China-US Competition
Politics
What is the worst acceptable outcome for Trump and Xi?
Ahead of their high-stakes Washington summit, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping face a tenuous truce: while tactical deals on trade procurement and AI safety offer temporary fixes, core rifts over Taiwan, tech dominance and rare earths remain fundamentally unresolved. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei speaks to academics to find out.
Sim Tze Wei
23 Sep 2026
Politics
Can Trump-Xi personal diplomacy keep rivalry in check?
Strategic competition between China and the US is here to stay, but frequent engagement between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump could help keep rivalry from sliding into confrontation, while opening new avenues for cooperation on trade, technology and AI. Chinese academic Zhu Feng analyses what is in store.
Zhu Feng
23 Sep 2026
Technology
How US curbs could split the robot world
US restrictions on foreign-made advanced robotic devices are unlikely to hurt China in the long term, but a greater concern is the fragmentation of the global robotics industry into competing technological ecosystems, say researcher Songruowen Ma and analyst Tony Zhao.
Songruowen Ma, Tony Zhao
22 Sep 2026
Politics
Trump-Xi summit: What can the US and China actually agree on?
US and Chinese officials meet in New York to tackle a range of issues, including trade and AI, laying the groundwork for concrete deliverables for the expected Trump-Xi summit in Washington DC. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Liu tells us more.
Liu Liu
21 Sep 2026
Politics
Small wins in an ‘infinite game’: The limits of Xi-Trump talks
Xi and Trump may meet again, but a breakthrough looks elusive. Taiwan, AI and tariffs expose deepening divides, leaving the two powers to manage tensions rather than resolve their rivalry. Lianhe Zaobao China news editor Yang Danxu examines the issue.
Yang Danxu
16 Sep 2026
Technology
Time to ‘pace’ AI development?
Even as US tech leaders warn of losing control over AI, China makes the point that AI risks should not slow development down. This is an example of other factors that could decide the US-China AI race, more than technology alone, says commentator Deng Yuwen.
Deng Yuwen
15 Sep 2026
Politics
Xi Jinping’s tech diplomacy meets harsh realities of BRICS
BRICS is gaining cohesion, but internal divisions remain. As it seeks a bigger global role, China is using AI cooperation to expand its network of partners, promote its standards and gain an edge over the US. Lianhe Zaobao China news correspondent Edwin Ong reports.
Edwin Ong
14 Sep 2026
Technology
How ZTE changed Xi Jinping’s vision for China’s tech future
The 2018 ZTE crisis exposed China’s vulnerability to US technology controls. For Xi Jinping, it became a defining lesson in why technological self-reliance, strategic resilience and control over critical technologies matter. Professor Tan Kong Yam analyses its lasting impact.
Tan Kong Yam
10 Sep 2026
Technology
China’s 582-tonne fusion magnet is not a weapon — yet
China’s 582-tonne superconducting magnet is not a weapon; it is a marker of integrated technological power. The real strategic weight lies in how its dual-use foundations could reshape energy, security and supply-chain leverage for generations to come, argues researcher Tahir Mahmood Azad.
Tahir Mahmood Azad
08 Sep 2026
Politics
[Video] Unapologetic and undeterred: Cheng Li-wun’s fight to remake the KMT
In an exclusive interview, KMT chair Cheng Li-wun lays out her vision for easing cross-strait tensions and reshaping Taiwan’s largest opposition party. Unfazed by criticism and determined to speak her mind, she is taking on entrenched party interests while walking a precarious line between Beijing and Washington. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Chuang Hui Liang and Taipei correspondent Lai Oi Lai find out.
Chuang Hui Liang, Lai Oi Lai
04 Sep 2026