Breaking China, Asia, HK News, Opinions and Insights

A close-up view of multiple battery energy storage system (BESS) containers in utility installation. They are designed to support renewable integration, load balancing and grid electricity. Photo: Handout

China unveils ultra-cheap ‘all-iron flow battery’ for renewable energy storage

Next-generation large-scale energy storage system promises ultra-low cost and record lifespan.

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Chinese research team says new iron-rich corn could help ease anaemia worldwide

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SERIES: China takes stock as world frets over Mythos

From scepticism to concern: Mythos panic is slowly starting to reach China

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on its influential social media account that Mythos showed ‘unprecedented cyberattack capabilities’.

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Military

Trump factor drives up Asia-Pacific military spending at fastest pace since 2009

Expenditures rose to US$681 billion, as some nations worried that Washington might not be a reliable security partner.

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LIVE

No on-site checks conducted on scaffolding mesh before Tai Po blaze, probe hears

Witness Cheung Yuk-ching says Buildings Department may take action over polyfoam boards blocking windows.

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Open Questions

Why China’s yuan faces the same ‘illusions’ that stalled the euro: Daniel Gros

Science

China launches war on Alzheimer’s that may affect 10% of population by 2050

Chinese biotech firms tackle urgent initiative to create four new pharmaceutical drugs to treat world’s fastest growing form of dementia.

3 hours agovideocam

Chinese researchers tasked with the job of creating four new pharmaceutical drugs to treat the world’s fastest growing form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease. Photo: Getty Images

Global Economy

Chinese EVs are making inroads in one of world’s most competitive auto markets

BYD is now one of Korea’s fastest-growing imported EV brands while rivals like Chery look to break into a market long dominated by local giants.

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Economics

Japan aims to build world’s largest wind farm. Can it power on by 2035?

The plan calls for wind turbines to supply power to the Izu Islands and Tokyo, with an eventual capacity of 1 gigawatt.

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Business

Lingxi Games’ Three Kingdoms Tactics hits target with global audience

Chinese game company’s flagship title among raft of nation’s simulation games to resonate with players at home and abroad.

In partnership with:

Lingxi Games

(From left) Hong Kong marketing professional Edmond Woo, mainland Chinese short‑track speed skater Han Tianyu and Beijing-based Italian language teacher and sinologist Cristiano Mazzucco discuss the impact on them of games like Three Kingdoms Tactics.

Middle East

Netanyahu’s biggest rivals join forces for Israel’s coming election

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, two former prime ministers of Israel, announce the merging of their parties.

19 minutes ago

Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Photo: Reuters

Tech

Moore Threads posts US$4.3m profit as Nvidia rival surges amid Beijing chip push

Beijing-based GPU maker turns a corner in the first quarter of 2026 after posting a US$16.5 million loss a year earlier.

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Middle East

Lebanon reports bloodiest day since ceasefire as Israel targets Hezbollah

Ceasefire has reduced but not stopped attacks, as Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli troops in Lebanon.

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Education

ESF reserves reach HK$3.75 billion, even as government subsidies shrink

Hong Kong’s largest international school group also says in latest annual report it expects increased competition to bring in new students.

4 hours ago

The ESF has also pledged that it will modernise its marketing strategies to attract the children of talent and investors settling in the city. Photo: May Tse

Science

Scientists in China create a predator-like material to hunt for uranium in ocean

Breakthrough could aid radioactive pollution clean-ups and allow for uranium ion extraction from seawater to power nuclear reactors.

26 Apr 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

Researchers have developed a microscopic material capable of swimming through water and hunting uranium ions. Photo: Shutterstock Images

China Business

Turning cast-offs into cash: China’s Zhuanzhuan looks to Europe, US for growth

From phones to luxury bags, the recycling platform wants to take its ‘trash to treasure’ model global as second-hand demand accelerates.

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Diplomacy

China warns EU to remove firms and citizens from Russian sanctions list

Commerce ministry said Brussels would ‘bear the consequences’ after 27 mainland and Hong Kong firms were added to the latest blacklist.

