broader scientific discoveries available worldwide.

"The research I do … is not application-specific. It's in the realm of fundamental science," she said, adding that "the research that I do now is very far removed from my early research".

According to the Lehigh University website, Reichmanis' work focuses on studying how to control materials at the sub-nanometre scale in "transistor devices, photovoltaics and high-capacity energy storage".

An Australian emigrant who moved to the US, Reichmanis started her industry career at the AT&T Bell Laboratories, now known as Nokia Bell Labs, following a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at Syracuse University, where she earned her PhD in organic chemistry at age 22 in 1975.

At Bell Labs, Reichmanis and her team helped solve a critical bottleneck in modern semiconductor manufacturing by developing new "chemically amplified resists" for deep ultraviolet lithography, allowing chipmakers to print extremely small and precise circuit patterns that conventional optical photoresists could not achieve.

Her chemistry work made it commercially viable to pack tens of millions of transistors - or more - onto a single silicon chip, laying the groundwork for the nanoscale semiconductor industry.

Reichmanis credited the achievement to Bell Labs' collaborative culture, emphasising that the breakthrough had been a team effort.

"I'm a very small piece of that really large effort," she said, adding that advances in chipmaking had depended on contributions from chemists, physicists, engineers, materials scientists and equipment designers working together.

That collaborative philosophy at Bell Labs, she said, had shaped her entire career.

"Just about everything I've done in my career has been the result of very valuable collaborations."

"And it's really at the essence of making the world a better place."

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Meta's slip followed Alphabet's quarterly earnings last week, where the Google parent logged its first-ever negative quarterly free cash flow as massive AI outlays outpaced revenue generation, fuelling fears of an AI bubble.

Are Chinese firms facing similar pressure to justify AI expenditure?

Yes. Chinese tech powerhouses and frontier AI labs are locked in a parallel race, escalating capital expenditure to match domestic rivals and US competitors. However, the battlefield is rapidly shifting from model capabilities to capital efficiency and return on investment.

Revenue at Alibaba's cloud computing unit, the e-commerce giant's main AI driver, jumped 38 per cent year on year in the March quarter. AI-related products generated nearly 9 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion), marking an eleventh consecutive quarter of triple-digit growth.

Alibaba Cloud expected its annualised recurring revenue - a key metric that extrapolates current earnings into yearly income - from AI models and application services to cross 10 billion yuan in the June quarter and reach 30 billion yuan by the end of the year, signalling surging adoption.

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

What is the investor sentiment on China's AI spending spree?

Despite scepticism over the sheer scale of capital outlays, some industry watchers argue that China's vast addressable market offers a solid growth runway.

In a research note to clients on Thursday, HSBC analysts acknowledged the market's critical stance on hyperscale spending, but maintained that Chinese tech giants like Alibaba were well positioned to justify their investments over time.

The total addressable market for enterprise AI was estimated at US$1.4 trillion globally and US$178 billion in China alone, according to HSBC analysts led by Charlene Liu, head of Asia-Pacific internet and gaming research.

Globally, investment bank Morgan Stanley remains bullish on hyperscalers, estimating that AI infrastructure rentals, model access and AI-enabled services could eventually generate attractive returns of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent.

The bank's analysts led by Brian Nowak said in a recent note that rising demand for data-centre capacity would continue to favour heavyweights like Amazon.com, Google, Microsoft and Meta.

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The former Chelsea boss's powers of motivation were evident as he coaxed a more assured and assertive second-half performance from his players, following an untidy opening 45 minutes.

"It was mainly positive … I was happy with the performance but there are things we could do better."

The Italian, dressed in club-issue black tracksuit bottoms and polo-shirt, paired with white trainers, was a constant presence on the touchline, often disobediently standing outside his large technical area.

The one time he disappeared from view was immediately after his team sloppily aided Benjamin Pavard's 20th-minute equaliser, Maresca sinking back into his dugout.

It was little wonder he was aghast. Manchester City repeatedly gifted space to Inter wingers Andy Diouf and Federico Dimarco, and it was the latter who collected possession unmarked in the box.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, skittish all night, intercepted the cross but Josko Gvardiol inexplicably turned the ball straight back to Dimarco.

Gvardiol failed to deal with the low delivery, which allowed Pavard, the scorer of one of the great World Cup goals for France against Argentina eight years ago, to convert a scruffy strike.

The defending raised an audible chuckle from the stands when the goal was replayed on the big screens.

"We conceded switches of play [in the first half] … because we were late in the pressing," Maresca said. "We tried to press in a different way in the second half and we were much better."

Donnarumma saved awkwardly from Aleksandar Stankovic, and was soon pawing at thin air following a Nicolo Barella cross. Shortly after half-time, the Italian had to save after gifting possession to Davide Frattesi.

Food for thought for Maresca, who is reportedly on the verge of selling No 2 keeper James Trafford to Leeds United.

William Fang, appointed "atmosphere leader" of City's Shanghai supporters group, which travelled with around 130 members, said pre-match that he would be warming up for his chant-leading duties by sucking on throat lozenges.

Sitting in his HK$2,999 (US$382) fifth-row seat, Fang, who said fellow fans had travelled from Beijing, Zhangye, Shenzhen and Inner Mongolia, would have been called into action when Mubama opened the scoring.

It was a lovely goal, created by Antoine Semenyo, who had already tested Josep Martinez, after the goalkeeper sacrificed common sense on the altar of playing from the back and landed Barella in a tight spot by the touchline, allowing Tijani Reijnders to tee up the winger.

For the breakthrough, Semenyo left Diouf for dust and Mubama arrived to nudge home the low delivery.

A halfway-line attempt from Semenyo that narrowly missed the target indicated that Maresca will give creative licence to his players, the winger then tormenting Pavard before shooting too close to Martinez.

Planning to spend around HK$1,000 on souvenirs before watching his City favourites for the first time, supporter Jason Cho, along with his wife, had got to Kai Tak hours before kick-off.

Cho would have felt he was getting bang for his buck when City began to dominate, hogging possession and creating a stream of opportunities.

Nico Gonzalez struck wide from distance, Victor Reis cracked the bar, and Rico Lewis, now switched to central midfield after performing as an inverted fullback, shot weakly when well positioned.

On the eve of the match, Ryan McAidoo had vowed to "show the world what I can do", and the electric 18-year-old attacker four times came close to netting; the pick of his efforts hit the base of a post after he wove forwards at pace.

After one off-target attempt, he spread his arms, seemingly asking, 'what more can I do?'. More of the same would be the answer. Maresca has a very good young player on his hands.

Not so many good penalty takers, mind, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Abduokir Khusanov and Gonzalez all finding ways to fail from the spot. Claudio Echeverry's Panenka effort finally beat substitute keeper Ivan Provdel, but Matteo Lavelli stepped up to win it, after Piotr Zielinski and Mosconi had already converted, and Donnarumma had excellently saved from Frattesi.

It will be a while before we know whether Maresca is more David Moyes, who cut a haunted figure when he left Manchester United 10 months after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, or Arne Slot, who succeeded Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and duly won the Premier League.

As Maresca said 24 hours before the game, he will be judged every day as we wait to find out whether Manchester City have appointed a suitable heir to Guardiola.

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Young couple Li Xinyi and Guo Jiayu, who flew in from Kunming specifically for the match, planned to stay in the city for three to four days.

At around 3pm, they were grabbing a bite to eat at Airside, a shopping centre near the stadium.

"Honestly, my favourite is Man City's legendary manager Pep Guardiola. Although we won't see him today, it's about sentimentality, so I wanted to come and watch the team play," Guo said.

"Kai Tak Stadium is a professional venue, so the viewing atmosphere will definitely be great, and there are so many passionate fans here today.

"After two months of rest, the players are back in shape ahead of the Premier League season this month. I hope they build team chemistry and reach a new level."

His wife, Li, accompanied him on the trip, taking the opportunity to visit local attractions including Hong Kong Disneyland.

"We bought tickets in the Man City fan section, which cost around HK$4,000 [in total] on the official website," Guo said.

Li added: "On top of that, with flights, accommodation, meals and light shopping, we'll probably spend around 15,000 yuan (US$2,200) in total."

Louis Luo Yi, 14, had a much shorter journey, coming from Shenzhen. His family chartered a vehicle for the round trip with two classmates that cost 1,400 yuan in total.

The teenager excitedly shared that he had supported Manchester City since primary school, and his favourite player was Phil Foden.

"In middle school, I saw him have a breakout season. He's widely seen as Man City's golden boy, and I think he's really handsome."

