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China innovators

China innovators
Entrepreneurs and companies helping to lead the world’s second largest economy away from being the world’s factory into being one of its leading innovators and experimenters.
University of Hong Kong students and staff watch the historic launch of the Shenzhou-23 space mission featuring the city’s first astronaut, Lai Ka-ying, on May 24. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong youth

Opinion | Hong Kong’s first astronaut success is also a story of youth potential

Hongkongers and the city’s universities can play a meaningful role in China’s space programme. The sky is not the limit.

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US-China relations

As I see it | US’ scientific self-harm will only help China

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China manufacturing

China’s airship ambitions progress as first commercial pilots certified at home

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Robotics

From supply chain to record growth: Shenzhen dominates China’s robotics sector

The output of the city’s robotics industry hit a record in 2025, rising 20 per cent year on year to over US$35.4 billion.

X Square Robot CEO Wang Qian demonstrates a robot that can pick up rubbish during the unveiling of the Chinese firm’s new Wall-B model in Beijing on April 21, 2026. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong politics

Opinion | How markets will test Hong Kong’s new economic model

Industrial policy can guide and catalyse but it cannot substitute for a genuine competitive advantage.

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China shipbuilding

China sails into AI era with ambitious smart shipping targets

Pilot zones and more than 100 smart vessels are part of Beijing’s strategy to bolster maritime operations and address bottlenecks.

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Hainan

How China’s Hainan reinvented itself as Hong Kong’s rival – and partner

The island province has become a low-tax gateway and is ready to tap Hong Kong’s strengths in finance, research and other sectors, officials say.

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A drone photo taken on February 21 shows tourists taking yachts in Sanya, south China’s Hainan province. Photo: Xinhua
China's population

Can AI help China cushion economic fallout from its rapidly ageing population?

As fertility rates fall, Asian economies face a daunting challenge – sustaining growth with fewer workers.

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Food and agriculture

Opinion | How China’s national food security push could reshape global markets

Amid increasing pressure from trade wars and climate change, Beijing is reframing agriculture as a matter of national security.

US-China relations

Opinion | How Washington’s lawyers stack up against Beijing’s technocrats

While no system is perfect, balancing out the occupational composition of policymakers could hold the key to success for both countries.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong’s budget should move the city towards ‘inspirational’ development

The 2026-27 budget speech should explain how the city’s economic direction aligns with global and national trends, defining its place in the industries of the future.

People stand on a new boardwalk in Quarry Bay on January 4. Photo: Robert Ng
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | With Hetao tech hub, Hong Kong is reimagining its economic future

The city is pivoting towards hi-tech development and greater cross-border integration while committing to innovation ecosystem synergy.

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China society

Opinion | Key lessons from China’s ascent over the past 25 years

The country’s rise was shaped less by a single turning point than by its commitment to long-term planning, meritocracy and global engagement.

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Hong Kong stock market

Standard Chartered keeps overweight call on China stocks, flags recovery in 2026

Despite renewed ‘bubble’ talk around AI valuations after a November sell-off, Standard Chartered says the cycle is different this time.

Standard Chartered says Chinese equities are looking more compelling after a period of consolidation. Photo: Edmond So
China’s private sector

China’s growing young billionaire class masks innovation hurdles, analysts say

Technological innovation – one of Beijing’s top priorities – is helping to drive wealth creation, report says.

Wang Ning, the 38-year-old founder and CEO of Pop Mart, is one of China’s youngest billionaires.
China economy

Opinion | As China’s tech rises, companies must rethink their R&D strategy

Firms seeking to localise in China must see the country not just as a place to manufacture and sell, but as a co-creator and innovator.

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China’s fourth plenum

Opinion | 15th five-year plan charts a course for China’s modernisation

By building on past successes and shoring up areas of weakness, China can lay firm foundations to achieve socialist modernisation.

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China technology

Editorial | Chinese science contributes to safe and peaceful nuclear power

Scientists like Xu Hongjie, who pioneered China’s thorium reactor programme, are paving the way for peaceful nuclear energy.

Researchers position an alloy material sample used in building a thorium molten salt reactor at a lab in Shanghai on October 23. Photo: EPA/Xinhua
US-China tech war

Rokid’s AI eyewear joins the quest to be the biggest thing since the smartphone

Start-up Rokid is teaming up with eyewear brand Bolon on lightweight AI glasses as competition heats up to deliver the next ‘iPhone moment’.

China manufacturing

Chinese AI, humanoid robot make Time magazine’s ‘Best Inventions of 2025’ list

New generation of innovators in spotlight as DeepSeek’s advanced reasoning model and Unitree’s affordable humanoid draw acclaim.

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Artificial intelligence

Exclusive | Zhipu AI sees tenfold surge in foreign users as Chinese AI gains traction

The Beijing start-up is leveraging its affordable ‘good enough’ open model to compete in the fast-growing AI coding market.

Mobile phone shows the website of Beijing Zhipu Huazhang Technology (Z.ai). Photo: Shutterstock
China manufacturing

China calls for faster, wider adoption of advanced tech to strengthen industry

Locked in a tech war with the US, Beijing seeks greater commercialisation of cutting-edge technologies through large-scale application.

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Manufacturing technology in China. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Mainland China

When mines run dry: why some Chinese cities are racing to reinvent themselves

Once China’s answer to Pittsburgh, steel hub Panzhihua faces same challenge as other old industrial cities: how to avoid ‘rust belt’ decline.

China’s economic stimulus

Explainer | China has a new 500 billion yuan ‘financial instrument’. How will it be used?

Beijing created the special financing tool to turbocharge domestic innovation and help the economy ride out the trade war.

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China economy

Opinion | How China can position its K visa for success in race for global tech talent

Beijing must assuage local concerns while ensuring transparent selection, institutional support and the equitable integration of foreigners.

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China’s K visa, launched on October 1, marks a significant shift in its global talent strategy. Photo: Shutterstock
China economy

Opinion | Critics are missing the big picture on China’s economic transition

Thanks to green infrastructure, digital connectivity and world-class research, China’s economy is no longer reliant on one source of growth.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Open Questions series

Open Questions | Economist Liu Qian on China’s innovation, rivalry with US

From DeepSeek to WeChat, China innovates differently, says Liu, who also weighs in on the Thucydides Trap and Chinese women’s advancement.

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China technology

China vows faster global roll-out of BeiDou, its GPS rival, to expand ‘friends’

From smartphones to e-bikes, the system has rapidly embedded itself in daily life at home – now, Beijing eyes faster international expansion.

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