Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

US-China relations

US-China relations
Breaking news and analysis on US-China relations, including trade war, talks, and tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Open Questions series

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

videocam
15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

videocam
18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

videocam
93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

videocam
40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

videocam
15
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

videocam
18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

videocam
93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

videocam
40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
MORE FROM THIS SERIES
US President Donald Trump. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Artificial intelligence

Trump signs looser AI order amid China competition concerns

The US government will get 30 days, instead of 90, to review new AI models under voluntary guidelines approved by President Donald Trump.

Shangri-La Dialogue

Editorial | Shangri-La Dialogue has outlived its usefulness for China

World Health Organization (WHO)

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

videocam
10
China-Latin America relations

China opens door to all Brazilian beef, then slams it with a 55% surtax

Recognition lifts a long-standing sanitary barrier, but an import quota in force since January caps how far Brazilian beef sales can grow.

videocam
A butcher weighs meat at a butcher shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

Trump looks to balance ‘lead over China’ and national security with AI order

Voluntary framework to vet powerful new AI systems up to 30 days before their public release, stopping short of mandating review regulations.

videocam
2026 Xi-Trump summit

US and China have ‘no choice’ but to talk despite ‘long-term problems’: Rubio

Top diplomat said dialogue was essential to prevent tensions over Taiwan, trade and security from escalating into a broader conflict.

9
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
United States

Trump ally with no known experience made new US acting intelligence chief

Bill Pulte, the chief of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, replaces Tulsi Gabbard to oversee 18 intelligence agencies.

7
Bill Pulte has become one of Donald Trump’s most vocal defenders in Washington since joining the administration. Photo: AP
China-Latin America relations

US’ Cuba-China fears, Panama pressure: Latin America relations reads

From Argentina’s shrinking China lifeline to the US’ Cuba worries, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in May 2026.

China society

As I see it | How adversity has guided the path of Chinese civilisation through the ages

Recent findings by archaeologists suggest the push for innovative solutions is often borne out of the struggle to overcome severe challenges.

videocam
5
US-China tech war

China boosts trade-war toolkit with cross-border investment overhaul

Unifying and strengthening cross-border investment rules will help China fight potential trade wars with the US and Europe.

Image: VCG/Getty Images
US-China tech war

China’s new outbound investment rules

SCMP Plus annotates new investment rules released by China’s State Council in the wake of the high-profile Nexperia dispute and Meta’s aborted acquisition of Manus.

China’s new outbound investment rules
United States

Senators blast Trump over export of AI chips to overseas units of Chinese firms

Elizabeth Warren called on the commerce secretary to testify on the issue amid concerns over fuelling China’s military capabilities.

China-Latin America relations

China urges Brazil to jointly repel ‘external challenges’ as ties deepen

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira meets Wang Yi and Han Zheng as Brazil seeks key stable fertiliser supply amid US-Iran conflict.

South China Sea

US and China hold ‘candid’ maritime military safety talks in Hawaii

Officials discussed ways to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations during encounters between their forces.

Beijing says US military patrols and exercises with allies in the South China Sea threaten regional stability. Photo: Reuters
Science

China team drafts sanctions list targeting US, allies on 63 key tech sectors

Scientists have listed sensitive or globally competitive tech that may benefit from export restrictions to keep them out of foreign hands.

videocam
34
A Chinese team has drawn up a list of sensitive or globally competitive technology sectors that could benefit from export restrictions to the US and its allies. Illustration: Shutterstock
Mainland China

Xi-Trump aftermath, space tactics, AI policy change: 7 US-China relations reads

From Xi-Trump meeting analysis to soybean worries and tech plans, here are highlights from our correspondents in the second half of May 2026.

2026 Xi-Trump summit

Exclusive | Trump ‘personally called for China’s help’ to end Ukraine war in summit with Xi

Washington is also not happy about Beijing’s rare earth controls, according to people familiar with the talks.

videocam
49
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Diplomacy

Opinion | Trump has buried liberal world order but what comes next could be better

The US and China have an opportunity to move beyond ideological confrontation towards coexistence, strategic stability and managed competition.

videocam
Illustration: Craig Stephens
Yuan

Is China’s global economic influence bigger than it looks? New study says yes

Standard metrics understate China’s physical investment gap with the US and its wider economic influence, researchers say.

10
United States

Exclusive | ‘Seasoned China hand’ to lead National Committee on US-China Relations: sources

Sarah Beran, a former deputy chief of mission at US embassy in Beijing, will succeed non-profit group’s long-time president, Stephen Orlins.

videocam
Shangri-La Dialogue

Hegseth tones down China rhetoric on return to Asia

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth adopted a noticeably less hostile tone towards China in his address at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Photo: EPA
Shangri-La Dialogue

Shangri-La Dialogue: what China, US and Japan said

Speeches by the US, Chinese and Japanese delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Photo: Singapore’s Ministry of Defence
Mainland China

US takes step to halt Nvidia AI chip shipments to Chinese overseas subsidiaries

Surprise move suggests US chips may have been making their way to the subsidiaries of Chinese firms based in places such as Malaysia.

videocam
18
Mainland China

Opinion | US quietly plays the long game on energy dominance against China

Behind the Trump administration’s detente with Beijing lies a strategy to redirect global energy flows and disrupt Chinese competitiveness.

videocam
17
Singapore

Shangri-La Dialogue: can Asia do ‘less Shangri-La, more ships, more subs’?

In response to Hegseth’s call, participants at the Singapore forum say defence spending levels have to factor in different countries’ needs.

videocam
4
Participants speak at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence forum in Singapore on Sunday. Photo: Singapore’s Ministry of Defence
Shangri-La Dialogue

China dials down rhetoric but regional risks persist at Shangri-La Dialogue

In the wake of the Xi-Trump summit, the US and Chinese delegations dispense with the tough talk of previous years.

videocam
17
Major General Meng Xiangqing (second from left) leaves a special session at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Saturday. Photo: Reuters
Britain

US agency goes back to the future to take on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The US International Development Finance Corp mixes national security and foreign investment in its supply chain quest.

videocam
11
Shangri-La Dialogue

How US defence chief Hegseth softened tone towards China after Xi-Trump meeting

In contrast with last year, his speech to the Shangri-La forum avoided sensitive issues and did not directly describe Beijing as a ‘threat’.

videocam
5
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement