As TikTok edges towards its deadline of 15 September to either be sold to a US buyer or banned in the US, it is ironic to think that Bytedance, its parent company, is getting bruised from all sides. Some of its harshest critics, in fact, are intensely patriotic Chinese citizens who think that it has not gone far enough in pushing back on unreasonable US demands. Can ByteDance appease the gods and the hoards before the deadline is up?

With its “China DNA” and despite its popularity, TikTok may end up being blocked in the US and eventually elsewhere in the world. Will its discussions with Microsoft work out? Or will it have to pull out of the US? And beyond TikTok, what does this episode mean for Chinese companies in the process of internationalising their businesses?

The recent diplomatic row between China and the US sparked off by the US ordering the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston has ended for now, with the closure of the US consulate in Chengdu. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu notes that the spectator “melon-munching crowd” has responded with nationalist sentiments, and the media in China is fanning the flames. Can China-US relations be salvaged?

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between China and Singapore. In a recent interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore’s Ambassador to China Lui Tuck Yew takes stock of the relationship, speaks of the challenges and opportunities brought about by Covid-19, and looks ahead to greater heights that the two countries can scale together through greater collaboration and cooperation.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members and their families may soon be banned from travelling to the US, while there are other indications that the CCP is becoming a target for the US in a new global competition of ideology. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu examines the signs of worsening US-China relations.

With Covid-19 uncertainty and downturns pummelling its export-dependent economy, China’s leaders are trying to steer companies towards the domestic market instead. This may seem like a case of putting old wine in a new bottle, as China has tried this route before. Significant challenges are proving yet again that achieving export sales domestically is no mean feat. Can export-driven companies brave the storm while they reinvent themselves and recover?

China’s gaokao began yesterday, with millions of students taking this national university entrance exam (gaokao). One phenomenon that got Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu curious was students wearing purple underwear to the exams. She examines this and other superstitions that give students a mental boost in the exam, and says that the gaokao needs to remain fair.

The new national security law for Hong Kong covering crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion, with possible punishments as harsh as life imprisonment, was passed yesterday. Since then and even before that, opposition camp leaders past and present have been announcing their departure from politics. Does this mean the national security law is having the deterrent effect it was designed to have? And what lies ahead for Hong Kong in such a changed landscape? Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu examines the issues.

Since China launched its BRI in 2013, over 100 countries have signed agreements with China to work together on projects such as railways, highways, ports and other infrastructure. According to estimates from Refinitiv, there are over 2,600 projects in the BRI with a combined value of US$3.7 trillion. However, amid the pandemic spread, disruptions to global supply chains, anti-Chinese sentiment and clamours for debt relief, China is facing major hurdles and dilemmas on how it should forge ahead with the BRI. Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu reports from Beijing.