The UN chief says he values China’s support, where he is attending the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
Published On 30 Aug 202530 Aug 2025
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that China supports the global organisation playing a central role in international affairs and that it upholds “true multilateralism”, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
As the rotating chair, Xi will preside over the summit, which marks the fifth annual SCO summit hosted by China.
Leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organisations will attend the summit.
Among the participants will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Xi will also meet Erdogan on the sidelines of the crucial summit.
The summit’s agenda includes promoting the “Shanghai Spirit”, improving internal mechanisms, and fostering multilateral cooperation in areas such as security, economics and culture.
A joint signing of the new Tianjin Declaration and the approval of a strategy for the next decade are other expected outcomes.
The summit will issue statements marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and the 80th founding anniversary of the UN, aside from adopting a string of outcome documents on strengthening security, economic, people-to-people and cultural cooperation.
Founded in 2001, the SCO is a political and security alliance comprising 10 members: China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The Chinese leader will also host Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a large-scale military parade on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia.
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has been a long-term strategic collaboration between China and Pakistan. It will now be in a second phase that marks a strong change towards smaller scale projects when it comes to large-scale infrastructure and energy projects towards smaller goals that are sustainable in nature. The agenda is now industrialization, modernization of agriculture, human development and regional integration. This move will take Pakistan as an important trade and economic centre. It aimed by getting new investments and generating millions of jobs. This will change the Pakistani economy into a modern dynamic system.
CPEC Phase II centres on turning the tide to industrialization. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) such as Allama Iqbal and Rashakai are coming up to attract local and foreign investment. Such areas have incentives such as tax relief, and special infrastructure to attract businesses into the zones. It is aimed at generating about 2.2 million new jobs by the year 2030. This will directly counter unemployment in Pakistan. Likewise, it will also enhance the country to develop its industrial Base and increase export capabilities. The moving of Chinese industries to these zones will be helpful to provide a positive technology and skill transfer. Not only will this make productivity to go up but will also help curb the trade imbalance experienced by Pakistan. In addition, modernization of agriculture is another pillar of this new era. Pakistan is a country with mainly agricultural industries and will be a great beneficiary.
Chinese technology and joint venture will assist in enhancing agricultural production and in securing food. This will boost field production and enable farmers to get new markets. As an illustration, the production of high-quality cotton and mangos is already in joint venture. This will also aid Pakistan to match its 5Es economic priorities with the economic priorities of that country. The agricultural sector of Pakistan can be more efficient and competitive through adopting modern practices by using facilities such as satellite imaging and data-driven farming.
Along with building industries and the agricultural sector, CPEC Phase II is also improving Pakistan core infrastructure. A big component of this is the $6.8 billion ML-1 railway modernization upgrade. It will modernize the railway system in the country, reducing the time and expenses of travelling and transportation logistics.
This will go a long way in easing movement of the goods within Pakistan and improving reliability in regional trade. It will also cause the railway to occupy a large share of freight traffic, limit the traffic pressure on roads. The project of Gwadar port is crucial. As, it is turning out to be a huge logistics hub that would link Pakistan with Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. This will open new trade corridors which will establish Pakistan as a regional hub. It is noteworthy that very little proportion of the national debt of Pakistan is associated to CPEC projects that contradicts the debt trap narrative and points to the long-term sustainability of this project.
In addition, Phase II is concerned with human development. This is critical in the regard of making sure that the CPEC benefits will be inclusive. The plan contains schemes of poverty alleviation, education, healthcare systems expansion, and women employment. Such endeavours are meant to enhance the life of common Pakistanis. They will also give the locals the much-needed skills and the possibilities of engaging in and gaining advantage of the new economic activities. As another example, vocational training facilities will be set up in Gwadar Port to train locals in skills that are required in its operations. This concentration on human capital maintains that the increase discoursed by CPEC is not socio-economic alone but fair as well.
The project also addresses geopolitical issues by means of being transparent and diplomatic. Pakistan and China collaborate to eliminate the doubts and preserve the overall perception of the project having all the positive qualities of a reciprocally beneficial move. Special 12,000 strong security force and local outreach programs to resolve local grievances especially in Balochistan, are deployed to protect CPEC infrastructure. The multifaceted security approach enhances the project to be long term and successful. To sum up, CPEC Phase II is a cohesive plan to transform the Pakistan economy. It is a strategic alliance that will lead to long term growth, new jobs in millions of people, and lead to strengthening of Pakistani role in international trade and regional connectivity.
Phase II of CPEC is the new direction in the Pakistani business. It is now on the industrialization, modernizing the agriculture and human development. SEZ is aimed at providing attraction and creation of millions of jobs by attracting investment. Historic improvements in the ML-1 railway line and Gwadar Port will improve connectivity in the region. The new phase holds an opportunity of economic sovereignty and long-term sustainable and inclusive growth of Pakistan. It shows its long-time dedication toward healthy and successful future. This is an evident shift towards a contemporary dynamic economy.
United States President Donald Trump has announced that he will allow 600,000 Chinese students into US universities.
His announcement on Monday, which marks a sharp departure from the Trump administration’s crackdown on Chinese students launched earlier this year, has caught his conservative base off guard.
Here is more about what Trump is saying now, in contrast to what the administration has said in the past – and how some within his Make America Great Again (MAGA) support base are reacting.
What has Trump announced about Chinese students?
During a meeting on Monday at the Oval Office with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, reporters asked Trump whether he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump responded: “President Xi would like me to come to China. It’s a very important relationship. As you know, we are taking a lot of money in from China because of the tariffs and different things.”
He then talked about Chinese students: “I hear so many stories about ‘We are not going to allow their students’, but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It’s very important – 600,000 students.”
On Tuesday, during a cabinet meeting, Trump reiterated his recent sentiments about Chinese students, saying, “I told this to President Xi that we’re honoured to have their students here.
“Now, with that, we check and we’re careful, we see who is there.”
Trump said that the US would struggle without Chinese students.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Trump told Xi during a phone call in June that “the US loves to have Chinese students coming to study in America”.
How has the Chinese government reacted?
Speaking at a regular news conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed hope that Trump would act on his commitment to admit Chinese students into US universities.
Guo also urged the US to stop “unprovoked harassment, interrogation and deportation” of Chinese students.
What has the Trump administration said about Chinese students in the past?
In late May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Trump would “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students.
In an X post, Rubio wrote: “The US will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
The Trump administration did not provide clear details at the time about which students would be affected by the revocations. Observers viewed the brief announcement as intentionally vague.
“I think the vagueness is part of the [Trump administration’s] strategy, because it is not about a concrete policy,” Kyle Chan, a researcher on China at Princeton University, told Al Jazeera in May. “I don’t think it’s really, at the end of the day, about national security and trying to find the few individuals who may pose a genuine risk.”
In August, the US State Department revoked 6,000 international student visas because of violations of US law and overstays, according to the BBC, which quoted an unnamed department official. The nationalities of the students whose visas had been revoked were not known.
While Rubio did not specify what qualifies as a “critical field”, in March, a US congressional committee of the House of Representatives sent a letter to leadership at multiple US universities requesting information about Chinese nationals enrolled in advanced science, technology, engineering, and medicine programmes on their campuses.
John Moolenaar, chair of the congressional committee, claimed that the Chinese Communist Party was placing Chinese researchers in top US institutions to access sensitive technology.
How many Chinese students are there in the US?
During the 2023-2024 academic year, 277,398 Chinese students were enrolled in US universities, making up 24.5 percent of the 1.13 million international students, according to the annual Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the US State Department.
According to the report, Chinese students were second only to Indian students, who constituted 29 percent of international students in the 2023-2024 year.
During the 2022-2023 academic year, Chinese students made up 27.4 percent of the international student population.
The proportion was even higher in 2020-2021, when 34.7 percent of international students in the US were from China.
What is behind Trump’s latest announcement about admitting Chinese students?
During an interview with Fox News on Monday, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Trump’s recent statements stem from a “rational economic view”.
Lutnick said that 15 percent of US universities would go out of business without international students.
International students at US colleges and universities contributed $43.8bn to the US economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year, according to data released by the nonprofit organisation, NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
According to NAFSA, there were 1.1 million international students in the US, each contributing about $39,800 on average.
By that calculation, the 277,398 Chinese students in the US in 2023-24 would have contributed in excess of $11bn to the US economy that year.
How have Trump supporters reacted?
Trump’s recent statements have drawn ire from some within his MAGA base.
Republican Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in an X post on Monday: “If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15 percent of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being propped up by the CCP.”
We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP.
If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being…
Trump ally and far-right internet personality Laura Loomer made a series of posts on X opposing Trump’s idea of bringing in Chinese students. One of the posts read: “Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants 600,000 more Chinese ‘students’ aka Communist spies in the United States.”
News site Axios reported that former White House adviser and Trump aide Steve Bannon said on Tuesday: “Any foreign student that does come here ought to have an exit visa stapled to his or her diploma to leave immediately. Give them 30 days.”
Right-wing internet personality Christopher Rufo wrote in an X post on Monday: “We can’t accept 600,000 Chinese students. If anything, we should reduce the number of Chinese visas, especially for students with political connections to the CCP.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the main party in China, with about 100 million card-carrying members. China has about 400 million families, so on average, one in every four Chinese citizens has an immediate relative in the CCP.
From Ryan Kartje: A dozen years before he charted a bold, new path for the USC football program, Chad Bowden was living on the pull-out couch of a cramped studio apartment in Hollywood with no clue where his life was headed.
Bowden couldn’t have dreamed up the role he’d one day occupy a few miles down the street at USC, where as the Trojans football general manager, Bowden has infused the program with new energy while putting together the top recruiting class in America.
So how did Bowden rise from that couch to being held up as one of the most consequential arrivals at USC since Pete Carroll himself?
Bowden thought that he might play college football. A few small schools had offered him opportunities to play linebacker coming out of high school in Cincinnati. But Bowden’s father, former baseball general manager Jim Bowden, didn’t think it was the right move. He worried about how his son would handle the rest of the college experience.
“He felt like it was best for me, from a maturity standpoint, to go right into working,” Bowden says.
Which is what led him to the tiny apartment off Highland Avenue. He split the place with Jac Collinsworth, his close high school friend, the two of them packed like sardines into a single room that doubled as the kitchen and dining space. Neither seemed to mind the close quarters. Everything became a competition, with each of them pushing the other.
Every pump of the brakes, every maddening mile in traffic that can be more stop than go, puts him closer to hearing his dad’s voice and seeing his mom’s smile.
These are the visits that can fill a young man’s heart, not to mention his belly. During a recent trip home, the UCLA quarterback savored the family recipe of pisupo, a Samoan dish consisting of corned beef with rice.
“I’ve been getting a lot of home-cooked meals from mom and just having them. You know, an hour away has been fun, man,” Iamaleva told The Times after practice Wednesday. “You know, I’ll go to Long Beach as much as I can. But, you know, during this week, I’ve been locked in with the game plan and stuff like that.”
As he spoke, Iamaleava’s hair was tied back with a pink elastic band reading “Team Leinna.” Two years ago, Nico established a foundation to support breast cancer research and awareness after his mom, Leinna, recovered from Stage IV breast cancer.
But for their most intriguing recent draft pick, it’s also the opening day of a different kind of season.
