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Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), gives a speech at the company’s production site in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2022. The firm has now bought a second tract of land adjoining the site. Photo: AP

TSMC buys up land in Arizona as Taiwan pledges US$500 billion US tech investment

Chip giant TSMC plans to build a ‘gigafab cluster’ in the US, with Taiwan committing to US$500 billion investment under a new trade deal.

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A Chinese tech hub eyes 3- to 7-nanometre chip breakthroughs to beat US curbs

Taiwan economy
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Global Economy

Canada, China hit reset button on relations with tariff agreement

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the deal, which features a mutual reduction in tariffs on goods, including Chinese EVs.

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Diplomacy

Why ‘monumental’ China duty-free trade deal has Kenya wanting more

Preliminary ‘early harvest’ framework grants zero-duty entry to over 98 per cent of Kenyan exports, as Nairobi pushes for 100 per cent access.

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Hong Kong Economy

Galloping horses theme of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year fireworks display

Jockey Club will sponsor show as part of campaign to celebrate the equine zodiac throughout the Year of the Horse, from races to exhibitions.

Lifestyle
Will the Year of the Horse 2026 be a lucky one for Rats? Fortune-teller Tong Pik-ha shares her predictions for wealth, relationships and health. Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Why the Year of the Horse 2026 could be a tough one for Rats

Science

Chinese scientists unlock possible key to dark matter after almost 90 years

Researchers have made the first direct observation of a quantum phenomenon known as the Migdal effect.

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Understanding dark matter would transform our knowledge of the universe. Photo: Getty Images
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Diplomacy

Trump pick for South America command sidesteps China questions at Senate hearing

Lieutenant General Francis Donovan’s answers frustrated even Republicans in favour of a military-first plan to counter Chinese influence.

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Politics

French ‘intimacy’: Philippines, France near deal for Indo-Pacific strength

The visiting forces deal comes on top of similar pacts with other nations and could help the Philippines attain a ‘muscular defence arsenal’.

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Business

The secret ingredient in your daily life: why Malaysian palm oil is used around the world

Found everywhere from food products to biofuel, this vegetable oil is preferred for its versatility, safety and sustainable production.

In partnership with:
MPOC
Palm oil is a versatile ingredient found in a wide range of everyday items, from ice cream and cake to lipstick and biofuel.

Politics

Why is Xi Jinping putting the political heat back on illegal villas and resorts?

Xi highlights the luxury developments as proof of the need to promote sustainability and combat graft.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping visited a nature reserve in the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi province in 2020 to send a message about illegal luxury developments. Photo: Xinhua

Russia & Central Asia

Putin offers to mediate Iran crisis amid tensions with Israel, Trump threat

The Russian leader spoke with Israel’s Netanyahu and Iran’s Pezeshkian on Friday, offering Moscow’s help to mediate in the region, the Kremlin said.

Politics

Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

Pakistan and China have been drawing closer to Bangladesh and Myanmar in areas such as defence and trade at India’s expense, analysts say.

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Hong Kong Economy

Number of registered companies in Hong Kong reaches record 1.56 million in 2025

According to Companies Registry, 195,343 were newly registered local and redomiciled firms, while 99,406 dissolved over the same period.

Hong Kong’s central business district in Central. Photo: Edmond So

Science

China’s 7,000-year-old sunmao woodwork led to the most efficient DNA editing tool

Quest to beat the US saw a Chinese team turn to ancient traditions, leading to a new technique 10 times more effective than other methods.

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The new gene-editing strategy is more precise at insertion and replacement in rice. Photo: Shutterstock

Big Tech

China dominates global humanoid robot market with over 80% of installations

AgiBot and Unitree help China capture bulk of global deployments in 2025 as market heads for sixfold growth by 2027, report says.

Law and Crime

‘Difficult decision’: Hong Kong’s Chris Tang defends shooting of man with knife

Security chief praises officers’ bravery, saying their decisiveness prevented suspect from causing further harm and potentially saved lives.

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Military

China warns of ‘honey trap’ risks after defence official jailed for espionage

A mainland military project manager was lured into a sexual relationship by a spy posing as a business representative while on a trip abroad.

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China’s Ministry of State Security has repeatedly told mainland officials, students and tourists to be wary of recruitment traps abroad set by foreign intelligence agencies. Photo: Reuters

Travel & Leisure

Steps from the Colosseum, virtual tour offers a peek inside ancient Roman house

The House of the Griffins and its frescoes can now be explored via an onsite virtual tour into otherwise off-limits underground areas.

