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Technology
China’s tech sector has been making mass layoffs, freezing hiring and cutting pay since 2022, and there is little sign of a bounce-back. Cost reductions, efficiency enhancement or talent structure optimisation are often the words these companies use. But what is really weighing on the job market are sluggish business growth, intensified market competition and the unprecedented challenges of the business landscape amid new technology.
Culture
Artist Lim Tze Peng, who turned 102 this year, was born and bred in Singapore. From having a firm grasp of traditional Chinese painting techniques, he continually experimented with different methods, adjusting his style and finding a new path. Writer Teo Han Wue was there to witness the artist’s pivotal change in style some 15 years ago, when the artist was in his 80s. This was when Lim experimented with using bold, cursive-style calligraphic brushstrokes to create near-abstract and completely abstract paintings, with trees as the main subject matter — a style which came to be known as hutuzi (糊涂字, “muddled writing”). Lim’s “late style” continues to evolve, even until today.
Politics
While Pakistan's prized port at Gwadar in Balochistan province is supposed to open up an energy corridor from Central Asia and the Gulf across Pakistan to western China, security is the actual key to the Beijing's grand energy security plan, which includes developing Gwadar port as an alternative to the Strait of Malacca — a narrow waterway between Indonesia and Malaysia.
Politics
A recent land and maritime exercise among China and five Southeast Asian countries highlights some emerging trends but breaks little new ground.
Society
Japanese academic Hisakazu Kato observes that Japan's low birth rate has been an issue for decades seemingly with no solution, and despite efforts by the Japanese government to address the problem, its policies have come under criticism for not being what the people need.
How did things change?
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Politics
Academic Fan Hongda says that the Gaza-Israel war is dividing the world on the lines of whether or not they are on the side of the G7. Although there has been no large-scale military spillover yet, the political spillover of the Gaza-Israel war is obvious. For China, a stable and peaceful Middle East is what it wants most. Thus, it has a great stake in pushing for an end to the war.
Society
The death of a Chinese businessman who was under questioning by the discipline inspection commission has garnered widespread attention. The public is asking, why did the private entrepreneur kill himself? Did the questioning and authorities put too much pressure on him? Was his confession coerced? Lianhe Zaobao China Desk looks into the matter and how the incident will affect the private entrepreneur community.
Society
As China tries to sell its soft power, one channel it is tapping into is its food and beverage industry, with brands like Mixue and Luckin Coffee moving into overseas markets. Alongside its tech exports like smartphones, can China convince others of its products and improve its image?
Economy
Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing notes that as China’s economic and business policies shift and change, foreign companies are finding it difficult to decide whether to stay in China or pull out, given the challenges in meeting new regulations and requirements. But there are others who see opportunities.
Economy
Despite speculations about the decline of China’s economy, Chinese academic Han Heyuan says that history has shown that such contrarian sentiments have been proven wrong time and again, for example in the case of the US, Japan and even China during the turn of the century.
Economy
In the ever-evolving landscape of global geopolitics, worsening climate change impacts and the need to accelerate the clean energy transition, the contest for critical raw materials and renewable energy technologies has emerged as a focal point of contention between the European Union (EU) and China. The upcoming EU-China summit in Beijing on 5 and 6 December offers an opportunity to address their disagreements.
Politics
Both China and the US needed a successful summit to take place for their own domestic reasons, and the San Francisco meeting achieved that, says EAI senior research fellow Lance Gore. However, the real question is whether the US is actually going for a win-win cooperation with China, or a lose-lose situation hoping that China will lose more?
Politics
Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that while the recent live-fire drills by China’s Southern Theater Command at the China-Myanmar border is aimed at testing the PLA’s capabilities, it is evidently a form of warning to all sides involved in the war in northern Myanmar. Some are even supporting the idea of Chinese military deployment across the border to tackle the serious, long-term issues of smuggling, drug trafficking and telecommunications fraud in northern Myanmar.
Politics
Amid rising tensions in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China, Japan is looking to forge closer security relations with the Philippines. An envisaged reciprocal access agreement between the Philippines and Japan would be an important step towards that end and help to achieve maritime stability in East Asia.
Politics
While Japanese PM Kishida’s recent visit to Manila points to the upward momentum of the Japan-Philippines Strategic Partnership, it will also be a litmus test of Japan’s strategic goals in the rest of Southeast Asia.
Politics
Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes that the so-called Blue-White alliance seems to have broken down, and the DPP has a good chance of winning. With DPP leader William Lai a self-proclaimed advocate for Taiwan independence, that would likely mean strained relations with Beijing, or even armed reunification.
Society
Nepal’s recent ban on TikTok was a result of both societal and political concerns, says Indian academic Rishi Gupta. In the aftermath, will there be ripple effects on Nepal's relations with China?
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