https://www.scmp.com/rss/519139/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Brussels is rallying support among EU industry groups for a trade weapon to tackle Chinese overcapacity, as the European Commission races to propose a sweeping new tool this summer. While the contours of the new instrument remain a closely guarded secret, it is expected to be presented to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 29, at a rescheduled debate on China among all 27 commissioners of the bloc’s executive branch. The South China Morning Post previously reported that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352443/eu-sounds-out-industry-over-new-trade-weapon-against-chinas-overcapacity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352443/eu-sounds-out-industry-over-new-trade-weapon-against-chinas-overcapacity?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 04:59:14 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Quad summit plan turns uneasy as India pushes ahead without top leaders: sources A stretch of awkward diplomacy was unfolding in the Indo-Pacific in April: New Delhi was planning to host a foreign ministers’ meeting that could have been framed as a leaders-level discussion, even if the top... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351918/awkward-india-diplomacy-us-nato-crisis-strait-hormuz-woes-7-global-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351918/awkward-india-diplomacy-us-nato-crisis-strait-hormuz-woes-7-global-relations-reads?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 14:30:08 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said the US and Nato were faced with a “marriage crisis” as frustrations mount on both sides of the Atlantic, urging Washington to stand with its allies or risk America’s fall. Francken, speaking at a think tank event in Washington on Tuesday, likened the strained transatlantic relationship, which has held for close to 80 years, to a “crisis”, saying “it’s very difficult”. “I’m convinced that we’re having a marriage crisis … There’s a lot of frustration on... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3351763/us-and-nato-faced-frustrating-marriage-crisis-belgian-defence-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3351763/us-and-nato-faced-frustrating-marriage-crisis-belgian-defence-minister-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:00:50 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Jakarta’s move to press on with importing 150 million barrels of Russian oil despite latest EU sanctions against an Indonesian port underscores a growing divide between Western efforts to isolate Moscow and Asia’s push for energy security. On Thursday, the European Commission announced its 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which includes Indonesia’s Karimun Oil Terminal for its “connections with the shadow fleet and circumvention of the oil price cap”. The sanction on Karimun, located in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351703/energy-security-comes-first-indonesia-it-defies-eu-over-russian-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3351703/energy-security-comes-first-indonesia-it-defies-eu-over-russian-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:00:20 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu More than 4 million small parcels from China have arrived at the freight airport in Liege, Belgium, every day since the beginning of the year. On the receiving end, the Belgian customs inspection team at the airport has only 80 members. Belgium’s top customs official, Kristian Vanderwaeren, said the airport, close to the Netherlands, Germany and France, was built, in part, to cater to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shein, Temu and Alibaba. But the “explosion” in the number of small parcels... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351338/flood-small-parcels-china-pushes-belgian-airports-capacity-limit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351338/flood-small-parcels-china-pushes-belgian-airports-capacity-limit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 07:00:10 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives failed on Friday as parliamentary time ran out, nearly a year since elected members of parliaments gave their backing. Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last June, the UK’s revising chamber, the House of Lords, effectively talked it out since then. Proponents of what has been termed “assisted dying” – sometimes referred to as “assisted suicide” –... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351381/uk-bill-allow-assisted-dying-fails-parliamentary-time-runs-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351381/uk-bill-allow-assisted-dying-fails-parliamentary-time-runs-out?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:36:51 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The European Union on Thursday approved a massive loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for the next two years, the bloc’s Cypriot presidency said, after Hungary lifted its veto. The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and set to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move. Hungary and Slovakia have been locked... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351197/eu-approves-us106-billion-loan-ukraine-after-hungary-lifts-veto?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351197/eu-approves-us106-billion-loan-ukraine-after-hungary-lifts-veto?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:41:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that an EU-developed age-verification app was ready to go, as the bloc pushes to better protect children from online harm. Brussels has been under pressure to come up with more stringent measures to safeguard children online as several EU capitals move ahead with plans to ban social media under a certain age. To that end, five EU countries including France and Italy last year started testing an age-check app that von der Leyen said on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350202/eu-unveils-age-check-app-amid-efforts-better-protect-children-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350202/eu-unveils-age-check-app-amid-efforts-better-protect-children-online?