Colosseum Archeological Park guide Valentina uses a head-mounted device to livestream a guided tour of the newly restored underground House of the Griffins, dated between the second and first century BC, on the Palatine Hill next to the Colosseum, in Rome, Italy. Photo: AP

Politics

Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia plan defence deal to counter chaos in Middle East

Iran’s neighbours are worried that the US’ increasingly erratic behaviour may pose a risk to regional power balance and trade, analysts say.

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Education

Hong Kong’s finance chief warns of market volatility, pledges support for families

Amid market swings, Financial Secretary Paul Chan urges fiscal prudence and vows to review child tax breaks to tackle record-low birth rate.

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OPINION
Ningrong Liu

Opinion | China’s economy is struggling – even as its hi-tech sector booms

Ningrong Liu
Jun Yu Chan

Opinion | From tea to TikTok: the middleman’s return is reshaping China trade

Jun Yu Chan
Letters

Letters | Hong Kong has what it takes to run a bigger tennis tournament

Letters
Anthony W.D. Anastasi

Opinion | Too few Chinese finish secondary school to sustain growth

Anthony W.D. Anastasi
SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Resettling Hong Kong fire victims calls for compassion and fiscal prudence

SCMP Editorial
Harry’s View | 16 Jan 2026
January 16, 2026
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Hong Kong’s CineArt Cinema to open branch at site of Ma On Shan’s only theatre

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Iekei restaurant in the western city of Osaka has ignited controversy by slapping a ban on all Chinese customers, accusing them of being troublemakers.
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Hong Kong Economy

Galloping horses theme of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year fireworks display

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SCMP Series
China Inc. goes global
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SCMP SeriesChina Inc. goes global

The US has played its hand in Latin America. Will China’s firms there cash out?

After the abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, many Chinese entrepreneurs in the region say they are staying put – for now.

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Why overseas residency is a ‘practical advantage’ for Chinese firms going global

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Chinese companies expand globally

Open Questions series

Diplomacy

Open Questions | Zheng Yongnian on what US’ ‘neocolonialism’, Venezuela operation mean for China

Political scientist says the Western-led global order remains useful, and the Belt and Road Initiative isn’t a geopolitical project.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Global Economy

Open Questions | ‘Embrace the moment’: on China, Daniel Kritenbrink puts pragmatism first

Former US ambassador to Vietnam says a return to the past for US-China relations is unrealistic, but both economic powers benefit from ties.

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Diplomacy

Open Questions | How new C100 chief plans to foster ties between Chinese-Americans and China

The Committee of 100’s president Paul Cheung has high hopes for Chinese-Americans’ relationship with China in these uncertain times.

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Diplomacy

Open Questions | Political scientist Ivan Krastev on European vertigo in a post-American world

While melancholy Europe frets that the US and China will shape the future, middle powers are jostling for a place at the big table.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
China Future Tech
China Future Tech
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Live Q&A webinars

Tech War

Zhipu AI breaks US chip reliance with first major model trained on Huawei stack

Zhipu claims GLM-Image achieved industry-leading scores among open-source models for text rendering and Chinese character generation.

Zhipu said the achievement proved the feasibility of developing powerful multimodal models without US chips. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Big Tech

China dominates global humanoid robot market with over 80% of installations

AgiBot and Unitree help China capture bulk of global deployments in 2025 as market heads for sixfold growth by 2027, report says.

China Economy

A Chinese tech hub eyes 3- to 7-nanometre chip breakthroughs to beat US curbs

Province’s five-year plan backs national push for tech independence – but can it succeed?

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Tech War

Chinese firms to incur higher costs for deploying AI chips from US: analysts

‘Beijing has made it politically unpalatable for private firms to rely too much on imported AI chips,’ EIU senior analyst Chim Lee says.

7
The new import duties on advanced AI chips cover Nvidia’s H200 and Advanced Micro Devices’ MI325X graphics processing units. Photo: Shutterstock

China Economy

A Chinese tech hub eyes 3- to 7-nanometre chip breakthroughs to beat US curbs

Province’s five-year plan backs national push for tech independence – but can it succeed?

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China is world’s largest chip manufacturer, demonstrating the country’s superiority in global supply chain. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong Economy

Can new tricks save Hong Kong’s restaurants from ‘irreversible’ Shenzhen trend?

Business models are being overhauled as food and drink sector tackles ‘irreversible’ trend of Hongkongers spending their money elsewhere.

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Diplomacy

Why China fears Trump’s Nvidia H200 deal is a sophisticated Trojan horse

Can Washington bind Chinese rivals to American technologies or will access to the AI chips hasten Beijing’s challenge to US dominance?

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China Economy

Can China’s cheap, renewable energy help it outrun the US in the AI race?

China’s energy buildout means cheap, green and reliable electricity fuels its manufacturing and tech industries, giving it an edge over rivals.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
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