"I also hope he doesn't get injured. No matter how he plays, I'll always be a huge fan of his," he said.

Each member of the group held Category A tickets, spending more than 10,000 yuan combined. They also visited Victoria Harbour.

"The atmosphere in Hong Kong today is fantastic. I think Man City against Inter Milan will have a much better atmosphere than any match I've seen before," Luo said.

Siu, a beverage promoter at the City'super store in Airside, noticed dense crowds in the mall, pointing out a large number of customers wearing football jerseys.

"There are many local customers as well as tourists today," she said, noting that while concert weekends are usually busy, today seemed exceptionally crowded.

"It's about 30 to 40 per cent busier than usual, probably because of the football match today. Without the match, it would be less," said Siu, who has worked at the store for over six months.

At kick-off, Inter fans unfurled a banner across the South Stand that temporarily covered the crowd underneath. Jin Xiaolong, a Manchester City fan who took the high-speed rail from Qingyuan, Guangdong, was seated in the Inter section.

"I completely understand it [the banner], as football fans, we all get it," Jin said, also expressing surprise at Kai Tak Stadium's air conditioning.

"I thought the stadium wouldn't have air conditioning, so this environment is great. I'm just looking forward to an exciting, high-scoring match," he said.

Pazza Xie travelled from Zhengzhou in Henan province to meet up with his friend Cheung and another university classmate at Kai Tak Stadium for the first time in a year to watch Inter.

"Without an occasion like this, we wouldn't have had a reason to gather from Zhengzhou, Macau and Hong Kong," Xie said. "The win or loss doesn't matter much because it's a friendly match - entertainment comes first, and friendship comes before competition."

Chatting with friends over beers near the food kiosks, Xie laughed off the fact that Inter supporters appeared somewhat outnumbered in the stadium.

"Seeing so many Man City fans was a bit of a disappointment, but it's mostly a friendly match, so coming here to soak in the atmosphere is what matters most," he added. "The beer was great, and the food wasn't too expensive either."

Running from July 31 to August 5, the Hong Kong Football Festival 2026 will also feature Chelsea and Juventus, bringing four of Europe's top clubs to the city.

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The Frenchman had led 5-4 in the set when Wong saved two ⁠set points, and squandered another four set points ⁠in the tiebreaker before finally prevailing.

He said later that things were a bit smoother in the second set as he became "less tense", while Wong "started feeling the pressure".

The two wins had helped Wong become the first player from the city to crack the ATP top 100, and he was ranked at No 90 going into the semi-final against the 21-year-old, who was also playing in his first ATP semi-final.

Gea's win over Wong also helped him crack the top 100, rising from No 127 to No 95 in the live rankings.

In his first ATP Tour final, Gea will face world No 54 Denis Shapovalov, after the Canadian beat Britain's Cameron Norrie 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the other semi-final.

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The lead investor would be a New York-based firm created by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Earlier, Carlos Cordeiro, a top adviser to the Fifa boss and a former Goldman Sachs banker who served on the White House World Cup Task Force, resigned, the latest show of opposition to a plan that had been widely condemned throughout the game.

"Football has been central to my life, and after more than 35 years in banking I understand both the value of this asset and the consequences of giving part of it away. That is why this proposal should be rejected."

Infantino, meanwhile, has seen the goodwill generated by a hugely successful World Cup on and off the pitch vanish in a barrage of accusations about his management style and lack of transparency.

Perhaps with one eye on his re-election, which looked to be a certainty at the start of the week but now has to be in serious doubt, he ended his statement saying he would try and unify the game once more.

"Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support," he said.

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Nonetheless, Maresca did not entirely rule out the prospect of Erling Haaland joining the South Korean leg of City's Asian tour.

Maresca and McAidoo spoke either side of City's 1½-hour open training session on Friday at Kai Tak Stadium, whose bosses announced an attendance of 22,858, from around 27,000 issued tickets. To the naked eye, the 50,000-seat venue appeared about one-fifth full, while organisers might have winced at the sight of the playing field cutting up.

Appointed in June to replace Pep Guardiola, who delivered a mind-boggling 17 trophies during his 10-year tenure, Maresca vowed to do the job in his own style.

"I don't believe in copy and paste," he said. "Every manager can bring something different, so it's my target, and my duty, to try to introduce some new ideas. In general, [the job is] a privilege."

"I think day by day, we're always going to be judged, not just tomorrow," Maresca said.

"We've introduced some new concepts and the main focus tomorrow is to see something [of them]."

Maresca said that Portugal World Cup pair Ruben Dias and Matheus Nunes, and Omar Marmoush of Egypt, would touch down in Hong Kong on Saturday, but that none of the trio would figure against Inter.

After the Kai Tak game, City will travel to Seoul for meetings with the K-League All Stars and Atletico Madrid on August 5 and 9, respectively, both dates falling beyond the mandatory three-week rest period that Haaland had to observe after playing for Norway against England on July 12.

Asked if Haaland and others might surface in the Korean capital, Maresca said: "They need the rest after the World Cup … Ruben, Matheus and Omar will arrive, then the rest of them need a holiday and, slowly, they're going to be back."

Maresca said he could "not say too much" regarding Fifa's plan to seek private investment, claiming he "doesn't know exactly the details".

"Any manager in the world would want Rodri because he's a top player, so it's important for me, for the club, for everyone [that he stays]," said Maresca, who intimated that the club were not finished in the transfer market following their £116 million (US$156 million) capture of England midfielder Elliot Anderson.

While Maresca said that "physical conditioning" was a key objective against Inter, the 18-year-old winger McAidoo, who is likely to play from the bench, said he wanted to use the occasion to "express myself and show the world what I can do".

"They're strong opponents, but we're one of the best clubs in the world, so it's going to be a good game," added McAidoo, who scored on his senior debut in a 10-1 FA Cup rout of Exeter City last season.

Signed from Chelsea two years ago, McAidoo said his first experience of Hong Kong and Kai Tak had been "overwhelming".

"It's a very nice stadium and the fans are beautiful," he said. "If the pitch cuts up, we just have to adapt. It's not really a problem for us."

McAidoo said his two senior appearances last term had been "a confidence booster".

"The more experience you get, the more comfortable you become playing against men," he added. "I want more and more of it, and to become a better player."

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"Having the possibility to get John Stones as a free agent was important for the quality he brings, for the personality and charisma he has, and for the experience he has. It's one more defender and he'll definitely improve that department."

Chivu began his eve-of-match press conference by paying tribute to Franco Baresi, the great former AC Milan defender who died on Friday at the age of 66.

"He was not that old, the expectation is that life goes over 66. It's a sad day."

Having arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday from a German training camp, where they beat Karlsruher SC 2-1 on Sunday following a pair of stoppage-time strikes from Andy Diouf, Chivu acknowledged his side were "still not 100 per cent physically or mentally".

"But we'll do our best [against City], and I'm sure it's going to be a fine game," he added.

A three-time Serie A champion with Inter as a player, Romanian Chivu will be the first manager to encounter a Manchester City team managed by Enzo Maresca.

He praised the "great job" that Maresca did with former clubs Leicester City and Chelsea, adding that the Italian was "the right manager" to succeed Pep Guardiola.

"[Maresca] has his own idea," Chivu said. "He is one of the youngest coaches in the world who has a lot to show and a lot to improve, even though, so far, he has done quite well."

Nicolo Barella, captaining Inter in the absence of regular skipper and Argentine World Cup finalist Lautaro Martinez, last season said he had "hit rock bottom" after the double whammy of Inter's 5-0 2025 Champions League final humbling by Paris Saint-Germain and Italy's failure to reach the summer finals in North America.

A European Championship winner with Italy in 2021, Barella, 29, said: "In football and in life these are situations that you have to face.

"The good thing would be for them to happen as little as possible, but this is football and you have to roll up your sleeves and work. It's the only way forward.

"Follow the coach, follow what we have inside us, and try to find strength. At Inter, I found not only a club but also a group of people, a family.

"So let's say that our characteristic over the years has always been to get back up even when we lost."

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"I think it's almost a unique example, and the first example of a Chinese state-owned company listing a sports entity," Thomas said. "It probably acts as a test case of the way the future of sport is structured, promoted, [and] how investments are evaluated."

Historically, Chinese municipal and provincial governments have managed sports through state-backed arms, evaluating major events and infrastructure investments primarily based on city branding, economic impact and public health objectives.

Under its sports division, Jiushi operated major international event rights while managing venues such as the Shanghai International Circuit, Qizhong Tennis Centre and Shanghai Stadium, alongside an ownership stake in Shanghai Media Group's Great Sports channel.

