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A handout photo made available by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development shows a mountain range in Nepal, on March 21, 2010. Photo: EPA
Climate change

Opinion | To tackle the climate crisis, start small and scale big

Coordinated action on three vulnerable frontline regions can provide a template for how policymakers can serve the people and the planet.

Artificial intelligence

Opinion | To stay competitive, Chinese brands must learn to command agentic AI

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US Federal Reserve

Macroscope | Silence isn’t golden for a world looking to Kevin Warsh’s Fed

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Climate change

Opinion | Fire in Spain, floods in China, war in Iran are symptoms of polycrisis

Even as disasters in Spain and China dominate headlines, demand for defence and investment spending is crowding out climate mitigation.

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A firefighting vehicle drives by as smoke and flames rise during deadly wildfires affecting Almeria province in Alfaix, Spain, on July 10. Photo: Reuters
A firefighting vehicle drives by as smoke and flames rise during deadly wildfires affecting Almeria province in Alfaix, Spain, on July 10. Photo: Reuters
South China Sea

Opinion | Path to South China Sea stability doesn’t run through US, UK or the EU

The statement by 14 countries is a geopolitical exercise, amplifying the flawed 2016 Hague arbitral ruling to try to drive a wedge between China and its neighbours.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | As AI learns to hide, science must learn to trust differently

If institutions judge scholarship just through writing, they will be trapped in an endless contest against increasingly capable machines.

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United States

As I see it | Why is a Trump commission attacking Nietzsche, Foucault and Sartre?

The commission attacks these philosophers’ ideas as morally corrupting but Trump may be the ultimate postmodern politician, lacking fundamental principles and any regard for facts.

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US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on June 26. Trump is speaking on the report released by the Religious Liberty Commission, which was established by executive order last year. Photo: EPA / Pool
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on June 26. Trump is speaking on the report released by the Religious Liberty Commission, which was established by executive order last year. Photo: EPA / Pool
Technology

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

At the heart of the battle for AI dominance is a deeper contest between two very different leadership styles.

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ICBMs

Opinion | China’s missile test is a signal. How non-nuclear states respond matters

The reactions to Beijing’s ‘routine’ exercise put into focus a nuclear order that is rapidly fluctuating from Tehran to Tokyo.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Opinion | Iran war is no longer a contest over just the Strait of Hormuz

The Aq Taqeh Khan bridge attack shows the war has expanded to the infrastructure that lets Iran function when the strait is contested.

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A person stands in front of a large screen displaying vessel movements in the Strait of Hormuz on a ship-tracking website in Nicosia, Cyrpus, on May 4. Iran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on July 12 and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours, in retaliation for new US strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew. Photo: AFP
Diplomacy

Opinion | Slowly but surely, China’s soft power is making itself felt

With trusted businesses, more openness, creative culture and inspiring sporting successes, China is building a foundation for influence.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Illustration: Craig Stephens
European Union

Opinion | EU isn’t just selling aircraft to China. It’s helping strengthen a competitor

China Eastern’s multibillion-dollar Airbus orders, after EU delays on certifying Chinese planes, show not inconsistency but leverage towards a long-term goal.

United States

Opinion | Trump’s crypto windfall showcases his ability to turn loyalty into power

Despite clear conflicts of interest and institutions meant to stop them, Trump has deftly weaponised and profited off the loyalty he demands.

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Artificial intelligence

Macroscope | Don’t expect the rising tide of AI to lift all boats

While economies linked to hi-tech supply chains may perform well, unequal outcomes and economic instability still loom for much of the world.

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Workers walk outside a data centre building under construction in Johor Bahru Malaysia, on September 28, 2024. Photo: AP
Chinese culture

Being Chinese | In China, I found pieces of history waiting to be carried forward

My family’s history had travelled across the Pacific, leaving gaps that descendants on both sides are still working to fill in.

A boy offers incense before an ancestral grave on Diamond Hill in Hong Kong on Ching Ming Festival on April 5, 2023. The festival is a time of remembrance across the Chinese diaspora. Photo: Elson Li
A boy offers incense before an ancestral grave on Diamond Hill in Hong Kong on Ching Ming Festival on April 5, 2023. The festival is a time of remembrance across the Chinese diaspora. Photo: Elson Li
War and conflict

Outside In | How AI is changing the nature of war and conflict

Latest Global Peace Index reflects a world progressively less peaceful as AI enables armies to kill more people more quickly and more cheaply.

Climate change

Opinion | Trump’s rants over China’s green energy transition are just hot air

It’s not Chinese turbines or European rules that look outdated but Trump’s belief that China’s energy transition is not world-leading.

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China technology

Opinion | US-China AI war boils down to a contest over electricity

As AI models become interchangeable commodities, the contest is down to service prices – which are driven by electricity output and cost.

In May, China started its first large-scale project to directly supply renewable energy to data centres in Zhongwei, northwestern Ningxia, integrating 500 megawatts of solar capacity (with a further 1.5 gigawatts of wind power planned) into computing infrastructure. Photo: Handout
In May, China started its first large-scale project to directly supply renewable energy to data centres in Zhongwei, northwestern Ningxia, integrating 500 megawatts of solar capacity (with a further 1.5 gigawatts of wind power planned) into computing infrastructure. Photo: Handout
Brics

Opinion | What the Iran war has revealed about Brics+

Those arguing that the conflict has exposed the grouping as a failure misunderstand its role.

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China economy

Opinion | A healthy economy isn’t built on asset bubbles and debt pyramids

A financial system designed to increase market valuations rather than improve people’s quality of life is prone to crisis.

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China economy

Opinion | Are the US’ AI models better than China’s? That may be beside the point

Rather than fight US frontier AI control, China is thinning the margins of premium AI with cheap-enough, good-enough models for mass adoption.

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People try products at AI+ Power 2026, Hong Kong’s largest artificial intelligence expo and conference, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on June 4. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Middle East

Opinion | 3 paths to shaping Middle East order after Iran war’s conclusion

While the US, China and regional players have distinct plans, their visions for a post-Iran war order overlap more than might be expected.

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Stray dogs walk past the rubble of flattened homes and businesses, destroyed by the Israeli military, in the southern Lebanese village of Tibnin on June 24. Photo: AFP
Stray dogs walk past the rubble of flattened homes and businesses, destroyed by the Israeli military, in the southern Lebanese village of Tibnin on June 24. Photo: AFP
China-EU relations

Opinion | Europe could prosper as China’s trade ally rather than adversary

Europe missed its chance to make trade with China a win-win for both sides. It’s now opting for a trade war it’s unlikely to win altogether.

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European Union

Opinion | EU should think twice before weaponising its market against China

Market size and coercive leverage are not the same thing and the EU remains more dependent on China than policymakers think.

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Why Chinese youth aren’t booing AI, unlike American graduates

Giving young people a chance to help build the future with AI is more effective than a narrative in which they are its inevitable victims.

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Students walk about the UCLA campus in Westwood, California, on June 19. Photo: TNS
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