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Global South

Global South
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Global South. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The weather warning system on display at the World AI Conference in Shanghai last week. Photo: Getty Images
Science

China’s AI weather warning system Mazu expanding across Global South

The system has been designed to provide ‘tailored’ services that help developing countries better prepare for extreme weather events.

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Artificial intelligence

China AI summit hears Global South needs equal access to avoid digital divide

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Artificial intelligence

Editorial | China’s vision for global AI governance is inclusive

US-China relations

US-China AI rivalry becomes a battle to export competing tech governance visions

Will the world choose Washington’s market-driven approach or Beijing’s open-source model that aims to be accessible and safe?

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President Xi Jinping joins attendees for a group photo before the opening ceremony of the World AI Conference in China on Friday. Photo: Reuters
2026 Xi-Trump summits

Formal China-US G2 framework key to world peace: top Beijing adviser

Noted political scientist Zheng Yongnian argues that de facto ‘Group of Two’ structure has already emerged between the rival powers.

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India

Beyond payments: India aims to architect Indonesia’s digital future

A successful digital collaboration with Indonesia could elevate India into ‘a primary architect of its infrastructure’, analysts say.

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European Union

Opinion | EU should think twice before weaponising its market against China

Market size and coercive leverage are not the same thing and the EU remains more dependent on China than policymakers think.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Universities in Hong Kong

Letters | Western-centric university rankings overlook Asia’s rise

Readers discuss the Centre for World University Rankings methodology, the plan for bigger flats in Northern Metropolis, and the Bangladeshi PM’s visit to China.

Artificial intelligence

The AI industrial revolution: why US faces a historic tech reckoning from China

From EVs to robotics, China’s advancement in cutting-edge tech has seen it shake off the West’s long-standing belief in US exceptionalism.

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Education

Education powerhouse: China blueprint tackles talent crunch, tech self-reliance

China issues blueprint to strengthen education’s role to respond to fierce global tech rivalry while adapting to falling birth rates.

Children play with a humanoid robot on May 28 in Huaibei, Anhui province. Kindergartens and primary schools are closing while university dormitories remain packed amid falling birth rates – a mismatch that captures the challenge facing China’s education planners. Photo: Getty
China's military weapons

How is China shaping up in the global competition to sell air defence weapons?

After Paris arms fair, analysts expect Chinese systems to do well in the Global South but question their entry into Europe.

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Eurosam’s SAMP/T NG on display at the Eurosatory defence fair in Paris. Photo: Seong Hyeon Choi
Science

China ‘on track to surpass United States’ in goals for human, planet health: UN

Report showing global progress on 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals shows gap between Chinese and US closed significantly since 2015.

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Hong Kong politics

Opinion | 10 steps Hong Kong can take to make the most of its 5-year plan

Whether it’s fintech, gold trading or investment migration, Hong Kong has a role in supporting the nation’s 15th five-year plan.

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Malaysia

Malaysia and Asean tap Russia for energy security, defying Western ‘prejudices’

At the Asean-Russia summit in Kazan, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signalled the bloc’s willingness to engage with Moscow on trade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a gala dinner on the sidelines of the Russia-Asean summit in Kazan, Russia, on Wednesday. Photo: Handout/AP
Tibet

Could AI algorithms hold China’s solution for global narrative on Tibet?

More than 300 media professionals, government officials and academics attend international communication-focused conference in Lhasa.

This week’s second Xizang International Communication Conference took place in Lhasa, capital of China’s western autonomous region. Photo: Xinhua
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

Past failures haunt the Quad’s US$20 billion critical minerals push

The initiative aims to break China’s near-monopoly, but private-sector caution and a history of unfulfilled pledges stand in the way.

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US-China relations

Can China fill funding and leadership gaps after America quit the WHO?

Beijing is now the global health body’s biggest assessed contributor, but its voluntary donations remained low in 2025.

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China trade

China-led SCO bloc looks to fast-track plan for new bank, rival Western lenders

Member states seek more financial autonomy and localised credit by advancing an effort to fund regional growth using their national currencies, not the US dollar.

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Flags wave outside the Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on September 1. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

China’s Wang Yi tells UN multilateralism must be protected in swipe at US

Beijing’s top diplomat says ‘world peace and security are in great jeopardy’ and that UN Charter should be safeguarded at all costs.

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China education

‘Natural’ choice: why Unesco’s new STEM education centre is based in Shanghai

China is working with the UN agency to help the world’s least developed countries advance technical education and grow their talent pools.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Boeing went to China to sell planes. Beijing is buying something else

China’s demand for passenger jets is genuine – but so is its aim to build a commercially credible aviation industry.

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US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One on May 13 at Beijing Capital International Airport. Photo: AP
Artificial intelligence

Armed with Nvidia chips, UAE aims to build an AI bridge to the Global South

With its Opec era over, the Gulf state has big post-war ambitions for Africa and beyond, bolstered by elite Nvidia chip deliveries.

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The Dubai skyline featuring the Burj Khalifa. The UAE’s AI strategy is structured around deep, capital-intensive investments and the development and export of large language models to underserved markets. Photo: EPA-EFE
Diplomacy

Outside In | Xi-Trump summit aside, 2 meetings in Asia matter for global trade

As Trump travelled to Beijing for the kind of bilateral dealmaking he prefers, two groups have continued their multilateral efforts.

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong urged to shift from role as ‘superconnector’ to ‘value-adder’

Leading think tank urges city to align with national development, diversify growth, boost innovation and deepen supply chain role.

Brics

Opinion | Brics is less a structure than a sentiment

Despite lacking geopolitical alignment, Brics captures a prevailing mood among emerging economies that won’t fade away any time soon.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (left) and President Xi Jinping attend the 2023 Brics Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 24, 2023. Photo: AFP
2026 Xi-Trump summits

After nearly 9 years, Trump is landing in a totally changed China. Is he ready?

China has strengthened its position since the US president’s last visit, analysts said, predicting more equitable results from any potential agreement.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Diplomacy

Opinion | Just because Brics isn’t a coherent bloc doesn’t mean it’s impotent

The grouping has a future, not as a binding structure demanding policy alignment but as a tool for members to enhance leverage and maximise options.

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United States

Opinion | Thanks to Trump, the gloves are off. There may be no new global order

With the UN, IMF and World Bank mired in old power structures, universities could be the platform to shape how the global future unfolds.

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