"They were still beholden under an old sort of governmental structure," the British expert said. "Now there's a more, let's say, overtly commercial position that these companies have to look at, and I think that's really healthy, because it's about developing a commercially sustainable sports and entertainment system across cities."

As a publicly listed company, Jiushi must now answer directly to the market and shareholders, fundamentally reshaping how executive teams evaluate sports projects, he added.

While centred on Shanghai, Thomas noted the public listing also allows Jiushi to pursue commercial expansion beyond its home city.

The Shanghai-based consultant noted: "The general local sports fans, they won't see any change … the stadiums will be the same, the events will be the same great events.

"I think what may change is, because some of the functions are integrated … fans will ultimately have a better experience because the whole ecosystem will start working together rather than as individual companies," he said.

Citing this year's F1 race in Shanghai, which drew around 300,000 spectators and sold out tickets within an hour, Thomas noted that a listed entity could evaluate capital investments strategically to capture unmet demand.

"The supply is not meeting demand - actually, what they need is more seats and more hospitality, so they can sell more," Thomas said.

"When they start to evaluate those sorts of investments, they can clearly do it from strategic objectives and how they can get a better return from their investment from those projects," he said.

The consultancy chief said growing a profitable sports economy aligned with broader national goals in China, where the sports industry contributes roughly 2.5 per cent of national gross domestic product compared with around 4 per cent in the United States.

"By growing a more successful sports industry in a more profitable sports industry, it starts giving greater contribution to the Chinese GDP," Thomas said.

Shanghai's structural reform is expected to serve as a test case for other major host cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Nanjing, where local government entities oversee hundreds of major sports events annually.

"Shanghai, from a sports perspective … is probably a leader of ideas and structures for the rest of the Chinese sports industry," he said. "I think people around China will look at this new model and they will learn from it … we might see more governmental state sports and entertainment companies around China following the lead."

The restructuring comes amid active cross-border exchanges, with Thomas mentioning that a delegation of Jiushi executives visited Hong Kong two weeks ago to see "what Hong Kong is doing", as both cities seek to cement their status as major international sports hubs.

"The Kai Tak facility is probably the best in Asia at the moment … the way the hospitality is done at Kai Tak stadium is better than any stadium in China," he added.

Conversely, Thomas believes Hong Kong and international promoters can learn from Shanghai's digital commercialisation model.

"Jiushi is a leader of how it promotes its events and sells tickets … China has a very different digital environment," he said. "They do all their communication within those environments, especially on WeChat, and they have their own app where they sell tickets … it's a modern wonder how efficient it is."

Yet despite the high commercial potential, Thomas pointed out that moving from a pure state agency to a market-facing listed company comes with immediate operational and cultural challenges, particularly when dealing with loss-making events.

"When your only boss has been the government, suddenly your boss is the market, and that's a cultural challenge," he said.

"They still have massive structural support from the Shanghai government … but you have to look at how you close that gap, spend less public money and make more commercial success for the event."

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"Accordingly, the AFC calls upon Fifa to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework," the AFC said.

On Thursday, Uefa voted unanimously to boycott all ‌Fifa tournaments, while Concacaf, the regional federation for ‌North America, Central America and the ⁠Caribbean, ⁠rejected the proposal.

"In light of the ‌clear positions expressed by Uefa and Concacaf, ‌as ‌well as the unprecedented divisions ‌that have emerged across the ⁠football world, the AFC believes that ⁠the proposed FFE [Fifa Forward Enterprise] cannot realistically achieve the necessary broad ‌consensus and ‌unity required to move forward," the AFC added.

"We will proceed with this consultation process to ensure that each MA [member association] has the ability to express its vote based on facts," it ‌said

It also denied that it was "selling football", which was not something it "would ever entertain".

However, it acknowledged the concerns and feedback "aired in public" and that without the support of Fifa's 211 member associations its "commercial activities would remain unchanged. FFE would not be established".

Fifa's bid to quell the storm appeared to do little to ease fears within Asia, with the AFC suggesting it was time for a root-and-branch review over how the governing body, and by association Infantino, operates.

"The fact that the situation has reached the point where the real possibility of a Fifa World Cup boycott has entered public discourse should concern everyone who cares about the future of our game. Football should never have been placed in such a position," the AFC said.

"While the immediate debate centres on FFE, the AFC considers this issue extends far beyond a single proposal. Rather, it has exposed fundamental weaknesses in Fifa's consultation and decision-making processes that must now be addressed.

"This is not the first occasion where major stakeholders have been confronted with significant initiatives after the direction of travel appears to have already been determined.

"Such an approach undermines confidence in Fifa's governance framework and diminishes the authority of its statutory bodies. The AFC calls upon Fifa to undertake an urgent review of its governance and decision-making framework to ensure that proposals of global significance are developed through proper consultation, meaningful engagement and appropriate oversight by Fifa's statutory bodies."

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The 22-year-old played aggressively throughout his one-hour, 29-minute encounter against Brooksby. Wong finished having won 82 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all four of the break points he faced.

With the victory, Wong rose 12 spots to No 90 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set for a career-high when the updated list is released Monday.

Up next is Frenchman Arthur Gea, who will also be playing in his first ATP Tour semi-final after shocking third seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7, 6-4, 6-0.

After letting slip four set points in the opening set, the Frenchman recovered to produce a rock-solid performance as Cerundolo struggled with a number of uncharacteristic errors. The Frenchman reeled off nine straight games to seal the upset win in two hours and 40 minutes.

"Honestly, I played really well the whole match," Gea said in his on-court interview. "I was under a bit of tension in the first set. But after that I started to play more freely and it was easier."

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"Every time a new manager comes you need to fight for your position, and show yourself in the best light," Gvardiol told the South China Morning Post.

"It's going to be interesting, and something different. In training over the past three days we've been building from the back, so as a player who likes the ball at my feet, I really enjoy it. I'm ready to fight in a good way."

Conceding he "wasn't at my best" during the World Cup as he tried to recapture fitness, Gvardiol said: "This time is important for me … after a few days, I'm feeling muscle soreness, and I'm tired. But that is what I need to get back into the rhythm.

"When we start the season we'll be playing every three days, and it's difficult to prepare yourself."

On as a late substitute against Portugal in Toronto, Gvardiol prodded home in the 13th minute of added time to spark the wild celebrations that gave way to Croatian fury and dismay after the VAR absurdly intervened to point out that the ball had apparently skimmed the head of Igor Matanovic and played Mario Pasalic offside in the build-up.

"It was just chaos, being there on the pitch scoring, then I saw there was a small contact with [Matanovic's] hair," Gvardiol said. "I'd never seen this before, but afterwards we knew it was time to go home."

Gvardiol resolved to allow himself three weeks to "switch off", although initially "there was something going on in my head".

"We got back to Croatia, and I was thinking about myself and my performance," he said. "What could I have done better? A bit of overthinking is normal, but after a couple of days everything settles and you start enjoying your time off.

"It goes quickly and I'm already here in Hong Kong."

A Premier League winner in his first Manchester City season, after becoming the world's second-most-expensive defender behind Harry Maguire when he joined from RB Leipzig for a reported £77 million (US$103 million), Gvardiol has since seen Liverpool and Arsenal finish top of the pile.

Still, Gvardiol was adamant that there was "no pressure" to regain the crown and reassert the stranglehold City exerted over English football for large parts of Guardiola's decorated reign.

"Our limits are set really high and it has to be that way," he said. "It's difficult to say you have to win [the Premier League]; we just need to make clear our goals before the season starts and push for them. Every trophy is important."

Of the Manchester City team that started the 1-0 Champions League final win over Inter that completed their treble shortly before Gvardiol's arrival, only Ruben Dias, Real Madrid-linked Rodri, Erling Haaland and out-of-favour Jack Grealish remain on the books.

He named excellent Portuguese centre-half Dias as the man who was now "always there on top as our leader", adding that "we have great players, we always support each other, and the atmosphere in the dressing room is good".

While Inter Milan arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday with an almost full-strength squad, City are without a handful of leading performers - Dias, Rodri and Haaland among them.

After spending the 13-hour flight from Manchester watching three films, including the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael", rather than tackling his beloved crosswords, Gvardiol urged fans to buy tickets to watch a repeat of that 2023 Champions League final.

"We're in Hong Kong, I didn't know it was this beautiful, and we're playing [a big team in] Inter Milan," he added.

"It's going to be a good game. The manager is probably going to rotate, so you'll see a lot of players. It's a great opportunity."

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Carrying that momentum into the decider, Wong secured an early break in the third set and maintained his advantage to complete the turnaround, covering his face with his hands and shouting in excitement after sealing the win with an ace.

