World Health Organization

Fighting cigarettes hits the state’s wallet: Can China crack down on smoking?

Chinese netizens are waging an online war against secondhand smoke, but with tobacco contributing billions to state coffers, can authorities truly crack down on smoking? Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Li Kang looks into the issue.

Li Kang

09 Apr 2026

Beyond the blame game: Why US-China scientific cooperation on fentanyl is crucial

China should continue to demonstrate to the rest of the world that the “control of [illicit] drugs is essential to the future of humanity”, as reiterated in the preface of its white paper just published. Doing that entails continuous cooperation with all countries, the US included, says Chinese academic Zha Daojiong.

Zha Daojiong

03 Apr 2025

Is China finally seeing the end of the pandemic?

Despite worries that Covid infections would rise sharply after the Chinese New Year period, statistics show that earlier fears were unfounded. The sudden change has netizens speculating if "solar storms" helped to quell the virus. Can China really expect clearer skies ahead?

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

07 Feb 2023

Depression among China's college students reveals anxieties about jobs and Covid

Even with the easing of lockdown measures across China, the prolonged uncertainty has left a deep impact on youths. The grim employment outlook, volatile pandemic situation, along with the lack of mental health support, have led to elevated feelings of anxiety and insecurity among the young generation.

Caixin Global

10 Jun 2022

Indian researcher on the pandemic: It's a tragedy but India will continue to do its part

Amrita Jash considers the impact of a devastating second wave of Covid-19 on India's foreign policy and its relationships with the region and the world. She observes that India will continue to take a collective approach to fighting the pandemic as it guards its flanks vis-à-vis China and Pakistan and builds closer ties with the US and fellow members of the Quad.

Amrita Jash

11 Jun 2021

China's top infectious diseases expert Zhang Wenhong: Division stands in the way of defeating the pandemic

Zhang Wenhong, director of the infectious diseases department at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, delivered a commencement speech in English at New York University Shanghai on 26 May. He observed that in China's fight against Covid-19, a consideration for others in the community helped people follow mask-wearing and social distancing protocol in the early stages. Writ large, a globalised problem can only be solved through human solidarity. The world, especially the young of the future, need to a find a way to work together.

Caixin Global, Zhang Wenhong

03 Jun 2021

How Chinese vaccines are paving the way for China's Health Silk Road

With the aggressive vaccine diplomacy that China has embarked on involving countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, Chile and Pakistan, the "Health Silk Road" that China has long envisioned seems to be falling into place. While vaccine aid should not be political, says Yu Hong, China's efforts will benefit developing countries. But can China continue to be a global provider while balancing its domestic needs?

Yu Hong

02 Jun 2021

The world may never know the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic

A Joint WHO-China Study Team report has said that it is "extremely unlikely" that a Wuhan laboratory leak was the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet the US and other countries have cast doubts on the report, citing delay and access issues. China hit back, labelling this as another smear campaign. With each side singing their own tune, are the report results of any consequence?

Edwin Ong

01 Apr 2021

Will the EU be setting global standards in a post-pandemic world?

US-based researcher Yu Shiyu notes that the EU seems to have gained greater unity and internal coherence from the stress test of Covid-19. In contrast, the US seems to be more divided and has not found its way around the pandemic as well as its many other domestic issues. What has the EU done right to be able to be a standard setter in the post-pandemic era?

Yu Shiyu

02 Mar 2021

Vaccine diplomacy: China and India push ahead to supply vaccines to developing countries

More than three quarters of the vaccinations that have taken place worldwide have been done in just 10 countries that account for almost 60% of global GDP, while 2.5 billion people in almost 130 countries have yet to receive a single dose, according to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO. China and India have since embarked on "vaccine diplomacy" in a bid to despatch vaccines to developing countries. They may have their own goals in doing so, but their timely humanitarian aid for others is exemplary, says Zhu Zhiqun.

Zhiqun Zhu

08 Feb 2021

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: The world will not split into two, but neither can it return to the past

Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait interviewed Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ahead of the Bloomberg 2020 New Economy Forum on 17 November. Among the topics they discussed, PM Lee spoke at length about China, the US, global trade, the internet, and most of all, the China-US relationship. This is an excerpt of the interview transcript.

ThinkChina

17 Nov 2020

Intellectuals and accountability: Should scientists sway public opinion on politics?

Zhang Tiankan chastises renowned journals The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, Science and Nature, for veering off their professional domains and making prescriptive statements about which US presidential candidate to vote for. Such behaviour is irresponsible and unbecoming, to say the least. He asks: Shouldn't intellectuals be accountable for their views and positions?

Zhang Tiankan

27 Oct 2020