SCMP China·Sunday, December 28, 2025

SCMP China - Sunday, December 28, 2025

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

A closer look at China’s ‘Flying Shark’ J-15 jet that made waves near Japan

Of all the warplanes in China’s rapidly growing air arsenal, it was an older model that sent shock waves across the region earlier this month. A rare stand-off between Chinese and Japanese fighter jets took place near the Miyako Strait northeast of Taiwan. The incident brought the Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighter jet, which has been in service for more than a decade, back into the spotlight. Japan said J-15 fighter jets, launched from the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, twice engaged their

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Why Saudi Arabia might not fulfil spending pledge to US amid China-America rivalry

Saudi Arabia has pledged to boost investments in America to nearly US$1 trillion, but according to analysts Riyadh could struggle to meet that target. Rather, they said the pledge – announced when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington last month – was more about the “political display” than a binding commitment. It was an increase to the US$600 billion that was promised in May, when US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh. The latest pledge comes as the rivalry intensifies between

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China’s anti-corruption campaign claims 3 more top military officers

Three more top-ranking Chinese officers have been expelled from the national legislature, becoming the latest to fall foul of an anti-corruption campaign sweeping through the military. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress said on Saturday that it had expelled Wang Renhua, head of the Central Military Commission’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee; Zhang Hongbing, political commissar of the People’s Armed Police (PAP); and Wang Peng, director of the CMC’s training...

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How Algeria could help China plug iron ore gaps and gain pricing power

In the heart of Algeria’s Sahara Desert, Chinese state-owned giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has completed laying track on the PK330 Bridge, a final and critical link in a new railway designed to unlock the nation’s mineral wealth. The 6km (3.7-mile) bridge is part of the 950km railway linking the Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit in southwestern Tindouf province to the industrial hub of Bechar in the northeast. It was the “most technically demanding railway engineering feat...

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Why are rich Chinese ‘quietly’ moving private jets offshore, slumming it in budget seats?

China’s ultra-wealthy are quietly parking their private jets offshore to sidestep tougher compliance rules at home, while corporate executives are downgrading to commercial flights, analysts say, as economic headwinds hit the country’s business aircraft fleet. Aircraft owned by affluent Chinese nationals are said to be increasingly resurfacing in hubs such as Singapore and Japan, while more billionaires and corporate executives are turning to first-class commercial cabins or timeshare jet...

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China says it’s ready to help Asean monitor Thailand-Cambodia truce

China was ready to help Asean observers monitor the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday, a day after Bangkok and Phnom Penh called a halt to weeks of deadly border clashes. “China supports Asean in playing its due role and is ready to assist the Asean observer mission in monitoring the ceasefire,” Wang told his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn during talks in Yuxi, Yunnan province. An observer team from the Association of Southeast Asian...

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Why Chinese victims of Unit 731 and Japan’s WWII bio-warfare are still waiting for justice

On August 6 last year, atomic bomb survivors held their annual commemorative lantern-floating ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan. Two months later, their group, Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize for decades of campaigning against nuclear weapons. Fifteen years earlier, in Chongshan village in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, Wang Jinti took his last breath. Wang died in near-total obscurity, never having received an apology or compensation for the suffering he...

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Greater Bay Area assets poised to lead surge in China’s expanding C-REIT market

With the first wave of commercial Chinese real estate investment trusts (REITs) set to launch in the next two years, Greater Bay Area assets are likely to be in strong demand, according to Deloitte China. “GBA assets will likely be oversubscribed,” according to Ryan Wu, deputy managing partner for Hong Kong Chinese enterprises services with Deloitte China. He was speaking at the recent APREA GBA Conference on the fast-growing C-Reits market, which has recently expanded to include commercial...

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What next for Taiwan’s Lai as US$37 billion defence boost frozen by KMT, allies?

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s plan to push through a NT$1.2 trillion (US$37 billion) special military spending package has been thrown into limbo as political clashes escalate over fiscal reform and a controversial court ruling. Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature has blocked the cabinet-proposed “Special Act on Strengthening Defence Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities” from committee review four times since Lai unveiled the plan in late November. The procedural...

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Chinese 6G smart surface could allow stealth jets to turn radar into a power source

Chinese scientists have developed a smart surface that could transform electromagnetic waves into usable electricity. The innovation, born from the fusion of communications technology and advanced electromagnetic engineering, could be used to develop intelligent stealth systems and next-generation 6G wireless communication, according to the team from Xidian University. They said this included investigating “electromagnetic cooperative stealth”, where multiple entities work together to reduce...

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