Breaking China, Asia, HK News, Opinions and Insights

How a Chinese plastics hub shapes Tesla’s supply chain – and moulds the modern world

From car components to keyboards, this little-known industrial district in eastern China is crafting the small parts the world relies on.

47 minutes agovideocam

Explaining China’s supply chain security rules

China exports

Science & Technology

Zero H200 chips sold to China ‘as of today’: Lutnick tells lawmakers

US commerce chief says export curbs remain under review as Washington weighs tech controls against broader ties with Beijing.

2 hours agovideocam

Diplomacy

US visa system ‘rolls out red carpet’ for Chinese spies, hearing told

US senators pointed to legal channels, including work visas and university research, as potential pathways for China-linked espionage.

1 hour agovideocam

Law and Crime

Tough penalties planned to stop unapproved fire system shutdowns in Hong Kong

Security Bureau plans to propose legal amendments to improve oversight following deadly Tai Po fire last November.

5 hours ago

Diplomacy

Observers say pressure on Trump will rise as the war continues, and Beijing’s leverage in any talks with the US will also grow. Photo: EPA

As Iran talks go nowhere, will Donald Trump still go to Beijing?

Military

Warning over Taiwan? PLA warships make rare transits off southwest Japan

‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says.

22 Apr 2026 - 9:07PM

The PLA’s Type 052DL upgraded guided-missile destroyer Baotou, which led the 133rd task force in western Pacific exercises this week. Photo: Handout

China Business

Asian, emerging-market funds rotate into China and Taiwan stocks: HSBC

Fund managers shift focus to Chinese and Taiwanese stocks, while reducing exposure to South Korea amid global market turbulence.

42 minutes ago

United States & Canada

Trump’s top Navy official out, with US still locked in war with Iran

Navy Secretary John Phelan will leave office ‘immediately’, soon after the sudden exit of the top US Army general and other senior officers.

32 minutes agovideocam

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.

United States & Canada

Canada PM hits back after Trump team demands ‘entry fee’ before trade talks

Washington is reportedly seeking concessions before agreeing to open negotiations on revising the US trade pact with Canada and Mexico.

3 hours agovideocam

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

China Economy

‘Bigger winners’: why China’s battery firms stand to gain from the Iran war

Manufacturers are expected to see stronger overseas orders even as price wars hurt profits at home.

22 Apr 2026 - 10:00PM

Diplomacy

Washington’s ‘psyop’ propaganda push could backfire, analysts say

Amid slipping global approval, the US is risking its credibility by turning to tactics it once condemned.

22 Apr 2026 - 9:00PM

United States & Canada

Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in World Cup, report says

The plan is an attempt to mend ties with Italian PM Meloni, after she and Trump fell out over his attacks against Pope Leo.

2 hours ago

US President Donald Trump greets Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in October 2025. Photo: AP

Politics

‘Vindication’: ICC chamber rules case against Rodrigo Duterte to proceed

Duterte’s lawyers argue that the crimes against humanity case targeting him should not proceed as the Philippines is not an ICC member.

23 Apr 2026 - 12:04AMvideocam

Relatives of victims of ex-Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war campaign react after watching a broadcast of the International Criminal Court at a gathering in Quezon City on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

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.

22 Apr 2026 - 11:20PM

Law and Crime

Families seek review of coroner’s findings in Lamma ferry disaster inquest

Application for judicial review seeks to quash coroner’s findings that missing watertight door on ferry was a deliberate design choice.

6 hours agovideocam

United States & Canada

Billionaire Justin Sun sues Trump family crypto venture

The entrepreneur says his WLFI assets were frozen by World Liberty Financial, and he has been unable to resell the electronic currency.

33 minutes agovideocam

TRON founder Justin Sun speaks at an event in Seoul, South Korea, in September 2025. Photo: Reuters

Trending in China

The Devil Wears Prada 2 slammed for offending China with nerdy ‘Chin Chou’ role

Sequel to hit Hollywood film accused of using ‘racist’ name reminiscent of xenophobic Western tropes of earlier times.

22 Apr 2026 - 7:21PM

The Devil Wears Prada 2 has been criticised for offending China by introducing a character named “Chin Chou”, which some say resembles the derogatory term “Ching Chong.” Photo: SCMP composite/IMDb/YouTube/IG@dip_magazine

China EVs

China’s low-cost EVs to be fitted with lidar systems, usually saved for lux cars

Intense competition, rapid tech advancement and falling costs allow the superior driving systems to be fitted into budget-price vehicles.

22 Apr 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

Americas

Top Peru ministers quit in protest over stalled US fighter jet deal

Interim president Balcazar has put off buying the F-16s, saying he would leave it up to the country’s next leader to finalise the agreement.

