https://www.scmp.com/rss/505274/feed Latest news and updates on the impact of a new strain of coronavirus in mainland China. The virus, which causes the disease Covid-19 was first reported in Wuhan. The authorities introduced sweeping measures in a bid to contain the outbreak, including the lockdown of up to 60 million people in Hubei province, and nationwide transport restrictions. The World Health Organisation later declared the spread of the infection, which has also caused the deaths of thousands of people outside China, a... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Stephanie Sam Stephanie Sam “You could do with some international exposure. China, maybe,” a law firm partner said as we stood over the water cooler. His offhand comment was so blasé. I wasn’t sure what unsettled me more – the comment or my reaction to it. Was it xenophobia or the inertia of assumption? He was perfectly pleasant, encouraging even, but beneath the civility was an implication I couldn’t ignore. I had never set foot in Asia, yet suddenly, it felt as though my credibility required a pilgrimage. I wrestled with... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3351898/china-time-geopolitical-flux-i-feel-right-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3351898/china-time-geopolitical-flux-i-feel-right-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 May 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan In 2025, even as US President Donald Trump sought to stabilise trade ties with Beijing, two Republican-led states were moving in the opposite direction, securing nearly US$50 billion in federal lawsuits for what they say was economic damage caused by China’s deliberate stripping of US hospitals and businesses of essential Covid-19 supplies. Using a new reading of the “commercial activity” exception to a 50-year-old US law that generally blocks lawsuits against foreign governments, a federal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339384/why-lawsuits-wont-cure-pandemics-financial-ills-between-us-states-and-chinese-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339384/why-lawsuits-wont-cure-pandemics-financial-ills-between-us-states-and-chinese-government?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:59:08 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang The former mayor of Wuhan, whose handling of the early stages of the Covid-19 outbreak was widely criticised, has been placed under investigation for corruption. On Tuesday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the country’s top anti-corruption body, said Zhou Xianwang was being investigated for suspected “serious violations of discipline and law” – the standard euphemism for corruption. Zhou was best known for defending the city authorities’ widely criticised response to the early... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3317377/wuhan-mayor-best-known-defending-citys-slow-response-covid-faces-corruption-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3317377/wuhan-mayor-best-known-defending-citys-slow-response-covid-faces-corruption-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:40:39 +0000 Thomas O. Falk Thomas O. Falk When US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr removed the vaccine advisory panel of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he framed it as a move for the “restoration of public trust”. But the implications stretch far beyond domestic politics. In dismantling one of the world’s most respected sources of vaccine expertise, the United States is not just undermining its public health, it is ceding global scientific authority to China. Trump’s elevation of figures like Pete Hegseth,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314065/us-vaccine-sceptics-are-now-charge-thats-bad-news-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3314065/us-vaccine-sceptics-are-now-charge-thats-bad-news-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Jun 2025 12:30:07 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang Covid-19 infections in China are reaching a peak and will start to decline next month, the country’s best known respiratory diseases specialist has said, as the authorities urged the public to take precautions. Zhong Nanshan told the opening of the Guangzhou Science and Technology and Activity Week on Saturday that people with symptoms – particularly the elderly – should seek medical treatment within 48 hours. He said that in the current cycle, the virus was more infectious and the symptoms were... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3311722/covid-cases-reaching-peak-china-and-will-start-falling-next-month-leading-expert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3311722/covid-cases-reaching-peak-china-and-will-start-falling-next-month-leading-expert?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 11:00:14 +0000 China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Wednesday accused the US of fabricating the idea that the coronavirus came from a Wuhan laboratory – a theory it said had “no scientific basis”. “More and more clues and evidence showed an earlier appearance of Covid-19 in the United States,” the commission said after the White House pushed the Wuhan lab source theory in a revamped website about the origins of Covid-19. “The next step of tracing the origin should be carried out in the United States,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307652/china-fires-back-after-white-house-site-pushes-covid-19-lab-leak-theory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3307652/china-fires-back-after-white-house-site-pushes-covid-19-lab-leak-theory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:59:32 +0000 A US federal website that used to feature information on vaccines, testing and treatment for Covid-19 has been transformed into a page supporting the theory that the pandemic originated with a lab leak. The covid.gov website shows a photo of US President Donald Trump walking between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading. It mentions that Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus first began spreading, is home to a research lab with a history of conducting virus research with... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3307136/trump-turns-white-house-covid-information-site-page-pushing-chinese-lab-leak-theory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3307136/trump-turns-white-house-covid-information-site-page-pushing-chinese-lab-leak-theory?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Apr 2025 19:03:10 +0000 Several Chinese cities have opened the bidding for firms to tear down makeshift hospitals built quickly during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to domestic media outlet Caixin. Local authorities have been working to remove the facilities, with materials and equipment up for auction since last year, Caixin reported, citing public resource trading platforms. The makeshift hospitals, or fangcang, to be dismantled are mostly those assembled from prefabricated containers and placed in the suburbs.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3302358/chinese-cities-call-bids-dismantle-makeshift-covid-hospitals-and-recycle-materials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3302358/chinese-cities-call-bids-dismantle-makeshift-covid-hospitals-and-recycle-materials?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Mar 2025 06:47:17 +0000 The former Communist Party chief in the province where the Covid-19 outbreak first emerged has been placed under investigation on suspicion of corruption. Jiang Chaoliang was removed as Hubei party chief in February 2020 as the central government responded to public anger over what was seen as the botched handling of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, the provincial capital. Jiang, 67, has since been made deputy head of the national legislature’s agricultural and social affairs committees, but on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3299744/chinese-provincial-boss-fired-over-botched-covid-response-facing-corruption-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3299744/chinese-provincial-boss-fired-over-botched-covid-response-facing-corruption-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:00:13 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela A Chinese team has found a new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission because it uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes Covid-19. The study was led by Shi Zhengli – a leading virologist known as the “batwoman” due to her extensive research on bat coronaviruses – at the Guangzhou Laboratory along with researchers from the Guangzhou Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Shi is best known for her work at the Wuhan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3299491/chinese-team-finds-new-bat-coronavirus-could-infect-humans-same-route-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3299491/chinese-team-finds-new-bat-coronavirus-could-infect-humans-same-route-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2025 01:00:13 +0000 A deluge of disinformation about a flu-like virus called HMPV is stoking anti-China sentiment across Asia and spurring unfounded concerns of renewed lockdowns, despite experts dismissing comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago. Fact-checkers have debunked a slew of social media posts about the usually non-fatal respiratory disease human metapneumovirus after cases reportedly rose in China. Many of these posts claimed that people were dying and that a national emergency had been... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3298168/viral-hmpv-clickbait-stokes-anti-china-rhetoric-india-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3298168/viral-hmpv-clickbait-stokes-anti-china-rhetoric-india-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2025 04:42:07 +0000 The US Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have emerged from a lab rather than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday. The agency had for years said it could not conclude whether Covid-19 was the result of a lab incident or it originated in nature. But in the final weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA director William Burns asked CIA analysts and scientists to make a clear determination, stressing the pandemic’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296301/cia-now-says-covid-19-more-likely-have-come-lab?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3296301/cia-now-says-covid-19-more-likely-have-come-lab?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 19:27:59 +0000 In this series of stories to mark five years since Hong Kong recorded its first Covid-19 case on January 22, 2020, the Post looks at how some residents’ lives changed and examines the city’s readiness for the next global pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic is over, but Hongkonger Eunice To continues to cope with a severe skin condition and health issues she is convinced were triggered by vaccines. The 26-year-old has no proof, and doctors she saw were divided on whether the vaccines could be blamed.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3295378/hongkongers-worsening-eczema-food-allergies-fuel-her-doubts-over-covid-jabs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3295378/hongkongers-worsening-eczema-food-allergies-fuel-her-doubts-over-covid-jabs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jan 2025 09:33:37 +0000 Salina Li Salina Li Indebted Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings has proposed restructuring terms that aim to reduce its offshore debt by up to US$11.6 billion while providing creditors with multiple options including converting debt into cash or accepting extended maturity periods. The developer said it had reached an understanding on key terms of the restructuring proposal with a committee comprising seven banks that are long-term business