Beijing, EU agree on plan; Nvidia CEO Huang delights Chinese fans: SCMP's 7 highlights
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The EU and China agreed on a new mechanism to help smooth the export of rare earth elements and magnets, as Brussels pushed Beijing to take its trade concerns seriously, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a summit in the Chinese capital on Thursday.
An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System drone seen aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in 2013. The US X-47B programme was cancelled 10 years ago. Photo: AFP
Chinese aerospace engineers have a revolutionary software design that they say will allow them to overcome a major barrier to stealth aircraft development.
Cambodian soldiers reload a BM-21 multiple rocket launcher in Preah Vihear province on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodia on Thursday as a simmering border dispute erupted into open conflict, with soldiers on both sides exchanging fire and Cambodian troops unleashing rockets that killed at least 12 Thais, most of them civilians.
A Chinese company has converted a giant cargo ship into a mobile fish farm as part of a project that aims to boost the nation's food security by repurposing old vessels for use in aquaculture.
China's new mega dam project is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, shown here in 2021, near Nyingchi city in the Tibet autonomous region. Photo: AFP
On the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau, China envisions a future powered by the roaring waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo, also known as the Brahmaputra. The river will be the site of a mega dam – the world's most ambitious to date – that promises to bring clean energy, jobs, infrastructure and prosperity to the region.
Construction on the world's largest hydropower dam began on Saturday, according to Premier Li Qiang, who called it the 'project of the century'. But the project is not just about electricity and economic benefits – the stakes are far higher. Regional security, ecological stability and the future of one of Asia's great rivers all hang in the balance.
Four Hong Kong Airlines passenger flights touched down at the city's airport while the highest typhoon signal was still in force on Sunday, with experts saying such landings were possible under the right wind and operational conditions.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang captivates millions of Chinese fans with a charm offensive that includes wearing a Tang suit and speaking imperfect Mandarin. Photo: SCMP composite/AP/Kyodo
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang captivated millions of Chinese fans by donning a Tang suit and speaking in rusty Mandarin at the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), marking his third visit to China this year.
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RTHK
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Apple to invest US$100b more locally to avoid tariffs
Apple to invest US$100b more locally to avoid tariffs Donald Trump shake hands with Tim Cook at the White House after announcing the additional US$100 billion investment undertaking by Apple. Photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump has announced that Apple will invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States, a move that could help it sidestep potential tariffs on iPhones. The new pledge raises Apple's total domestic investment commitment to US$600 billion over the next four years. The company announced earlier this year it would invest US$500 billion and hire 20,000 workers across the country. The announcement centres on expanding Apple's supply chain and advanced manufacturing footprint in the US, but still falls short of Trump's demand that Apple begin making iPhones domestically. "Companies like Apple, they're coming home. They're all coming home," Trump said in the Oval Office, moments after Apple chief executive Tim Cook gave him a US-made souvenir with a 24-karat gold base. "This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in America also are made in America," Trump added. Asked if Apple could eventually build entire iPhones in the United States, Cook noted that many components such as semiconductors, glass and Face ID modules are already made domestically, but said that final assembly will remain overseas "for a while". While the investment pledge is significant, analysts say the numbers align with Apple's typical spending patterns and echo commitments made during both the Biden administration and Trump's previous term. In May, Trump had threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff on products manufactured overseas, a sharp reversal from earlier policy when his administration had exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from rounds of tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump's effort to reshape global trade through tariffs cost Apple US$800 million in the June quarter. "Today is a good step in the right direction for Apple, and it helps get on Trump's good side after what appears to be a tension-filled few months in the eyes of the Street between the White House and Apple," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. Apple has a mixed track record when it comes to following through on investment promises. In 2019, for instance, Cook toured a Texas factory with Trump that was promoted as a new manufacturing site. But the facility had been producing Apple computers since 2013 and Apple has since moved that production to Thailand. Apple continues to manufacture most of its products, including iPhones and iPads, in Asia, primarily in China, although it has shifted some production to Vietnam, Thailand and India in recent years. (Reuters)
