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July 03, 2026
 

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Laurie Chen
Zhipu's AI service on the web, dubbed Z.ai.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Jul 3, 2026
A?new, inexpensive Chinese AI model is catching up with Anthropic, OpenAI on their home turf
Z.ai¡¯s GLM-5.2 model has been put at the heart of a growing debate about whether China is finally catching up to the U.S. in the artificial intelligence race.
A satellite image shows military activity underway at an octagon-shaped installation, with large tents and a range of military vehicles, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on April 30.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2026
China is building launchpads near its nuclear missile silos
The scale of the construction points to a sweeping expansion of hardened infrastructure ?designed to protect and operate China¡¯s land-based nuclear forces.
A robot and its engineers take part in the second Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Half Marathon in Beijing on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 20, 2026
Humanoid robots race past humans in Beijing half-marathon, showing rapid advances
Developers showed off the fast-improving robots and their autonomous navigation skills, highlighting the sector¡¯s rapid technical advances.
Zhipu staff members help residents install and setup AutoClaw, a local version of the AI agent OpenClaw developed by Zhipu, at an office building in Beijing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 20, 2026
As OpenClaw enthusiasm grips China, school kids and retirees alike raise ¡®lobsters¡¯
The hype over the open-source bot is the latest example of how a new technology could overhaul the world¡¯s second-largest economy through unbridled consumer adoption.
A person visits the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2026
China pins hopes on society-wide AI push to add jobs, rejuvenate economy
Policymakers and company executives play down growing global fears that artificial intelligence could stunt employment.
Brain-computer interface scientist and National People's Congress delegate Yao Dezhong during an interview in Beijing on Saturday
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 8, 2026
China could see widespread use of brain-computer tech in 3-5 years, expert says
Recent high-profile trials have enabled paralyzed patients and amputees to regain partial mobility and operate robotic hands or intelligent wheelchairs.
Posters for the upcoming Legislative Council election are seen near the fire-damaged Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2025
¡®Highly traumatized¡¯: Hong Kong presses ahead with elections after deadly fire
The vote is seen by some as a test of legitimacy for the government as it tries to appease public anger over the fire amid an ongoing national security crackdown.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said earlier this month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could be deemed "a situation threatening Japan's survival."
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 22, 2025
China takes spat with Japan over Taiwan to U.N. and vows to defend itself
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi committed ¡°a grave violation of international law¡± and diplomatic norms, China¡¯s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong wrote in a letter.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2025
Hopes for Xi-Trump summit dampened by tough Beijing moves and rising tension
Even if the talks get back on track, experts say a narrow deal on a few issues is the most likely outcome.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 6, 2025
With diplomatic tour de force, China¡¯s Xi shows he¡¯s ¡®totally in charge¡¯
The recent display of geopolitical ambition has helped quell concerns about the 72-year-old president¡¯s vitality and so-far-unknown succession plans.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a family photo ceremony prior to the BRICS Summit plenary session in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 26, 2025
China¡¯s Xi to welcome Putin and Modi in grand display of Global South solidarity
This year¡¯s summit will be the largest since 2001, China has said, calling the bloc an ¡°important force in building a new type of international relations.¡±
Chinese military personnel take part in a rehearsal ahead of the parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which will be held on Sept. 3, in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Aug 24, 2025
History, triumph and trauma to take center stage at China¡¯s WWII military parade
The event will be a projection of China¡¯s growing military might amid deep-seated mistrust in the West and territorial rows with neighboring countries.
A damaged car in the Liuli River in the Huairou district of Beijing on Aug. 13. Flooding exposed weaknesses in the rural emergency response infrastructure for Beijing, whose urban core is surrounded by several rural districts like Huairou.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 21, 2025
Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future?
Recent floods revealed how historically dry Beijing, home to 22 million people, remains insufficiently prepared for what experts say will be an increasingly wet future.
China has strict obscenity laws and regularly scrubs content deemed pornographic from its heavily-controlled domestic internet, so the scale of the image sharing on Telegram has shocked many in China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 29, 2025
Outrage in China after reports exploitative images of Chinese women shared in Telegram groups
Sexually exploitative images of women were shared with hundreds of thousands of users on Telegram, with the scale of the sharing shocking many in China.
A Beijing store selling merchandise based on the "boys¡¯ love" genre of graphic novels on June 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2025
China detains female writers of ¡®boys¡¯ love¡¯ content in porn crackdown
The detentions since March have triggered debate on social media about the limits of free speech and the apparent sexist nature of the crackdown.
A man works at the site of a rare earth metals mine at Nancheng county, in China's Jiangxi province, in October 2010.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 15, 2025
U.S.-China trade truce leaves military-use rare earth issue unresolved
The renewed U.S.-China trade truce left a key area of export restrictions tied to national security untouched, an unresolved conflict that threatens a more comprehensive deal.
A Mercedes-Benz production line in Rastatt, Germany, earlier this month. European auto suppliers alone have filed hundreds of requests to China for rare earths since early April, with only about a quarter granted.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025
The world¡¯s auto supply chain is in the hands of a few Chinese bureaucrats
China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets ¡ª a crucial component in EV motors ¡ª and it added them to an export control list in April.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during the announcement of a trade agreement with Britain in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025
China and the U.S. to talk trade war ceasefire ¡ª not peace
Ahead of the meeting, the two sides seem much further apart and at greater risk of a major fallout than during their first trade war in Trump¡¯s previous term.
Cranes and containers are pictured at the Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025
China warns countries against striking trade deals with U.S.
Beijing will firmly oppose any party striking a deal at China¡¯s expense and ¡°will take countermeasures in a resolute and reciprocal manner,¡± its Commerce Ministry said.
Officials in northeast China have accused the U.S. of launching cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2025
China accuses U.S. of launching ¡®advanced¡¯ cyberattacks and names alleged NSA agents
The report contained a considerable amount of detail on the cyberattacks and the alleged individuals involved.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ?3,000 from ?1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
¡®My dream is broken¡¯: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men¡¯s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan¡¯s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ?11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan¡¯s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan¡¯s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan¡¯s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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