26 Apr 2026 - 7:40PMvideocam

Banking & Finance

How the Middle East war is boosting family offices, private banking in Hong Kong

Conflict prompts rich investors to diversify, boosting Hong Kong’s role as a hub for family offices and private banking.

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Hong Kong was the world’s top initial public offering market in the first quarter, after reclaiming the title last year for the first time since 2019. Photo: Dickson Lee

East Asia

Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Japan’s Hokkaido, JMA warns of more to come

The temblor, and another hours earlier, come less than a week after last Monday’s 7.7 earthquake off northern Iwate prefecture.

3 hours agovideocam

Waves hit Tomakomai in Hokkaido prefecture following an earthquake on April 20. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters

Science

China builds world’s first ‘coal battery’ with zero emission

New technology developed by Chinese scientists achieves higher energy efficiency than burning while eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

26 Apr 2026 - 8:10PMvideocam

Europe

Italy to extradite Chinese national wanted by US for alleged hacking

The US Department of Justice has sought Xu Zewei on suspicion of stealing Covid-19 research and hacking charges.

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OPINION

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SCMP Series

China takes stock as world frets over Mythos

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Anthropic’s strong anti-China stance has increased the possibility that the US could use Mythos-type models to conduct cyberattacks against China, according to a cybersecurity expert. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

SCMP Series China takes stock as world frets over Mythos

From scepticism to concern: Mythos panic is slowly starting to reach China

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on its influential social media account that Mythos showed ‘unprecedented cyberattack capabilities’.

3-MIN READ

Why Anthropic’s Mythos has energised China’s cybersecurity industry

3-MIN READ

Anthropic’s Mythos is stoking cybersecurity fears. What does it mean for China?

3-MIN READ

Open Questions series

Diplomacy

Open Questions | ‘Saying you’re a geopolitical actor doesn’t make it so’: Sven Biscop on Europe

The Belgian political scientist on what the Iran war and the transatlantic collision reveal about Europe’s place in a fast-changing world.

15-MIN READvideocam

Science

Open Questions | What an ancient Chinese map reveals about global history: Sheng-Wei Wang

Kunyu Wanguo Quantu and maritime artefacts prove China explored the world earlier than Eurocentric accounts suggest, scholar argues.

16-MIN READvideocam

China Economy

Open Questions | Andrew Tilton on China’s economic trajectory in wake of Iran war

Goldman Sachs’ chief Asia-Pacific economist says worst is over in terms of property slump’s impact on China’s economic growth.

9-MIN READvideocam

China Economy

Open Questions | Kenneth Rogoff on why China’s yuan will be a reserve currency within 5 years

Harvard economist explains why cryptocurrencies will never take the US dollar’s place, despite their popularity in underground economies.

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Key Industries:

Tech

Can ‘token exports’ give China an edge in the AI era?

As AI tokens emerge as a new commodity, China’s cost advantage is reshaping global model competition, though monetisation gaps remain.

3-MIN READ

Starting this year, models from Chinese companies have intermittently ranked among the global top tier in token usage. Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

China Business

Li Auto targets BMW and Mercedes with premium SUVs in Middle East, Asia-Pacific

Beijing-based EV maker expects overseas deliveries to account for 30 per cent of its total by 2030, president Ma Donghui says.

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Tech Trends

Underwhelming or underrated? DeepSeek V4 shows “impressive” gains

Benchmark shows V4 trailing Kimi and US frontier models, though gains raise hopes of another R1-style breakthrough.

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China EVs

Xpeng sets August goal to overtake Tesla’s self-driving tech in China

Carmaker bets on training AI in China’s dense urban roads to build a competitive advantage for expansion into Europe and Southeast Asia.

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He Xiaopeng, CEO of Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, walks past the new SUV GX six-seater on the opening day of Auto China 2026 in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Science

Will China’s mathematicians join a global effort to boycott the United States?

Question hovers as world’s premier mathematics conference faces revolt over American visa rules and foreign policies.

