From airspace to sea lanes: A new front in US-China rivalry
From the skies over Africa to the strategic waters of the Middle East, the world’s vital transit nodes are being transformed into tools of statecraft. As major powers move beyond traditional warfare to weaponising global infrastructure, smaller nations find themselves navigating a high-stakes era of chokepoint diplomacy and economic coercion. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han finds out more.
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Amid global uncertainty, rising inflation and weak consumer confidence, gold has once again come into favour as a safe-haven asset, echoing its role in times of war. Yet while its value can be measured in markets, the true weight of gold is not purely numerical. Beyond price and purity, it carries memories, meanings and emotional significance — as ThinkChina’s Grace Chong discovered in conversations with gold jewellers in Singapore and China, across generations.
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Grounded: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has nowhere to fly
With Beijing applying pressure to block overseas trips by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, it is difficult for him to pursue any diplomacy as he has his hands tied with little to no room to manoeuvre, while Beijing continues with business as usual. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei tells us more.
Bamboo diplomacy no more? Vietnam’s growing comfort with China
Amid the complex dynamics of China-Vietnam relations, the balancing act between strategic autonomy and economic dependence is becoming increasingly precarious. Academic Alexander L. Vuving explains why.
Empire in decline? Asian Americans in an age of anxiety
Amid intensified immigration enforcement, many immigrants and Asian Americans report rising fear, discrimination and uncertainty, reshaping daily life and eroding confidence in the American promise. Chinese American academic Wu Guo shares some insight on the long-term impact of ICE operations on the psyche of the Asian community.
A watershed in Hormuz: Can US hegemony hold?
The Strait of Hormuz crisis is testing US hegemony as Iran pressures energy flows and Gulf states hedge their bets. Amid rising tensions, China is reassessing its maritime role, weighing security exposure against new strategic and economic opportunities. Lianhe Zaobao’s China news editor Yang Danxu analyses the situation.
How civilisational politics fuels today’s wars
Academic Ma Haiyun traces the history of civilisational conflict narratives in Western strategic thinking, built on Jewish intellectual foundations, long before the rise of Samuel P. Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Such approaches have had a profound effect on influencing the US’s behaviour in the Middle East and spillover effects in the region.
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[Big read] OpenClaw sparks China’s one-person AI start-up boom
China’s young entrepreneurs are embracing a new wave of AI-driven solo start-ups, as the OpenClaw craze reshapes how one-person companies are built, scaled and powered by digital “agents”. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yush Chau reports from China.
China’s critical minerals export ban falls short
The latest data on imports and consumption of gallium and germanium suggests that Beijing’s weaponisation strategy only led to a price spike, but did not hurt the US’s industrial consumption amid their efforts to diversify. Ultimately, dominance built on a genuine capability differential is key to export controls achieving their desired result, say researchers Amit Kumar and Pranay Kotasthane.
Tit for tat: Beijing builds legal arsenal against Western sanctions and jurisdiction
US warning to Chinese banks over Iran-linked transactions triggered a swift response from Beijing, which rolled out new regulations to counter sanctions and extraterritorial legal pressure. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei examines this tit-for-tat escalation now extending into the legal sphere.
Seoul’s Global South turn: A blueprint for a fractured world
As US-China tensions fracture the globe, South Korea is carving out a third way. By acting as a “bridge of trust”, South Korea aims to turn solidarity with the Global South into a vital survival strategy, opines South Korean academic Kang Jun-young.
Petroyuan on the horizon: The Middle East crisis rewires global oil finance
The conflict and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz have made the petroyuan more viable as an emergent geopolitical instrument, but this does not augur a plain displacement of the petrodollar, but a more fragmented, coercion-driven and multipolar monetary order, contends EAI deputy director Chen Gang.
Fear of long war hits China’s Gulf investors hard
China’s Gulf investment outlook is under pressure as expectations of a drawn-out Iran conflict grow, with analysts saying a narrow ceasefire window will determine whether risk appetite recovers or further deteriorates. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei reports.
ByteDance’s billion-RMB bet on China’s first AI-native hospital
Backed by the deep pockets of ByteDance, a private hospital in Beijing is attempting an ambitious architectural experiment: building a medical centre where AI is not just an assistant, but the “native” brain of the entire institution — though the path from “digital employee” to medical reality faces steep technical and financial hurdles.
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[Photos] Cheng Li-wun’s bid to reclaim the Kuomintang’s lost identity in cross-strait politics
Kuomintang (KMT) chair Cheng Li-wun’s visit to mainland China marks a bold attempt to reshape the Kuomintang’s ideological direction, reviving contested historical narratives in a bid to reclaim the party’s lost identity and redefine its role in cross-strait politics amid rising tensions. Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao shares his personal observations.
From exception to rule: Top scientists reshape China’s party leadership
Academicians from China’s top scientific bodies, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), are increasingly entering the CCP’s leadership, reshaping elite governance and driving the country’s rapid, innovation-led technological rise, observe academic Li Cheng and pre-doctoral fellow Zhao Xiuye of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World in Hong Kong.
Britain can no longer treat China as optional
As US instability grows, Britain must rethink its China posture. Neither ally nor adversary, Beijing demands engagement with clarity, pragmatism and a strategy that reflects shifting global power, says UK academic Kerry Brown.
Europe copies China’s industrial playbook: A protectionist turn?
Europe’s new industrial policy mirrors aspects of China’s state-led model, from local content rules to investment screening. But is this a shift toward protectionism — or a path to deeper EU-China industrial cooperation? Researcher Patrick Schröder analyses the situation.
ASEAN’s energy crisis — and Japan’s opening in the Middle East oil shock
The Middle East oil shock exposes ASEAN’s fragmented energy security, while creating an opening for Japan to deepen cooperation through stockpiles, swaps and regional resilience mechanisms. Japanese academic Sukegawa Seiya outlines a potential way forward.
What if the Taiwan Strait were blockaded?
Chinese netizens joke about “dual toll booths” in the Strait of Hormuz, but the deeper question is what such blockade logic would mean if applied to the Taiwan Strait. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei examines the scenario.