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:15:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham At a top-level meeting of her 26 department chiefs in March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen quietly approved a plan to stop EU funds from going to clean technology projects containing Chinese inverters. Inverters are the essential power electronics at the heart of solar and wind systems. Industry groups estimate that Chinese companies led by Huawei Technologies control more than 220 gigawatts of Europe’s installed solar capacity via the devices. The commission wants to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3350056/eu-cut-funding-chinese-inverters-quiet-offensive-replaces-grandstanding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3350056/eu-cut-funding-chinese-inverters-quiet-offensive-replaces-grandstanding?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:01:18 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Hungary’s prime minister-elect Peter Magyar has extended a warm overture to China, which he referred to as “one of the world’s most powerful countries”, saying he would like to visit Beijing and that Chinese leaders are welcome to visit Budapest. “We are absolutely, absolutely open [to discussions with Chinese leaders] and China is one of the world’s most important, largest and most powerful countries. It is in our interest, and I believe it is in the interest of both countries,” Magyar said in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3349943/hungarys-prime-minister-elect-vows-fair-play-firms-review-orbans-deals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3349943/hungarys-prime-minister-elect-vows-fair-play-firms-review-orbans-deals?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:05:55 +0000 Xiaofei Xu,Finbarr Bermingham Xiaofei Xu,Finbarr Bermingham Viktor Orban’s 16-year grip on Hungary is over, with the prime minister conceding Sunday’s election in a phone call with Peter Magyar, leader of the main opposition Tisza Party. “The election result is painful but clear. I congratulated the winning party,” Orban said from his election headquarters in Budapest. The result is a resounding rebuke to a government marked by authoritarianism and corruption, and by closer ties with Beijing, Moscow and Donald Trump’s Washington over Brussels. Hungarians... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349821/orban-concedes-defeat-hungarian-voters-deliver-sweeping-rebuke-16-year-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349821/orban-concedes-defeat-hungarian-voters-deliver-sweeping-rebuke-16-year-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:44:52 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Travellers stepping out of the railway station at Hungary’s second-biggest city, Debrecen, are immediately greeted by a banner hanging over the street that reads “No battery, no deal”, “Debrecen belongs to Hungarians” and “Chinese, go home”. Targeting a mega-factory set up by Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), it also calls for a protest on Saturday, on the eve of Sunday’s general election in the central European nation. The banner was put up by the local candidate... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3349649/chinese-firms-hungary-face-post-election-reckoning-no-matter-who-wins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3349649/chinese-firms-hungary-face-post-election-reckoning-no-matter-who-wins?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham A long-awaited EU debate on China has been shelved in favour of the Middle East crisis, highlighting how Europe is struggling to treat Beijing as a strategic priority despite mounting economic pressure. The European Commission’s security college was set to meet this coming Monday to debate the challenges posed by Beijing, as part of what officials were referring to internally as “China week”. It would have been the first strategic discussion among the bloc’s 27 commissioners under President... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349548/china-sidelined-eu-shelves-rare-strategy-debate-middle-east-crisis-takes-priority?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349548/china-sidelined-eu-shelves-rare-strategy-debate-middle-east-crisis-takes-priority?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:00:27 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Major powers are closely watching Hungary’s election next week – a vote seen as a referendum on Europe’s right and crucial for Chinese interests in the EU. Recent polls show self-styled “illiberal democrat” Viktor Orban’s Fidesz trailing challenger Peter Magyar’s Tisza Party by between 19 and 23 points among likely voters ahead of an election on Sunday that has been described as “Europe’s most consequential”. For China, Russia and the United States under President Donald Trump, an Orban defeat... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349109/orban-brink-could-hungarys-election-dent-chinas-influence-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349109/orban-brink-could-hungarys-election-dent-chinas-influence-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 04:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters France suspects a pro-Iranian group known as HAYI to be behind a foiled attack on Bank of America’s Paris offices, its anti-terrorism prosecutor said on Wednesday, while stressing the link has not yet been formally established. HAYI, which stands for Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, or ‌Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, had posted a video on social media on March 23 targeting Jewish interests and communities in France and Europe, the prosecutor’s office said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348711/france-suspects-link-pro-iranian-group-foiled-paris-bomb-plot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348711/france-suspects-link-pro-iranian-group-foiled-paris-bomb-plot?