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A white paper published by Chongqing Landship Information Technology, an autonomous driving solution provider, also said that DeepSeek has excellent potential for military use, particularly in command, communications, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. 'China can deploy DeepSeek V3 in Gongji-11 drones to fight against F-16V fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait,' Wen Chang, a senior researcher at Techxcope, a Beijing-based think tank, says in an article published in March. 'This would be a fairer game than deploying China's sixth-generation (Chengdu J-36) or fifth-generation (Chengdu J-20) fighter jets to combat the F-16V, which is not a stealth fighter.' 'Although the F-16V also has an AI system, it still needs the pilot to make most decisions. In this sense, Gongji-11 has an advantage as it can fly 24 hours a day,' he added. 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On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice said two Chinese nationals, both 28, have been arrested in California for violating the US Export Control Reform Act as they exported from the US to China sensitive technology, including graphic processing units (GPUs) – specialized computer parts used for modern computing – without first obtaining the required license or authorization from the US. Read: US plans to tighten AI chip export rules for Malaysia, Thailand
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Trump-Putin face-to-face meeting could happen very soon
The big news is that US President Donald Trump has pronounced the Special Envoy Steven Witkoff's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as very productive. He has further announced he will meet with Putin face-to-face as soon as next week. He spoke to Putin by telephone today (August 6). Trump also says that he intends to follow up on his meeting with Putin with a three-way meeting between himself, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. We have no official word from Russia, but the Trump announcement is in line with predictions coming from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that there will be 'big surprises.' We have no readout from either side on the terms discussed between the parties, only that there were two subjects: Ukraine and US-Russia strategic cooperation. It may be that the Russians are uncertain about how much political or strategic support they can expect from China, suggesting maybe the Chinese leadership is in flux. Likewise, we also know, at least in part, that preliminary talks took place between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lavrov and between Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, acting as a mediator with Trump, and Putin. The Russians have promised a readout of the conversation, although I am not sure it will be enlightening. Certainly, this is a very big development, but it carries plenty of risk for all sides, especially for Trump. The US president will need to control Zelensky, a difficult task because Zelensky has nowhere to go, as he cannot easily make significant concessions. Washington allegedly wants to get rid of him because he is an obstacle to a deal, so we can't rule out a melodrama involving Zelensky's status. Meanwhile, Trump slapped India with a 50% tariff, in part because of its purchases of sanctioned Russian oil. This is a mistake because India will have to fight back and the US will find itself in a position of strengthening the military alignment between India and Russia. Ideologically, it is also counterproductive, as India is a strong democratic country and the US is treating it as a pariah. India will likely quickly make a deal to buy Russia's new Su-57 fighter jets instead of the F-35, something that has been trending anyway. There are other potential 'disrupters.' One potential is the UK. I doubt the UK and French, along with Estonia and some others (maybe not the Germans) will be enthusiastic in supporting a brokered deal on Ukraine. The Russians report the UK is planning a so-called shadow-fleet incident (probably in the Baltic or Sea of Finland) that will trigger a UK and potential NATO response, forcing the US to support a hard anti-Russian position. So some sort of provocation can't be ruled out, notwithstanding whether the Russians have real intelligence on UK planning, or if they are faking it. The 'shadow fleet' are ships carrying Russian oil that are not insured by the London exchange. However, other insurance instruments are available in the maritime trade, so the terminology is intended to characterize these ships in a pejorative manner and does not describe the status of these tankers. Meanwhile, the Estonians and Finns have attempted to thwart the transit of these tankers and have tried to pull them into port for 'inspections.' The Russian Navy is now escorting them, putting a stop to these provocations. More yet may happen. There are many other wild cards, including moves that Ukraine may make. The last time there was a ceasefire that stopped flights of aircraft and drones, the Ukrainians kept up attacks anyway on Russian territory. There are plenty of other possibilities. Even so, it looks like the diplomatic track may, at last, be leading to concrete results in ending the conflict in Ukraine. Stephen Bryen is a special correspondent to Asia Times and former US deputy undersecretary of defense for policy. This article, which originally appeared in his Substack newsletter Weapons and Strategy, is republished with permission.