5-MIN READvideocam

Big Tech

As DJI duels Insta360, China sharpens global hardware edge amid US scrutiny

Western competitors like GoPro face shrinking footprints as strategic shifts of Chinese firms disrupt the status quo while navigating FCC-led national security bans.

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Prognosis positive: how AI could help China bridge the medical resources gap

Hospitals, medical professionals and patients stand to benefit as country pushes to integrate AI into healthcare sector.

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Hong Kong

How fire safety failures worsened Hong Kong’s deadly inferno

The second round of hearings from April 8 to April 17 exposed a series of failures that allowed the fire equipment and alarm system in Wang Fuk Court to be deactivated for months, and eventually contributed to the heavy death toll.

1-MIN READ

How fire safety failures worsened Hong Kong’s deadly inferno

China unveils ultra-cheap ‘all-iron flow battery’ for renewable energy storage

Next-generation large-scale energy storage system promises ultra-low cost and record lifespan.

Chinese research team says new iron-rich corn could help ease anaemia worldwide

From scepticism to concern: Mythos panic is slowly starting to reach China

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on its influential social media account that Mythos showed ‘unprecedented cyberattack capabilities’.

Trump factor drives up Asia-Pacific military spending at fastest pace since 2009

Expenditures rose to US$681 billion, as some nations worried that Washington might not be a reliable security partner.

No on-site checks conducted on scaffolding mesh before Tai Po blaze, probe hears

Witness Cheung Yuk-ching says Buildings Department may take action over polyfoam boards blocking windows.

Why China’s yuan faces the same ‘illusions’ that stalled the euro: Daniel Gros

China launches war on Alzheimer’s that may affect 10% of population by 2050

Chinese biotech firms tackle urgent initiative to create four new pharmaceutical drugs to treat world’s fastest growing form of dementia.

Chinese EVs are making inroads in one of world’s most competitive auto markets

BYD is now one of Korea’s fastest-growing imported EV brands while rivals like Chery look to break into a market long dominated by local giants.

Japan aims to build world’s largest wind farm. Can it power on by 2035?

The plan calls for wind turbines to supply power to the Izu Islands and Tokyo, with an eventual capacity of 1 gigawatt.

.css-12ooj4n{font-family:Roboto Condensed,Roboto Condensed fallback,sans-serif;}Lingxi Games’ Three Kingdoms Tactics hits target with global audience

Chinese game company’s flagship title among raft of nation’s simulation games to resonate with players at home and abroad.

Netanyahu’s biggest rivals join forces for Israel’s coming election

Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, two former prime ministers of Israel, announce the merging of their parties.

Moore Threads posts US$4.3m profit as Nvidia rival surges amid Beijing chip push

Beijing-based GPU maker turns a corner in the first quarter of 2026 after posting a US$16.5 million loss a year earlier.

Lebanon reports bloodiest day since ceasefire as Israel targets Hezbollah

Ceasefire has reduced but not stopped attacks, as Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli troops in Lebanon.

ESF reserves reach HK$3.75 billion, even as government subsidies shrink

Hong Kong’s largest international school group also says in latest annual report it expects increased competition to bring in new students.

Scientists in China create a predator-like material to hunt for uranium in ocean

Breakthrough could aid radioactive pollution clean-ups and allow for uranium ion extraction from seawater to power nuclear reactors.

Turning cast-offs into cash: China’s Zhuanzhuan looks to Europe, US for growth

From phones to luxury bags, the recycling platform wants to take its ‘trash to treasure’ model global as second-hand demand accelerates.

China warns EU to remove firms and citizens from Russian sanctions list

Commerce ministry said Brussels would ‘bear the consequences’ after 27 mainland and Hong Kong firms were added to the latest blacklist.

How the Middle East war is boosting family offices, private banking in Hong Kong

Conflict prompts rich investors to diversify, boosting Hong Kong’s role as a hub for family offices and private banking.

Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Japan’s Hokkaido, JMA warns of more to come

The temblor, and another hours earlier, come less than a week after last Monday’s 7.7 earthquake off northern Iwate prefecture.

