Liu Chang: The reluctant heiress who saved her father’s agriculture empire

In China, the price-to-income ratio has long been among the highest in the world, with home prices in some major cities reaching levels that would take over 30 years of income to match. And now, after four years of declining prices triggered by the country’s real estate crisis, ThinkChina’s Lu Lingming and Yi Jina speak with some Chinese to hear how they view the housing market today.

Despite political rifts among the Quad countries, the recent annual Malabar naval exercise which went ahead means that the Quad grouping is still relevant where it counts most: enhancing joint military interoperability and preparedness on both sides of the Indo-Pacific. Manila-based analyst Don McLain Gill shares his views. 

China’s 2035 pledge to cut emissions by 7–10% is more than climate policy — it’s a statement of power at COP30, signalling its ambition to shape global governance, says EAI deputy director Chen Gang.

China is racing to turn its vast state-backed investment and swelling domestic isotope supply into a global power in nuclear medicine — but its bold drive to lead the next wave of cancer diagnostics and therapies still faces deep structural bottlenecks.

Trump’s leaked ceasefire blueprint for the Russia-Ukraine war is alarming to Europe but carries even bigger stakes for Beijing. A revived Russia could mean that its economic tether to China is loosened, while a US pivot to Asia could deepen China’s tensions with Japan and heighten pressure around Taiwan. Researcher Eka Khorbaladze explains.

Amid rising tensions over Tokyo’s “Taiwan contingency” statement, China could turn to rare earths — essential for hi-tech industries — as a powerful lever. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Sim Tze Wei investigates the odds of Beijing playing this card.

Beneath the pessimism, Hong Kong is adapting fast. Its reinvention — spanning finance, talent and integration with mainland China — may prove decisive in a fractured global landscape, say AMRO economists Jae Young Lee and Jungsung Kim.

An emerging US-India alliance, invigorated during the Biden administration, now hangs in the balance as Trump tellingly left Delhi out of his Asia tour. Indian researcher Rishi Gupta gives his take on the state of US-India relations.

Trump’s ambitious tariffs have backfired, forcing abrupt reversals and showing that Americans — not foreign companies — ultimately pay the price. Former journalist Goh Choon Kang tells us more about growing domestic frustration in the US, and how the international trade order is gradually reducing their reliance on the US.

Hong Kong hopes to capitalise on Shenzhen’s APEC 2026 spotlight, but rising rivals in the Greater Bay Area threaten its standing. Can the city avoid being eclipsed? Lianhe Zaobao’s Tai Hing Shing explores the stakes.

In the coming weeks, the intensity of Beijing’s countermeasures is unlikely to diminish and will likely continue to escalate, asserts commentator Deng Yuwen. In China’s view, Japan has just crossed too many of its red lines all at once. 

From Gobi desert solar farms to coastal nuclear reactors, China is quietly building the energy grid of the future. Self-sufficient, AI-ready and strategically insulated, it is turning climate goals into a “green fortress” the US struggles to match, says academic Hao Nan.

In efforts to support economic recovery and development, Chinese officials have been rolling out the red carpet for entrepreneurs. However, Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Sim Tze Wei found out that Chinese businesses would rather be left alone.

Using its engineering prowess and infrastructure muscle, Chinese firms have unlocked one of the world’s richest high-grade iron ore deposits. In doing so, they are helping to redraw the global supply map, challenging the dominance of traditional exporters like Australia and Brazil.

XPeng’s latest robot IRON, amazes audiences with its lifelike movements, yet globally, advanced AI and chips are keeping the US in command of humanoid intelligence. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk dives into the issue.

As the Philippines assumes the ASEAN chair in 2026, can it balance China relations, US alliances and regional trust-building through trade, green energy and security cooperation? Researcher Muhammad Faizal gives his take.

Mao once said that catching up to the US could take 75 years. With the Chinese Communist Party unveiling a major 15th Five-Year Plan at the recent fourth plenum, the next five years could see China achieving economic equivalence, technological autonomy and military near-equality with the US. Commentator Deng Yuwen discusses the issue.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim certainly has his hands full after being accused of selling out Malaysian interests by signing an MOU on critical minerals with the US. How will Anwar balance both domestic criticism and his desire to develop Malaysia’s rare earths industry? Malaysian writer Anthony Chong tells us more.