World Today

① What does the new national human rights action plan reveal about China's human rights approach? (00:37)

② A conversation with the vice-president of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden on the right to development (14:48)

③ Global nuclear weapons spending surges to a record high of $119 billion. What's driving the increase? (25:30)

④ The world's second-hottest May on record: How can we respond to unusual weather patterns? (34:35)

⑤ The World Conference of Classics: Ancient wisdom for modern challenges (43:41)

① What does China's CPI in May reveal about consumer demand? (00:41)

② How is the Global South's push for a greater voice reshaping the world's human rights system? (14:29)

③ A flying car factory begins operation in Guangzhou. Can China become a leader in flying vehicles? (25:22)

④ Iran and the U.S. trade retaliatory attacks. Are the prospects for a ceasefire growing dim? (26:32)

⑤ Britain to ban "harmful" social media for under-16s. We explore how to create a healthy internet culture for children. (46:01)

① An in-depth analysis of China-DPRK relations. (00:41)

② China's foreign trade up 15.3% in first five months. What's behind the growth? (14:20)

③ Iran and Israel say they are halting attacks on each other. De-escalation or a pause before the next clash? (25:30)

④ Australian expert analyzes China's human rights approach. (37:11)

⑤ What's behind the most expensive World Cup in history? (46:21)

① China's trade in services maintained positive growth during the first four months. What was behind the performance? (00:43)

② What has made the Chinese city of Yiwu grow from a small county to the "World's Supermarket?" (13:15)

③ Israel and Iran trade missile strikes in the most serious confrontation since their April ceasefire. What triggered the escalation? (25:21)

④ Leaders of Britain, France and Germany voice support for direct Ukraine-Russia dialogue. Could their backing advance meaningful dialogue? (36:13)

⑤ The EU Parliament to switch to a French search engine from Google in a tech sovereignty push. Is Europe able to reduce reliance on U.S. technologies? (45:54)

China has unveiled new regulations on outbound investment to push ahead high-level opening-up while safeguarding national security and interests. Why has China introduced the rules at this particular moment? What do they mean for Chinese companies expanding overseas and for their international partners? And how can China balance opening-up and security?

Host Dou Hongyu is joined by Adjunct Professor Warwick Powell at Queensland University of Technology; Assistant Professor Wang Yaojing with the School of Economics, Peking University; Senior Research Fellow Zhou Mi with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, to answer these questions.

① The Trump administration has proposed new tariffs on imports from 60 economies, claiming they fail to ban US imports made with forced labor. Is this a legitimate ground to rebuild the administration’s tariff regime following domestic legal setbacks? (00:54)

② The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to limit Donald Trump’s war powers against Iran. Is the US president increasingly isolated on the Iran war? (15:11)

③ The World Health Organization says efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are gaining ground. We explore the remaining challenges for the mission. (24:56)

④ China has launched a national digital identity system to give every humanoid robot a personal identification number. How will the platform strengthen industry standards? (34:46)

⑤ Britain has ordered Google to allow news publishers to opt out of AI model fine-tuning for search summaries. How could Google’s AI Overviews deal a blow to publishers? (44:37)

① British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has made a three-day China visit. Can China and Britain develop a long-term strategic partnership? (00:54)

② Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is leading a large delegation on a tour to Central Asia. What is driving Hong Kong to seek closer ties with the region? (15:47)

③ A European Parliament committee has voted to scrap EU import duties on a range of US goods in order to comply with a US-EU trade deal. Why is the EU ready to compromise? (24:53)

④ Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is urging Washington to keep out of her country's domestic affairs. We look at how tensions grow between the US and Mexico over anti-drug cooperation. (34:14)

⑤ From DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng to Unitree Robotics’ Wang Xingxing and AgiBot’s Peng Zhihui, a number of young entrepreneurs are becoming central figures in China’s next wave of tech innovation. What’s driving this new generation of innovators? (43:37)

① Brazil’s foreign minister is on a visit to China. Is China-Brazil partnership becoming globally important? (00:53)

② Driven by soaring demand for semiconductors and AI servers, South Korea’s exports recorded the fastest growth since 1984 in May. We explore how South Korea is benefiting from a global AI boom. (13:38)

③ What is motivating Peter Magyar, Hungary’s new prime minister, to try to remove the country’s president from office? (24:55)

④ Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning has signed a long-term partnership with NBA star Stephen Curry. How could this partnership help Li-Ning go global? (33:15)

⑤ What is fueling the emergence of companionship economy in China? (44:10)

① Why has the Chinese delegation warned against attempts to revive Japanese militarism at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore? (00:54)

② China will adopt a new regulation on outbound investment. Can the country strike a balance between fending off risks to national security and encouraging normal outbound investment? (14:39)

③ How concerning is Israel’s military expansion into Lebanon? (25:27)

④ US inflation has surged to its highest level in three years, driven largely by soaring energy prices amid Middle East conflict. What could this mean for the Fed’s first policy meeting under Kevin Warsh? (35:40)

⑤ China’s Innovent Biologics and US pharma giant Pfizer have agreed to a giant licensing and collaboration deal to develop 12 early-stage cancer medicines. Why are global pharmaceutical firms stepping up their search for experimental medicines developed in China? (46:03)

International peacekeeping missions are in peril due to global geopolitical deadlock, funding issues and declining personnel numbers, according to a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Just under 79,000 personnel were deployed in international peacekeeping missions at the end of last year, its lowest level in 25 years. The study says missions managed by the United Nations have been affected most seriously.

What could be the consequences of a significant weakening of multilateral conflict management? Can this trend be reversed? Host Ding Heng is joined by Dr. Wen Jing, Research Fellow at Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University; Professor Kevin Nauen, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and International Relations at Pannasastra University of Cambodia; Joseph Siracusa, Professor of Global Futures with Curtin University in Australia.