In the 17th round of last month’s MLB draft, the Dodgers took a flier on University of Missouri pitcher Sam Horn, a 6-foot-4 right-hander with a big fastball, a promising slider and an athletic, projectable build.
Like most late-round prospects hoping to become a diamond in the rough, Horn came with questions. He pitched just 15 innings in his college career after undergoing Tommy John surgery as a sophomore. His limited body of work led to a wide range of scouting opinions.
In Horn’s case, however, the biggest unknowns had nothing to do with his potential as a pitcher.
Because, starting Thursday night, he will also be under center as quarterback for Missouri’s football team.
Rams linebacker Jared Verse shows off the team’s new uniforms.
(Los Angeles Rams)
From Gary Klein: Nothing, it seems, commands the attention of Rams fans more than the team’s uniforms.
And on Thursday, the Rams revealed a new “Midnight Mode” uniform part of the NFL’s Rivalries program.
The “near black” ensemble and helmet was designed by Nike and the Rams based on the ethos that “We work hard all night to earn the spotlight,” said Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick, the Rams’ chief marketing officer.
1885 — John L. Sullivan wins the first world heavyweight title under the Marquess of Queensbury rules when he beats Dominic McCaffrey in six rounds. The fight features 3-ounce gloves and 3-minute rounds.
1952 — Dr. Reginald Weir becomes the first Black man to compete in the U.S. Tennis Championships. Weir appears two years after Althea Gibson breaks the color barrier in the tournament and loses in four sets to William Stucki.
1962 — A.C.’s Viking, driven by Sanders Russell, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1968 — Open tennis begins at the U.S. Tennis Championships. Billie Jean King wins the first stadium match at the U.S. Open and amateurs Ray Moore and Jim Osborne have upset wins over professionals. Moore beats No. 10 Andres Gimeno and Osborne defeats Barry MacKay, each in four sets.
1974 — Nineteen-year-old high school basketball star Moses Malone, signs a contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA to become the first player to go directly from high school into major pro basketball.
1978 — The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. opens. Bjorn Borg beats Bob Hewitt in the first match 6-0, 6-2 in the best-of-three sets.
1987 — Charlie Whittingham becomes the first trainer to surpass 500 stakes wins when he sent Ferdinand to victory in the Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack.
1993 — Laffit Pincay Jr. wins the 8,000th race of his career aboard El Toreo in the seventh race at Del Mar racetrack to become the second thoroughbred jockey to ride 8,000 winners.
1993 — Brandie Burton’s 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff edges Betsy King for the du Maurier Classic title, the LPGA tour’s final major of the season.
2005 — Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova becomes the first U.S. Open defending women’s champion to fall in the first round, losing 6-3, 6-2 to fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova on the first day of the U.S. Open.
2011 — Petra Kvitova becomes the first defending Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round at the U.S. Open, 7-6, 6-3 to Alexandra Dulgheru.
2013 — The NFL agrees to pay $765 million to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed dementia or other concussion-related health problems they say were caused by the on-field violence. The settlement, unprecedented in sports, applies to all past NFL players and spouses of those who are deceased.
2015 — Usain Bolt anchors Jamaica to a fourth successive men’s 4×100-meter title and adds to his record-breaking personal haul of IAAF World Championships gold medals to 11.
2018 — Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs NFL record contract extension with the Green Bay Packers; 4 years worth $134m rising to a possible $180m with a record $103m in guarantees.
2018 — Wanheng Menayothin surpasses Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s 50-0 record, beating Pedro Taduran in a unanimous decision to improve to 51-0. The 32-year-old Menayothin (51-0, 18 KOs) won his 10th successful title defense of his WBC minimumweight belt that he won in November 2014.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1918 — The Chicago Cubs, behind the pitching of Lefty Tyler, clinched the National League pennant with a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
1934 — The Philadelphia A’s ended Schoolboy Rowe’s 16-game winning streak with a 13-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers.
1948 — Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit for the cycle in a 12-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Robinson drove in two runs, scored three runs and stole a base.
1965 — San Francisco’s Willie Mays broke Ralph Kiner’s National League record with his 17th home run of the month in an 8-3 triumph over the New York Mets. Kiner had 16 homers in September of 1949. Mays hit a tape measure shot off Jack Fisher.
1967 — Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City A’s hit three triples in a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Cleveland Indians. Campaneris was the first to have three triples in a game since Ben Chapman in 1939.
1971 — Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves knocked in his 100th run of the season, giving him the National League record of 11 seasons with 100 or more RBIs.
1977 — Lou Brock of St. Louis stole base No. 893, breaking Ty Cobb’s modern record for career stolen bases. The Cardinals lost to the San Diego Padres 4-3.
1977— Cleveland’s Duane Kuiper hit a one-out solo home run in the first inning off Chicago’s Steve Stone at Municipal Stadium. It was Kuiper’s only homer in 3,379 career at-bats — the fewest homers in most at-bats for any player in MLB history.
1985 — Don Baylor of the New York Yankees set an American League record when he was hit by a pitch for the 190th time in his career. Baylor was struck by Angels pitcher Kirk McCaskill in the first inning, breaking the old mark of 189 set by Minnie Minoso.
1991 — Carlton Fisk of the Chicago White Sox hit two homers to become the oldest player in the 20th century to accomplish the mark. He’ll top this by hitting two homers on October 3. Jack McDowell went the distance to beat Cleveland 7-2.
1993 — George Brett recorded his 200th stolen base in Kansas City’s 5-4, 12-inning victory over Boston to join Willie Mays and Hank Aaron as the only players with 3,000 hits, 300 homers and 200 steals.
1998 — Toms River, N.J., wins its first Little League World Series with a 12-9 victory over Kashima, Japan. Chris Cardone hits home runs in consecutive at-bats — including the game-deciding two-run shot.
2000 — Darin Erstad went 3-for-5 to reach 200 hits faster than any player (132 games) in 65 years as the Angels defeated Toronto 9-4. Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals did it in 131 games in 1935.
2002 — Mark Bellhorn became the first player in NL history to hit a home run in the same inning from both sides of the plate, in the fourth of the Chicago Cubs’ 13-10 win over Milwaukee.
2004 — Albert Pujols hit his 40th home run and reached 100 RBIs for the fourth straight season to help St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 4-0. He’s the fourth player to start his major league career with four straight seasons with at least 100 RBIs, joining Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.
2010 — Brian McCann hit a game-winning homer with help from video replay, giving the Atlanta Braves a stunning 7-6 victory over the Florida Marlins. It was the first time a game ended using a video review.
2018 — Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle and Jesus Aguilar homered in the 10th inning, powering the Brewers to a 13-12 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Brewers had a season-high 22 hits and rallied to take the lead four different times.
2021 — Taylor, Michigan wins the Little League World Series with a win over Hamilton, Ohio.
2022 — Aaron Judge of the Yankees hit home run #50 of the season, to stay just ahead of the pace set by Roger Maris when he hit 61 homers to set the team and American League record in 1961.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Asia’s popular culture wave that for two decades has been dominated by two giants. South Korea with its K-Pop wave and dramas, and Japan with its manga and anime, which is now undergoing a fundamental shift. A new force that is tough and colorful has risen from China, not through idol groups or ninjas, but through a small figure with pointed ears and a mysterious smile named Labubu. This figurine by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung is not just a toy but the spearhead of a huge wave of Chinese popular culture that is ready to challenge and even dictate global tastes. Labubu and his predecessors and companions raise provocative questions about whether we will soon say goodbye to the dominance of K-Pop and manga.
Labubu, as a character from The Monsters line by the Pop Mart brand, is a real example of how China combines the power of storytelling, design, and a brilliant business model. Pop Mart, which was founded in 2010, has transformed into a multi-billion-dollar blind box empire. In 2022, the company reported operating income of 4.62 billion RMB yuan, or around 679 million US dollars, with a net profit of 539 million RMB yuan, equivalent to 79.3 million US dollars. Its global growth is even more astonishing, with revenue in overseas markets soaring 147.1 percent in the same year. As of June 2023, Pop Mart has opened more than 500 stores in 23 countries and regions, including fashion centers such as Paris, London, and New York. Global market research institute Frost & Sullivan explained that Pop Mart successfully leverages consumer psychology through a blind box model that creates a sense of anticipation, collection, and community. This model is more than just a toy; it is a social and cultural experience that changes the way people interact with cultural products.
When compared to Korean and Japanese popular cultural commodities, there are fundamental differences in business models and accessibility. The Japanese industry is based on long and complex narrative stories such as manga and anime, where consumers invest time and emotions to follow a series. The merchandise is often expensive and aimed at serious collectors. While South Korea focuses on idolization through K-Pop, where fans not only buy music but also merchandise, concert tickets, and albums in various versions to support their idols. These ecosystems are built around human stars. On the other hand, Chinese products such as Pop Mart and Labubu are more abstract and decorative. Consumers don’t need knowledge of complicated stories to have them. The price is relatively affordable, around 15 to 30 US dollars per box, so it is impulsive and easily accessible to Generation Z and millennials. This is a lighter and more visual form of cultural consumption.
In terms of global impact and cultural adaptation, K-Pop and Korean dramas have managed to export Korean values, fashion, and language to the rest of the world through the Hallyu wave with cultural ambassadors such as BTS and Squid Game. Japanese manga and anime became the foundation of global subcultures such as cosplay and conventions that influenced artists and filmmakers in the West for decades. Chinese pop culture for now exports less specific Chinese lifestyles and focuses more on aesthetics and business models. People buy Labubu because its designs are unique and funny, not because it represents a specific Chinese mythology, even though some characters are inspired by it. It is a subtle globalization of products with universally accepted Chinese design DNA. The role of the government is also a crucial differentiator. China’s National Bureau for Cultural Exports and Imports actively encourages the export of cultural products as part of the national soft power strategy. Meanwhile, Korean and Japanese industries are driven by private companies with government support that is more facilitative.
Labubu is just a symptom of a larger creative ecosystem that is exploding in China. Donghua, or Chinese animations, such as The King’s Avatar and Mo Dao Zu Shi, have a huge fan base and compete directly with Japanese anime on streaming platforms, with the number of views reaching billions. Novel web platforms such as China Literature have become repositories of intellectual property, with millions of titles adapted into dramas and successful games, creating vertical synergies resembling the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The mobile gaming industry in the hands of Tencent and NetEase is becoming a global giant. Games like Genshin Impact from miHoYo or HoYoverse are not only financially successful, with annual revenues reaching billions of dollars, but also win the hearts of global players through the quality of animation and awesome stories with a distinctively Chinese twist.
Ultimately, the rise of Chinese pop culture is not a sign to say goodbye to K-Pop and manga. This wave is precisely a powerful new challenger that is diversifying and democratizing global tastes. The market now has more options where a fan can love Korean dramas, collect Labbubu figurines, and play Genshin Impact and still look forward to the latest manga chapters at the same time. The dominance of popular culture is no longer held by just one or two countries. Labubu and its ecosystem are symbols of a new era where China is no longer a follower of pop culture trends but rather a trendsetter. They have learned the recipe for success from Japan and Korea in terms of content quality, merchandising, and fan community and added manufacturing strength, innovative business models, and strong state support. This is not a war to be won, but rather an evolution in which the global pop culture stage is expanded with new players full of confidence. The right greeting is not goodbye, but welcome to competition. For fans around the world, this is good news because there will always be more interesting things to love.