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:30:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press French authorities are investigating a suspected link to Iran after thwarting a bomb attack outside a Bank of America building in Paris at the weekend, the interior minister said on Monday. The authorities suspect a link to Iran due to similarities to other recent attempted attacks in Europe which a pro-Iran group claimed responsibility for, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. On Saturday morning, Paris police officers spotted two suspects carrying a shopping bag near the Bank of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348451/france-investigates-possible-iran-link-after-bomb-attack-foiled-outside-bank-america?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3348451/france-investigates-possible-iran-link-after-bomb-attack-foiled-outside-bank-america?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:31:44 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week in the clearest sign yet that Beijing’s targeted lobbying blitz of its members is paying off. Seven members from the parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) will travel to Beijing and Shanghai alongside Engin Eroglu, head of its China delegation. They will meet officials, customs and port authorities, lawmakers and companies, including Shein and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:55:21 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he can imagine a trade deal with China in the future, signalling a new softening stance towards Beijing in European capitals. “We have set quite a lot in motion when it comes to trade policy. I can also envisage further agreements, for example, in the longer term an agreement with the People’s Republic of China,” Merz said in the German parliament on Wednesday. Merz’s remarks underscore how surging trade and geopolitical tensions with Washington are... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348030/germanys-merz-floats-eu-china-trade-deal-capitals-soften-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348030/germanys-merz-floats-eu-china-trade-deal-capitals-soften-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:00:51 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse British police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men over a London arson attack on four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation. The arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group which has possible links to Iran. The ambulances were set on fire early Monday while they were parked next to a synagogue in an area of London with a large Jewish population. The Metropolitan Police said two men aged 47 and 45... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347868/uk-police-arrest-2-men-over-jewish-ambulances-arson-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347868/uk-police-arrest-2-men-over-jewish-ambulances-arson-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 09:40:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters The European Commission will no longer submit a legal proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports over Moscow’s war in Ukraine on April 15 as previously ‌planned, an updated EU legislative agenda showed on Tuesday. An EU official, however, said the proposal had not been cancelled and would still be published though no longer by the mid-April date due to “current geopolitical developments”. The US-Israeli war on Iran is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history, according to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347756/eu-delays-proposal-permanently-ban-russian-oil-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347756/eu-delays-proposal-permanently-ban-russian-oil-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:09:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters European Union leaders failed to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday to lift his blockade on a €90 billion (US$103 billion) EU loan to help Ukraine keep up its fight against Russia’s invasion. After a summit in Brussels, several leaders voiced deep frustration with Orban, who has cited a dispute over a war-damaged pipeline to justify blocking the implementation of the loan agreed back in December. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused Orban - who maintains cordial ties... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347233/eu-leaders-clash-hungarys-orban-blocking-ukraine-loan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347233/eu-leaders-clash-hungarys-orban-blocking-ukraine-loan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 02:27:20 +0000 Agencies Agencies European Union experts have arrived in Ukraine to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline, state energy firm Naftogaz said, after its closure in January caused a row with Hungary that is blocking an EU loan to Kyiv. The EU last week proposed sending a mission to inspect the pipeline. Ukraine later said it had accepted the EU offer of technical support and funding to restore oil flows through the damaged pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia have been cut off from Russian oil deliveries via... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347183/eu-inspects-druzhba-pipeline-bid-unclog-hungarys-block-ukraine-aid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347183/eu-inspects-druzhba-pipeline-bid-unclog-hungarys-block-ukraine-aid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:26:56 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Are you ready, Army? Free BTS concert to mark a K-pop comeback like no other The seven-member group – made up of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – will stage a free comeback performance in front of 22,000 fans, marking their first full show as a collective in nearly three and a half years, after... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3347099/bts-comeback-concert-jean-claude-van-damme-talks-art-7-lifestyle-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3347099/bts-comeback-concert-jean-claude-van-damme-talks-art-7-lifestyle-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:15:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham A delegation from China’s People’s Liberation Army will travel to Brussels next week for talks with the European Union and Nato amid heightened concerns over global security caused by the war in Iran. The EU-China Security and Defence Consultations will take place next Tuesday, official sources confirmed, with the talks between Nato and the PLA’s Office for International Military Cooperation scheduled for the same week. On the EU side, the talks will be chaired by Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3347063/chinese-military-set-eu-and-nato-talks-iran-war-reshapes-global-security-picture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3347063/chinese-military-set-eu-and-nato-talks-iran-war-reshapes-global-security-picture?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:22:37 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A Chinese national and a Kenyan man were charged on Tuesday with unlawfully dealing in wildlife species after they were found in possession of hundreds of live ants stored in specialised tubes. The case was the latest focused on the alleged smuggling of ants in the East African country, where authorities last year described a growing trend in the trafficking of ants to markets in Europe and Asia. Officials have not said if the ants are sought after as pets or for other purposes. The suspects,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3346945/chinese-national-and-kenyan-associate-charged-illegally-smuggling-ants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3346945/chinese-national-and-kenyan-associate-charged-illegally-smuggling-ants?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 23:31:46 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Resource-rich African nations are increasingly asserting control over critical minerals to maximise domestic returns, sending global prices soaring and exerting pressure on Chinese supply chains. One price crunch started last month when Zimbabwe, Africa’s biggest lithium producer, abruptly suspended exports of raw lithium minerals and concentrates. The country had originally planned to impose the ban in 2027 to encourage more local value-added processing of the mineral but the government brought... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346717/chinas-supply-chain-meets-wall-african-resource-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346717/chinas-supply-chain-meets-wall-african-resource-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:36:21 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states will huddle in Brussels this week to thrash out a memorandum on critical minerals with the United States. Underpinning the debate will be a tension that girds many elements of the bloc’s dealings in 2026: capacity versus trust. Envoys will negotiate in the shadow of a new trade threat from US President Donald Trump, who last week shocked Brussels with a tariff investigation linked to overcapacity and forced labour of 60 economies, including China, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346639/tariffs-stockpiles-distrust-eus-messy-bid-ditch-china-hits-capacity-problems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3346639/tariffs-stockpiles-distrust-eus-messy-bid-ditch-china-hits-capacity-problems?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 09:00:09 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham The European Union has been urged to weaponise its giant market to draw concessions from China, whose economic fragility is making it increasingly reliant on rich export markets. A new report from the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), the EU’s official think tank, said “China’s weakness creates opportunities” for the bloc to use its chokepoints and leverage to bring Beijing to the negotiating table in a credible way. With the United States rapidly narrowing for Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345862/weaponise-eu-market-against-china-or-face-manufacturing-collapse-official-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345862/weaponise-eu-market-against-china-or-face-manufacturing-collapse-official-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:30:08 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo A suspected CIA-funded publication in Asia recently asked where all the Chinese wolf warriors have gone. It was referring to those supposedly rude envoys who harangued the governments of their host countries and foreign ministry spokespeople who confronted foreign reporters at news conferences. Well, Beijing reined them in long ago. But US President Donald Trump has unleashed his own. Open hostility towards host countries and their peoples seems to be a job requirement in Washington for a US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345151/under-trump-us-has-unleashed-its-own-wolf-warriors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345151/under-trump-us-has-unleashed-its-own-wolf-warriors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham The European Union’s ambitious industrial policy to challenge China has been gutted, removing AI, semiconductors and quantum computing from a list of strategic technologies that must be “made in Europe” to tap billions in government funds. Biotechnology and robotics are other cutting-edge sectors to be cut from the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) ahead of the proposal’s formal unveiling by the European Commission on Wednesday, a leaked draft showed. Plans to exclude non-EU-based producers from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345311/eu-strips-ai-chips-and-quantum-industrial-plan-aimed-countering-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345311/eu-strips-ai-chips-and-quantum-industrial-plan-aimed-countering-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:51:51 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Belgium’s special forces boarded and seized an oil tanker from the ‘shadow fleet’ Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, the government said on Sunday. Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the vessel was intercepted in the North Sea during an overnight operation. “Today, a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet was intercepted in the North Sea,” Prevot wrote on social media, thanking Belgian special forces for their “exceptional professionalism and courage.” Belgian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345031/belgium-special-forces-seize-russian-shadow-fleet-tanker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345031/belgium-special-forces-seize-russian-shadow-fleet-tanker?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 11:17:33 +0000 Gloria Tso Gloria Tso From Brussels to Beijing to Hong Kong and beyond, few European luxury brands have built as strong a presence in Asia as Delvaux, the world’s oldest luxury leather goods maison. Spearheading much of that formidable growth in the region is CEO Jean-Marc Loubier, who isn’t interested in using stiff economic terms to talk about the business. The long-standing luxury visionary instead refers to consumers as “clients” and reimagines Delvaux’s accessories as architectural icons of the brand’s nearly... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/luxury-ceos/article/3343670/style-edit-delvaux-ceo-jean-marc-loubier-brands-living-legacy-and-new-hong-kong-flagship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people/luxury-ceos/article/3343670/style-edit-delvaux-ceo-jean-marc-loubier-brands-living-legacy-and-new-hong-kong-flagship?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 02:08:17 +0000 Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa Sebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who heads to Beijing this week, had warned last year in relation to China that economic dependencies make Germany “susceptible to blackmail”. As chancellor, he confronts an export model under strain, a deteriorating transatlantic environment and the fiscal reality that moral posturing does not sustain an industrial economy. Merz has never been shy about stating where he stands. As chairman of the non-profit Atlantik-Brucke from 2009 to 2019, he boosted the view... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3344239/germanys-outreach-china-signals-reckoning-rather-shift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3344239/germanys-outreach-china-signals-reckoning-rather-shift?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:07:33 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Turkey has arrested six European activists who came to the country to examine prison conditions of political detainees, their lawyer said on Friday. They were detained in Istanbul on Thursday after meeting a legal collective called the Office of People’s Rights (HHB), said Naim Eminoglu, head of the Istanbul section of the Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD), who is defending them. The six were from Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Russia, he said. Known for defending individuals seen as... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344170/6-european-activists-held-turkey-while-investigating-prison-conditions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344170/6-european-activists-held-turkey-while-investigating-prison-conditions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:40:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Belgium summoned the US ambassador on Tuesday over a social media post where he accused the country of antisemitic persecution of Jewish Belgians, the kingdom’s foreign minister said. “Labelling Belgium as antisemitic is not just wrong, it’s dangerous disinformation that undermines the real fight against hatred,” Belgian foreign minister Maxime Prevot said in a social media post on Monday. The summons is a rare move between staunch allies. “An ambassador accredited to Belgium has a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343828/belgium-summons-us-ambassador-over-claims-antisemitism-rare-diplomatic-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343828/belgium-summons-us-ambassador-over-claims-antisemitism-rare-diplomatic-row?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 09:59:31 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Cambodia is scrambling to shore up an economy battered by months of border conflict with Thailand, as shuttered crossings choke trade and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers return home to fewer jobs and lower pay. Prime Minister Hun Manet is travelling to the United States and Europe this week seeking to diversify markets and secure new investment, part of a broader effort to reduce Cambodia’s reliance on Thailand after the fighting forced supply chains to be diverted and slashed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343805/cambodia-seeks-economic-reset-after-thailand-border-war-batters-trade-and-remittances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343805/cambodia-seeks-economic-reset-after-thailand-border-war-batters-trade-and-remittances?