The Pentagon added tech giants Alibaba and Baidu and carmaker BYD to a blacklist of Chinese companies with military ties amid widening competition between the world’s two largest economies. Drug maker WuXi AppTec, robot company Unitree and carmaker Nio were among other businesses added to the 1260H list, according to a US Department of Defence notice. Some Chinese companies no longer operating in the United States were removed in the annual update. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The...

Chinese President Xi Jinping started his first visit to North Korea since 2019 pledging “unwavering” friendship and deeper ties with a country that boasts a growing nuclear arsenal and increasing ties with Russia. “No matter how times change or how the international situation evolves, the friendship between China and North Korea remains invincible,” Xi said in an article published on Monday by Rodong Sinmun, a state-run North Korean newspaper. The two countries should “strengthen exchanges at...