China’s top diplomat tells Brazil’s FM Mauro Vieira that Beijing-Brazil ties are at their ‘best in history’.
Published On 29 Aug 202529 Aug 2025
China is willing to strengthen coordination with Brazil to “resist unilateralism and bullying”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira.
Wang made the pledge to Vieira in a phone call, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, as the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva considers retaliatory trade measures against the United States over President Donald Trump’s imposition of 50 percent tariffs on a range of Brazilian goods.
During the phone call, Wang told Vieira that the China-Brazil relationship “is at its best in history”, China’s state-run Global Times reported, quoting Wang.
Noting that the current international situation “is undergoing complex changes”, Wang also pledged China’s willingness to join hands with the BRICS trading block, to protect “the legitimate rights and interests” of developing countries.
BRICS, which includes emerging economies such as Brazil, is a China-led political and economic grouping that is seen as a counter to the Western-led APEC and G7 groups.
Beijing’s offer comes amid indications that Brazil is considering a coordinated response with China and India against punitive US trade measures.
According to Global Times, Wang also recalled Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Lula’s phone call two weeks ago in which the two leaders “forged solid mutual trust and friendship” in the building of a China-Brazil community “with a shared future”.
In May, Lula also travelled to China for a five-day state visit.
Beijing has worked in recent years to court Latin America as a way of countering Washington, which is historically the most influential major power in the South American region.
But China has surpassed the US as Brazil’s largest trading partner, and two-thirds of Latin American countries have also signed up to Xi’s Belt and Road infrastructure drive.
Brazil exports large quantities of soya beans to China, which, as the world’s largest consumer of the ingredient, relies heavily on imports for its supply.
Relations between the US and Brazil have been icy since Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian coffee and other goods, which took effect on August 6.
While Trump’s trade war has chiefly targeted countries that run a large trade surplus with the US, Brazil imports from the US far outweigh its exports, and Washington had a trade surplus of $28.6bn in goods and services with Brazil in 2024.
Trump has explained his economic hostility towards Brazil in terms of retribution for a so-called domestic legal “witch-hunt” against Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for coup plotting.
Trump has called for charges against Bolsonaro – who he considers an ally – to be dropped and has imposed sanctions on Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for overseeing the case against the former leader.
In recent days, Brazil has also complained after the US revoked the visa of Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski.
China will hold a large-scale “Victory Day” parade on September 3rd, an annual parade marking Japan’s surrender in 1945 and the end of World War 2. The parade is concurrent with a broader rivalry between China and the West, with Beijing strengthening its ties to nations under heavy Western sanctions. Analysts describe the alignment as an “Axis of Upheaval”, a loose coalition of states discouraged by the long-standing Western world order.
What Happened?
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Mlaing in Beijing on September 3rd.
It will mark the first joint public appearance of Xi, Putin, and Kim.
In total, 26 foreign leaders will attend, essentially no Western heads of state will be in attendance. The only exceptions being; Slovakia’s Robert Fico and Serbia’s Aleksander Vucic, both of whom have maintained alignment with the Beijing/Moscow sphere of influence.
Tens of thousands of Chinese troops will march in the parade, doubling as an international show of strength in addition to celebration of a historical occasion.
Why it Matters:
The parade highlights China’s role as a diplomatic hub for sanctioned and otherwise isolated leaders, further enforcing Beijing’s willingness to spearhead an alternative power bloc to the West. By unifying Putin, Kim and others, Xi emphasizes global leadership stature while reinforcing alliances that bypass Western sanctions. The gathering also underscores the immense economic leverage of China, from buying 90% of Iran’s oil exports to sourcing strategic rare earth minerals from Myanmar.
Stakeholder Reactions:
Analysts: Note that the “Axis of Upheaval” provides critical, mutual lifelines to resist sanctions, whether by supplying energy, blocking trade routes, or reinforcing each other diplomatically.
Western observers: Concerned that the absence of major Western leaders contrasts sharply with the presence of sanctioned figures, signaling a deepening divide in global alignments.
Alfred Wu, NUS Singapore: Asserts that XI is projecting strength, showing that leaders he once admired now stand beside him, and in some senses now look to him, symbolizing his rise as a global leader.
What’s Next?
The parade is likely to amplify rhetoric about resisting Western dominance and provide new opportunities for side meetings between sanctioned leaders. As China balances this coalition with its own global economic interests, that still undoubtedly relies on some level of cooperation with the West despite growing tensions. Said growing tensions stemming over energy security, Taiwan and sanctions enforcement are likely to intensify over the years. The event will serve as a visual reminder of shifting alliances and who stands on each side of the contemporary multipolar world order.
From Jack Harris: Ever since resuming two-way duties earlier this year, Shohei Ohtani had been throwing the ball well.
It wasn’t until Wednesday, however, that he finally pitched like a frontline starter, too.
Coming off his second career Tommy John surgery this year, Ohtani immediately lit up the radar gun with 100-mph fastballs and amassed gaudy strikeout totals with a devastating sweeper. In his first eight pitching starts of the season, he gave up just five runs in 16 innings for a 2.37 ERA, racked up 25 punchouts against just five walks, and looked every bit of the hard-throwing ace he was before spending a year-and-a-half rehabbing his right elbow and only serving as a designated hitter.
But, during that time, Ohtani was also throwing in only short bursts, as part of a deliberate effort to slowly build him up. He tossed one inning in his first two starts. Two innings, then three, then four, in each pair of outings after that. Rarely did he face a lineup two times through. At no point did he see the same batter three times in the same game.
“I think we’re still in the [process of] finding out who he is, what he is, getting his bearings for him,” manager Dave Roberts acknowledged ahead of Wednesday’s game.
“But,” the skipper added, “I’m expecting him to get through five [tonight], pitch well and just continue to get better.”
In the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, Ohtani was indeed better.
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ANGELS
Adolis García, Joc Pederson and Kyle Higashioka each hit a three-run homer, Corey Seager went deep a team-leading 21st time and the Texas Rangers blew out the Angels20-3 on Wednesday night.
García’s 17th home run highlighted a four-run first inning, Pederson made it 7-1 in the second with his seventh of the season and Seager added a two-run shot in the fourth.
Higashioka’s 10th homer for a 20-3 lead came on the last of 21 pitches — all between 30 and 40 mph — from Oswald Peraza, who moved to the mound from first base in the seventh and allowed eight runs while getting one out.
From Ryan Kartje: Following public uproar over the potential end of their 100-year old football rivalry, USC has made an amended offer to Notre Dame that would extend their annual series for multiple years beyond this season, USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen told The Times.
Negotiations remain ongoing between the two schools, but Cohen said she is “really hopeful” that USC’s new offer, which better accommodates Notre Dame’s preference for a long-term deal, would lead to an agreement “very soon.”
“We’re trying to extend the series,” Cohen said. “This is an important series for us and for our fans and for our program, and hopefully we get to a resolution that supports that and is in the best interest of our program.”
From Kevin Baxter: The Galaxy, stumbling through the worst season in the franchise’s long history, has looked to the Leagues Cup, a tournament with little pedigree and no real history, to salvage the year.
And for much of the monthlong competition that worked, with the Galaxy cruising into the tournament semifinals unbeaten. But reality and the Seattle Sounders caught up with them Wednesday, when goals from Pedro de la Vega and Osaze De Rosario gave Seattle a 2-0 victory and a spot in Sunday’s Leagues Cup final against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
The Galaxy will play host to Orlando City, a 3-1 loser in the other semifinal, in Sunday’s third-place game, where a berth in next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup will be on the line.
1886 — Richard Sears beats R. Livingston Beeckman 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 to win his sixth straight U.S. national tennis championship.
1888 — Henry Slocum defeats Howard Taylor 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to win the eighth U.S. men’s national tennis championship. Slocum, last year’s runner-up, is the first men’s champion other than Richard Sears. Sears, the U.S. champion from 1881-1887, retired last year.
1908 — Fred McLeod wins the U.S. Open golf title with a one-stroke victory over Willie Smith in a playoff.
1922 — The oldest American international team golf match, the Walker Cup, is established with the U.S. beating Britain 8-4.
1949 — The U.S. takes the Davis Cup, topping Australia 4-1.
1950 — Althea Gibson becomes the first Black player to compete in the U.S. Open. Gibson wins her first round match, defeating Barbara Knapp of Britain 6-2, 6-2 at Forest Hills in New York.
1977 — The Cosmos beat the Seattle Sounders 2-1 at Portland, Ore., to win their second NASL title. Giorgio Chinaglia’s header in the 77th minute is the winning goal.
1989 — Pete Sampras, 18, wins his first U.S. Open singles match in four sets over Agustin Moreno of Mexico.
1990 — Stefan Edberg becomes the first top-seeded player since John Newcombe in 1971 to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open. Edberg loses to Alexander Volkov of the Soviet Union, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2.
1994 — Tiger Woods, 18, becomes the youngest winner in the history of the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, capturing the last three holes of his 36-hole title match against Trip Kuehne.
1995 — Monica Seles, plays in her first Grand Slam tournament in more than 2 1-2 years and beats Ruxandra Dragomir 6-3, 6-1 in first round of the U.S. Open.
2004 — The U.S. women’s basketball team goes through the Athens Olympics undefeated to win its 5th Olympic gold medal, beating Australia 74-63 in the final.
2004 — Led by San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginóbili, Argentina beats Italy 84-69 for the Olympic basketball gold medal in Athens; star-studded U.S. team takes bronze.
2008 — Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic is ousted from the U.S. Open, beaten by 188th-ranked Julie Coin 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round. Never before in the Open era that began in 1968 had the No. 1 woman lost this early in the tournament.
2014 — Acknowledging he “didn’t get it right” with a two-game suspension for Ravens running back Ray Rice, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces tougher penalties for players accused of domestic violence, including six weeks for a first offense and at least a year for a second.
2022 — Tour Championship, Men’s Golf, East Lake GC: Irishman Rory McIlroy wins $18 million with one-stroke win over Scottie Scheffler and Im Sung-jae; becomes first three-time winner of the FedEx Cup.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1918 — Tris Speaker was suspended for the rest of the season because of his assault on umpire Tom Connolly after a dispute at home plate in Philadelphia.
1926 — Emil Levsen of the Cleveland Indians pitched two complete-game victories over the Boston Red Sox, 6-1 and 5-1. He did not strike out a batter in either game. The Indians used the identical lineup in both games.
1951 — The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Giants 2-0, snapping the Giants’ 16-game winning streak. The streak enabled the Giants to cut the Dodgers 13½-game lead to six.
1971 — In the nightcap of a doubleheader, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Rick Wise hit two home runs to help himself to a 7-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
1977 — Steve Garvey hit three doubles and two home runs in five at-bats, leading the Dodgers to an 11-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. One of Garvey’s homers was a grand slam.
1977 — In a 6-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Nolan Ryan of the Angels struck out 11 batters to pass the 300-strikeout plateau for the fifth time in his career.
1987 — Mike Schmidt passes Ted Williams and Willie McCovey with 522 home runs
1990 — Ryne Sandberg became the first second baseman in history to have consecutive 30-homer seasons, leading the Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the Houston Astros.
1992 — The Milwaukee Brewers set an American League record with 31 hits and 26 singles in a 22-2 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
1993 — Pinch-hitter Jeremy Hess’ bases-loaded single with two out in the sixth inning gives Long Beach, Calif. a 3-2 victory over Panama in the championship game of the Little League World Series.
2003 — Eric Gagne set a major league record with his 44th straight save this season as the Dodgers beat Houston 6-3. Gagne eclipsed Tom Gordon’s 1998 record of 43 in a row to begin a season.
2005 — Michael Memea’s home run in the bottom of the seventh gives West Oahu of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, the Little League World Series title.
2008 — Cristian Guzman of the Nationals became the second player to hit for the cycle since the franchise moved to Washington, driving in three in an 11-2 rout of the Dodgers.
2011 — The team from Huntington Beach, Calif., returns the Little League World Series title to the U.S. with a 2-1 victory over Hamamatsu City, Japan.
2014 — San Francisco’s Yusmeiro Petit set a major league record when he retired his 46th batter in a row, and the Giants beat Colorado 3-1. Petit got the first eight Colorado hitters, establishing the mark by striking out Charlie Culberson. That broke Mark Buehrle’s record of 45 straight with the Chicago White Sox in 2009. Petit’s streak covered eight games, six of them in relief.
2016 — Ryan Harlost led Endwell, N.Y., to the Little League World Series title, striking out eight and limiting South Korea to five hits in six innings in a 2-1 victory. Endwell gave New York its first championship since 1964.
2021 — Angels pitcher Shohei Otani becomes the first player in team history to reach 20 stolen bases and hit 40 home runs in a season.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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Islamabad, Pakistan – India on August 20 announced that it had successfully test-fired Agni-V, its intermediate-range ballistic missile, from a test range in Odisha on its eastern Bay of Bengal coast.
The Agni-V, meaning “fire” in Sanskrit, is 17.5 metres long, weighs 50,000kg, and can carry more than 1,000kg of nuclear or conventional payload. Capable of travelling more than 5,000km at hypersonic speeds of nearly 30,000km per hour, it is among the fastest ballistic missiles in the world.
The Agni test came exactly a week after Pakistan announced the formation of a new Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC), aimed, say experts, at plugging holes in its defensive posture exposed by India during the four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
But experts say the latest Indian test might be a message less for Pakistan and more for another neighbour that New Delhi is cautiously warming up to again: China.
The Agni’s range puts most of Asia, including China’s northern regions, and parts of Europe within reach. This was the missile’s 10th test since 2012 and its first since March last year, but its timing, say analysts, was significant.
It came just ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, amid a thaw in ties – after years of tension over their disputed border – that has been accelerated by United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war against India. On Wednesday, the US tariffs on Indian goods doubled to 50 percent amid tensions over New Delhi’s oil purchases from Russia.
Yet despite that shift in ties with Beijing, India continues to view China as its primary threat in the neighbourhood, say experts, underscoring the complex relationship between the world’s two most populous nations. And it’s at China that India’s development of medium and long-range missiles is primarily aimed, they say.
India’s missile advantage over Pakistan
While India acknowledged losing an unspecified number of fighter jets during the May skirmish with Pakistan, it also inflicted significant damage on Pakistani military bases, particularly with its supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles.
The BrahMos, capable of carrying nuclear or conventional payloads of up to 300kg, has a range of about 500km. Its low altitude, terrain-hugging trajectory and blistering speed make it difficult to intercept, allowing it to penetrate Pakistani territory with relative ease.
Many experts argue that this context shows the Agni-V test is not directly linked to Pakistan’s announcement of the ARFC. Instead, they say, the test was likely a signal to China. Indian and Chinese troops were in an eyeball-to-eyeball standoff along their disputed Himalayan border for four years after a deadly clash in 2020, before Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia in October 2024 to begin a process of detente.
Modi’s visit to China for the SCO summit on Sunday will be his first to that country since 2018. In the past, India has often felt betrayed by overtures to China, which, it claims, have frequently been followed by aggression from Beijing along their border.
“India’s requirement for a long-range, but not intercontinental, missile is dictated by its threat perception of China,” Manpreet Sethi, a distinguished fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Air Power Studies, told Al Jazeera.
“Agni-V is a nuclear-capable ballistic missile of 5,000km range, which India has been developing as part of its nuclear deterrence capability against China. It has no relevance to Pakistan,” Sethi added.
Christopher Clary, assistant professor of political science at the University at Albany, agreed.
“While the Agni-V might be usable against Pakistan, its primary mission would involve strikes on China,” he told Al Jazeera. “China’s east coast, where its most economically and politically important cities are situated, is hard to reach from India and requires long-range missiles.”
Missile race across South Asia
India and Pakistan have been steadily expanding their missile arsenals in recent years, unveiling new systems with increasing reach.
Before announcing the ARFC, Pakistan showcased the Fatah-4, a cruise missile with a 750km range and the capability to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
India, meanwhile, is working on Agni-VI, which is expected to have a range exceeding 10,000km and carry multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), a capability already present in Agni-V.
MIRV-enabled missiles can carry several nuclear warheads, each capable of striking a separate target, significantly boosting their destructive potential.
Mansoor Ahmed, an honorary lecturer at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, said India’s latest test demonstrates its growing intercontinental missile capabilities.
“With India working on different variants of Agni with multiple capabilities, this test was a technological demonstrator for India’s emerging submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capability,” Ahmed said.
“Depending on the configuration of the warheads for India’s SLBMs, India will be able to deploy anywhere between 200-300 warheads on its SSBN force alone over the next decade,” he added. SSBNs (ship, submersible, ballistic, nuclear) are nuclear-powered submarines designed to carry SLBMs armed with nuclear warheads. India currently has two SSBNs in service, with two more under construction.
Pakistan, by contrast, does not possess long-range missiles or nuclear submarines. Its longest-range operational ballistic missile, the Shaheen-III, has a range of 2,750km.
“Pakistan also has South Asia’s first MIRV-enabled ballistic missile called Ababeel, which can strike up to 2,200km range, but it is the shortest-ranged MIRV-enabled system deployed by any nuclear-armed state,” Ahmed said.
Tughral Yamin, a former Pakistani army brigadier and nuclear policy scholar, said the countries’ missile ambitions reflect divergent priorities.
“Pakistan’s programme is entirely Indian-specific and defensive in nature, while India’s ambitions extend beyond the subcontinent. Its long-range systems are designed for global power projection, particularly vis-a-vis China, and to establish itself as a great power with credible deterrence against major states,” said Yamin, author of The Evolution of Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia.
But some experts say Pakistan’s missile development programme isn’t only about India.
Ashley J Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), said that while “India wants to be able to range China and Pakistan,” Islamabad is building the capability to keep Israel – and even the US – in its range, in addition to India.
“The conventional missile force in both countries is designed to strike critical targets without putting manned strike aircraft at risk,” Tellis told Al Jazeera.
US concerns over Pakistan’s ambitions, quiet acceptance of India’s rise
Pakistan’s missile programme came under intense spotlight in December last year when a senior White House official warned of Islamabad’s growing ambitions.
Jon Finer, serving in the then-Biden administration, described Pakistan’s pursuit of advanced missile technology as an “emerging threat” to the United States.
Pakistan publicly displayed its Fatah-4 missile on the eve of the country’s 78th Independence Day on August 14, 2025, in Islamabad [Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]
“If the trend continues, Pakistan will have the capability to strike targets well beyond South Asia, including in the United States,” Finer said during an event at the CEIP.
By contrast, Tellis said India’s growing arsenal is not viewed as destabilising by Washington or its allies.
“Pakistan’s capabilities in contrast are viewed as unsettling because the early history of its nuclear programme had anti-Western overtones, sentiments that have taken on a specific anti-US colouration after 9/11 and the Abbottabad raid,” Tellis explained, referring to the US capture of Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan in 2011.
Ahmed, the Canberra-based academic, said India’s long-range missile development is openly supported by Western powers as part of the US-led Asia Pacific strategy.
“The US and European powers have viewed and encouraged India to act as a net security provider. The India-US civil nuclear deal and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver effectively gave India de facto nuclear weapons status without signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” he said.
The NPT is a Cold War-era treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy and advancing the goal of nuclear disarmament. It formally recognises only the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain as nuclear weapons states.
But the 2008 waiver from the NSG – a club of 48 nations that sell nuclear material and technology – allowed India to engage in global nuclear trade despite not being an NPT signatory, a unique status that elevated its global standing.
Clary from the University of Albany, however, pointed out that unlike the Biden administration, the current Trump White House has not expressed any concerns about Pakistan’s missile programme – or about India’s Agni-V test.
“For now, so long as Pakistan keeps its missile tests limited to ranges already demonstrated by the Shaheen-III and Ababeel, I don’t expect Western governments to concern themselves overly with South Asia’s missile developments,” he said. “There are more than enough other problems to keep them busy.”
Beijing says 26 world leaders will attend the event in Tiananmen Square, overseen by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Published On 28 Aug 202528 Aug 2025
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among world leaders attending an upcoming military parade in China to mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
Kim and Putin will participate in the “Victory Day” parade in Beijing next week, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.
It will be held in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and will feature a cast of thousands and a showcase of China’s latest military technology.
The guest list also includes Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the ministry said.
The parade coincides with the anniversary of September 3, 1945, the day that the Empire of Japan formally surrendered to Allied Forces in Tokyo.
South Korea will be represented by Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the National Assembly, while Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, will be the only Western leader in attendance.
It is unclear if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the parade.
Modi will be in China that same week to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a Beijing-led security alliance, in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
Indian and Chinese relations declined sharply in 2020 over a border dispute in the Himalayas, but they have thawed recently thanks to shared economic grievances with the United States and President Donald Trump’s tariff war.
Kim and Putin are expected to take centre stage at the parade alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping.
North Korea is a treaty ally of China, and Beijing provides Pyongyang with a crucial economic lifeline in the face of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme.
Beijing has also come to play a similar role to Russia since Putin’s unilateral invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
China has continued to buy Russian energy exports and supply it with “dual use” technology, electronics and parts that can be used for civilian but also military purposes.
Xi and Putin signed a “no limits partnership” in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, while North Korea and Russia have also grown closer since the start of the war, with Pyongyang sending munitions and even soldiers to resupply Russian forces in their battle against Ukraine.
Putin last visited China in 2024, while Kim last visited in 2019.
Due to geopolitical issues that are not settled, it’s still an unknown whether Nvidia will sell any H20 AI chips to China in Q3.
Shares of Nvidia(NVDA -0.01%) are down 3% in Wednesday’s after-hours trading as of 7:42 p.m. ET, following the artificial intelligence (AI) tech leader’s release of its report for its second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended July 27, 2025).
The stock’s modest decline can likely be mainly attributable to the uncertainty still surrounding the Chinese data center market. On the earnings call, management said it has received U.S. government licenses to resume selling its H20 data center AI chip to several Chinese customers, and that it has the immediate capacity to sell $3 billion to $5 billion of these chips to China in the third quarter. However, due to geopolitical issues still being “open,” as management put it, it did not assume any H20 sales in its third-quarter guidance.
That said, Q2 revenue and adjusted earnings per share both beat Wall Street’s estimates, as did Q3 guidance for both the top and bottom lines.
In my Nvidia earnings preview, this chain of events is as I predicted: “I’m predicting it [Nvidia] will beat Wall Street’s earnings estimate. That said, I think the stock’s movement will largely depend on H20 news and related Q3 guidance.”