5 hours ago

OPINION

Kun Tian

Opinion | What Hong Kong’s conservative stablecoin licence roll-out reveals

1 hour ago

SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Saudi leader’s phone call to Xi Jinping shows shifting global power balance

27 minutes ago

SCMP Editorial

Editorial | New curriculum guide will bolster national identity in Hong Kong

57 minutes ago

Wang Huiyao

Opinion | How China’s patient diplomacy can help secure peace in Iran

22 Apr 2026 - 8:30PM

Warwick Powell

Opinion | Iran crisis casts light on energy security from the US to Asia

22 Apr 2026 - 5:30PM

Harry’s View | 23 Apr 2026

MORE COMMENT

LATEST

27 minutes ago

Opinion

Editorial | Saudi leader’s phone call to Xi Jinping shows shifting global power balance

27 minutes ago

K-drama

Absolute Value of Romance: high school comedy K-drama with a boys’ love twist

33 minutes ago

United States & Canada

Billionaire Justin Sun sues Trump family crypto venture

42 minutes ago

China Business

Asian, emerging-market funds rotate into China and Taiwan stocks: HSBC

57 minutes ago

Opinion

Editorial | New curriculum guide will bolster national identity in Hong Kong

1 hour ago

Diplomacy

US visa system ‘rolls out red carpet’ for Chinese spies, hearing told

1 hour ago

Hong Kong Opinion

Opinion | What Hong Kong’s conservative stablecoin licence roll-out reveals

1 hour ago

United States & Canada

Trump’s top Navy official out, with US still locked in war with Iran

2 hours ago

United States & Canada

Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in World Cup, report says

2 hours ago

China Economy

How a Chinese plastics hub shapes Tesla’s supply chain – and moulds the modern world

MORE LATEST NEWS

SCMP Series

US-Israel war on Iran

AI's impact on Hong Kong

‘Two sessions’: China’s economic agenda

SCMP Series US-Israel war on Iran

Iran war: is the US shifting away from its strategy of precision strikes?

As the conflict has intensified, more energy and civilian sites have been targeted in what is seen as a broader approach.

9 Apr 2026 - 9:26AMvideocam

What is the war on Iran teaching China about the United States’ resilience?

8 Apr 2026 - 11:10AMvideocam

How lessons from Iran war could shape mainland China’s Taiwan calculus

7 Apr 2026 - 2:20AMvideocam

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.

20 Apr 2026 - 10:05AMvideocam

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.

13 Apr 2026 - 8:15AMvideocam

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.

6 Apr 2026 - 10:01AMvideocam

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.

30 Mar 2026 - 10:03AMvideocam

Key Industries:

China Business

China’s drug makers are speeding up – will AI be their secret weapon?

Chinese biotech firms are striking big global deals as drug makers, but could artificial intelligence take them to the next level?

18 Apr 2026 - 11:05AM

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.

22 Apr 2026 - 11:20PM

China EVs

China’s low-cost EVs to be fitted with lidar systems, usually saved for lux cars

Intense competition, rapid tech advancement and falling costs allow the superior driving systems to be fitted into budget-price vehicles.

22 Apr 2026 - 8:30PMvideocam

Banking & Finance

Biotech-led boom as 8 China firms flock to Hong Kong’s thriving stock market

AI-powered drug developer Metis TechBio leads group that includes developers of autonomous driving technology and industrial robots.

22 Apr 2026 - 4:53PM

Healthcare led liquidity growth on the Hong Kong stock market over the past decade, with trading turnover for the sector surging more than 11-fold between 2015 and 2025. Photo: Shutterstock

Politics

Trump’s military push confronts US lawmakers and China’s shipbuilding edge

Congressional resistance, war costs and industrial limits could constrain ambitions, even as Beijing expands its naval capacity.

22 Apr 2026 - 12:55AMvideocam

Politics

How China is reinforcing its ‘legal shield’ against foreign pressure

New rules take aim at sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’, and the Strait of Hormuz crisis could provide a high-stakes testing ground.

21 Apr 2026 - 6:46AM

Diplomacy

The rupture: how Europe fell out of love with America

Many believed the transatlantic alliance could weather another term of Trump, but a year and a half on those hopes have largely faded.

19 Apr 2026 - 1:32AMvideocam

Sport

Rugby’s greatest weekend: 50 years of the Hong Kong Sevens - an infographic

See the world’s top teams compete at Kai Tak Stadium on April 17-19 and celebrate 50 years of Hong Kong Sevens history, tries and triumphs.

16 Apr 2026 - 8:15PM

Rugby’s greatest weekend: 50 years of the Hong Kong Sevens - an infographic

How a Chinese plastics hub shapes Tesla’s supply chain – and moulds the modern world

From car components to keyboards, this little-known industrial district in eastern China is crafting the small parts the world relies on.

Explaining China’s supply chain security rules

Zero H200 chips sold to China ‘as of today’: Lutnick tells lawmakers

US commerce chief says export curbs remain under review as Washington weighs tech controls against broader ties with Beijing.

US visa system ‘rolls out red carpet’ for Chinese spies, hearing told

US senators pointed to legal channels, including work visas and university research, as potential pathways for China-linked espionage.