partners, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3294122/chinese-builder-country-garden-details-offshore-debt-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3294122/chinese-builder-country-garden-details-offshore-debt-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:29:43 +0000 The Chinese economy is in much better shape than many naysayers claim, but serious challenges remain. That’s according the latest economic “census” taken by the National Bureau of Statistics. Facing up to the aftershock of the pandemic and an ongoing trade war initiated by the United States, the economy has adapted with key segments transformed over the past five years – the period covered by the bureau – to maintain a stable and progressive upwards trend. Ahead of his new year message,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3293208/chinas-economy-right-track-many-challenges-remain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3293208/chinas-economy-right-track-many-challenges-remain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2025 15:08:54 +0000 The World Health Organization is urging Beijing to share information that will shed light on the origins of Covid-19, five years after the virus first surfaced and reshaped the global geopolitical landscape. At least 7.1 million people, including 1.2 million in the US, have died from the virus, according to the WHO, which began publicising data reported by its 194 member states on December 31, 2019 – the day the health committee in Wuhan released its first statement on the cases of “viral... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292810/five-years-who-urges-china-share-covid-19-origins-data?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292810/five-years-who-urges-china-share-covid-19-origins-data?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:11:20 +0000 The chief executive’s annual duty visit to Beijing may sound like a ritual chore, highlighted by a report to President Xi Jinping and other state leaders. It has long since become much more than that, reflecting defining times in the city, from the healing of social unrest, to fighting a pandemic, to landmark political and security reforms to the gathering pace of cross-border integration. That is not all that sets the third duty visit of John Lee Ka-chiu’s leadership of the city apart. It also... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3290765/xi-puts-faith-lee-deliver-hong-kong-economic-development-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3290765/xi-puts-faith-lee-deliver-hong-kong-economic-development-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2024 22:30:07 +0000 China is facing a new and gradually building demographic dynamic – a decline in the number, and a shift in the nationalities, of expatriates in the country. As the number of expats from the West dwindles, they have been replaced to some extent with a growing number of expats from countries in the Global South. This changing mix has wider implications, not least for businesses in China itself and the West. Empirical studies show that migration and the presence of foreigners increases... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3290097/chinas-dwindling-western-expat-workforce-should-be-cause-concern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3290097/chinas-dwindling-western-expat-workforce-should-be-cause-concern?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Dec 2024 21:30:08 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela New evidence has emerged from research in China that the world could be on the brink of another pandemic as cases of bird flu surface across some regions in poultry, cattle and humans. Avian influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on a combination of two proteins found on their surfaces – hemagglutinin and neuraminidase – referred to as HxNy. Only two subtypes of avian influenza A – H1N1 and H3N2 – are known to circulate between humans, according to the Centres for Disease Control... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3289473/how-close-next-pandemic-chinese-researchers-have-some-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3289473/how-close-next-pandemic-chinese-researchers-have-some-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Dec 2024 06:28:14 +0000 China’s reputation as one of the world’s safest countries seems increasingly difficult to justify after a spate of seemingly random killings. Last month alone, two shocking attacks made global headlines: 35 are dead after a driver rammed his car into a crowd in Zhuhai city in Guangdong province, and another eight were killed in a knife attack in Yixing city in Jiangsu province. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for enhanced risk prevention, timely conflict resolution and strict measures.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3288836/spate-random-killings-rooted-chinas-social-and-economic-despair?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3288836/spate-random-killings-rooted-chinas-social-and-economic-despair?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Dec 2024 01:30:09 +0000 Back in 2022, when China was in the midst of strict zero-Covid controls, which involved frequent and sudden citywide lockdowns and stay-at-home notices, I met an overseas Chinese entrepreneur, whom I deeply respect, in Tianjin during one of the rare, blissful interludes. His conglomerate is one of China’s largest foreign investors, with businesses scattered across the country. During our conversation, he offered an observation that has stuck with me. Fresh from lengthy meetings with local... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3284893/how-can-chinas-reforms-succeed-when-officials-act-overbearing-parents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3284893/how-can-chinas-reforms-succeed-when-officials-act-overbearing-parents?