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia’s key numbers
Metric
Fiscal Q2 2025
Fiscal Q2 2026
Change YOY
Revenue
$30.0 billion
$46.7 billion
56%
GAAP operating income
$18.6 billion
$28.4 billion
53%
GAAP net income
$16.6 billion
$26.4 billion
59%
Adjusted net income
$17.0 billion
$25.8 billion
52%
GAAP earnings per share (EPS)
$0.67
$1.08
61%
Adjusted EPS
$0.68
$1.05
54%
Data source: Nvidia. YOY = year over year. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. Fiscal Q2 2026 ended July 27, 2025.
Investors should focus on the adjusted numbers, which exclude one-time items.
Wall Street was looking for adjusted EPS of $1.01 on revenue of $46.13 billion, so Nvidia exceeded both expectations. It also handily beat its own guidance, which was for adjusted EPS of $0.98 on revenue of $45 billion.
For the quarter, GAAP and adjusted gross margins were 72.4% and 72.7%, respectively.
Platform performance
Platform
Fiscal Q2 2026 Revenue
Change YOY
Change QOQ
Data center
$41.1 billion
56%
5%
Gaming
$4.3 billion
49%
14%
Professional visualization
$601 million
32%
18%
Automotive
$586 million
69%
3%
OEM and other
$173 million
97%
56%
Total
$46.7 billion
56%
6%
Data source: Nvidia. OEM = original equipment manufacturer; OEM and other is not a target-market platform. YOY = year over year. QOQ = quarter over quarter.
The data center segment’s revenue accounted for about 88% of total revenue, so it continues to drive the company’s overall performance.
The data center platform’s strong year-over-year and sequential growth was driven by “demand for our accelerated computing platform used for large-language models, recommendation engines, and generative and agentic AI applications,” Colette Kress said in her CFO commentary.
Notably, within data center, Blackwell revenue grew 17% sequentially. Blackwell is Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture that is currently in full production.
The other platforms also performed very well. Auto had particularly powerful year-over-year growth. Its growth was driven by “strong adoption of our self-driving platforms,” Kress said. The driverless vehicle revolution is advancing — and Nvidia is the best driverless vehicle stock, in my view.
What the CEO had to say
CEO Jensen Huang stated in the earnings release:
Blackwell is the AI platform the world has been waiting for, delivering an exceptional generational leap — production of Blackwell Ultra is ramping at full speed, and demand is extraordinary. Nvidia NVLink rack-scale computing is revolutionary, arriving just in time as reasoning AI models drive orders-of-magnitude increases in training and inference performance. The AI race is on, and Blackwell is the platform at its center.
Guidance for the third quarter
For Q3 of fiscal 2026, which ends in late October, management expects revenue of $54 billion, which equates to growth of 54% year over year. This outlook does not assume any H20 chip sales to China.
Management also guided (albeit indirectly by providing a bunch of inputs) for adjusted EPS of $1.22, or 51% growth.
Going into the report, Wall Street had been modeling for Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.19 on revenue of $52.76 billion, so the company’s outlook beat both estimates.
A fantastic quarter and guidance
In short, Nvidia turned in a fantastic quarter and guidance. The stock’s modest decline is likely due to short-term traders and will be recovered shortly, in my opinion.
The results were particularly impressive since they did not include any sales of H20 data center AI chips to China due to the U.S. government’s export controls spanning the entire quarter. And Q3 guidance was also particularly impressive for the same reason — it assumes no H20 sales to China. So any H20 chips that are sold to China in Q3 will be icing on the cake.
BEIJING, Aug 27 – China has criticized the US and Russia for asking the country to join nuclear disarmament negotiations. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, stated that the nuclear forces of the two countries are not at the same level and that their strategic security environment and nuclear policies are different.
China pursues a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy of self-defense, and Beijing will not engage in an arms race with any other country. Guo called for countries with the largest nuclear arsenals to fulfill their special priority responsibilities for nuclear disarmament.
Trump emphasized the importance of denuclearization with Russia and China, stating that the power is too great to let nuclear weapons proliferate. Malaysia’s foreign minister also stated that China would sign up to a Southeast Asian treaty banning nuclear weapons in the region as soon as all documentation is ready.
BEIJING, Aug 27 – China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao, has urged closer ties in new energy and capital markets in talks with Saudi Arabia’s visiting investment minister.
The move is part of China’s efforts to break away from a two-front trade war with the US and EU, which have imposed tariffs on Chinese goods due to concerns about their low cost and potential market flooding.
Wang discussed aligning China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s “Vision 2030” plan, which aims to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil. Negotiations between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council have stalled due to concerns that cheap Chinese imports could hinder Saudi Arabia’s industrial powerhouse plans.
Despite all six Gulf countries engaging with the Belt and Road Initiative, none of the Gulf heads of state attended a 2023 summit in Beijing, which analysts view as a snub. Wang also expressed potential for expanding bilateral trade volumes, enhancing two-way investment cooperation, and broadening collaboration in areas such as new energy, industrial supply chains, and capital markets. Saudi Arabia maintains a trade surplus with China, with China selling over $50 billion worth of goods to the country last year.
Resource competition has intensified between the two great powers, the US and China, due to trade and tariff wars. Recently, both the countries have made major policy shifts in the strategically significant rare earth sector.
China discreetly issued 2025 rare earth mining and smelting quotas to its state-owned enterprises, exhibiting deepening securitization of this sector. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) previously used to make the announcement public on their website.
The Pentagon became the largest shareholder in MP Materials after buying $400 million worth of stocks. It indicates expanding involvement of the US government in the domestic rare earth industry since MP Materials operates the sole mining facility in the US. This move faces severe backlash, with critics comparing it with China’s approach to market intervention.
Consequently, China has intensified its efforts to maintain overarching dominance over the global rare earth market, and the US strives to claw back its control over strategically important raw materials.
Quick guide to rare earth complexities
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen metallic elements. Their requirement in high-tech applications in medicine, the military, and green technologies is indispensable. The REEs are not so rare, as the name suggests. Yet the real limitation lies in locating them in clusters for economic viability. All the more difficult is smelting, separating, and processing these elements.
China is the net importer of REEs, mining 70%, with the rest being extracted by Myanmar, Australia, and the United States. However, China enjoys a near-monopoly in processing 90% of the rare earths globally.
Over the years, China has built self-sustaining rare earth supply chains domestically. That implies managing upstream extraction to midstream processing and, to a greater extent, even downstream manufacturing.
Just as access to oil shaped global geopolitics during the last century, access to rare earths is shaping current geopolitics in this great power competition. And China is weaponizing its preeminence over REE supply chains by tightening its control to offset the US.
China’s control over rare earths came with a huge brunt.
China discovered the strategic value of REEs in the formative years of building the country’s economic base. China has been investing heavily in the R&D since the discovery of rare earth deposits in Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia, in 1927. Today, it holds the rank of largest known deposit of REEs and constitutes over 90% of China’s entire reserves.
Deng Xiaoping’s signature policy of 1978 is credited for kick-starting the opening up of the Chinese economy and integrating China into the global market. As a cherry on top for Chinese authorities came the “environmental decade” in the 1970s in the United States, marked by dozens of environmental legislations.
Rare earth extraction and processing have severe environmental repercussions. Certainly, US private firms were in search of a scapegoat to outsource environmental costs and exploit cheap labor.
Chinese authorities were willing to face the brunt of ecological damage for speedy economic growth. It turned out that the short-term economic interests overshadowed the long-term strategic interests of America.
What exacerbated the matter was illegal and unregulated mining of rare earths. The parallel economy flourished as global consumption for rare earth multiplied year on year. Chinese authorities have taken cognizance but struggle to put a stop to these activities.
China has doubled down on its efforts to curb unlicensed extraction and harden the compliance systems facing immense pressure from Trump’s tariff war.
Chinese market manipulation tricks came in handy.
By the 1990s, bifurcating prices of rare earths for the Chinese domestic market and international market had compelled many US businesses to shut down.
China carried out price manipulation in two tiers. First, it made sure to service its domestic needs by selling at cheaper rates than the products that were being exported. Second, pricing it underneath the other global firms in the international market but higher than the domestic price levels.
In the beginning, this created incentive for international companies to establish their manufacturing units in China. But eventually almost all firms went bankrupt, losing their competitive edge against Chinese SOEs.
In addition, China has been consolidating its rare earth assets to raise its global competitiveness and pricing power. In Dec 2021, three mega SOEs were merged to form a megafirm, China Rare Earth Group. Today, only two mega conglomerates are operating: China Rare Earth Group and China Northern Rare Earth Group. In fact, export quotas are entrusted to only these two mega firms.
Export quotas introduced in 1999 have expanded and tightened over the years. Though year-wise mining and smelting quotas have increased, the annual growth rates see a downturn. This time not disclosing the quotas publicly for ‘security reasons’ will exacerbate uncertainties in the international market. It seems like a calculated strategy of Chinese authorities to maintain their stronghold over the global market of rare earths but making sure to provide enough to maintain dominance.
Some scholars do articulate China’s policies to clamp down on its rare earth industry from a different lens, essentially, to address domestic interests. The Chinese authoritarian state is caught up in securing control and increasing production efficiency.
Trump responding vigorously to counterbalance Chinese dominance
The Pentagon becoming the largest stakeholder of MP Materials to cushion a strategic sector is nothing unusual. The US government and its agencies have a history of getting involved in sectors of national and economic significance. This underscores the fact that great powers have historically used market distortions as a tool to uphold their supremacy.
Establishing a cutting-edge supply chain with like-minded states would take over a decade and cost well over a trillion dollars in that period. Americans have to catch up on the long road ahead that the Chinese took decades to build. Therefore, Trump initiated the first-of-their-kind policy measures to hasten up the catching-up process. These policy initiatives are aimed at enhancing collaboration for clean energy technologies, building resilient supply chains, and reducing dependencies.
On April 30, 2025, the US and Ukraine signed a long-awaited minerals deal. Trump’s ambition to gain control over Greenland, a strategically located island in the Arctic, to the extent of using military force wasn’t just about national security. Rather driven by desire to control rich untapped resources, including rare earth minerals, copper, gold, uranium, iron, oil, etc.
Trump’s efforts will take years to bear fruit. Prior to that, the US must build an investment-friendly environment. A report by consultancy S&P Global found that on average it takes nearly 29 years to build a new mine for the critical minerals in the US, the second-longest in the world. The process to obtain a mining permit is lengthy and confusing, which harms efforts to counterbalance China’s near-dominant positioning.
world of weaponized interdependence
Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman argue cold war animosity was replaced by a new world of networks that accentuated harmonious relationships. They suggest countries are more entwined than ever, but rather than easing hostilities, interdependence is used by states against their adversaries.
Great power competition is being increasingly impacted by what they called “weaponized interdependence.” China’s dominance over the supply lines of rare earths gives it the edge to fight this battle for long.
From Benjamin Royer: Venice Beach carried all the traits of a party Sunday evening: 90s R&B tunes from DJs, social influencers — with tripods in tow — showing up to get a view of the basketball courts to find out what the fuss was all about and enough flashing lights to grab any European tourist’s attention.
Much of what you would have found during Legends Weekend in Venice — celebrating 20 years of basketball culture and community — had the classic hallmarks of the antics found on the boardwalks, down to the crowds surrounding performers such as “2K The Clown” and his posse dancing in clown makeup at the half-court logo as the blue and orange sunset faded from day to night.