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:00:14 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Greece said on Monday it will seek to obtain a series of photos that appear to show the final moments of 200 Greeks who were executed by a Nazi firing squad in Athens during World War II, after the previously unknown pictures appeared on an online sale site. The images that appeared on eBay over the weekend allegedly show the men being led to their deaths on May 1, 1944, at a shooting range in the Kaisariani suburb of the Greek capital. Although the executions were well known, there were no... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343776/greece-will-seek-obtain-nazi-execution-photos-offered-sale-ebay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343776/greece-will-seek-obtain-nazi-execution-photos-offered-sale-ebay?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 21:03:32 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham As a flurry of European leaders flock to China, a different diplomatic dynamic has taken shape in Brussels, exposing deep-seated problems in the relationship between the EU and China. Several sources described a deliberate slowing of high-level appointments with Chinese diplomats in the Belgian capital – an effort to reciprocate the lack of access EU diplomats receive in Beijing. In the Chinese capital, the EU ambassador, Jorge Toledo, has been effectively frozen out of meetings with relevant... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343198/cold-shoulder-china-and-eu-diplomatic-stand-ahead-munich-showdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343198/cold-shoulder-china-and-eu-diplomatic-stand-ahead-munich-showdown?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:22:29 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu French wine and spirits exporters saw their worst results since the Covid-19 pandemic last year, as companies were buffeted by stormy trade relations between China and the US, two of the industry’s biggest overseas markets. “It’s weighing on everyone’s morale,” said Gabriel Picard, president of the French Federation of Wine and Spirit Exporters (FEVS), during a press conference in Paris on Tuesday where he presented the annual figures. France exported a total of €14.3 billion (117.5 billion... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343156/time-called-happy-hour-french-wine-and-spirit-sales-sour-mainland-china-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343156/time-called-happy-hour-french-wine-and-spirit-sales-sour-mainland-china-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 07:00:08 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Luuk van Middelaar is the director of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, a think tank he co-founded in 2022. A political theorist and historian by trade, he has written several books and was in the cabinet of the first European Council president Herman Van Rompuy. Van Middelaar is widely read and cited across Europe for his analysis of the EU’s political evolution, with his books translated into many languages and awarded major European literary prizes. He writes regularly for leading... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342650/europe-must-act-fast-trumps-more-brutal-new-world-order-luuk-van-middelaar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342650/europe-must-act-fast-trumps-more-brutal-new-world-order-luuk-van-middelaar?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 22:00:30 +0000 Xiaofei Xu,Ji Siqi Xiaofei Xu,Ji Siqi Across Europe, demand for Chinese goods is soaring as consumers seek quality products at a lower cost. Some goods – particularly electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels – have been shipped from China at a large enough scale that the continent’s lawmakers have begun taking action against an “overcapacity” they feel could throttle domestic industries. But in one European country where multi-day blackouts are commonplace, buyers are rushing to secure a piece of that excess supply, desperate... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3342654/beijing-and-moscow-tout-ties-chinas-companies-keep-ukraines-lights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3342654/beijing-and-moscow-tout-ties-chinas-companies-keep-ukraines-lights?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 22:00:29 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu China has criticised the European Commission’s anti-subsidy probe into Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind Science & Technology as “targeted” and “discriminatory”, warning that such measures would undermine Chinese companies’ confidence in the European market and disrupt the bloc’s green transition. “The European side’s related investigations have generalised the concept of ‘foreign subsidies’ and have many problems, such as insufficient evidence for opening cases and a lack of procedural... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3342444/china-slams-eu-probe-wind-turbine-maker-goldwind-discriminatory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3342444/china-slams-eu-probe-wind-turbine-maker-goldwind-discriminatory?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 02:23:58 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Flight routes between Europe and China are suddenly crowded with prime ministers and presidents, giving the impression of a continent pivoting eastward. A flurry that began late last year with visits to Beijing by the Spanish king and French president has continued with leaders of Britain, Ireland and Finland, with Germany’s chancellor to follow next month. The frenzied outreach comes with the transatlantic relationship on the rocks. US President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland have even... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341938/full-pivot-or-anxious-hedge-europes-leaders-flock-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341938/full-pivot-or-anxious-hedge-europes-leaders-flock-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 10:00:13 +0000 Syed Munir Khasru Syed Munir Khasru Today, double-digit tariffs imposed by the United States are the new baseline. Breaking decades of low single digits norms, the US rolled out a “reciprocal tariff” framework in April 2025, setting a 10 per cent baseline and layering on higher rates for specific countries. Embedded in the US’ national security strategy, this reorientation leaves little scope for a full rollback and turns global trade into a test of power: of whether World Trade Organization (WTO) rules still bind or leverage now... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341496/trumps-tariffs-reveal-hidden-fault-lines-global-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3341496/trumps-tariffs-reveal-hidden-fault-lines-global-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li As China’s two largest cities by economic output, Beijing and Shanghai are widely seen as barometers for the country’s broader economic performance. In 2025, Beijing’s gross domestic product reached 5.2 trillion yuan (US$748 billion), making it the second Chinese city to cross the 5-trillion-yuan mark after Shanghai, which breached the threshold in 2024 and did so again in 2025 with a GDP of 5.67 trillion yuan. Based on last year’s figures, each city’s economic size is comparable to that of a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3341382/tale-two-megacities-how-did-beijing-and-shanghais-gdps-surpass-5-trillion-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3341382/tale-two-megacities-how-did-beijing-and-shanghais-gdps-surpass-5-trillion-yuan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham If there was a sense of panic gripping European leaders at last week’s conclave of elites at the World Economic Forum, they could be forgiven a moment of relief as they departed the snowy peaks of Davos. That was not only because US President Donald Trump used a long, rambling speech to rule out taking the Danish territory of Greenland by force. Nor was it just the meeting on the sidelines with Nato chief Mark Rutte, which produced a formula to defuse immediate tensions by designating US... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341242/table-or-menu-europe-wakes-world-without-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341242/table-or-menu-europe-wakes-world-without-order?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 22:00:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters The European Parliament has put ‍off until next week a decision on whether to resume work on the EU’s trade deal with the United States, which it had suspended in protest against US President Donald Trump’s demands to acquire Greenland and threats of tariffs. The parliament’s trade committee ⁠had been expected to set its position in votes on Monday and Tuesday, and the assembly’s president, Roberta Metsola, said last week discussions could resume soon to get the process back on track. But German... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341310/eu-lawmakers-divided-over-resuming-work-us-trade-deal-after-greenland-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341310/eu-lawmakers-divided-over-resuming-work-us-trade-deal-after-greenland-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:31:59 +0000 Charmaine Mok Charmaine Mok In Brussels, few things are as they seem. As the Belgian city’s famed son René Magritte once said, “everything we see hides another thing”. I think of the surrealist painter, best known for hauntingly simple works such as The Treachery of Images (This is Not a Pipe) (1929) and The Son of Man (1964), often on this trip to Brussels. It is 8am when our flight from Hong Kong touches down, yet the sky is still inky, the air bone-chillingly cold. There is an eeriness to the streets as our car meanders... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3340827/craft-beers-dim-sum-chinese-hotpot-and-more-culinary-trip-through-brussels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3340827/craft-beers-dim-sum-chinese-hotpot-and-more-culinary-trip-through-brussels?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jan 2026 04:15:08 +0000 Zhihua Zheng Zhihua Zheng The United States’ abrupt withdrawal earlier this month from dozens of international institutions, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, was more than another episode of diplomatic retrenchment. It was a reminder that the post-war architecture of global governance, particularly in environmental affairs, is under strain. Against this backdrop, China’s decision to nominate Xiamen as the host city for the secretariat of the new High Seas Treaty should not be read as a quest for... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3340670/how-china-can-strengthen-high-seas-treaty-governance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3340670/how-china-can-strengthen-high-seas-treaty-governance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have condemned a resolution strongly backed by the European Parliament to sanction officials and revoke the city’s special trade status to protest against former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s conviction in a national security trial. A spokesman for the foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong on Friday expressed “strong condemnation and opposition” while accusing the European Parliament of ignoring facts and distorting the truth. “The European Parliament has... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3340895/eu-parliament-backs-sanctions-against-hong-kong-officials-over-jimmy-lai-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3340895/eu-parliament-backs-sanctions-against-hong-kong-officials-over-jimmy-lai-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:41:49 +0000