"It's tough. It's like … the whole match was so close," Wong said after the match, admitting he had not expected to pull off the comeback.

"I just tried to hang in there and keep believing and keep trusting myself, because … I haven't played that much in all these big tournaments. So, I'm really happy. I really enjoy just playing on a big court, it means a lot."

Hailing Lehecka as a top-tier player whose matches he watched regularly, Wong said: "I'm just really happy and excited to just share the court with these guys and to be able to get it done, it's another level. So, I'm really proud of myself today."

On court after the match, he also addressed his hometown fans watching the broadcast in Cantonese, thanking them and promising to keep working hard.

"Thank you all for supporting me all this time! Honestly, these past two months … haven't been easy - there were highs and lows, and I stumbled along the way. Even now … it's still tough, but I'm deeply grateful for everyone's continued support!"

The triumph marked the biggest win of Wong's career, lifting his live ATP world ranking to No 102 and leaving him one step away from breaking into the top 100 for the first time.

He will face world No 77 Jenson Brooksby of the United States in Friday's quarter-finals (10am, Hong Kong time).

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"We like to keep this Grand Prix in this zone [Asia], and Hong Kong was a very logical option," Donald Anthony, vice-president of the FIE, said. "The local federation stepped up, made a bid and, based upon what you guys can offer, we think that it's going to be good for the sport.

"And then having the confidence that Hong Kong has really developed into a strong fencing community. You look at the stands and the spectators. We want to go places where we can have that kind of crowd, media attention and support for our sport."

Anthony, who first came to the city for a fencing event in 2017, said the way Hong Kong had staged the World Championships "could be the benchmark" for other host cities in the future.

Hong Kong's foil head coach Greg Koenig revealed "everybody came and said congratulations", and that "Hong Kong did a very, very nice event".

Italian foilist Guillaume Bianchi said Hong Kong gave him "the best world championships ever".

"I've done three, and this was the best because the venue was incredible. Hong Kong is always a good place to fence because there are so many people who love fencing and want to watch us," the three-time men's team world champion told the SCMP on Thursday, at a reception event hosted by the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong.

"I know that next year is going to be a Grand Prix. So I'm very happy that Hong Kong is trying to do as many competitions as possible."

While the venue for next May's event has not yet been confirmed, AsiaWorld-Expo is expected to remain first choice, with Kai Tak Arena and the Convention and Exhibition Centre among the other options.

"We need 14 other competition pistes, as well as 10 to 12 for practice. The Sports Hall at Kai Tak could accommodate 10 for competition based on our National Games experience last year, so we'll need to figure out if we can use the indoor space outside the hall."

Hosting the event right could benefit future generations of foilists in the city.

"As long as Hong Kong hosts well, nobody takes it from them," said Ohio native Anthony. "I think, for me, a Grand Prix is supposed to be a marquee event. It is supposed to give the feeling of the country or city that it represents.

"So being in the city centre, I think, would be a competitive advantage. And that's really what we look for. World Championships are so huge; city centres don't work nearly as well for that kind of competition. But for a Grand Prix, being in the city centre is ideal."

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"[Despite the disappointment] I never give up at any moment, even when it's very tough to push forward with my heart," Macchi, the world No 4, said. "When I compete, I just want to achieve the maximum goal."

The Italian contingent celebrated their World Championships dominance on Wednesday night at an event hosted by the Consulate General of Italy in Hong Kong.

In his address, Giulio Gubert, the deputy consul-general, good-naturedly mentioned that the Ama Ristorante pizzas were pineapple-free - a reference to the social media spat in which Cheung's fans teased Macchi loyalists about their preferred topping, heresy in Italy, after the athletes' 2024 showdown climaxed with a dispute over who had managed the last touch.

There was a measure of revenge for Macchi this week when his Italy team recovered from trailing by eight points to beat Cheung's Hong Kong 45-44 in the team final.

"I never back down, I always give my best in every situation and I'm really ambitious," Macchi said. "My only regret from the [individual] final was that I didn't fence as I had all day."

"He's more experienced than me and has had many years of competition," Macchi said. "For me, it's not so easy to forget bad moments.

"I was so sad after the individual event … but I needed to switch my mind.

"The team event is also important, and winning it is even more beautiful because you share something with your friends."

Macchi estimates that 80 per cent of his sport is contested in the head "because we all have strong techniques".

"The other athlete does everything that you have [to prepare], then you have to find something else to overcome them," he added.

That mental fortitude allowed Macchi and his colleagues to keep their composure in a raucous and partisan AsiaWorld-Expo arena, and ultimately defeat a Hong Kong team with whom the Italians have a "pretty good relationship".

"Ryan Choi [Chun-yin, 2025 world gold medallist] and Ka-long are champions, more than me because they have won [major] titles and I haven't. I really appreciate what they are doing, sharing fencing with people in Hong Kong.

"This is the reason there was a crowded arena, which was very beautiful. It gives me energy. The support was for Hong Kong, but I love that people enjoy fencing this way."

If Choi and Cheung are known quantities, then the quality of Harris Ho Shing-him, the 17-year-old left-hander who has spelled out his 2028 Olympic medal intentions, caught the Italians off guard.

Poised to spend a few days in Macau for a fencing academy project, before joining his family in Malaysia for downtime, Macchi said: "The youngest one won against all of us. He showed up very well, which we didn't expect."

"Anybody can say anything [regarding their ambitions], and I think that he is very strong. We have to see what he's going to do. He has two examples in Ka-long and Ryan who he can learn from, and I hope for him that he achieves his goals."

Unlike the Olympic night terrors, thoughts of going one better in Los Angeles in two years do not disturb Macchi's sleep.

"I don't have dreams, I just believe in working hard," he said. "Even when I have no energy, I try to find more to go forward: watching ahead, not looking back."

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The new Asean tournament will be contested from September 24 to October 3, during a newly elongated Fifa window.

Indonesia will stage the eight-team 'Premier Division", which, curiously, will feature world No 198 side Pakistan, the guest replacements for China, who bailed on the competition to play in a friendly tournament that their football chiefs believe qualifies as better preparation for next year's AFC Asian Cup finals.

Lauded for a 2½-year spell as Hong Kong boss when he qualified for the Asian Cup in 2023, ending the city team's 55-year wait to reach a major tournament, and oversaw the 2022 Asian Games semi-final campaign, Andersen was appointed Myanmar head coach last month.

He is already having an impact, too. Narrowly beaten 2-1 by Malaysia in the opening match of the ongoing Asean Hyundai Cup, Myanmar defied a 23-position world ranking deficit on Tuesday to thump the Philippines 4-1 away and remain in contention for the top-two group-stage finish that would book a semi-final spot.

Ranked No 158 in the global standings, they have games against Laos and Thailand to come.

The existence of the 30-year-old Asean Championship raises questions over the need for Fifa's new tournament, especially with it being squeezed between the current 10-team competition and the Asian Cup finals, which begin in Saudi Arabia in January.

Bounties of US$1 million and US$300,000 for the Premier Division and Challenge Division winners, respectively, in addition to participation payouts of US$125,000, and win and draw bonuses, go a long way to explaining why national associations were keen to overlook any concerns.

Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and invited India complete the Premier Division, alongside Indonesia and Pakistan.

Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) chiefs want to house the city-based tournament at Kai Tak Stadium, but match venues have not been confirmed.

The timing of the new Asean Cup is complicated for Losada and his world No 156 team, given it directly clashes with the Asian Games.

Set to be managed by Lee Man's 2023-24 title-winning boss Tsang Chiu-tat, with under-23 head coach Darren Arnott poised to take over at Hong Kong Football Club, the city squad for the Games also includes senior caps Michael Udebuluzor, Timmy Ma Hei-wai, Ng Yu-hei, Sohgo Ichikawa and Anthony Pinto.

Elsewhere, the HKFA have released fixtures for the new campaign, with promoted Sha Tin meeting Eastern at Mong Kok Stadium in the opening Hong Kong Premier League match on August 21.

Named Sha Tin while the process of rebranding as Supreme Sha Tin is finalised, the top-flight new boys will play home games at unloved Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground in Diamond Hill until March, when renovations on Sha Tin Sports Ground are scheduled to be completed.

To ensure that teams play the minimum 24 matches required to obtain an AFC licence to compete in continental competitions, the HKFA have given the League Cup an odd slant, with beaten sides in every round granted a second chance to progress.

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On that last evening, a producer invited them to a harvest dinner. Around the table sat some of the most seasoned names in China's wine trade - people who had been importing the drink for decades.