Marcus Henry spins the golden ball he received after winning the three-point contest at the Veniceball’s 20th annual “Legends Weekend” at Venice Beach on Sunday. At the center of all the madness, a weekend honoring Kobe Bryant — who once broke his wrist in 2000 attempting a dunk at the courts — and many other late street-ball icons who made their impact on the boardwalk was Nick Ansom. Ansom, who rollerskated up and down the basketball court with a plastic orange top hat atop his head, is the founder and chief executive officer of Veniceball.
Ask the legends — who have been playing physical, hard-nosed basketball on the courts for half a century — or up-and-coming basketball players who have made Venice their own with their slick style on the courts, Ansom is the heart and soul of modern-day Venice basketball, the man who’s kept the mission — of basketball and family — moving and growing year by year.
“This is the goodness of people right here,” Ansom said, before the finals of the Venice Basketball League kicked off on Sunday night. “Look where we are. We’re a legendary place, the most iconic basketball courts in the world. I call it the hoopers’ paradise.”
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DODGERS
From Kevin Baxter: The Dodgers continued their season-long celebration of last year’s World Series triumph by handing out championship rings Monday. The 49,702 people who brought tickets got replicas while Gavin Lux, who played for the Dodgers last season and is now with the Cincinnati Reds, got a real one.
If the team hopes to win more jewelry again this fall, the next five weeks will be key. Because after Monday’s 7-0 win over the Reds, the Dodgers lead the Padres by a game in the National League West with 30 left in the regular season for both teams.
And if the Dodgers (75-57) continue to play as they did Monday, when Andy Pages homered twice, driving in four runs, and Emmet Sheehan threw a career-high seven scoreless innings, they’ll be tough to catch.
The Reds nearly went ahead in the second after Lux doubled to the wall in right-center with one out. But Michael Conforto took extra bases away from Spencer Steer with a leaping catch in left field and Teoscar Hernández made a running catch of Ke’Bryan Hayes’ drive to the foul pole in the right-field corner to end the inning.
Zach Neto homered on the game’s first pitch and the Angels, with manager Ron Washington present for the first time in more than two months, beat the Texas Rangers and All-Star pitcher Jacob deGrom 4-0 on Monday night.
José Soriano (9-9) struck out six over 5⅓ innings and gave up four hits in his first start since coming off the paternity list. Four relievers finished off the Angels’ sixth shutout this season.
Washington hasn’t managed the Angels since June 19, and revealed before the game that he is recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery eight weeks ago. He won’t return to managing this season, but wants to be with the Angels, and watched from a booth upstairs after being with them pregame.
From Gary Klein: Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford appears on track to start the season opener against the Houston Texans — and now perhaps his primary protector will join him in the preparation.
Left tackle Alaric Jackson, who has been sidelined because of blood-clot issues in his legs, will participate in full-team drills for the first time next week, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
“We’ve got a good plan in place,” McVay said.
Jackson, 27, signed a three-year, $35-million extension in March. But in June, he was diagnosed with blood-clot issues for the second time in his career, and the Rams hurriedly signed veteran tackle D.J. Humphries.
That Venus Williams lost her first Grand Slam match in two years — and what she says will be her last match of 2025 — didn’t really matter Monday night.
Certainly not to the thousands of supportive spectators in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats who roared for her best shots and, in a way, for everything her career means to them, before sending her off the court with a standing ovation after a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 defeat against 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova at the U.S. Open.
The result also sure seemed beside the point to Williams herself, at 45 the oldest singles player at Flushing Meadows since 1981. She smiled and laughed and joked through her postmatch news conference — until, that is, a reporter asked something that made her think back to all of the injury and illness issues she dealt with for years.
“Oh, what did I prove to myself?” Williams began, repeating part of the question. “I think for me, getting back on the court was about giving myself a chance to play more healthy. When you play unhealthy, it’s in your mind. It’s not just how you feel. You get stuck in your mind too. So it was nice to be freer.”
1933 — Helen Hull Jacobs captures the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association singles title when Helen Wills Moody defaults in the third set because of back and hip pain.
1950 — Australia wins its third straight Davis Cup by beating the U.S. 4-1.
1961 — The International Hockey Hall of Fame opens in Toronto.
1972 — The New York Cosmos win the NASL championship by defeating the St. Louis Stars 2-1.
1995 — Greg Norman sinks a 66-foot chip on the first playoff hole, to capture the World Series of Golf and become the leading money winner in PGA Tour history. Norman wins $360,000 in his third tour victory this year to raise lifetime earnings to $9.49 million and overtake Tom Kite.
1997 — Carl Lewis finishes his track-and-field career anchoring star-studded team to victory in the 400-meter relay to cap the ISTAF Grand Prix meet in Berlin. The team of Olympic 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey, former world record-holder Leroy Burrell and Namibian sprint champion Frankie Fredericks, win in 38.24 seconds.
1999 — Michael Johnson shatters another world record at the world championships — this time, breaking the 400-meter mark with a time of 43.18. He cuts 0.11 seconds off the record of 43.29 set by Butch Reynolds in 1988 and ties Carl Lewis for the most gold medals at the championships with eight.
2004 — Lindsay Tarpley and Abby Wambach score as the U.S. beats Brazil 2-1, maintaining an undefeated record to win the women’s soccer gold medal at the Athens Olympics.
2011 — The Tulsa Shock snap the longest losing streak in WNBA history with a 77-75 win over the Sparks. The Shock (2-25) had 20 straight losses before Sheryl Swoopes hit a jumper with 2.9 seconds left.
2011 — Kyle Busch records his record-breaking 50th NASCAR Busch Series victory, edging teammate Joey Logano in the Food City 250 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch breaks a tie with Mark Martin for the record in NASCAR’s second-tier series.
2012 — Lydia Ko wins the Canadian Women’s Open to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and only the fifth amateur champion. The 15-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander closes with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Inbee Park.
2016 — San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick kneels in protest during the U.S. national anthem at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium while playing against the San Diego Chargers, objecting to racial injustice and police brutality in the U.S.
2016 — Dan Raudabaugh throws six touchdown passes and the Philadelphia Soul win their second ArenaBowl title, beating the Arizona Rattlers 56-42.
2017 — Kyle Snyder scores a late takedown of Olympic gold medalist Abdusalim Sadulaev in the deciding match, and the U.S. wins the world freestyle wrestling title for the first time in 22 years.
2017 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. stops UFC champion Conor McGregor on his feet in the 10th round in Las Vegas. The much-hyped 154-pound fight is more competitive than many expected when an unbeaten, five-division world champion boxer takes on a mixed martial artist making his pro boxing debut.
2020 — Milwaukee Bucks forfeit their NBA playoff game after the shooting of Jacob Blake, leading to the NBA postponing more games.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1916 — Philadelphia’s Joe Bush pitched a no-hitter, to beat Cleveland 5-0.
1939 — The first major league baseball game was televised as WXBS brought their cameras to Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field for a doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers.
1947 — Brooklyn’s Dan Bankhead became the first Black pitcher in the majors. He homered in his first major-league plate appearance, but didn’t fare well on the mound. In 3 1-3 innings of relief, he gave up 10 hits and six earned runs to the Pirates. Pittsburgh won 16-3.
1962 — Minnesota’s Jack Kralick pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the Kansas City Athletics at Metropolitan Stadium. Lenny Green drove in the Twins’ run with a sacrifice fly off Bill Fischer in the seventh inning.
1987 — Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor went 0-for-4, ending his 39-game hitting streak, and the Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 in 10 innings on pinch-hitter Rick Manning’s RBI single. With Molitor waiting in the on-deck circle for a possible fifth at-bat, Manning singled in the game-winner.
1989—Chris Drury pitches a five-hitter and Trumbull, Conn., becomes the first American team since 1983 to capture the Little League World Series, defeating Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 5-2.
1991 — Kansas City’s Brett Saberhagen pitched a no-hitter to lead the Royals to a 7-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Saberhagen struck out five and walked two.
1993 — Sean Burroughs, the son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs, pitches his second no-hitter of the Little League World Series and hits two home runs, sending defending champion Long Beach, Calif., past Bedford, N.H., 11-0 in the final of the U.S. bracket.
1999 — Randy Johnson reached 300 strikeouts in record time, notching nine in seven innings to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Florida Marlins 12-2. Johnson achieved the milestone in his 29th start.
2004 — Ichiro Suzuki homered in the ninth inning for his 200th hit of the season, but Seattle fell to Kansas City 7-3. Suzuki became the first player to reach 200 hits in each of his first four major league seasons.
2007 — Dalton Carriker’s home run in the bottom of the eighth gave Warner Robins, Georgia, a thrilling 3-2 victory over Tokyo to win the Little League World Series title.
2007 — Boston defeated the Chicago White Sox 11-1 to complete a four-game sweep. For the series, the Red Sox outscored Chicago 46-7. Boston scored at least 10 runs in every game of the series, which is only the fourth time that has happened in a four-game series since 1900 and the first time in the American League in 85 years.
2008 — Major League Baseball announced umpires will be allowed to check video on home run calls starting Aug. 27. Video will be used only on so-called “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence, whether potential home runs were fair or foul and whether there was fan interference on potential home runs.
2010 — Albert Pujols of St. Louis hits the 400th homer of his career, off Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals in the 4th inning. Pujols becomes the 47th major leaguer to hit that many and is the third-youngest to do so after Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.
2018 — Mana Lau Kong homered to center field on the first pitch his team saw and Ka’olu Holt pitched a complete game to lead Hawaii to a 3-0 victory over South Korea in the Little League World Series championship.
2018 — Toronto’s Kendrys Morales became the seventh player in major league history to homer in at least seven consecutive games, going deep in the third inning of the Blue Jays’ 8-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
2018 — Matt Carpenter tied a St. Louis record with four doubles, pitcher Austin Gomber had a two-run infield single in a six-run first inning, and the Cardinals routed Colorado 12-3.
2024 — Danny Jansen becomes the first player to appear for both teams in the same game. He had started the June 26th game between the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Fenway Park as Toronto’s catcher and was at bat with an 0-1 count when the game was suspended by rain in the 2nd inning. When the game resumes today, he has since been traded to Boston, and takes over behind the plate for Reese McGuire, who has been released, while Daulton Varsho steps in as a pinch-hitter to complete the at-bat he started. Toronto eventually wins the game, 4-1, and also wins the regularly scheduled game, 7-3, as George Springer homers in both contests. The only known minor leaguer to accomplish Jansen’s feat had been Dale Holman 38 years earlier.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
“Asia dominated the Old World, while the West led the New World—and now we are coming to a truly global world.”– Parag Khanna, “The Future Is Asian,” Epilogue
The Future Is Asian(2019) by Parag Khanna takes us on a journey to show how political landscapes are revolving around Asia. The 21st century is not just about the story written in the halls of Washington or the skyscrapers of New York; rather, it is being drafted in the busy streets of Mumbai, Seoul’s high-tech corridors, and the skylines of Shanghai. Parag Khanna, a renowned global strategy advisor, author, and the founder of, makes him well suited to explore the nuances of Asia’s evolving role in the global arena. He gives us a picture of how global focus is shifting eastward and not just only toward China but rather toward a combination of diverse nations whose collective strength is reshaping global dynamics.
