SCMP China·Tuesday, January 6, 2026

SCMP China - Tuesday, January 6, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Refining longevity risks for China’s ageing population

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Just like every dark cloud has a silver lining, insurers are proficient at managing risks and turning them into opportunities. As an ageing population has become a pressing issue around the globe, the booming demand for insurance and annuities presents considerable potential. China, one of the fastest-ageing countries, is expected to see its personal insurance market expand from four trillion Chinese yuan (US$553...

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How high-speed rail supercharges China’s EV adoption

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] When someone says, “I drive an electric vehicle or EV because it protects the environment,” it could be music to the ears of climate advocates. Regardless, EVs have reshaped the global transportation landscape, with major traditional global carmakers now joining the race in battery-powered vehicles. In this new wave of the automotive evolution, no country has achieved what China has done. The Chinese Mainland market...

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Timeless Chinese wisdom to navigate business uncertainty

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] In the time of geopolitical tensions, economic volatility and technological upheaval, individuals and businesses face a pressing question: How to thrive amid these constant disruptions? The insights may lie in a Chinese text with a history spanning more than five millennia: I-Ching, also known as the Book of Changes. The I-Ching serves as a tool for divination in traditional Chinese knowledge and has become a profound..

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Venezuela attack seen as reminder for China to boost air defence, counter-intelligence

The US operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro serves as a reminder for China to bolster its air defences and counter-intelligence protections, observers say. Analysts in China described Venezuela’s air defences – which rely largely on Russian technology – as “full of flaws and slow to react” amid the modern surveillance, cyber, and electronic warfare displayed by US forces in Saturday’s operation in Caracas. The operation could serve as a further case study for China, which has.

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Chinese firm owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Eight years after leaving Venezuela, David Hou, a native of southern China’s Guangdong province, returned last year, pleased to find what he described as an improved economic environment. That optimism is now shrouded in uncertainty after the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on allegations of narcoterrorism and possessing “destructive devices” – charges he has firmly rejected. While the full impact has yet to be felt, the situation is “making people anxious and very...

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Bid to change Taiwan law that prompted Beijing to warn of war risk falls at first hurdle

A controversial plan to change Taiwan’s law governing relations with mainland China, which critics said could edge the island towards “de jure independence”, appears to have collapsed within days. The failure of the draft legislation to even reach the legislature’s agenda committee underscored the sensitivity of the issue amid mounting pressure from Beijing, which warned on Sunday that a declaration of independence would mean war. The initiative to amend the Act Governing Relations Between the..

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Alibaba’s Amap muscles up on ‘world models’ in push beyond text-based AI

Amap, the mapping and navigation arm of Alibaba Group Holding, is stepping up research into “world models” – systems designed to simulate real-world environments – as the tech giant pushes deeper into embedding artificial intelligence across its services. The unit planned to launch a new product based on its FantasyWorld model, which was developed by the Alibaba Amap Computer Vision Lab and released in September, according to Shanghai Securities News. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a...

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Li Qiang and Lee Jae Myung back free trade and multilateralism during Beijing talks

Premier Li Qiang called for multilateralism and free trade in his meeting with visiting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday and said China would promote cooperation in emerging fields such as high-end manufacturing, new energy and artificial intelligence (AI). Li said China aimed to expand “the breadth and depth of cooperation” to achieve more practical outcomes and was willing to expand market access and integration, according to Beijing’s account of the meeting. “We stand ready to.

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Why Iran may not be the next Venezuela despite twin threat from protests and Trump

The recent US strike against Venezuela is likely to deepen the Iranian leadership’s concerns about further intervention from Washington but analysts do not expect the leadership will be targeted directly in the same way as Nicolas Maduro. They pointed to the higher geopolitical stakes in the Middle East compared with Latin America and the greater role played by China, Russia and other countries. Before the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the leadership in Iran had already been...

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BBC journalists reportedly told to avoid saying US ‘kidnapped’ Venezuelan leader Maduro

BBC journalists have reportedly been instructed not to describe America’s abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as a “kidnapping”, according to a British newspaper columnist. The editorial instruction was unveiled on Monday by Owen Jones, a commentator with more than a million followers on social media. Jones said a memo from BBC management had been passed to him. According to an image Jones uploaded with his post, the guidelines told BBC journalists to use “captured” when referring to..

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