"We were telling them about our idea, and they were so excited," Bichon says. "They said they had never heard anyone doing wine this way.

"We were just two kids with no experience. But sometimes that's exactly what it takes."

Since then, they have traded their nine-to-five routines for a life spent filming documentaries in Tibetan villages, hosting natural-wine pairings across Hong Kong, and landing their bottles on the wine lists of Michelin-star restaurants.

Sik and Bichon first met after returning to Hong Kong after studying at university overseas. The pair were introduced by mutual friends and immediately bonded over their love of natural wines, food and drink culture, and the creative community around them.

Three years later, after cutting their teeth in entry-level marketing and management roles, turning that shared obsession into a real business no longer felt like a reckless fantasy.

"To get onto a restaurant list is a lot more difficult than we would have ever thought," Bichon says. "The restaurant business is so hard that once they find a wine that works, they're unlikely to change it. Why would they risk something that's already working?"

"The formula is to be really shameless," Sik says. "Things won't grow until you push hard enough. People respect someone coming in and making you try a new product."

Their persistence is paying off. Purple Rain's wines are stocked at venues around the city, including wine shop chain Leeder Quay, and served at drinking holes like Blue Supreme and Craftissimo, and at Michelin-star restaurants such as Feuille. The team is also currently in talks with the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong hotel.

Purple Rain has hosted roughly 20 events that blend wine with everything from calligraphy to Japanese disco.

A dim sum and natural wine pairing event at Hong Kong's iconic Luk Yu Teahouse sold out quickly, and a collaboration with a major tattoo studio and a DJ in June 2026 drew between 100 and 150 people. The founders are planning larger stand-alone experiences, including a possible screening of their documentary footage at SoHo House.

"We're going to solidify, keep reworking through the summer, and come up with something we like," Sik says.

The pair initially considered importing European labels, but quickly realised the market was saturated. "I did some crazy research, kept digging, and found these garage wineries in Yunnan, up in Shangri-La, different regions of China," Sik says.

Communicating with those producers was an adventure unto itself. Many replied to emails or WeChat messages with vague but inviting responses, leading the pair to plan a road trip fuelled by faith.

Armed with a list of half-formed addresses and with patchy mobile phone reception, they criss-crossed rural China, knocking on doors and introducing themselves as importers from Hong Kong. "That's how we got our first two Instagram followers," Bichon jokes. "Our business card? Us knocking on doors."

Along the way they collected stories that now fuel Purple Rain's identity.

At a Tibetan mountain village 2,800 metres (9,200ft) above sea level, they followed singing elderly grape-pickers and listened as their voices echoed among the peaks. In a settlement in Yunnan near the border with Sichuan province, they stayed in tents on a farm and were woken by the sound of milk yaks. The cold turned their fingers purple.

They ate in villagers' homes, hiked to monasteries, and shot hours of footage that would later become their documentary series, Breaking Wine.

What sets Purple Rain apart from conventional wine importers, the founders say, is that their jobs did not really exist before they invented them.

"Realistically, whatever this job is, it isn't really just an importer," Bichon says. "It combines everything from filmmaking and graphic design to producing our own formulas with producers we're passionate about, curating experiences with event promoters. It's honestly so much fun for someone who wants to bounce between doing different things - it never gets stale."

This fluidity is by design. The company has one foot in logistics and supply chain management and the other in media, events and branding. Bichon does much of the video editing and storyboarding; the pair design their own posters, plan tastings, and talk about "bottling the feeling" as much as bottling wine.

They now work with a handful of producers they bonded with deeply on that first trip, including the winemaker in Shangri-La, in northwestern Yunnan, whose best friend - a Tibetan farmer named Java - has a bottle named after him.

One story Sik and Bichon love to tell involves a grape variety called Rose Honey. Native to France but now extinct in its country of origin, it survives only in a single Tibetan village where French Catholic missionaries planted it in the 1800s.

"We walked into this lady's house, and her whole wall was covered with pictures of French people - but we're in this really rural Chinese village," Bichon says. "[These are] stories that even people in Hong Kong don't know about, and it's right in our backyard. Being able to share that through wines we love is really fulfilling.

"It's the first thing you think of in the morning, the last thing before you go to bed," Bichon adds of the work he and Sik do. "There's never enough time to do everything. It's a constant learning process to prioritise what really makes a difference - you'll never get to the entire list."

That intensity comes with a philosophy they both seem to share.

"I think young founders have a certain amount of delusion that makes sense," Bichon says. "You have to be delusional to start something, and you have to think so far ahead that the little things in between seem small."

Sik shares a phrase the pair often return to: "Macro patience, micro urgency."

Copyright (c) 2026. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Guangzhou bar (which also has a location in Shenzhen) leads something of a changing of the guard. Mainland Chinese representation has ballooned from three bars last year - Hope & Sesame, MO Bar Shenzhen and CMYK in Changsha - to seven among Asia's 50 Best Bars this year, plus three more on Asia's 51-100 extended list. Hong Kong is still one of the most represented territories - but only just, with eight venues on Asia's 50 Best Bars and three on the extended list.

Liu estimates that 90 per cent of his guests are in their early twenties and late thirties, with many travelling from first-tier cities and finding their way to CMYK through resources such as RedNote. Most of these guests - 70 to 80 per cent - are female and are looking for cocktails rather than baijiu.

"When they go out, you don't see four or five girls get together, open a bottle of baijiu," he says, noting that baijiu is more of a dinner and occasion drink. "They want to have some fun, try different flavours, take pictures."

Receiving accolades like Asia's 50 Best Bars, then, seems like an affirmation of this desire for more. Speaking to the press after the top 50 list was unveiled, Hope & Sesame co-founder Andrew Ho joked about the bar's new two-and-a-half-hour wait, but attributes the bar's success to "our perseverance in creating what we believe are great cocktails and, obviously, great hospitality". He adds that "nobody can argue about a well-designed place, good hospitality, and passion".

With an expanded audience, however, clarifying what a Chinese cocktail or service for guests is more crucial than ever. "When you go into a bar, you want the identity of the city. In our bar, you can get it from … what you're eating, what you're drinking, what you're smelling, what you're seeing of Cantonese culture," says Marcia Xiao, another co-founder of Hope & Sesame.

For Liu, combining local and international perspectives helps create familiar flavours while offering something new, especially since Changsha is known for local pickles, chillies, purple sweet potatoes and ginger. "For Changsha, it's very easy because it's a city that keeps a lot of local restaurants, streets and tea culture. Most Chinese bartenders are also very family-oriented, so I think that warm hospitality has always been in our hearts. English is a barrier, but it can be crossed," Liu says.

Some regions even lend themselves directly to a local-international combination. Wong explains: "If you look at the way Sichuan bartenders make their drinks, that's pretty much how Mexican bartenders might make their drinks, [in terms of] the spices, the infusions, these types of pairings."

As for what cities to watch out for? Wong is keeping his eye on Xian, long a cultural and historical centre of the country; Chongqing, known for its spice; and Hangzhou. Chimney from Hangzhou made 91st on this year's 51-100 list, focusing on ingredients like tea and winter melon. "The stuff they're making with local teas and different flavours, it's mind-blowing," Wong says.

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Diners are invited to immerse themselves in this serene space to enjoy their singular, seasonal, multi-course tasting menu, which is at once cosy, present, slightly reverent but never rigid.

"Co" comes from the Latin com, signifying "togetherness", encapsulating both their brand and biography. This husband-and-wife duo run the kitchen as equals, sourcing ingredients from their own 15-acre (six-hectare) farm located 20km (12.4 miles) outside Chengdu.

The land was wasteland when they leased it. Now it supplies the greens, the herbs, the very terroir that flavours their menus. In an era of performative sustainability, their approach is quietly radical.

What makes Co special is not just the awards. It is the quiet confidence of the chef couple, and how dishes arrive like short stories, told by the affable and impressively eloquent restaurant manager Grace Long, who was recently honoured with a prestigious Michelin Service Award.

We began with house-made sourdough baked from a 22-year-old starter. The crust shattered like lacquer; the crumb, still spongy, was laced with the complex tang that can only come from long fermentation. It arrived warm, a small miracle on the mainland that set the tone.

A glistening slab of pomfret was served with a foam of huoxiang, or patchouli (a common herb for fish dishes of the region), and a yuxiang (Sichuan's canonical "fish-fragrant" flavour) butter sauce.

A tale of two chefs

Originally a student of oil painting, Yang pivoted from fine arts to culinary art. His catalyst for expressing his creativity in cooking was probably his mother, his wife conjectures. He recalls the unforgettable memory of a fresh shark soup his mother had serendipitously created after shopping for rare seafood.