This book spans extensive areas in ten chapters covering Asian history, economics, and global relations of Asia with other continents. The book encompasses nearly all information from China’s infrastructure projects in Africa to K-pop with vast data and name-dropping events, which basically shows Khanna’s portrayal of the “Asia First” paradigm, which is not solely a story about China.
Khanna delivers his main arguments in the first chapter of the book, which is “Introduction: Asia First,” and the rest are basically data-oriented logic to support his argument.The basic premise of the book is that while everyone is focusing on China, Asia is not all about China. Khanna highlights the diversity of Asia beyond China by emphasizing that out of the almost 5 billion people living in Asia, only 1.5 billion are Chinese. Around 40 percent of global GDP is represented through this new Asian system consisting of around 5 billion people. Though China, through its BRI project, is reclaiming its historical roots of the ancient Silk Road and has even surpassed the USA in terms of PPP, it will not lead alone. As Asian countries don’t want the modern colonization of China, as they are still proud of their own nationality and history.
Khanna’s stance on U.S. concerns regarding Chinese neocolonialism in Africa and Asia is notably optimistic. His optimism is striking, but it raises questions about whether he is underestimating the risks, mainly the Sino-Russian strategic cooperation.
The fact that this book, unlike most Western history books, takes an Eastern perspective on world history to counterbalance Western narratives by integrating the lives and lessons of the Buddha and ideals of Confucius, the Mughal Empire’s legacy, China’s Ming Dynasty’s maritime explorations, and numerous other pillars of Asian history. This is the most striking factor of Chapter Two.
In the third chapter, Khanna introduces “Asianization,” pointing out that the previous centuries were basically defined by Europeanization and Americanization, but the 21st century is all about Asianization. He describes the broader Asianization of Iran, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia through economic partnerships and integration such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by putting aside geopolitical tension and rivalry. As he states,
“Geopolitical rivalries will only speed the Asianization of Asia.”
– Parag Khanna, “The Future Is Asian,” Chapter 3: “The Return of Greater Asia”
Asia-nomics, described in the fourth chapter, portrays how Asia is coming to the forefront in the field of digitization, AI, and also startups and how it is accelerating Asia’s robust economy by referring to the development in digitization sectors of countries like Bangladesh and India and also the AI domination of China.
Chapter 5 expands the influence of Asian diasporas in the Americas and their growing cultural interaction. He gives a detailed overview of how Asian diasporas are becoming important economically and culturally in the US and in Latin America.This bidirectional flow works as a bridge and facilitates trade and innovation on both sides, often through cultural exchanges.
Chapter 6 analyzes the complex and ever-evolving relationship between Asia and Europe. Khanna points out the bittersweet legacies of colonization still remain a major factor in social integration in this case despite strong economic ties. This chapter underscores the paradox of Europe’s admiration of the Asian economy and, at the same time, an everlasting ambivalence toward Asian people.
Khanna explores Asia’s growing ties with Africa in Chapter 7 by framing it as a deliberate and strategic investment in infrastructure that rejects the historical concept of European colonialism. His optimism lies in the fact that Asian states like China, India, and Japan are building a “Pan-African connectivity, ma,” and this process is more developmental than commercial. He identifies Asia’s approach to Africa as noncolonial and pragmatic, showing a clear distinction from past colonial powers. As he states,
“Asians are racing to connect Africa, not to divide it.”
– Parag Khanna, “The Future Is Asian,” Chapter 7: “The Return of Afroeurasia”
Chapter 8 expands on Asia’s growing and often overlooked prospect of South-South cooperation. China holds a key position here as an important trading partner for Brazil, Chile, and Peru while also highlighting Japan’s and South Korea’s high-tech partnerships. This narrative extends to the spread of Asian values and cultural and educational exchange, which is a determiner of soft power.
The ninth chapter, on Asia’s Technocratic Future, is an intriguing argument of this book. Khanna makes the case against democracy in favor of pragmatist, meritocratic technocracy, clearly drawing inspiration from his residency in Singapore. According to him, Asians are more intrigued by the improved outcomes of technocracy. States throughout Asia are adopting a similar approach. Some of these traits are starting to appear in Western democracies as well.
Khanna did an impressive job in the last chapter, which focuses mostly on enhancing the shared perception among Asians of what it means to be Asian by fusing social and cultural exports of growing appeal, from Bollywood to K-pop and even the flavor of various cuisines.
In critically evaluating “The Future Is Asian,” it’s evident that Khanna’s logic is thought-provoking, yet they present some contradictions. The reader is quite impressed by the wide range of topics that this book covers without sacrificing depth. The sarcastic comments, exposition, and suitably appropriate examples are indeed praiseworthy.This book also works as a contribution to policymakers, students, and researchers who want to delve into the complex issues of Asia as a whole for comprehensive study.
While he claims that Asia is not just about China, which serves as a key source of confusion because all the data and facts he presented throughout the book do in fact support China’s ascent to power. Throughout the book, Khanna made references to Asia-nomics and Greater Asia as though the region were a single entity with a distinct global viewpoint. However, national identities remain powerful in Asia.
Khanna seemstoo enthusiastic about technocrats solving the region’s problems, oversimplifying the issues and the differences even by calling Modi a “technocrat” despite his promotion of nationalistic agendas.The future is undoubtedly Asian, but this book ignores the challenges of getting there and any potential drawbacks.
The Future Is Asian is like walking into the future as it is happening, something that people who only see the world from a Western perspective might not fully comprehend. Khanna’s positive view of Asia’s ascent provides a crucial narrative in opposition to the fear-mongering discourse prevalent in Western media. To those who are interested in global trends, realize that the future isn’t only Asian—it’s already here, being shaped in the vibrant streets and artistic places of this continent.
Note on References: All citations are based on the e-book version ofKhanna, P.(2019).The Future Is Asian:Commerce,Conflict and Culture in the 21st century(e-book edition).Simon & Schuster
An Evergrande housing development in Beijing, China, pictured in January 2024, around the time a Hong Kong court ordered the firm to liquidate because it was unable to pay its debts. File photo by Mark R. Cristino/EPA-EFE
Aug. 25 (UPI) — Chinese property giant China Evergrande was delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, 20 months after being placed into liquidation by a court in the semi-autonomous region of China and almost 15 years after it was the most oversubscribed IPO of 2009 with a $50 billion valuation.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said it canceled the listing effective Monday because an 18-month deadline for Evergrande to resume trading passed last month, with the company opting not to appeal the decision.
“The exchange advises shareholders of the company who have any queries about the implications of the delisting to obtain appropriate professional advice,” said HKEX.
Macrolens managing principal Brian McCarthy told CNBC he expected investors holding Evergrande shares and bonds to lose most of their money and that a surge in Chinese property stocks might just be the initial phase of a “speculative frenzy” in Chinese equities.
“There have been some attempts to attach [Evergrande’s] assets, but they’ve not really managed to liquidate anything for more than a few cents on the dollar,” said McCarthy.
He warned that the debacle put foreign investors who invest in China via Hong Kong on notice that they have “limited recourse to onshore assets if things went bad,” and predicted that shareholders and bondholders in most of the large Chinese property developers would end up with “goose eggs.”
Trading in Evergrande shares ceased in January 2024 after a judge issued a winding-up order after the developer repeatedly failed to come up with a viable plan to restructure liabilities of at least $325 billion.
Shares sold at 45 cents back in 2009 were worth 2 cents at the last quote early Monday.
Trading in the stock had been suspended several times since 2021, but it has always managed to resume within the maximum permitted gap of 18 months to avoid delisting.
“Once delisted, there is no coming back,” Dan Wang, China director at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told the BBC.
The firm sought bankruptcy protection in the United States in August 2023 and regulators suspended the stock the following month amid reports that founder and chairman Hui Ka Yan was under house arrest on the mainland.
Hui presided over a 15-year drive to build Evergrande into one of China’s largest businesses, but the growth was delivered through massive borrowing, much of it highly leveraged.
Much of Evergrande’s debt is owed to prospective homebuyers with down payments on apartments and houses that are half-built, or on which work has yet to start, as well as suppliers and subcontractors.
Hui was fined $6.5 million and received a life ban from participating in China’s capital market for claiming Evergrande’s revenue was $78 billion more than it actually was.
In summer 2023, after failing to issue financial results for two years, the group belatedly reported that it had lost $81.1 billion during the period as it battled to maintain payments to suppliers and lenders and complete projects across China.
The losses, $66.4 billion in 2021 and $14.7 billion in 2022, were blamed on a market slump that forced it to take haircuts on its developments and financial assets and higher borrowing costs.
The demise of the firm, which at its peak had more than 1,300 projects in 280 Chinese cities, is the most high-profile symbol of the crisis enveloping China’s property sector, which accounts for as much as 25% of GDP.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
A recently emerged image shows a very large, low-observable, flying-wing aircraft in the air in China. While the identity of the aircraft cannot be definitively established, it matches, in many respects, the appearance of the huge drone that TWZ was first to identify in satellite imagery dating from earlier this summer, and which you can read more about here.
The new image of the aircraft in flight shows its rear aspect, with the landing gear down, large main undercarriage doors, and with B-2-style split rudders deployed on the outer wing, consistent with takeoff or landing. From this angle, we can see that its blended wing-body includes a broad center section, with a distinctly flattened top. No cockpit is visible, but that is a possibility that cannot be ruled out entirely. The shape of the center section also suggests this is a twin-engine design, with slot-like exhaust nozzles, but once again, the low resolution limits the degree to which these details can be made out.
The full-size, unedited version of the image of the low-observable, flying-wing aircraft. via X
At this point, it’s worth remembering that the emergence of this image was very possibly approved, tacitly or otherwise, by the Chinese government, and it may also have been manipulated at some point, potentially also for information warfare purposes.
While we can’t be sure, the aircraft seen in flight may well also be the same drone that was noted in satellite imagery parked at China’s secretive test base near Malan in Xinjiang province earlier this year. The image of the drone seen at this location, which is known to play a leading role in the country’s uncrewed aircraft development efforts, was provided to TWZ by Planet Labs archive and was taken on May 14, 2025. Based on the satellite image, the aircraft has a span of about 170 feet, which compares to 172 feet for the B-2 Spirit. Since its appearance, the drone has been dubbed WZ-X by some observers, pending any more details about its true designation or its manufacturer.
Both the aircraft in the new image and that seen in satellite imagery at Malan feature a very long tapering wing, longer than that found on China’s CH-7 stealthy flying-wing drone, which also features a notably deeper, curved center section than seen in the new image. The CH-7 is significantly smaller than the WZ-X, as well. At the same time, the design of the CH-7 has already been altered in the past, and the aircraft seen here might conceivably be a further development of this platform.
CH-7 stealthy flying-wing drone. via Chinese internetThe apparent CH-7 prototype on the runway. via Chinese internet
There are two possible features of the WZ-X that cannot be made out in the new image. The first of these is an apparent domed section on top of the center barrel. In contrast, the aircraft in the new image is noticeably flat on its upper surfaces.
There is also the suggestion that the Malan drone could possibly have a small set of angled vertical tails, which would help with stability, as you can read about here. While the presence of retractable fins cannot be ruled out in the new image, it’s also worth pointing out that the presence of shadows and possible distortion on the satellite image means that we can’t make definitive conclusions about its physical details.