China builds world’s first ‘coal battery’ with zero emission

New technology developed by Chinese scientists achieves higher energy efficiency than burning while eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

Italy to extradite Chinese national wanted by US for alleged hacking

The US Department of Justice has sought Xu Zewei on suspicion of stealing Covid-19 research and hacking charges.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Hong Kong’s civil service accountability system will end buck-passing mentality

Opinion | 122 years on, Mackinder’s ‘heartland’ remains geopolitically decisive

Editorial | Malaysia bourse pact extends Hong Kong’s outreach to Southeast Asia

Editorial | Robots are all well and good – so long as they do no harm to humans

Opinion | Middle East shipping crisis elevates China-Europe railway’s profile

China unveils ultra-cheap ‘all-iron flow battery’ for renewable energy storage

Netanyahu’s biggest rivals join forces for Israel’s coming election

China’s solar giant Sungrow revives Hong Kong IPO plan amid clean energy boom

No on-site checks conducted on scaffolding mesh before Tai Po blaze, probe hears

Thailand to extradite Indonesian man in US$10 million scam targeting Americans

From scepticism to concern: Mythos panic is slowly starting to reach China

Chinese EVs are making inroads in one of world’s most competitive auto markets

Style Edit: Cartier reshapes 5 of its most storied watch collections

Style Edit: Audemars Piguet launches a new atelier at Watches and Wonders 2026

Style Edit: Chanel’s watch and jewellery releases, from J12 to a chessboard

From scepticism to concern: Mythos panic is slowly starting to reach China

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on its influential social media account that Mythos showed ‘unprecedented cyberattack capabilities’.

Why Anthropic’s Mythos has energised China’s cybersecurity industry

Anthropic’s Mythos is stoking cybersecurity fears. What does it mean for China?

.css-19im5qg{color:#c79a00;}Open Questions | ‘Saying you’re a geopolitical actor doesn’t make it so’: Sven Biscop on Europe

The Belgian political scientist on what the Iran war and the transatlantic collision reveal about Europe’s place in a fast-changing world.

Open Questions | What an ancient Chinese map reveals about global history: Sheng-Wei Wang

Kunyu Wanguo Quantu and maritime artefacts prove China explored the world earlier than Eurocentric accounts suggest, scholar argues.

Open Questions | Andrew Tilton on China’s economic trajectory in wake of Iran war

Goldman Sachs’ chief Asia-Pacific economist says worst is over in terms of property slump’s impact on China’s economic growth.

Open Questions | Kenneth Rogoff on why China’s yuan will be a reserve currency within 5 years

Harvard economist explains why cryptocurrencies will never take the US dollar’s place, despite their popularity in underground economies.

Can ‘token exports’ give China an edge in the AI era?

As AI tokens emerge as a new commodity, China’s cost advantage is reshaping global model competition, though monetisation gaps remain.

Li Auto targets BMW and Mercedes with premium SUVs in Middle East, Asia-Pacific

Beijing-based EV maker expects overseas deliveries to account for 30 per cent of its total by 2030, president Ma Donghui says.

Underwhelming or underrated? DeepSeek V4 shows “impressive” gains

Benchmark shows V4 trailing Kimi and US frontier models, though gains raise hopes of another R1-style breakthrough.

Xpeng sets August goal to overtake Tesla’s self-driving tech in China

Carmaker bets on training AI in China’s dense urban roads to build a competitive advantage for expansion into Europe and Southeast Asia.

Will China’s mathematicians join a global effort to boycott the United States?

Question hovers as world’s premier mathematics conference faces revolt over American visa rules and foreign policies.

As DJI duels Insta360, China sharpens global hardware edge amid US scrutiny

Western competitors like GoPro face shrinking footprints as strategic shifts of Chinese firms disrupt the status quo while navigating FCC-led national security bans.

Prognosis positive: how AI could help China bridge the medical resources gap

Lingxi Games’ Three Kingdoms Tactics hits target with global audience

Opinion | Hong Kong’s civil service accountability system will end buck-passing mentality

Open Questions | ‘Saying you’re a geopolitical actor doesn’t make it so’: Sven Biscop on Europe