Then came Milan, Tokyo and Taiwan. Stints in those kitchens taught him precision without pretension. He returned home carrying the know-how and knives sharpened by experience.

She also staged at two-Michelin-star Quintonil, and fell so deeply in love with Mexico - with its manipulations of chilli that reminded her of her hometown's own culinary traditions - that she nearly stayed there, with Yang's blessing, but fortunately returned to Chengdu.

Here, the vibe is entirely different - a sleek, cheeky, no-reservations counterpoint to Co's hushed refinement upstairs. It is the kind of place where locals linger over cold beers and natural wines, picking at dishes such as rabbit brain mousse with sweet and sour plum sauce on toast, braised collagen-rich rabbit skin, cumin rabbit legs, and a moreish rabbit ragù pappardelle.

You's family connection with Sichuan's macabre street snack runs deep. Her mother's recipe forms the backbone of the fare at their bistro; she and Yang elevate it without losing the street-level soul. The heads of rabbits under six months old are slow-cooked in a master stock until the meat practically falls off the skull. The signature heads come in two flavours - glazed in mala red oil or dressed in their special five-spice sesame sauce.

In a city of a myriad fiery temptations, this husband-and-wife duo has quietly built something unique. Together, they do not just feed you: they tell a delectable story - coast to inland, fine to casual, memory to mouth.

No. 318, 3/F Chinese Financial Centre, 33 Jiaozi Avenue, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

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Named Chaotic Honey, it is a mix of Colombian and Ethiopian beans with cupping notes of peach, white grapes and white flowers - just the thing to cut through the muggy weather as of late.

While it is still in soft-opening mode, early visitors are already raving about the single-origin drip coffee, their banana bread topped with caramelised banana, and its relaxed, vinyl-record atmosphere.

There are also new signature drinks inspired by classic films such as American Psycho (2000) and Amelie (2001).

102-104 Reclamation Street, Yau Ma Tei

Upstairs has a mid-century vibe, with red wine-hued carpeting and sheer half-curtains, and the signature drinks include the cream-topped Viennese coffee and the Berlin coffee, which features a ring of foam dusted with chocolate powder.

Shop 5, G/F & 1/F, 51 Jardine's Bazaar, Causeway Bay

While coffee is still very much the focus - after all, the cafe is known for its Japanese-style direct fire roasting that creates a strong aroma - the luscious, fluffy banoffee pie and limited-edition sesame basque cheesecake drink are also capturing attention.

Shop F, World Trust Tower, 46-56 Stanley Street, Central

Coffee-wise, the menu has it covered with everything from icy espresso tonics to their smooth Creamy Black. Chocolate fans can also opt for their cacao drinks, which include classic hot or iced chocolate as well as cacao husk tea.

Shop 11A, Kam Tao Building, 3A Watson Road, Fortress Hill

Primary may look simple, but it has a wide spectrum of food and drink offerings: there is the classic all-day breakfast but also the more ambitious fish and chips. The coffee menu also features some lesser-seen options like the grape espresso tonic.

132 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po

The Tom drink is inspired by the flavour profiles of Thai tom yum goong soup but uses ingredients such as ginger and four fruits infused into Ethiopian cold brew coffee, while Ceres takes a cue from elements of pizza.

9 Hoi Pong Street, Sai Kung

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Kim plays Nam Da-reum, an ordinary young woman who lands her dream job at online fashion company Appello. It is her ideal role because Lee Chan (Cha), an idol-turned-actor she has long been a fan of, is employed there.

Kang appears as Appello CEO Kang Ha-gi, who shares an unusual bond with Chan. As Da-reum gets closer to her colleagues, a tale of misunderstandings and unexpected romance unfolds. (tvN/HBO Max, August 3)

2. Flex X Cop season 2

Lead cast: Ahn Bo-hyun, Jung Eun-chae

After accidentally becoming a detective in season one, I-soo completes official training at the police academy before returning to the Violent Crimes Unit. Unfortunately, his new team leader is Joo Hye-ra (Jung), the academy instructor who tormented him and continues to hold a very dim view of the detective.

A contentious partnership unfolds between Hye-ra, a former counterterrorism ace, and I-soo, who can lean on his family's immense wealth and resources to give him a crime-fighting edge. (SBS/Disney+, August 7)

3. Our Sticky Love

Lead cast: Jung Hae-in, Ha Young

Ha plays Go Eun-sae, a successful prosecutor whose career is suddenly halted when she develops amnesia while investigating a case. She wakes up in a rural town without her memories or her fingerprints, making it impossible to identify her.

Nevertheless, Jang Tae-ha (Jung), a former boxer now working as a boxing coach, shows up claiming to be her boyfriend. Tae-ha is not telling the truth; however, Eun-sae was his first love. As they investigate what happened to her, the question becomes whether love built on a lie can evolve into the real thing. (Netflix, August 7)

4. A Trap Called Desire

Lead cast: Jang Seo-hee, Jeon Hye-won

Jeon plays Go Eun-seol, a woman falsely accused of murder who attempts to clear her name and seek revenge on those who tarnished it. Standing in her way is Joo Mi-ran (Jang), who has built her life on lies and deception.

In this melodramatic mystery-thriller, Eun-seol digs for the truth, reconnecting along the way with her first love Cha Seok-jin (Seol Jung-hwan, Red Balloon) and locking horns with Cheongma Group heiress Kang Hae-ra (Joo Sae-byeok, Iron Family). (KBS2, August 10)

5. OK! Let's Get Divorced

Lead cast: Lee Min-jung, Kim Ji-suk

Now, after seven years together, Mi-young asks for a divorce while simultaneously trying to protect the company they built together from going under. (KBS2, August 19)

6. New Recruit season 4

Lead cast: Kim Min-ho, Kim Dong-jun, Oh Dae-hwan

Launched in 2022, the military-themed comedy New Recruit enters its fourth season this summer, with Kim Min-ho returning as the hapless protagonist, Park Min-seok.

Following the turbulent first half of his military service, Min-seok finally graduates to corporal status, which comes with a host of new barracks headaches for the freshly promoted soldier.

New Recruit season four is once again helmed by Min Jin-gi, who also made the recent comedy Salon de Holmes. (ENA, August 24)

7. Four Hands, Two Sonatas

Lead cast: Song Kang, Lee Jun-young, Jang Gyu-ri

Set in an elite arts high school, the series follows three musical prodigies and the rivalries and friendships that develop between them. Song plays the brilliant pianist Kang Bi-o, who inspired the gifted Choi Jeong-yo (Lee), who grew up in a disadvantaged family and later enters the school as his new rival.

Also at the school is the viola major Hong Jae-in (Jang), who was similarly captivated by Bi-o's playing as a child. (tvN/Netflix, August 29)

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1. Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

As usual, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is offering gift boxes with traditional flavours, including the Full Moon Box (HK$348.60, original price HK$498) with lotus-paste and double salted egg yolks, and the Bright Moon Box (HK$334.60, original price HK$478), featuring egg custard and lava egg custard mooncakes.

The trio of new flavours in the One Harbour Road Collection Box (HK$334.60, original price HK$478) include rose and raspberry custard, lemon yogurt custard with mochi, and red bean and salted egg yolk paste with 30-year-old tangerine peel.

The flash sale offers 30 per cent off all boxes of mooncakes until August 2.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai.

The popular four-piece double-egg yolk white lotus seed paste with ginger option is already sold out, but you can still order the show-stopping eight-inch (20cm) royal supreme mooncake, hefty with eight egg yolks and designed for six to 10 people to share (HK$888).

The restaurant is offering 20 per cent off all mooncakes from now until August 15, and 10 per cent off from August 16 until September 23. With pickup available from September 4 to 23 at the restaurant, this staggered structure gives corporate clients and individual gift-givers flexibility.

Perhaps the most exciting development is the return of Man Ho's freshly baked, handmade, preservative-free mooncakes for HK$188 per box of four, available only from September 4 to 20 on Fridays through Sundays at the Man Ho Garden pop-up outside the restaurant. Flavours include macadamia nuts and winter melon paste, chocolate-crusted taro, and Yunnan ham with rose and red date.

3/F, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty

The mini lava egg custard mooncake gift set (HK$408) has six pieces of the restaurant's signature mooncakes made with salted egg yolk, while the deluxe assortment option (HK$428) includes two more flavours: red bean paste with mandarin peel, and lotus seed paste.