Both the aircraft in the new image and the WZ-X also have a general similarity to the flying-wing aircraft that was spotted passing over the Philippines in 2021.
Regardless of the connection between these generally mysterious aircraft, the aircraft in the new image would appear to fall into a similar category as the WZ-X in terms of overall physical characteristics and size, although the second point is harder to determine. At the very least, a comparison of the size of the landing gear and the rest of the aircraft suggests a very large aircraft. China is currently working on a range of flying-wing type drone designs of various sizes, including large HALE drones. At least until now, the WZ-X was the largest Chinese design we have seen in this category.
Judging by what we can see of it, the aircraft appears likely to be a very large, high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) stealth drone. This may well put it in a category similar to the supposed U.S. RQ-180. The long wing would also seem to point to a design that’s been optimized for endurance at altitude.
Our notional illustration of what the RQ-180 could look like, based on publicly disclosed information about very similar concepts from Northrop Grumman that seem to have predated the program. Hangar B Productions
As stated previously, the center section of the aircraft may not be noticeably deep, but it is broad, pointing to significant internal volume for sensors. Most likely, its mission would be very long endurance penetrating wide-area reconnaissance, with strike being far less likely for an aircraft in this class. Bearing in mind the probable long-range missions expected of it, the center section likely also accommodates beyond-line-of-sight communications systems.
It is also intriguing that the image has appeared at this point. In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of imagery leaked from China showing new crewed aircraft and drones, land systems, missiles, and naval weapons. Much of this is related to the huge upcoming military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan in World War II, scheduled to take place in Beijing on Sept. 3.
Different CCA-like drones set to be shown at the parade on Sept. 3 are seen in a satellite image from Google Earth taken in June. Google Earth
Whether the flying-wing aircraft is expected to take part in the parade in some form is unclear, but it’s certain that the emergence of the image is unlikely to be an accident. In the past, imagery of this kind has often been taken of new aircraft operating from a factory airfield. That might be more likely than it being photographed overhead Malan, which is a remote and secretive test facility. However, until more imagery emerges, we won’t know for sure.
Once again, it will be some time before we can conclusively determine the relationship between this aircraft and the WZ-X, although there are certainly strong similarities between them.
Meanwhile, it’s now increasingly clear that China is looking to field large, stealthy flying-wing aircraft designs as part of its future air combat ecosystem. As well as drones of this class in various sizes, other key projects include the tri-engined J-36,the J-XDS fighter, and possibly other crewed tactical jets. Then there is a host of smaller drones, including a growing fleet of ‘loyal wingman’-type collaborative drones. Perhaps most enigmatic of all is the H-20 stealth bomber, which is yet to break cover, and that is also expected to use a flying-wing design.
As regards the H-20, the size of the center fuselage and other features suggest this aircraft is something different. While the size and form of the H-20 remain elusive, any large flying-wing HALE drone could also influence the development of the bomber, if it’s not flying already.
Once again, the appearance of the new image of the aircraft underscores China’s rapidly accelerating next-generation air combat programs, which now include potentially several designs for very large, low-observable, flying-wing, long-endurance aircraft.
It was no normal day in Kabul on the 20th of August 2025. The city, once ravaged by war and suspicion, welcomed an event that could redraw the region’s map, the sixth Pakistan-Afghanistan-China trilateral meeting. For decades, Afghanistan has been considered a theater of disorder, characterized by foreign interference, militancy, and sanctions.
In this groundbreaking round, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s attendance sent a message far beyond the confines of the conference room: Beijing stands ready to bet on Afghanistan’s revival from a battleground to a bridge economy. The Kabul session was no rerun of tired diplomatic protocol.
It was Afghanistan joining the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) officially, something that drastically alters the nation’s future along with the region’s geopolitics. By including Afghanistan in this paradigm, Pakistan and China have given the Taliban regime a once-in-a-lifetime chance to come out of seclusion, accrue legitimacy, and tap the economic potential. For a nation strangled by sanctions and bothered by unemployment, CPEC has the promise of something more than roads and pipelines; it has the promise of employment, commerce, and the chance to be an indispensable linkage between Central and South Asia.
Pakistan’s diplomacy has been at the center of making this day possible. For Islamabad, the addition of Afghanistan isn’t so much an act of goodwill and cooperation but also a hard security calculus. By adding Kabul to CPEC, Pakistan is minimizing the leeway for external actors, mainly India, to use the territory of Afghanistan for destabilization. It is also solidifying its own geo-economics hub, framing itself as a bridge state in a position to offer stability as well as connectivity. Primarily, Pakistan has shifted the instability of Afghanistan from a burden to a collective responsibility, with China’s financial influence footing the bill.
China has thus come to Kabul in a dual role: to mediate and to manage risk. Beijing knows that until stability arrives in Afghanistan, the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative stand to be jeopardized. The risks are genuine. Terror entities such as the TTP, ISKP, Al-Qaeda, and ETIM pose direct threats to the lives of citizens in China, CPEC projects, and internal stability in Xinjiang.
Wang Yi’s visit signalled Beijing’s intent to secure its investment commitments in the form of security measures as ironclad as its pecuniary commitments. The formation of a joint counter-terror operations center, real-time sharing of Intel, and procedures in the event of border incidents mirror that this isn’t about cutting ribbons but tough, enforceable systems of cooperation.
The structured pipeline laid out in Kabul is equally ambitious. Within the first year, digitized customs, fast-track trade facilities, and joint border security posts will become operational. Within three years, upgraded highways, cargo railways, energy corridors, and fiber optic networks will knit Afghanistan into regional supply chains. Within five years, industrial zones and logistics hubs in Afghan cities will enable the country to export more than raw materials; it will begin to manufacture, employ, and sustain itself. For the first time in decades, Afghanistan is being offered a pathway toward sustainable economic participation rather than mere aid dependency.
This vision, however, hinges on a simple but formidable formula: security plus connectivity equals peace. Without security, no corridor will be safe. Without connectivity, no economy will flourish. The Kabul session recognized this by embedding measurable accountability, KPIs that range from reducing terrorism by 30 percent annually to ensuring Afghan citizens fill 40 percent of CPEC-linked jobs. These are not rhetorical targets; they are promises with timelines, offering Afghans tangible evidence that their sacrifices in peace will translate into bread and dignity.
Critics will argue that this is overly ambitious, that the Taliban cannot reform, and that external spoilers will derail the process. But history often turns on moments when risks are embraced as opportunities. The Kabul round was one such pivot point. It declared that Afghanistan’s future need not be a repetition of its past. Instead, with Pakistan’s guarantees, China’s investments, and Kabul’s participation, the region has chosen to gamble on cooperation over conflict.
Wang Yi’s presence in Kabul symbolized more than China’s financial clout. It was a message that Beijing sees Afghanistan not as a pariah but as a partner, not as a sinkhole of instability but as a potential bridge across Asia. For Pakistan, it was proof that responsible diplomacy pays dividends. For Afghanistan, it was a first step out of isolation. If the commitments made in Kabul are honored, this day will be remembered as the moment when a war-torn land began its journey toward becoming a regional connector. The stakes are high, the risks are real, but the opportunity is historic. Sometimes, the future is written not in battlefields but in conference halls, and Kabul may have just rewritten its fate.
The international oil market is grappling with a persistent oversupply, driving sustained downward pressure on prices. By 2025, global energy systems are operating with significant overcapacity. OPEC+, aiming to regain market share, agreed in July to raise output by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, exceeding expectations, with a similar increase possible in September.
This aggressive move has intensified oversupply risks. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects global oil production in 2025 will reach 104.9 million bpd, outpacing demand at 103.8 million bpd. OPEC+ is phasing out production cuts, while non-OPEC+ supply is set to grow by 1.4 million bpd. Meanwhile, weak demand growth, especially in China and the U.S., has prompted the IEA to downgrade its 2025 demand forecast to 720,000 bpd. Despite geopolitical tensions, including Middle East conflicts, the structural oversupply remains dominant. Global inventories have risen steadily since February, with a sharp 93-million-barrel increase in May alone. Concurrently, U.S.-China trade tensions, fueled by Trump-era tariffs, have further clouded demand outlooks.
In this context, Trump has urged China to buy “plenty” of U.S. oil. While bilateral oil trade has continued despite tensions, it has been inconsistent. China’s imports of U.S. crude rose 81% in 2023 to 286,000 bpd. However, in 2024, amid escalating tensions and increased imports from Russia and Malaysia, U.S. crude shipments to China fell 53% to 217,000 bpd. From May to July 2024, China made no U.S. oil purchases, the longest pause since 2018, contributing to the lowest U.S. crude exports in over two years.
China, the world’s largest net energy importer, imported over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2024. It has adopted a defensive strategy, stockpiling reserves at low prices to manage cost and hedge against supply chain risks. This price-sensitive approach has become institutionalized, supporting both energy security and bargaining power.
However, this strategy is rooted in commercial logic rather than broader geopolitical planning. Despite energy security’s centrality to national interests, strategic implementation often lacks alignment.
Russia has emerged as China’s top oil supplier, accounting for 19% of 2023 imports. Yet, as China absorbs cheap oil globally, U.S. shale producers are losing ground due to high costs and limited export access, now a survival concern for the industry.
Meanwhile, major U.S. oil companies are under pressure. In 2024, profits of the top five oil giants fell significantly, with firms like Chevron slashing 15% to 20% of its workforce. This has weakened the traditional energy sector, a key Republican stronghold, thereby undermining Trump’s “energy dominance” strategy.
Facing a difficult midterm election, Trump has shifted focus toward China. On June 25, he signaled a possible easing of Iranian sanctions to allow oil exports to China while simultaneously urging China to resume large-scale U.S. oil purchases. This contradiction reflects a deeper conflict: oil majors’ long-term green transition vs. Trump’s short-term revival of fossil fuels. Stable export markets like China are vital for U.S. shale survival.
Trump’s policy balancing act between low oil prices and oil industry interests highlights China’s opportunity. His political vulnerability offers China a strategic opening to ease trade tensions and gain leverage through “oil diplomacy”.
For China, increased oil trade with the U.S. offers multiple strategic advantages:
Diplomatic Leverage: Responding to Trump’s call aligns with his style and offers a diplomatic gesture, not just economic cooperation.
Cost-Benefit Balance: While U.S. oil may be more expensive, it carries political value. In contrast, Russian oil may seem cheaper but could come with geopolitical costs, especially given Russia’s unpredictable behavior.
Deeper Engagement: Expanding cooperation with U.S. energy firms, many tied to Republican interests, could stabilize bilateral relations and open additional diplomatic channels.
Reserve Strategy: By expanding strategic reserves, China can manage higher purchase prices and potentially resell at favorable rates. U.S. light crude, with its higher quality, justifies a price premium.
State-to-State Negotiation: Positioning the oil trade as a government-level transaction rather than purely commercial can help secure favorable terms. Trump’s direct involvement could lead to better pricing and increased political capital.
Overall, strengthening oil trade with the U.S. serves as a practical adjustment in China’s energy and foreign policy. It helps counterbalance dependence on Russian energy, mitigates strategic vulnerabilities, and positions China more flexibly in global geopolitics. Engaging in “oil diplomacy” with the U.S. at this moment could enhance China’s strategic posture and create new leverage amid shifting global dynamics.
