South China Morning Post

Beijing has announced that the United States and China will work toward a military crisis-communication agreement, according to reporting by the South China Morning Post. The announcement signals continued efforts by the two powers to keep open channels of communication between their armed forces amid ongoing tensions over Taiwan, trade and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

US export controls on semiconductors were not a key topic at the summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, according to the South China Morning Post. The observation is drawing attention given how central chip restrictions have been to US-China trade tensions, raising questions about whether both sides deliberately set the issue aside or reached quiet understandings on technology policy.

South China Morning Post examines why investors continue to target Asia-Pacific real estate even as higher interest rates raise borrowing costs across the region. The report points to draws such as expected long-term value, portfolio diversification and income stability, suggesting institutional buyers see opportunities that outweigh tighter financing conditions. Discussion centres on which markets and asset types are attracting capital.

Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and US First Lady Melania Trump have opened a parallel channel in US-China diplomacy, according to a South China Morning Post report. The two first ladies' engagements and exchanges are being read as a soft-power complement to formal talks between their husbands, adding a personal dimension to an otherwise tense bilateral relationship.

A South China Morning Post exclusive reports that the New Development Bank, the Brics bank headquartered in China and often called the Brics bank, is set to take on a leading role in a global alliance against hunger this year, according to Brazil. The report suggests Brazil has indicated the bank will head the hunger alliance effort within the Brics grouping. Beyond the single headline, there is little detail in the available posts about how the arrangement would work or what the bank's exact responsibilities would be, and broader public reaction is not visible.

Commentary is asking whether the most significant outcome of the recent Xi-Trump summit was not the widely reported trade truce, but an agreement or understanding on artificial intelligence. The South China Morning Post piece frames AI as a possible quiet breakthrough between the US and China alongside the headline trade deal. From the available post, the specific terms of any AI understanding and readers' reactions are not clear.