Both will be 32 per cent off until July 31, and from August 1 to 31, they will be 28 per cent off. Members of Brilliant by Langham can enjoy exclusive prices from now until September 24 on all options, including the Yat Tung Heen deluxe gift hamper, HK$888 down from HK$1,088.

B2/F, Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan

The two-flavour set draws directly from the restaurant's Yunnan-inspired pantry, featuring red date and walnut with plain chocolate, and black rose and honey with red bean.

At HK$368 per box, there is a 15 per cent discount from now until August 27, and orders can be placed at Jija or via its website. Pickup starts from September 21 between 3pm and 5.30pm at Jija.

15/F, Kimpton Hong Kong, 11 Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

The Classic Mooncakes & Tea Set (HK$312 early bird) includes red bean, jujube paste, salt and pepper, and seaweed mooncakes, each matched with a complementary tea - osmanthus oolong, tangerine peel white tea, Pu'er, and Longjing, respectively. For those who prefer something heartier, the Savoury Mooncakes & Tea Set (HK$338 early bird) centres on a signature Suzhou-style pork mooncake with earthy Pu'er tea.

The early bird deal runs until August 15, and can be ordered at General Provisions by Alfred's, or online.

Shop 303, 3/F, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen's Road Central

The collection also comes in a full Mooncake Gift Box (HK$2,388) and hampers, including the one-tier (HK$3,888) and the three-tier (HK$4,988) hampers that bundle other gifts and delicacies from the Mandarin Oriental.

Until August 9, mooncakes are discounted by up to 25 per cent and hampers by 15 per cent through its eShop, while bulk buyers of 100 boxes or more can enjoy an additional 20 per cent off from August 10 onwards.

The mooncakes can be picked up from Café Causette at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong from 11am to 8pm daily, September 1-18.

M/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Rd Central

There is also a hamper option (HK$1,910.40 down from HK$2,388) that comes with the mixed-flavour mooncake set plus signature gifts from the hotel, including Hokkaido conpoy, premium dried shrimp and duck liver sausage. Add in a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne for a total price of HK$2,310.40 (down from HK$2,888).

Enjoy up to 35 per cent off mooncake boxes through August 17, while hampers are 20 per cent off until September 18. Pickups for mooncakes are from August 17 to September 24, while hampers can be collected from September 7-24.

2/F, Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung Hotel, 9 Yi Tung Rd, Tung Chung

The premium gift hamper is also on early bird discount at HK$2,488 (original price HK$2,588), which includes signature items from the restaurant including braised South African 12-head abalone, house-made walnut cookies, and Duddell's signature XO sauce, as well as a box of six mooncakes.

The online order period lasts until September 22, with pickup available from September 1-24 at the restaurant between 12pm and 8pm.

3/F-4/F, 1 Duddell St, Central

Before August 31, orders of one to 19 boxes will cost HK$368 per box, while buying 20 boxes or more drops the price to HK$338 each. Orders can be placed directly with the restaurant by phone, WhatsApp or email, or in person, with redemption available from September 12-25.

Shop G05, 107-108, Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Rd, Central

From now until September 1, a gift box of four double egg yolk white lotus seed paste mooncakes will be HK$368, down from HK$468, and the six mini custard mooncakes will be HK$328, discounted from HK$428.

Pre-orders are now open via phone or in-person at Lai Sun Dining restaurants including China Tang, Chiu Tang, Canton Bistro and Quan, with redemption available from September 1-27 while stocks last.

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Conversely, a ruler might impose a new surname on a subject as a form of punishment. According to the family lore of people surnamed Gou ("dog"), this rare, humiliating name was forced upon their ancestors after they opposed a ruler in the early 10th century. Many descendants have since abandoned Gou for more salubrious surnames.

In the Northern Wei dynasty (386-535), during which the Xianbei people ruled a state in northern China, the name change was initiated from the very top. Emperor Xiaowen was so determined to make his state "more Chinese" that in 496, he ordered his Xianbei subjects to adopt Han Chinese names. He even changed his own imperial clan name, Tuoba, to the Chinese surname Yuan ("first").

The decisions of Pitt and Jolie's children to distance themselves from the surname "Pitt" may be a very modern, very personal matter, rather than an act of political survival, imperial decree or acculturation. Yet the underlying principle is familiar. A surname can connect a person to a family and a particular identity, but it can also become a burden, a danger or a reminder of a relationship one no longer wishes to claim.

In a way, changing a name is a way of changing one's relationship with the past.

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1. Raveton - The Latin Rave

This Saturday, at Boomerang in Central, Latin rhythms meet rave music in an electrifying event.

From 10pm to 1am, smooth Reggaeton beats blended with thumping rave tracks will create a unique experience for ravers across Hong Kong.

While the performance ends at 1am, the resident DJs will keep the party going until 4am, offering an all-night experience for guests who wish to stay.

LG/F, 33 Wyndham Street (formerly LKF Tower), 55 D'Aguilar Street, Central

2. Puppy Pilates: Coffee and Cakes

A trio of puppy Pilates classes is being organised on August 2 by Flow & Friends featuring therapy dogs from The Puppy Lounge.

The pups will roam around during each 45-minute Pilates class, and after the workout, guests can enjoy cake bento boxes with coffee and continue to play with the puppies.

The boxes from Baking Maniac come in five flavours: lemon blueberry, confetti, cookies and cream, hazelnut, and red velvet. Guests can delight in the sky-high views while sipping coffee and basking in the company of pups.

Shop 201, Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road, The Peak

3. Sunday Service Vinyl and Wine Sundowners

This Sunday, Dead Poets and La Cabane are joining forces to present a night of free-flowing natural wine and fine records.

For two hours, DJ Brahms will work his magic while guests enjoy free-flowing natural wines and speciality snacks.

After the free-flow, it is time for a half-hour of Bring Your Own Vinyl (BYOV), where guests can bring their personal records for Brahms to spin.

Dead Poets, 41-49 Aberdeen Street, Central

4. iSquare x Mamegoma A Midsummer Fantasy Journey with Cute Seal Pups

From July 31 to September 13, the iSquare shopping centre is partnering with San-X's Mamegoma to create an installation made up of three installations to celebrate the beloved mini seal characters.

At iPiazza, a gigantic dolphin-shaped Mamegoma standing nearly six metres (20 feet) high will take centre stage. A Mamegoma pastry chef will be on display at iFunction and there will be a Mamegoma chilling in a bathtub in the iExhibition lobby.

iSquare, 63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

5. Spider-Man: Brand New Day

"People like us don't get to live a normal life," Sadie Sink says in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Stranger Things star is addressing Tom Holland's Spider-Man, who in this film faces the most intriguing antagonist across his four solo outings to date. But - like us?

The identity of Sink's character has been kept a secret in the run-up to release - and will not be revealed here. However, her game-changing arrival will surely make fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) lose their minds.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas now.

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In February, a Filipino housekeeping staff member listened carefully to her client's instructions as she made her on-site debut around a month after arriving in Japan. She assiduously took notes as the client explained in a mix of English and Japanese how to use cleaning tools and the order of detergents.

"[Filipinos] are friendly and easy to talk to and they work seriously, so I can feel at ease," the client said.

Before 2015, only certain households, such as those of foreign diplomats, had been allowed to employ foreign housekeepers. But a legal change that year, aimed at increasing women's workforce participation and easing labour shortages in Japan's housekeeping industry, paved the way for foreigners to work in designated areas.

The company recruits workers in the Philippines and provides extensive training before and after their arrival in Japan, while also supporting their daily life in areas such as housing.

"Foreign talent playing an active role will likely lead to revitalising Japan," Pinay International CEO Tetsuya Moteki, 55, said.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan's housekeeping services market has been expanding as the number of dual-income households increases.

The ministry has established a certification system to ensure service quality and help consumers choose providers. Around 20 companies, including major housekeeping service firms Duskin and Bears, are registered, with Bears saying it has employed over 200 Filipino staff since 2017.

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According to the prefecture, more than 9,000 people were evacuated as 3,429 houses were damaged, including 181 destroyed, in the temblor, which registered the maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Uki and Hikawa.

Many evacuees are staying in their cars with the air conditioning running and have faced petrol shortages, with long queues forming at gas stations. The central government said it has asked petroleum wholesalers to increase deliveries to Kumamoto, with supplies expected to reach four times the prefecture's usual level.

A social welfare council in Mashiki opened a volunteer centre Saturday to accept volunteers from inside and outside the prefecture to support residents affected by the earthquake.

About 50 people have already signed up as volunteers, and some began cleanup work at damaged homes in the town after more than 20 households requested assistance.

Aftershocks continued to rattle the prefecture on Saturday, with a preliminary M4.7 earthquake jolting Uki and nearby areas, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, adding that no tsunami warning was issued.

