China likely to up support for Iran, scientists create cyborg bee: SCMP daily highlights

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1. China likely to strengthen backing for Iran as it looks to secure interests

Beijing is likely to step up support for Tehran as it tries to secure its strategic interests in the Middle East, analysts say, amid concerns over how the recent Iran-Israel war will reverberate across the resource-rich region.

2. ‘Whatever they do is wrong’: Chinese exporters trapped by Trump’s Asean tariffs

Chinese exporters are desperate for some straight answers so they can start making and shipping goods from their factories in either China or Southeast Asia.
3. China creates first cyborg bee with world’s lightest brain controller

A bee flies over a sunflower, pollinates and collects honey. Photo: Shutterstock


Chinese-made device can command the movements of bees, making them ideal to help search for survivors in earthquake ruins, scientists say.
4. EU on edge: why the bloc has no quick fix for China’s rare earth dominance


The European Union is facing growing calls to act against Beijing’s dominance over rare earth supply chains, highlighting persistent tensions just weeks before the coming EU-China summit.
5. Can China’s fastest-growing firms save themselves from themselves?

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen


A race for market share in China’s new-found growth sectors has led to vicious price spirals, eliciting warnings from high-level officials.
6. China sees surge in sales of duty-free goods amid inbound tourism boom

Major Chinese cities have reported a surge in purchases of tax-refundable goods by foreign tourists in recent months, as new duty-free rules designed to boost tourism spending begin to pay off.
7. Award-winning data scientist She Yiyuan takes job in China after decades in US

Statistician She Yiyuan holds a PhD from Stanford University and taught at Florida State University for nearly 20 years before returning to China. Photo: Handout


Award-winning data scientist She Yiyuan has left the United States to take up a full-time position at Westlake University in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.