With China-US relations on a downward spiral and the US gearing up for battle in the South China Sea, China’s military academics say that China should stand ready to defend attacks on its reefs in the South China Sea.

Close to 20 million people across 26 provinces and cities in the areas spanning China’s southwestern region to the midstream and downstream areas of the Yangtze River have been displaced due to severe flooding over the past few weeks. The Three Gorges Dam has long been held up as a bulwark against such massive floods in the area, but recent signs that it is literally buckling under the pressure cast doubts on its ability to be an effective flood control mechanism.

For the first time in over four decades, a China-India skirmish in the disputed Himalayan border region at Galwan Valley has resulted in fatalities, and quite a number at that. Diplomatic efforts are going into overdrive, but a series of suspicions and misperceptions on both sides may see the China-India border conflict escalating even higher. China is already flexing its muscles with military exercises in Tibet. When push comes to shove, who will blink first?

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei once ran a stall selling slimming pills, and Alibaba founder Jack Ma used to sell small items in Zhejiang. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the street stall economy is making a comeback in China. These stalls were popular in the 1980s and 1990s but declined with efforts by authorities to clean up the streets. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan weighs the pros and cons of reviving the street stall economy.

Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan notes that this year’s “two sessions” in China includes a contentious national security law for Hong Kong that has been months in the making. The law is unlikely to go down well in Hong Kong, nor with Hong Kong watchers with vested interests such as the US. What gave Beijing the confidence to push through such a law at this point in time?

China's economy has taken a hit from the pandemic, but in the face of external challenges from the US and concerns over cross-straits relations, military spending is expected to be one major topic at China’s upcoming "two sessions". Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan examines the evidence as to whether it will go up or down.

Following the filing of lawsuits in the US against China for the coronavirus outbreak, China is preparing to hit back with punitive measures. Australia, too, is facing a suspension of beef exports, while China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced tighter controls over exports of medical supplies. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan reports.

Chinese PLA forces will be undertaking rigorous training at Bohai Bay near Tianjin for two and a half months. It is probably not a coincidence that Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration day — 20 May — is well within that period and the military’s activities will serve as a constant reminder that any overstepping of the boundaries can be met with sharp reprisals.

China and the US are pointing fingers at each other for the coronavirus, with the US seeking accountability and compensation from China. Will it work? And what consequences will there be for China-US relations? Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan examines the circumstances.