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The group, consisting of some 20 lawmakers, is seeking to improve the trading card environment by setting up rules to address issues such as counterfeit cards and bulk purchases for resale. It is also keen to enhance market transparency to support the industry's overseas expansion.

The popularity of trading cards featuring characters from popular Japanese game, anime and manga series such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! has expanded beyond Japan to international fans in recent years.

According to the former LDP election strategy chief, whose primary school-age son collects trading cards, tournaments and events are held across Japan, highlighting the important role the trading card industry plays in promoting regional development.

Representatives from industrial bodies and officials of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry briefed participants at the meeting about market conditions and challenges facing the sector.

According to the Japan Toy Association, the domestic trading card market reached about 338 billion yen (US$2.1 billion) in the 2025 financial year. It has grown continually since the 2017 financial year, when its size was around 88 billion yen.

The lawmaker group said the growing asset value of trading cards had led to problems including an increase in counterfeits, fraudulent sales and the use of card transactions for money laundering.

The group said there was now a need to establish an industry-wide framework as efforts to improve trading practices had so far largely been left to individual retailers and collectors.

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State media outlet Ria Novosti reported the woman attempted to smuggle the IED into the establishment but the security guard refused to let her in before the bomb exploded.

The authorities did not name those killed or ‌injured nor ‌did they say who they thought might have been responsible. Russia's FSB security service ‌said earlier this year that authorities would step up protection for high-ranking military officials after ⁠a series of assassinations and attempted killings it blamed on Ukraine.

The Kommersant daily newspaper ⁠cited its own sources as saying that the bomb had been intended to maim and kill guests who were enjoying themselves on the restaurant's summer ‌terrace outside.

It suggested that the ‌bomb had been set off by someone else remotely and that the woman carrying it may not have known that it was an explosive device.

According to an earlier report by the Baza Telegram channel, the explosion was caused by a gas blast in the cafe's kitchens. ⁠

The news outlet said the explosion happened at the ‌upscale Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant.

The restaurant's website said the venue, located in the wider city centre of the Russian capital, had been closed on Saturday for a private event.

Surrounding streets were cordoned off after the incident and investigators began their work.

Reporting by Agence France-Press, dpa, Reuters

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Here's everything you need to know about Moses Martin's girlfriend, Campbell Fealy.

Dr Fealy is a Columbia University graduate and an orthopaedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery, a leading hospital and research institution for orthopaedics in the US. According to his website, he is also a consultant for the Major League Baseball Players Association and has been involved in research projects concerning athletic injuries.

Campbell has two brothers - her twin, James, and Stephen III. The family is based in New York, per Daily Mail.

Fealy has also acquired some working experience, according to her LinkedIn profile. The 21-year-old spent a summer as a public relations intern for Balenciaga, from June to August last year.

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But how did Erin Angle and Jon Bernthal meet? And did you know that she's the niece of renowned American wrestler Kurt Angle?

"I came over and was just rudely messing around, and I know this is the corniest thing in the world, but when I actually saw Erin, it was literally like angels were singing," Bernthal shared with Men's Health in December 2018. "I had never seen anyone so beautiful."

"My wife is a trauma nurse. She really earned her pay during that time," Bernthal told Esquire in 2018.

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So who is this golf prodigy who just turned pro in early July? Here's everything you need to know about Jackson Koivun.

When Koivun was 17, his family relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in hopes of better junior golf and college opportunities for him. He later played collegiate golf for Auburn University in Alabama.

While Koivun had the option to turn professional after his second year in university, he chose to return to Auburn University for another season. In June, Koivun announced that he would turn professional and forgo his final year.

He thanked people he met at Auburn University for giving him "the most incredible college experience". "From bringing home a pair of national championships and competing alongside guys I'll call brothers for the rest of my life, I wouldn't trade it for the world," Koivun said at the time.

"With that being said, I've decided to forego my senior year to pursue my lifelong dream of playing on the PGA Tour. To my teammates, coaches, support staff, fans and most importantly, my family, thank you for supporting me in this chapter of my life. I am incredibly excited for what's ahead," he added.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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So who is Christian Hogue, the fashion model who recently joined Pascal on his luxury yacht getaway?

Hogue is also a proud dog dad to his Australian Shepherd Butters, dedicating a separate Instagram highlight to his furry friend.

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The quarterback was a college athlete who attended the University of Oregon, where he played for the Oregon Ducks.

Herbert graduated from college with a 4.01 GPA, according to his bio on the National Football Foundation website. Aside from excelling in school, his performance on the gridiron led him to become the first Oregon player to be awarded the Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolade in 2019.

Herbert was picked sixth overall by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2020 NFL draft.

In October 2025, they stepped out together, sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game. Since then they have been spotted together in public several times.

For Herbert's 28th birthday in March earlier this year, Beer took to her Instagram Stories to celebrate her beau, writing, "Happy birthday baby boy, I am so lucky to be yours. You are my dream come true."

Herbert reportedly proposed to Beer with a 10- to 15-carat ring estimated to cost up to US$1.2 million, per Page Six.

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The toddler ran out onto the pitch after Spain's 1-0 victory against Argentina and jumped straight into his brother's arms. Yamal later posted a bunch of heartfelt photos on his Instagram, featuring his mum and little brother celebrating on the pitch with him.

Ebana and Nasraoui had Yamal when they were still teenagers - she was only 16 - and struggled financially. Ebana was a waitress, while Nasraoui worked blue-collar jobs, including as a building painter, to make a living.

The footballer is proud of his parents and has publicly praised their resilience in a recent interview with radio station Cadena SER. "Look, my mum had me when she was 16. My dad also had to go out and look for a life, sometimes picking up stuff in the streets to try to come back home with food for us. To me, this is real pressure, not what I have," Yamal said.

Yamal's signature celebration, which involves gesturing the numbers "3", "0" and "4" with his hands, is a tribute to his roots, as it features the last three digits of the postcode of his childhood neighbourhood, Rocafonda.

Both Ebana and Nasraoui have an active social media presence, with 2.8 million and 1.4 million followers respectively. They often share family moments and praise their son's achievements.

During the World Cup, Keyne became an instant sensation - sticking his tongue out on the big screen, cheering wildly from the stands and supporting his big brother fervently. Yamal admits his little brother is a big part of his life: "My little brother means everything to me. I am in love with him; it feels like he is my son," he said in one of his post-match interviews during the tournament.

The football star also has a little half-sister, Baraa, from his dad's relationship with his new partner, whom he proposed to in 2025. Unlike Keyne, Baraa's life has been kept much more private, but she appears in some of her dad's Instagram posts.

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In a past appearance on the Inside of You podcast, the actor confessed that losing Emma represented the "toughest time" in his life, a chapter he elaborates on in his memoir, Runaway Train: Or, the Story of My Life So Far.

Additional reporting by Sumnima Kandangwa

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"The majority of our diamonds are born somewhere along the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa," Serfaty said in a speech at the event. "China and Africa have built one of the world's most important development partnerships and natural diamonds are part of this story. For many African countries natural diamonds are vital as they help support jobs, governments and infrastructure. Desert diamonds unite China and the countries of origin of our diamonds."

De Beers launched its Desert diamonds campaign in October 2025 in the US but these unique shades of diamonds have been trending for quite some time, offering an alternative to coloured diamonds in rare hues such as pink, blue and green.

Looking at the gradient shades of diamonds on display at the event - ranging from plain white to honey, cognac and sunset hues - it's clear that Serfaty has a point. "The notion of choosing a diamond that is champagne or a deep colour [shows] an enormous appetite in China today for things [that reflect] the self," explained Serfaty. "Not in an egotistic manner but just to be different, individual. This idea of self-love is a very deep idea and it's very established in Chinese society."

Serfaty and her team are confident that Chinese jewellery lovers are more than ready to embrace this new palette, which ultimately is just another facet of what natural diamonds represent universally. "They talk to one fundamental need in our times," Serfaty explained. "To express who we are and to relate to an object of beauty that talks to us and reflects our unique personality."

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Hayden, a fitness coach, celebrated Rodriguez's 51st birthday on Monday by sharing couple photos on her Instagram Story and writing, "Happy Birthday @Arod", with two red heart emojis. Rodriguez reposted the story on his account.

So who is A-Rod's new girlfriend, Meghan Hayden? Read on to find out.

Hayden founded her own strength-and-conditioning training platform, Take Off With Meg. According to her bio on the platform's website, "she's most likely biking to her next session or modelling on set with household brands like Under Armour & Athleta" when she isn't training clients.

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