Tough penalties planned to stop unapproved fire system shutdowns in Hong Kong

Security Bureau plans to propose legal amendments to improve oversight following deadly Tai Po fire last November.

As Iran talks go nowhere, will Donald Trump still go to Beijing?

Warning over Taiwan? PLA warships make rare transits off southwest Japan

‘Rare passage is a direct deterrent’ to the Japanese military bases along the coast, former PLA instructor says.

Asian, emerging-market funds rotate into China and Taiwan stocks: HSBC

Fund managers shift focus to Chinese and Taiwanese stocks, while reducing exposure to South Korea amid global market turbulence.

Trump’s top Navy official out, with US still locked in war with Iran

Navy Secretary John Phelan will leave office ‘immediately’, soon after the sudden exit of the top US Army general and other senior officers.

.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.

Canada PM hits back after Trump team demands ‘entry fee’ before trade talks

Washington is reportedly seeking concessions before agreeing to open negotiations on revising the US trade pact with Canada and Mexico.

‘Bigger winners’: why China’s battery firms stand to gain from the Iran war

Manufacturers are expected to see stronger overseas orders even as price wars hurt profits at home.

Washington’s ‘psyop’ propaganda push could backfire, analysts say

Amid slipping global approval, the US is risking its credibility by turning to tactics it once condemned.

Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in World Cup, report says

The plan is an attempt to mend ties with Italian PM Meloni, after she and Trump fell out over his attacks against Pope Leo.

‘Vindication’: ICC chamber rules case against Rodrigo Duterte to proceed

Duterte’s lawyers argue that the crimes against humanity case targeting him should not proceed as the Philippines is not an ICC member.

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.

Families seek review of coroner’s findings in Lamma ferry disaster inquest

Application for judicial review seeks to quash coroner’s findings that missing watertight door on ferry was a deliberate design choice.

Billionaire Justin Sun sues Trump family crypto venture

The entrepreneur says his WLFI assets were frozen by World Liberty Financial, and he has been unable to resell the electronic currency.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 slammed for offending China with nerdy ‘Chin Chou’ role

Sequel to hit Hollywood film accused of using ‘racist’ name reminiscent of xenophobic Western tropes of earlier times.

China’s low-cost EVs to be fitted with lidar systems, usually saved for lux cars

Intense competition, rapid tech advancement and falling costs allow the superior driving systems to be fitted into budget-price vehicles.

Top Peru ministers quit in protest over stalled US fighter jet deal

Interim president Balcazar has put off buying the F-16s, saying he would leave it up to the country’s next leader to finalise the agreement.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | What Hong Kong’s conservative stablecoin licence roll-out reveals

Editorial | Saudi leader’s phone call to Xi Jinping shows shifting global power balance

Editorial | New curriculum guide will bolster national identity in Hong Kong

Opinion | How China’s patient diplomacy can help secure peace in Iran

Opinion | Iran crisis casts light on energy security from the US to Asia

Editorial | Saudi leader’s phone call to Xi Jinping shows shifting global power balance

Absolute Value of Romance: high school comedy K-drama with a boys’ love twist

Billionaire Justin Sun sues Trump family crypto venture

Asian, emerging-market funds rotate into China and Taiwan stocks: HSBC

Editorial | New curriculum guide will bolster national identity in Hong Kong

US visa system ‘rolls out red carpet’ for Chinese spies, hearing told

Opinion | What Hong Kong’s conservative stablecoin licence roll-out reveals

Trump’s top Navy official out, with US still locked in war with Iran

Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in World Cup, report says

How a Chinese plastics hub shapes Tesla’s supply chain – and moulds the modern world

Iran war: is the US shifting away from its strategy of precision strikes?

As the conflict has intensified, more energy and civilian sites have been targeted in what is seen as a broader approach.

What is the war on Iran teaching China about the United States’ resilience?

How lessons from Iran war could shape mainland China’s Taiwan calculus

.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.

China’s drug makers are speeding up – will AI be their secret weapon?

Chinese biotech firms are striking big global deals as drug makers, but could artificial intelligence take them to the next level?

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.

China’s low-cost EVs to be fitted with lidar systems, usually saved for lux cars

Intense competition, rapid tech advancement and falling costs allow the superior driving systems to be fitted into budget-price vehicles.

Biotech-led boom as 8 China firms flock to Hong Kong’s thriving stock market

AI-powered drug developer Metis TechBio leads group that includes developers of autonomous driving technology and industrial robots.

Trump’s military push confronts US lawmakers and China’s shipbuilding edge

Congressional resistance, war costs and industrial limits could constrain ambitions, even as Beijing expands its naval capacity.

How China is reinforcing its ‘legal shield’ against foreign pressure

New rules take aim at sanctions and ‘long-arm jurisdiction’, and the Strait of Hormuz crisis could provide a high-stakes testing ground.

The rupture: how Europe fell out of love with America

Lingxi Games’ Three Kingdoms Tactics hits target with global audience

Opinion | What Hong Kong’s conservative stablecoin licence roll-out reveals

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