China's strong GDP figures, delivery robots riding Shenzhen subway: SCMP daily highlights
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China's economy beat market forecasts to grow 5.2 per cent in the second quarter, but analysts said headwinds would intensify in late 2025.
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te is planning a US 'stopover' trip in August that could take him to New York and Texas en route to South America, sources said, a move that is bound to anger Beijing.
Subway trains across the southern Chinese megacity of Shenzhen welcomed an unusual new set of passengers on Monday, as the city deployed a fleet of delivery robots to restock convenience stores scattered around its subway system.
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HKFP
3 hours ago
- HKFP
Taipei holds air raid drill to prepare for Chinese attack
Taipei came to a brief standstill on Thursday when air raid sirens forced people off the streets and into underground shelters in a rehearsal for a Chinese attack. The annual civilian drill is being held in cities across Taiwan this week, alongside military training, to prepare the self-governed island for a potential Chinese invasion. Communist China has never ruled Taiwan but Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. Sirens sounded across Taipei at 1:30 pm (0530 GMT), bringing the capital city of 2.5 million people to a halt for half an hour. Police waving batons stopped motorbikes, cars and public buses on the streets and people were directed into shelters, including basements and subway stations. Some people retreated into office buildings for the duration of the exercise. Tracy Herr, 50, was on her way to a temple when she heard the air raid siren. She went to a nearby subway station where others were sheltering. Pointing at a group of young women sitting on the floor and chatting, Herr said Taiwanese people had 'lived comfortably for too long' and some didn't take the air raid drill seriously. The drills also involved simulating wartime aid distribution and a mass-casualty event. Dozens of people lined up at three distribution points to receive bags of rice, cooking oil and salt. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has sought to raise public awareness of the threat posed by China since taking office last year. 'Each drill allows our country to further enhance its ability to defend itself,' Lai said on Thursday. While the exercises were 'not intended to provoke', Lai said the constant threats to Taiwan meant 'we have no choice but to stay fully prepared'. 'Reality of modern warfare' Taiwan is keen to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its defence capability. Taiwanese regular troops were joined by the largest mobilisation of reservists for the 10-day 'Han Kuang' military drills, which end on Friday. Rather than only repelling a Chinese attack on its shores, Taiwanese troops this year have also practised fighting invading forces in city streets. 'It is as much training as acclimating the Taiwanese population to the reality of modern warfare,' said Kitsch Liao of the Atlantic Council, a US think tank. Heavily armed troops carrying US-provided anti-aircraft Stinger missiles stormed Taipei's metro system in a night-time exercise. High-tech mobile missile launchers from the United States have also been positioned around the capital and elsewhere, in full view of the public. Shoppers in a Taipei supermarket also recently became participants in a drill simulating a Chinese missile strike on the city. 'I didn't know there was going to be a drill,' Yang Shu-ting, 70, told AFP. 'My heart was beating very fast and I was inevitably nervous. I think the point is to let you know where you should hide if something happens.' Troops have also simulated various scenarios, including 'grey zone harassment' — tactics that fall short of an act of war — and 'long-range precision strikes', defence officials have said. Several minor collisions involving military vehicles during the exercises highlighted the challenge of manoeuvring through Taiwan's narrow streets. Defence expert Chieh Chung said such mishaps were 'difficult to avoid' in urban areas. 'In Taiwan, many roads and bridges create significant limitations for armoured vehicles when they move through,' said Chieh, a researcher at the Association of Strategic Foresight in Taipei.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US-China trade deal clues, Emirates flight diverted to Taiwan: SCMP daily highlights
Catch up on some of SCMP's biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing The US-China deal under negotiation is likely to bear similarities to the phase one trade agreement from Donald Trump's first term, according to a former senior official in that administration – offering clues to what the highly anticipated pact may look like just weeks before a trade truce between the two rival economies is set to expire. Beijing has set aside major disputes with Canberra and instead filled Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's six-day visit to China this week with a slew of trade and investment deals, a move analysts said was an effort to find common ground amid trade tensions with the United States. The flight was diverted to Kaohsiung International Airport in Taiwan on Monday. Photo: Handout An Emirates flight from Dubai to Hong Kong was unexpectedly rerouted to Taiwan on Monday after multiple unsuccessful attempts to land, reportedly because of wind conditions.
HKFP
10 hours ago
- HKFP
Huawei reclaims top spot in China's phone market, data shows
Tech giant Huawei topped China's smartphone market for the first time in over four years, outflanking US tech giant Apple as well as local competitors including Xiaomi, according to the US-based International Data Corporation. Huawei at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 2015. Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr. The Shenzhen device maker captured 18.1 percent of the local phone market in the second quarter of this year, shipping 12.5 million units, an IDC report published on Tuesday showed. Huawei's domestic rebound comes after the company has faced a smattering of US export controls, Western bans and a graft probe in Belgium. China's overall smartphone market shrank after six quarters of growth, according to the IDC data, with shipments totalling 69 million units, down four percent on-year. 'Despite the recent US-China trade truce, the broader economic environment presents ongoing challenges, with consumer confidence remaining subdued,' Arthur Guo, a senior research analyst at IDC, said in the report. 'This suggests that a significant uplift in smartphone demand is unlikely in the immediate term, and the market will navigate a more complex landscape in the second half of the year.' A view of the border between Hong Kong and the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, taken from a rural area in Hong Kong's New Territories. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. China's economy grew more than five percent in the second quarter, official figures showed, despite the tariff chaos unleashed by US President Donald Trump. Huawei has been at the centre of an intense standoff between the world's top two economies after Washington warned the company's equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage, an allegation the company denies. Sanctions since 2019 have curtailed the firm's access to US-made technologies, forcing it to develop its own components. California-based Apple has been suffering a slump in iPhone sales in China, and last year ceded its status as the country's best-selling smartphone brand to two local rivals. In the IDC report, Apple came in fifth on the list, retaining 13.9 percent of China's smartphone market and shipping 9.6 million units. Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Beijing, China Type of Story: News Service Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to high journalistic standards.