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2024 21:30:07 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela A leading virologist known as China’s “bat woman” has created the first customised coronavirus receptor, a development that could help in the development of new drugs. Shi Zhengli, who is best known for her work with the Wuhan Institute for Virology, conducted the groundbreaking research along with other scientists from China, the United States and Switzerland. While researchers have previously been able to create strains of the coronavirus to study its potential evolution and spread, they have... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3285140/chinas-bat-lady-shi-zhengli-opens-path-new-coronavirus-research?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3285140/chinas-bat-lady-shi-zhengli-opens-path-new-coronavirus-research?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:15:07 +0000 US lawmakers are pushing President Joe Biden to intercede on behalf of American families whose child-adoption process in China was under way when Beijing closed off the programme to foreigners about two months ago. In an open letter, the 103 lawmakers comprising Democrats and Republicans, appealed for the families who were “left in a state of uncertainty about the completion of their adoption” from China. They also voiced concern for the Chinese children already matched with the American... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284898/china-adoption-fallout-us-lawmakers-urge-biden-help-families-after-beijing-ends-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284898/china-adoption-fallout-us-lawmakers-urge-biden-help-families-after-beijing-ends-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Nov 2024 20:01:18 +0000 AstraZeneca’s China president is under investigation in mainland China, the drug company said on Wednesday. Leon Wang was described as cooperating “with an ongoing investigation”, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company said in a statement. “Our China operations continue under the leadership of the current general manager of AstraZeneca China,” the British-Swedish company added. The company has yet to elaborate whether Wang is in custody, nor have his whereabouts been disclosed. AstraZeneca... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3284525/astrazenecas-china-president-under-ongoing-investigation-company-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3284525/astrazenecas-china-president-under-ongoing-investigation-company-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:36:03 +0000 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and China’s deputy finance minister Liao Min met in Washington on Friday to discuss macroeconomic policy developments, including Beijing’s most ambitious stimulus measures since the coronavirus pandemic. “The Chinese side focused on explaining China’s current macroeconomic situation and a raft of incremental policies that have recently been introduced, and expressed concerns over the US imposition of additional tariffs on China and sanctions related to Russia,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3283961/janet-yellen-senior-china-finance-minister-discuss-beijings-ambitious-stimulus-measures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3283961/janet-yellen-senior-china-finance-minister-discuss-beijings-ambitious-stimulus-measures?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Oct 2024 21:48:57 +0000 This is the first in a three-part series delving into the unprecedented challenges China is facing on its road to economic recovery, from inexperience in dealing with such crises to the compounding implications of internal demographic shifts and external trade hurdles. The topsy-turvy roller-coaster ride that has seen China’s economy teetering on the rails for the past four years has left Zack Yao clinging to whatever business he can muster while struggling to determine when the wild ride will... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3281908/depth-look-chinas-economic-crisis-and-why-inexperience-fuelling-fire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3281908/depth-look-chinas-economic-crisis-and-why-inexperience-fuelling-fire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Oct 2024 22:00:15 +0000 “Do It,” proclaimed the title of an article posted by Chinese investment bank Citic Securities as it called for investment – including stock trading – in response to Beijing’s dauntless display of determination this week to revive the economy. “The signal is clear, and one phrase says it all – do it,” the broker said in the Thursday article after China’s top leadership issued a rallying call at an unexpected Politburo meeting focusing on the economy earlier that day, following the release of a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/policy/article/3280292/china-markets-blast-rocket-boosters-pull-u-turn-beijings-big-policy-stimulus-plans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/policy/article/3280292/china-markets-blast-rocket-boosters-pull-u-turn-beijings-big-policy-stimulus-plans?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:00:09 +0000 Science works with probabilities. That’s the main reason why the precise origin of the Covid-19 pandemic may never be definitively settled. Unlike mathematics, empirical science can never provide proof, only that a cause is more or less likely. That, of course, provides plenty of room for doubters, conspiracists and ideologues to cast suspicion and confusion on the likely wet market origin theory and promote the fringe one of a lab leak in Wuhan. The whole controversy about the origins of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3279601/chinese-wet-market-theory-pandemic-holds-after-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3279601/chinese-wet-market-theory-pandemic-holds-after-all?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:00:08 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China have developed a nanovaccine candidate that could offer universal protection against all major Covid-19 variants – as well as protect against future coronavirus mutants with pandemic potential. The institute – which has engaged in bat coronavirus research for years – has in recent years been embroiled in controversy, and scrutiny from countries including the United States, over accusations that the Covid-19 pandemic originated from a lab... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3278004/chinas-wuhan-virology-institute-creates-nasal-covid-19-vaccine-future-pandemics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3278004/chinas-wuhan-virology-institute-creates-nasal-covid-19-vaccine-future-pandemics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Sep 2024 13:00:09 +0000 Cheryl Arcibal Cheryl Arcibal Nina Hospitality, the hotel unit of Hong Kong-based private developer Chinachem Group, is looking to expand into mainland China and overseas markets such as the UK, Australia and Singapore within two years. The company is setting the goal following a 2021 rebranding effort helmed by its new managing director Simon Manning, who joined the company the same year. “Our goal in the short term is to be a leading hospitality group within Hong Kong,” Manning said in an interview with the Post. “But... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3277647/chinachems-nina-hospitality-eyes-uk-singapore-markets-while-hong-kong-regains-momentum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3277647/chinachems-nina-hospitality-eyes-uk-singapore-markets-while-hong-kong-regains-momentum?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Sep 2024 04:30:12 +0000 A study of more than 450 fur animals in China has revealed dozens of new viruses and cross-species infections, including some with high risk of human spillover. Raccoon dogs and minks carried the highest number of potentially high-risk viruses, according to findings published in the latest issue of Nature, including a mink virus closely related to those only found in bats so far. Of the 28 species sampled, most of the animals were farmed for their fur, meat or medicinal properties, and all of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3277516/dead-fur-animal-study-china-uncovers-dozens-new-viruses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3277516/dead-fur-animal-study-china-uncovers-dozens-new-viruses?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 10:02:09 +0000 Yuke Xie Yuke Xie Each morning around 10am, Tommy Zhang, a medical researcher in Shenzhen, steps off the subway and heads for his office in the city’s bustling college town. As he crosses the overpass, he always sees a food stall where long lines of customers wait for the 15-yuan (US$2.10) breakfast takeaways. That stall, with its distinctive red logo, belongs to KFC, a fast-food restaurant chain operated by franchise holder Yum China Holdings. It offers several pre-packed food combos for quick pickup. Zhang... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3276694/kfc-mcdonalds-haidilao-push-small-store-format-beat-chinas-consumption-downgrade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3276694/kfc-mcdonalds-haidilao-push-small-store-format-beat-chinas-consumption-downgrade?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2024 01:00:12 +0000 Daniel Ren Daniel Ren Shanghai Disney Resort will add a new Marvel attraction as it presses ahead with an expansion plan to tap increasing travel demand in mainland China in the post-Covid-19 era. The company, a venture between Walt Disney and state-owned Shanghai Shendi (Group), said on Sunday that the Spider-Man-themed roller-coaster ride will offer guests a high-speed, fully immersive experience. It did not reveal the investment or the completion date for the ninth attraction at the Shanghai Disneyland amusement... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3274146/shanghai-disney-resort-adding-spider-man-themed-roller-coaster-ride-its-web-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3274146/shanghai-disney-resort-adding-spider-man-themed-roller-coaster-ride-its-web-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Aug 2024 06:06:21 +0000 Daniel Ren Daniel Ren Yum China Holdings, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains in mainland China, beat analysts’ earnings estimates after its low-price strategy bolstered sales and increased market share in the second quarter. The company on Tuesday reported a net profit of US$212 million for the three months to June, a 7 per cent year on year increase. It was 11.6 per cent higher than a median forecast of US$190 million by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue rose 1 per cent year on year to US$2.68... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3273447/yum-china-owner-kfc-and-pizza-hut-beats-estimates-low-price-strategy-draws-diners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3273447/yum-china-owner-kfc-and-pizza-hut-beats-estimates-low-price-strategy-draws-diners?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:15:52 +0000 Harrowing scenes of water from a rain-swollen lake in central China pouring through a breach in a dyke protecting low-lying areas serve to illustrate the devastation being wrought by this year’s flooding season. More is yet to come. The only option for local authorities in the destructive path of floods is to bolster their emergency preparation and responses. This rainy season arrived stronger and earlier in the year than usual, feeding floodwaters that have swept across the country, killing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3269985/better-preparations-can-help-china-ride-out-flooding-storm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3269985/better-preparations-can-help-china-ride-out-flooding-storm?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:28:46 +0000 The revelation that the US military engaged in a secret propaganda campaign to undermine China’s Covid-19 vaccines in countries like the Philippines is deeply troubling and has grave implications for Southeast Asia. By fanning fears and scepticism about the Chinese Sinovac vaccine at the height of the pandemic, the Pentagon recklessly jeopardised public health across the region for the sake of scoring geopolitical points against a rival. The clandestine operation, which involved creating fake... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3268510/after-its-anti-china-covid-jab-fake-news-campaign-us-has-regain-aseans-trust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3268510/after-its-anti-china-covid-jab-fake-news-campaign-us-has-regain-aseans-trust?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jun 2024 03:00:17 +0000 A survey of Chinese enterprises in the United States found that their perceptions of the business and investment climate in the country have turned more negative, with many firms stating fewer plans to invest. The annual survey conducted by the China General Chamber of Commerce in the US also found that Chinese firms faced a “significant performance downturn” last year, similar to 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic started to hit businesses worldwide. It found that 21 per cent of the surveyed... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267627/chinese-firms-us-see-more-negative-business-climate-amid-significant-downturn-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267627/chinese-firms-us-see-more-negative-business-climate-amid-significant-downturn-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 21:30:17 +0000 After waking up at 6.30am, Claudia Ke brewed herself a cup of tea. The grey, drizzly January sky over Burgundy, France, somehow reminded her of winters in Shanghai, where she had lived for six years. It had been five months since she had arrived in the famous French wine region, in August 2023, and she was still adjusting to the laid-back lifestyle. The 35-year-old’s life in China had been defined first by the years she worked for fashion magazine Vogue in Beijing and then Macy’s department... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3267567/running-china-single-women-their-thirties-escaping-study-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3267567/running-china-single-women-their-thirties-escaping-study-west?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jun 2024 23:15:11 +0000 Two years after an extended lockdown of Shanghai under the nation’s dynamic zero-Covid policy led to an exodus of expatriates, mainland China’s most international city is finally re-embracing a bustle of overseas visitors. More foreigners from a variety of countries have been seen in the city’s main streets and at tourist attractions in recent months, capitalising on China’s loosening of visa policies to lure back tourists – and their wallets – amid an economic downturn. However, much fewer are... https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3266049/china-changing-foreigners-return-shanghai-theyre-here-good-time-not-long-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3266049/china-changing-foreigners-return-shanghai-theyre-here-good-time-not-long-time?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jun 2024 22:00:16 +0000 The Chinese government enjoyed significantly increased public support after the first Covid-19 lockdown in Wuhan, but its approval saw a “sharp decline” – to lower than pre-pandemic levels – in the wake of Shanghai’s shutdown two years later. Researchers from three universities in Denmark, the United States and Hong Kong, found that people surveyed during the lockdown in February 2020 gave an average score of 8.5 out of 10 when rating their trust in Beijing – up from 8 out of 10 in May... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3265317/chinas-covid-19-response-rallied-public-until-shanghai-lockdown-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3265317/chinas-covid-19-response-rallied-public-until-shanghai-lockdown-study?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2024 06:00:14 +0000 Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert until 2022, pushed back on Monday against Republican-led accusations that he had helped fund research that sparked the coronavirus pandemic. Under heated questioning, Fauci, 83, who was the highest-profile public health official steering the US government’s pandemic response, also challenged allegations that he covered up the possibility that the virus causing the illness originated in a laboratory. “The accusation being circulated that I... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3265255/anthony-fauci-testifies-publicly-house-panel-covid-19-origins-and-controversies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3265255/anthony-fauci-testifies-publicly-house-panel-covid-19-origins-and-controversies?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:43:49 +0000 Visa delays and insufficient flight capacity have held back a full recovery in China’s outbound travel after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the CEO of Trip.com Group, the country’s largest online travel agency. “There are two major hurdles for the recovery – the first is visa restriction, and the second is flight capacity,” Jane Sun said at a media briefing in Shanghai on Thursday. “I am hoping these two bottlenecks ease and we are able to bring more [Chinese] customers to different... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3264758/travel-travails-chinas-pent-outbound-tourism-demand-hit-visa-flight-issues-tripcom-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3264758/travel-travails-chinas-pent-outbound-tourism-demand-hit-visa-flight-issues-tripcom-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2024 13:34:40 +0000 A new independent Chinese movie – about an unfinished film that focuses on unfinished business during the pandemic – has turned the spotlight back on Covid-19 and China’s response to a pandemic that has left deep divisions in society. An Unfinished Film, by director Lou Ye – who is known for his straightforward portrayals of problematic events in contemporary China, including the controversial Covid lockdowns that began in Wuhan in early 2020 – was shown at a special screening on May 16 at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3264028/emotional-power-chinas-covid-wounds-reopened-tense-divisive-unfinished-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3264028/emotional-power-chinas-covid-wounds-reopened-tense-divisive-unfinished-film?