South China Morning Post

Beijing says the United States and China will work toward a military crisis-communication agreement, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The announcement signals an effort by the two powers to keep military-to-military channels open and reduce the risk of accidents or misunderstandings escalating into conflict, a long-standing point of friction in the bilateral relationship.

The Xi-Trump summit concluded without US export controls on semiconductors being a major talking point, according to the South China Morning Post. The omission is notable given that Washington's chip curbs on China have been one of the most contentious issues in bilateral trade and technology relations, and observers had expected the topic to feature prominently in the leaders' discussions.

South China Sea Morning Post reporting highlights how Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and US First Lady Melania Trump created an informal channel alongside formal US-China diplomacy. The piece suggests spousal engagement helped soften tensions and build rapport at moments when official talks between Washington and Beijing were strained or stalled.

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.