SCMP China·Wednesday, December 24, 2025

SCMP China - Wednesday, December 24, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Brazil weighs visa-free travel for Chinese nationals to capture booming outbound market

Brazil is preparing to waive visa requirements for Chinese citizens travelling for tourism and business, local media reported on Wednesday citing government sources, in a move that would mark a significant shift in policy and deepen ties with its largest trading partner. The planned measure, expected to be announced in early 2026, would put Brazil on a reciprocal footing after China unilaterally granted visa-free entry to Brazilians for short stays. According to local newspaper Valor Economico,.

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China, Russia clash with US at UN, scientists on ‘benefits of lard’: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China, Russia clash with US at UN over Venezuela oil seizures and naval pressure China accused the United States at the United Nations of violating international law and destabilising the Caribbean region, as Washington defended its seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers and vowed to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. 2. Beijing is...

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China vows to retaliate against ‘unreasonable’ US semiconductor tariffs

China said on Wednesday it would hit back against the latest US tariffs targeting its semiconductor sector. On Tuesday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said it would raise the tariffs on June 23, 2027, with the level to be announced at least 30 days in advance. It followed the release of the findings of a year-long probe into China’s chip sector, launched in the final month of the Joe Biden administration. The office said Beijing’s push to dominate the sector was...

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Hard work and long hours fuelled China’s rise. Now, it mulls the benefits of longer breaks

Whether in China’s urban centres or its remote rural areas, Christmas is not typically celebrated with the fanfare seen in the West. On the mainland, December 25 is not even a public holiday, with the lion’s share of enthusiasm reserved for the traditional Lunar New Year period beginning in January or February. Zhang Li, who lives in a pastoral section of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in the country’s north, was no exception. But this year things have changed, thanks in part to a new...

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Chinese military simulated battles near Mexico, Cuba and Taiwan, CCTV report shows

The Chinese military has simulated battles near Mexico and Cuba during a wargaming exercise – a rare insight revealed in a report on state television. Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, along with the Sea of Okhotsk and Taiwan, were among the locations of conflict scenarios visible on screens in a CCTV report on Friday showing People’s Liberation Army wargaming exercises. Despite closer economic ties with countries in the region, China has a minimal military presence in Latin...

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ByteDance, other major Chinese tech firms dominate local consumer AI market: report

ByteDance-owned Doubao remained mainland China’s top consumer artificial intelligence app in December, according to a report, as the country’s Big Tech companies continued to outpace emerging start-ups in this market. Doubao, a ChatGPT-like app, had 155 million weekly active users in the second week of December, according to data released on Tuesday by business intelligence service provider QuestMobile. It said that number was nearly double the 81.56 million total recorded by DeepSeek’s...

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China expands digital-yuan push to Singapore and Asean trade routes

In an effort to further promote the internationalisation of China’s currency, Beijing has pledged to expand the use of its digital yuan, including by establishing a cross-border payment pilot with Singapore. The measures, announced by the People’s Bank of China on Wednesday, are tied to a broader financial support plan for China’s New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor – a trade and logistics network, launched in 2017, that links landlocked cities in western China with hundreds of global...

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Taipei mayor cuts Shanghai visit short to oversee security after deadly mass stabbing

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an has cut short his planned visit to a joint forum in Shanghai to better focus on security concerns following a deadly stabbing incident in the Taiwanese city last week. Chiang was originally scheduled to attend the Shanghai-Taipei City Forum over Saturday and Sunday. He will now only fly over for the main forum on Sunday morning before returning to Taipei to oversee heightened security operations, according to a press release from the municipal government on...

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Top PLA Air Force duo miss key military event led by Xi as corruption fight rolls on

Two top PLA Air Force officers have become the latest military brass to miss a key political event, as the anti-corruption campaign in the Chinese military continues unabated. Footage broadcast by state television CCTV indicated that General Chang Dingqiu and Guo Puxiao, Air Force commander and political commissar, respectively, were not present at a ceremony on Monday to fill top-level vacancies caused by the sweeping crackdown. The event in Beijing was led by President Xi Jinping, who is also.

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Burglary of JD.com warehouse in France prompts investigation, speculation

Following the burglary of a warehouse belonging to Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com on Monday, a judicial source has confirmed an investigation has begun on charges of theft by an organised gang. The incident came in the middle of the Christmas shopping season and took place in the town of Dugny, a northern suburb of Paris that serves as a midpoint between the French capital and its main freight hub, Charles de Gaulle Airport. Suspects neutralised the warehouse’s video surveillance system, with..

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