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 May 2024 04:00:23 +0000 Peter Daszak, a prominent American disease ecologist who collaborated with a Chinese lab targeted in coronavirus leak allegations, has had his federal funding suspended and faces being cut off from working with the US government for years. The Department of Health and Human Services said the suspension and proposed debarment took effect on Tuesday. The move came a week after it suspended federal funding for New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, led by Daszak. In a letter sent to Daszak on Tuesday,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3263710/us-scientist-who-worked-china-lab-targeted-coronavirus-leak-allegations-barred-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3263710/us-scientist-who-worked-china-lab-targeted-coronavirus-leak-allegations-barred-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2024 19:10:19 +0000 The United States has raised “deep concerns” over the disappearance of Zhang Zhan, a Chinese citizen journalist who was expected to be released from prison on Monday. Zhang, a former lawyer, was arrested in May 2020, about a year after she began reporting on Covid-19 from Wuhan, the epicentre of the initial coronavirus outbreak in China, where she live-streamed scenes of hospitals and the local pandemic response. She was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – a catch-all charge... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3263117/us-raises-deep-concerns-over-disappearance-chinese-citizen-journalist-who-reported-covid-19-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3263117/us-raises-deep-concerns-over-disappearance-chinese-citizen-journalist-who-reported-covid-19-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2024 11:00:58 +0000 4/5 stars Set mostly within a fenced-off hotel in Wuhan during the Chinese city’s three-month, Covid-induced lockdown in early 2020, An Unfinished Film is chaotic in its form and stuttering in its storytelling. What would have been fatal flaws in other movies, however, turn out to be the strongest parts of mainland Chinese director Lou Ye’s latest production. Premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, An Unfinished Film is a mind-boggling mix of melodrama and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3262941/cannes-2024-unfinished-film-review-chinese-director-lou-yes-chaotic-yet-powerful-drama-about-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3262941/cannes-2024-unfinished-film-review-chinese-director-lou-yes-chaotic-yet-powerful-drama-about-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2024 15:46:08 +0000 While Covid-19 no longer dominates the news, lawsuits related to coronavirus vaccine injuries have made headlines in recent months. The most recent is a lawsuit filed by a vaccine trial patient against drug maker AstraZeneca claiming she was disabled by the vaccine during a trial, and that the company has failed to fulfil its contractual obligations to pay her medical bills, The Telegraph reported on Monday. Two weeks ago, a British man who suffered from a brain injury days after vaccination... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3262682/now-time-talk-about-vaccines-covid-19-leaves-polarising-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3262682/now-time-talk-about-vaccines-covid-19-leaves-polarising-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 12:31:36 +0000 Ma Xiaowei, China’s health minister who handled the country’s Covid-19 response, has stepped down as he nears official retirement age, to be succeeded by his top deputy, Lei Haichao, a prominent public health expert. On Monday, the National Health Commission’s website showed deputy director Lei, 56, had been appointed Communist Party secretary of the NHC – a step before a formal directorship appointment. Ma’s name was removed from the commission’s leadership page at the same time. In December he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3261564/chinese-health-chief-ma-xiaowei-steps-down-after-steering-nation-through-pandemic-and-defending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3261564/chinese-health-chief-ma-xiaowei-steps-down-after-steering-nation-through-pandemic-and-defending?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 May 2024 09:00:24 +0000 President Xi Jinping flies to France on Sunday for a summit with President Emmanuel Macron that marks six decades of bilateral ties. His first visit to Europe since the pandemic, including stops in Serbia and Hungary, comes at a difficult juncture in relations between China and the European Union, under the strain of trade imbalances and lack of access to China’s market. The European Commission has angered Beijing with investigations into alleged state-supported industrial overcapacity in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3261406/month-diplomatic-challenges-chinas-xi-eu-and-russia-fronts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3261406/month-diplomatic-challenges-chinas-xi-eu-and-russia-fronts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2024 16:08:53 +0000 The ordeal of the first scientist to release the Covid-19 genome sequence – who found his laboratory in Shanghai suddenly closed earlier this week – has sparked widespread sympathy on Chinese social media and also questions about the government’s treatment of the noted virologist. Zhang Yongzhen, 59, spent two nights sleeping outside his lab in protest after he was refused entry on Sunday, with parent hospital Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre citing “renovation plans”. On Wednesday, he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3261238/chinese-scientist-who-first-shared-covid-19-genome-data-sparks-sympathy-after-lab-closure-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3261238/chinese-scientist-who-first-shared-covid-19-genome-data-sparks-sympathy-after-lab-closure-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2024 01:00:28 +0000