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China’s deep-sea expedition uncovers high-grade gold, silver deposit in the Pacific Interesting Engineering

Hong Kong employers’ hiring sentiment rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter, with far fewer companies expecting to cut jobs as confidence improved alongside stronger economic growth, according to a ManpowerGroup survey. The international human resources firm said the city’s seasonally adjusted net employment outlook rose to 14 per cent, up by 23 percentage points from minus 9 per cent in the third quarter of this year. The outlook is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers...

Central bank chief says continent’s AI dependency could give trade partners unprecedented leverage in negotiations Europe must develop its own AI technology and build more datacentres in order to nullify the threat of being cut off by the US or China, according to the president of the European Central Bank. Christine Lagarde said the continent needed AI models – the technology that powers AI tools such as chatbots – that were “good enough” to carry out most tasks and run from domestic datacentres. If Europe invests in its own AI tech, said Lagarde, “the threat of being cut off loses its force”. Continue reading...

Chinese scientists say they have discovered a massive underwater mineral deposit in the western Pacific that is remarkably rich in gold and silver. According to a report by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday, the discovery was made during a joint scientific expedition involving several Chinese academic institutions. The ores within this seabed hydrothermal field – an area where hot, mineral-rich water shoots out from openings on the ocean floor – are exceptionally rich in precious metals. Silver,...

The Trump administration has encouraged AI's rapid growth and the development of data centers as it seeks an insurmountable tech edge over China.

The UN Security Council will hold a meeting on artificial intelligence next week amid growing international concern over the threat from the fast moving technology, a French diplomatic source said on Monday. The meeting would be held during the United Nations General Assembly when a host of world leaders are at the UN headquarters in New York and France holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council. No details were given on the exact day. “In terms of global affairs, the issue of AI will...

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said late on Monday that an oil tanker had struck a sea mine and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz. The tanker El Gaia was travelling along the southern route through the strait, which was mined by Iran, state broadcaster IRIB reported, citing the IRGC. The entire vessel went up in flames following the detonation of the mine, it said. The US military rejected that account. “The Panama-flagged oil tanker El Gaia was struck by an Iranian missile last...

President Xi Jinping promoted China’s vision for artificial intelligence (AI) at the annual Brics summit, seeking to win support from the Global South amid tech competition with the US. China would spearhead development of an AI Brics “community”, support cooperation in developing large language models and offer training, Xi said on Sunday in New Delhi. The previous day, he invited Brics nations to join the newly formed World AI Cooperation Organisation. Brics countries must “strengthen...

China’s top intelligence official has warned of rising national security risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), calling for robust risk prevention frameworks and stronger global governance of the emerging technology. The call from Chen Yixin, China’s state security minister, comes as Beijing seeks to play a leading role in global AI governance while criticising US restrictions. At the Brics summit in India over the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed an AI-powered initiative to...

US President Donald Trump on Sunday played down the need for his administration to check the development of artificial intelligence, saying he worried about ceding America’s edge over China in a global competition and that winning would help address the risks from the advancing technology. While acknowledging the need for some regulation, Trump provided no specifics about potential rules and attributed warnings about the technology moving too quickly and with little oversight to “negative...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Healthcare professionals and technology innovators are transforming how diseases are detected, managed, and treated—shifting the focus from simply treating illnesses after they appear to focus on early detection, high-precision diagnostics, and sustainable healthcare systems that put patients first. At the center of this transformation are four major forces reshaping how care is delivered: AI-Driven Innovations &...

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan will include both binding and aspirational targets, the city’s leader has said, stressing that the long-term blueprint will not signal a move towards a planned economy. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also revealed on Tuesday that the plan, which will be unveiled alongside his annual policy address the following day, would feature a blue cover symbolising “blue skies”, openness, progress and steadiness. “There will be indicators which are binding and indicators...

China's investment slump deepened, retail sales growth slowed further in August while industrial output blew past estimates as Beijing warns of supply-demand imbalance.

Chinese scientists say they have devised a new technique for refining oil that cuts the amount of energy consumed during the process by roughly 90 per cent. If the technology used in the study could be scaled up for industry, it would not only greatly reduce production costs and emissions, but also make the process more precise and boost product value. Crude oil cannot be turned directly into petrol or plastics. Instead, refineries must separate it into different parts before each one can be put...

Like many Hong Kong parents, Ms Ng spends her weekend shuttling her eight-year-old son from one tutoring class to another across the city, hoping to strengthen his academic performance. Across Chinese communities worldwide, parents travel the same journey, investing time, money and energy. But as we enter the age of artificial intelligence, we must ask if such striving is still worthwhile. Industry leaders predict that AI will replace swathes of white-collar work in finance, law, accounting and...

China gold market update: Official buying accelerated in August | Post by Ray Jia | Insights World Gold Council

China Draws Crude Inventories August Refinery Runs Rise

Months after deadly clashes that cost dozens of lives along their shared border, the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand laid out opening arguments on Tuesday over a different kind of territory: 27,000 sq km (10,400 square miles) of seabed thought to hold a fortune in gas and oil. The venue was the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s Singapore office, where the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s conciliation commission is being asked to settle who controls a stretch of the...

China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved the world’s first product standard for brain-computer interface devices using artificial intelligence to process brainwave data.

