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Haining Gao
Production Executive, SCMP Plus
Haining joined the Post in early 2024 as a production executive on the SCMP Plus team. His interests lie in AI development and US-China relations. Before joining SCMP, he was a research assistant at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He holds a degree in international relations from New York University.
Haining joined the Post in early 2024 as a production executive on the SCMP Plus team. His interests lie in AI development and US-China relations. Before joining SCMP, he was a research assistant at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He holds a degree in international relations from New York University.
Areas of Expertise:
US-China relations, artificial Intelligence, diplomacyLanguages Spoken:
English, German, Mandarin
China is investing billions of dollars in Latin America, seeking access to raw materials and huge markets in an area traditionally seen in the US as “America’s backyard”.
China’s State Council released a five-part white paper about Hong Kong and national security.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is boosting the nation’s defence capabilities ahead of the 2027 centenary of the People’s Liberation Army. He has overseen improvements in hardware, including the expansion of the nuclear weapons programme, and tightened his control through high-level purges of generals.
China is likely to set its economic growth target in a range of 4.5 to 5 per cent after meeting its 2025 goal of “around 5 per cent” thanks to domestic subsidies and strong exports.
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This week: China and Canada to cut tariffs, Taiwan agrees chips and tariff deal with US, China trade surplus hits record, and PBOC cuts relending rates. Next week, China economic growth may hit post-Covid low, Trump attends Davos, DeepSeek reaches first anniversary, and more.
China posted its first trade surplus above US$1 trillion in 2025 as exporters reshaped operations to weather the US trade war and imports stagnated amid lower oil prices.
The European Commission published guidance for carmakers that want to set a minimum price for China-made battery electric vehicles instead of paying tariffs.
US actions in Venezuela highlight China’s dependence on foreign oil and show why geopolitical risks are spurring its efforts to lower energy imports even as its economy grows.
In 2025, graft-busters launched corruption investigations against 65 senior Chinese officials, including eight of ministerial-level.
As the year comes to a close, SCMP Plus looks back on how the US-China trade war played out.
China has suspended export controls on critical minerals introduced in October and eased the licensing process for others following the Trump-Xi summit in South Korea.
Chinese firms are investing in overseas factories and marketing to develop global brands. Domestic price wars are pushing more companies to go global – “chuhai” in Chinese – in search of new growth opportunities.
China and Japan have built deep economic links, while also still having regular diplomatic rows. The latest blow-up came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that the nation’s military forces could potentially be deployed in the event of a Taiwan conflict.
Since presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met on October 30, US-China trade relations have improved with a tariff rollback, soybean purchases resuming and new curbs put on shipments of fentanyl precursors.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil met Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng at the fourth China-Germany high-level financial dialogue in Beijing. Below is the joint statement released by the German Ministry of Finance.
The Fujian, China’s first self-developed aircraft carrier, entered service on Wednesday after about 18 months of sea trials. The vessel launches planes with electromagnetic catapults, a technology previously only used by the US.
Trade-weighted average tariffs between the US and China have largely returned to pre-Liberation Day levels following the Trump-Xi summit in South Korea. The risk of sky-high tariffs and export controls has been averted for now.
This is the second in an SCMP Plus series annotating different parts of China’s five-year plan recommendations. The focus is on market reforms and opening up.
The 20th Central Committee of China’s Communist Party adopted a recommendation for formulating the country’s 15th five-year plan. Below is the official translation of the full Chinese text released by Xinhua.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in South Korea on Thursday, where they may strike a trade deal following five rounds of face-to-face talks between negotiators.
Attempts to build a unified national market will likely feature in China’s next five-year plan as President Xi Jinping seeks to boost domestic consumption amid economic pressures and global trade tensions.
China has a near-monopoly on rare-earth mining and processing. It has extended export controls to a further five elements, taking the number restricted to 12.
Chinese holdings of US government debt fell to US$731 billion in July, trailing Japan and the UK, while gold reserves kept on climbing.
This week: US-China trade deal is ‘pretty close’ ahead of Trump-Xi call, China clamps down on Nvidia chips, Chinese economic data worsens. Next week: Zijin Gold closes books on IPO, Chery Auto starts trading, PBOC announces rates, and more.
China unveils19-point plan to boost service consumption through market opening, fiscal support and sector-specific measures.
Advancing the transition to a consumption-driven economy is likely to be a key focus in China’s 15th five-year plan. The country will start the plan having largely met the main economic targets of the 14th programme.
Overissuance, market manipulation and speculative trading are among key dangers posed by stablecoins, according to Zhou Xiaochuan.
The 10-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a forum for China and Russia to promote their foreign policy visions, opens its 25th summit in Tianjin on August 31.
Trade-weighted average tariffs between the US and China have increased significantly this year, even with a trade war pause that has been extended to November. The tariff truce, first agreed in May, only reduced new levies that had reached sky-high levels amid spiralling countermeasures.
