Even as China installs new solar and wind power capacity faster than the rest of the world combined, it is setting new benchmarks for the technologies through innovation. This year alone, Chinese companies and researchers have generated the first electricity from high-altitude winds 4,000 metres above Earth, cleared the last hurdle to commercialising a cheaper and more efficient alternative to silicon solar panels, begun trials of the world’s most powerful floating and fixed-bottom offshore wind...

The latest US visa restrictions on citizens of African countries are facing increasing criticism that they are not only punitive but also likely to backfire by driving those nations closer to China. Since August 1, visa services have been suspended in 25 African cities, forcing applicants to travel to other approved locations, sometimes in another country. Travellers from 30 African nations must also post a US$20,000 bond, which is refundable if they depart on time. Separately, 26 countries face...

Lan Xiaohuan is a professor of economics at China Europe International Business School. His book, How China Works: An Introduction to China’s State-led Economic Development, has sold millions of copies in China and has been translated into multiple languages. Here, he discusses the economic realities behind China’s record trade surplus, the case for a stronger social safety net, and how public data infrastructure shapes the artificial intelligence race with the United States. SCMP Plus readers...

US Vice-President J.D. Vance said that the United States ⁠was investigating a deadly strike on an Iranian wedding earlier this week that an analysis published by Reuters showed likely resulted from a direct hit by a US munition. An explosion that ripped through a wedding celebration in southern Iran on Tuesday likely resulted from a direct hit by a US munition and not a ricochet off another target, according to an analysis on Thursday by weapons experts who reviewed images and video verified by...

Six Malaysian men have been detained in connection with a drug smuggling case involving a 39-year-old Malaysia Airlines pilot detained at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia. The six were arrested following information obtained during questioning of the pilot by a team of Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) officers sent to Jakarta from August 11 to 15. Bukit Aman NCID director Commissioner Hussein Omar Khan said the six had allegedly acted as suppliers and...

France is facing pressure to consent to the International Court of Justice taking up a decades-old territorial feud with Vanuatu, after Paris firmly reasserted its sovereignty over two strategically vital Pacific islands. Vanuatu filed an application with the UN’s top court earlier this week seeking recognition of its claim over the uninhabited Matthew and Hunter islands. However, the case cannot proceed without French consent, prompting Vanuatu to warn it would seek a UN General Assembly...

Chery Automobile, China’s largest car exporter by deliveries, will begin testing its solid-state batteries next year, aiming to spearhead commercialisation of a technology likely to further spur the electrification of the global automotive industry. Yin Tongyue, the chairman of the state-owned carmaker, which is based in central China’s Anhui province, said on Thursday that it would invest 10 billion yuan (US$1.49 billion) in the new battery technology over the next two years, with 1,200...