A watershed in Hormuz: Can US hegemony hold?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

For the Taiwanese people, the question has never been whether Beijing would talk about peace, but whether its governance record is strong enough to convince people that such promises would be honoured institutionally. Taiwan-based Malaysian columnist Ngo Jian Nam assesses what would make for a successful cross-strait peace agreement.

Is Northeast Asia’s nuclear revival a response to the Iran war crisis, or the result of deeper forces already reshaping the region’s energy future? Australian researcher Genevieve Donnellon-May ponders the question.

The collapse of Evergrande and its chairman Hui Ka Yan, marks the end of the man-made property boom in China. Lianhe Zaobao’s China news editor Yang Danxu traces the rise and fall of China’s former richest man.

With recent developments in the Middle East helping China to access separate sources of leverage at the same time, the delay in Trump’s visit to China has actually given Beijing more room to shape the atmosphere before Trump arrives, contends academic Hao Nan.

Global trade is not fragmenting into isolation but entrenching new forms of interdependence. As rules diverge, connections multiply, deepen, and become harder to unwind, argues the Milken Institute’s Robin Hu.

Jobs are not only being replaced by artificial intelligence, those seemingly secure will be restructured, with different tasks or a cut in pay. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Li Kang speaks with Chinese employees who are feeling the impact to find out what they are doing to secure their future.

As AI ultimately is controlled by people, capital and intentions, understanding the US and China’s different approaches to AI will help to unlock the trajectory of Al development of the future, beyond the rhetoric of an AI “war” or counting who’s winning, says Danish academic Erik Baark.

China’s announcement of establishing and promoting cross-strait communications and exchanges following the meeting with the Kuomintang leader portrays China as pursuing peace. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Chuang Hui Liang notes aside from promoting cross-strait peace, China’s move could give it more leverage against the US.