US President Donald Trump downplayed growing concerns about artificial intelligence on Monday, claiming America already has guardrails to regulate the industry and warning that casting doubt on development only benefits China. “The only control or ‘guardrails’ ‌that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” Trump wrote on social media. “We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these ⁠companies! There is a SICK conspiracy going...

Amid Trump trade war, Canada's exports to China up 30% in first half of 2026 CBC

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine was ready to de-escalate the war with Russia if its rival did the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that the foes had agreed to end strikes on energy targets. With international oil prices climbing again, Trump had at the weekend berated Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, blaming them for causing a shortage in diesel fuel. In one of his surprise social media posts, the US leader announced on Monday that “Ukraine has...

In a phone call with his French counterpart on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the European Union to avoid escalating trade disputes and engage in “constructive dialogue”. The conversation, requested by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, comes as Brussels tightens investment screening, public procurement rules and anti-subsidy measures, particularly on electric vehicles over what the bloc has called unfair Chinese competition. Wang told Barrot that China and the EU should...

China Spy Chief Warns of AI Risks as US Tech Leaders Urge Brakes

Tech boom powers China’s factories but economic imbalances deepen as consumption slows

The Department of Commerce of Qinghai Province announced on Monday that a local economic and trade delegation comprising 18 enterprises took part in the 5th China (Macao) International High-Quality Consumption Exhibition for the first time last week.

Russia's Nornickel Seeks New Partner to Process Copper in China

Ethiopia's reliance on imported oil once cost the country about $6 billion in foreign exchange annually. Cooperation with Chinese companies is changing that equation: electric buses, heavy-duty trucks, oil-to-gas projects, and technical training are helping Ethiopia harness its abundant hydropower and move toward greener industrial growth.

Pictets Global Multi Asset Fund Triples 5 Billion China Inflows

Chinese Economic Momentum Stays Weak With Stimulus Delay a Risk

The 2026 China Carbon Market Conference was held on Tuesday in Wuhan, Hubei Province, where the National Carbon Market Development Report (2026) was released.

China’s economy shows signs of weakness as investment slumps Financial Times

Pressure on China’s economy persists in August as investment, consumption slow South China Morning Post

China’s PBOC Strengthens Yuan Fix Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit Bloomberg.com

China's PBOC Strengthens Yuan Fix Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

The 18th Hunan Tea Expo concluded in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, on Monday, generating 709 million yuan (about $100 million) in online and offline transactions during the four-day event, according to the organizing committee.

The first cross-border river-sea freight route on the Pinglu Canal linking Laos and Vietnam with Guigang is now in service. Its maiden shipment, carrying 3,012.66 metric tons of potassium chloride, is bound for a fertilizer company's base in Guigang, Guangxi.

The 2026 China Private Enterprise Investment and Financing Fair will be held in Tianjin from Sept. 22 to 23, the Information Office of the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government announced at a press briefing on Monday.

Chinese AI short film Website won two awards at the 2026 Reply AI Film Festival in Venice: the Reply AI Studios Grand Prix and the Community Award.

AI tools are enabling individual creators in China to handle tasks once performed by entire production teams, giving rise to a new “one-person crew” model in the country’s micro-drama industry.

China Media Dismisses Amodei's 'Self-Serving' AI Safety Call

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on Monday announced funding for a feasibility study on a new transpacific submarine cable linking the US with Thailand and as many as five other Southeast Asian nations, as Washington seeks to expand secure digital infrastructure in the region. The proposed cable that could extend up to 18,507km (11,500 miles) long would connect Thailand with the United States via Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, “while avoiding the South...

Children in China are embracing the trend of consuming “homework” made from rice paper as a way to alleviate their heavy study burdens, raising concerns regarding food safety. Recently, a snack called “homework” has gained viral popularity among primary and secondary school students. These snacks resemble miniature versions of Chinese textbooks and workbooks, but they are marketed as entirely edible. On China’s e-commerce platforms, these edible workbooks are priced at less than 0.50 yuan (7.5...

From Angolan oil to Congolese copper, China's economic slowdown is creating new winners and losers across Africa. The post Three African economies show how China’s slowdown is reshaping trade appeared first on Atlantic Council.

Singapore’s most decorated chemist has confirmed he will leave his present position to join the fledgling Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, eastern China. Lu Yixin, a professor with the National University of Singapore (NUS), said he planned to move to the private research institute in early 2027, in a full-time role. Lu is a fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science and president of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry, in addition to his...

China's August retail sales miss forecast while investment slump deepens, piling pressure on Beijing CNBC

China's new border-control regulations are designed to keep two of its most valuable assets from leaving the country: money and talent.

China home prices remain weak, keeping pressure on economy Reuters

Atlantic Council experts assess the new commitments from the leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI, and others, along with the state of the tech and the risk to the human race. The post What the proposed AI slowdown means for the US, China, and humanity at large appeared first on Atlantic Council.

In any conversation about Hong Kong’s future, one question often emerges: when will the city pivot away from national security and back to economic development? To most, Hong Kong is fundamentally a commercial hub. After the turmoil of 2019, most reasonable people agreed that restoring public order was imperative. Today, the orchestrators of that unrest and the radicals are largely imprisoned or have fled. While occasional flare-ups and various forms of “soft resistance” persist, society at...