https://www.scmp.com/rss/524410/feed The latest news and updates on Sergey Lavrov, a seasoned diplomat, he has served as Russia’s Foreign Minister since 2004, making him the longest-serving in this role since Andrei Gromyko. His extensive career began as a Soviet diplomat in Sri Lanka, followed by significant posts at the UN, including Permanent Representative for Russia from 1994 to 2004. Known for assertively defending Russia’s foreign policy interests, his responsibilities encompass shaping international relations and engaging... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen As missiles fly throughout the Middle East, China is walking a diplomatic tightrope between strategic partner Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council states, with whom it has deep economic ties. All six GCC members have been struck as Tehran has widened its retaliation for US and Israeli attacks that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior officials. Its strikes have also expanded beyond United States’ assets to include landmark buildings and airports, causing death and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345443/china-must-find-path-between-iran-and-gulf-states-tehran-strikes-across-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345443/china-must-find-path-between-iran-and-gulf-states-tehran-strikes-across-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 11:19:08 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim The massive American military strikes on Iran could add a new layer of uncertainty to US President Donald Trump’s high-stakes trip to China at the end of the month, observers warn. They said that while the visit was expected to go ahead as planned, the escalating conflict in the Middle East could fuel fresh concerns in Beijing over Washington’s global assertiveness and ambitions. Large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran since Saturday have killed senior Iranian figures including the supreme... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345181/will-iran-attack-derail-trumps-high-stakes-china-visit-meet-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345181/will-iran-attack-derail-trumps-high-stakes-china-visit-meet-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:06:00 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen China has strongly condemned the killing of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which has left Tehran in turmoil and the Middle East facing a major regional escalation. However, analysts believe that China’s position as Iran’s top oil buyer and trade partner will endure through any political upheaval. They also expect Beijing to adopt a pragmatic approach towards Iran’s next leadership, despite the potential threat to Chinese diplomatic and defence ambitions in the Middle East... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345051/khamenei-dead-chinas-ties-iran-will-endure-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345051/khamenei-dead-chinas-ties-iran-will-endure-heres-why?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:00:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists plunged through the ice on Russia’s Lake Baikal, killing eight people, officials said. One of the Chinese tourists managed to escape from the bus, which was crossing the frozen lake on Friday, Irkutsk regional Governor Igor Kobzev wrote in a Telegram post on Saturday. He said the dead included seven Chinese tourists and the driver. The bus plunged into a three-metre-wide (10-foot-wide) ice crevasse, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry reported. The lake is 18... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3344231/bus-chinese-tourists-crashes-through-ice-russias-lake-baikal-killing-8?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3344231/bus-chinese-tourists-crashes-through-ice-russias-lake-baikal-killing-8?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 17:53:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Russia’s Federal Security Service said on Sunday that the man suspected of shooting a deputy chief of Russia’s military intelligence agency in Moscow was detained in Dubai and handed over to Russia. Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was hospitalised after being shot several times on Friday by an assailant at a residential building in northwestern Moscow, Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said. The attack followed a series of assassinations of senior military officers... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3342833/russia-says-suspect-shooting-top-general-detained-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3342833/russia-says-suspect-shooting-top-general-detained-dubai?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 10:31:25 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier The United States accused China on Friday of failing to disclose a 2020 nuclear test, violating what a US official suggested was an understanding involving a 1996 nuclear test ban treaty that both countries signed but neither ratified. This came as Washington called this week for a broad new arms-control treaty to include China, Russia and the US after it declined to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), the world’s last binding nuclear arms control agreement. Russia had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342733/us-accuses-china-secret-nuclear-testing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342733/us-accuses-china-secret-nuclear-testing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 18:52:37 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Russia’s call to revive a troika with China and India is unlikely to be greeted with enthusiasm by New Delhi, with critics pointing to tense border stand-offs and India’s reluctance to be seen as part of an “anti-West” grouping. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this month lauded Moscow’s bilateral ties with Delhi and Beijing, calling for the revival of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trialogue. First mooted in 1998 by then Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov, the RIC has not taken... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341882/will-india-warm-russias-bid-revive-troika-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341882/will-india-warm-russias-bid-revive-troika-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 08:00:12 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump said his message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin was that the war in Ukraine has to end, ‍after what he said were “good” talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos on Thursday. US and Ukrainian officials have spent weeks in frenetic shuttle diplomacy as Kyiv faces pressure from Trump to secure peace in the nearly four-year-old war, despite few signs Moscow wants to stop fighting. After a meeting with the Ukrainian leader that lasted around an hour,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340899/trump-sends-message-putin-war-has-end-after-good-meeting-zelensky?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340899/trump-sends-message-putin-war-has-end-after-good-meeting-zelensky?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 15:03:48 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US envoy Steve Witkoff said he and Jared Kushner will travel to Russia on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin on the latest proposals for a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. “The Russians have invited us to come and that’s a significant statement from them,” Witkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. “Jared and I will leave Thursday night and arrive in Moscow late at night.” US President Donald Trump remains “focused... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340726/us-envoy-witkoff-meet-putin-moscow-pivotal-peace-talks-thursday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340726/us-envoy-witkoff-meet-putin-moscow-pivotal-peace-talks-thursday?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:33:44 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump on Sunday told reporters that US officials have determined that Ukraine did not target a residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone attack last week, disputing Kremlin claims that Trump had initially greeted with deep concern. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week said Ukraine launched a wave of drones at Putin’s state residence in the northwestern Novgorod region that the Russian defence systems were able to defeat. Lavrov also... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338731/trump-says-ukraine-did-not-target-putin-residence-disputing-russian-claim-drone-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338731/trump-says-ukraine-did-not-target-putin-residence-disputing-russian-claim-drone-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 05:04:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Russian officials on Thursday said a Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and wounded at least 50 more as they celebrated the New Year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, as tensions between the two nations continue to spike despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks. Three drones struck a cafe and hotel in the resort town of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, the region’s Moscow-installed leader, Vladimir Saldo, said in a statement on Telegram. He said that one of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338424/russia-claims-24-killed-ukrainian-drone-strike-occupied-kherson-despite-peace-progress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338424/russia-claims-24-killed-ukrainian-drone-strike-occupied-kherson-despite-peace-progress?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:30:40 +0000 dpa dpa The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has concluded that Ukraine did not target Russian President Vladimir Putin or one of his residences in a recent drone attack, US media have reported. Various media, including The Wall Street Journal as well as the broadcasters PBS and CNN, cited unnamed US government officials in their reports published on Wednesday evening, contradicting serious accusations made by Moscow at the start of the week. Initially, US President Donald Trump also criticised... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338416/cia-concludes-ukraine-did-not-target-putins-residence-drone-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338416/cia-concludes-ukraine-did-not-target-putins-residence-drone-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jan 2026 10:27:57 +0000 dpa dpa Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday threatened Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with imminent death in a text peppered with insults on Telegram. Medvedev, who is now deputy head of the Russian Security Council and is known for his invective against Ukraine and its allies, referred to the Christmas address of Zelensky, saying he had wished death upon “a person” – presumably Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. “It is clear to everyone that he wishes death not only on ‘one person’,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338199/russias-medvedev-claims-grim-reaper-coming-zelensky-vile-threat-ukraine-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338199/russias-medvedev-claims-grim-reaper-coming-zelensky-vile-threat-ukraine-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:40:57 +0000 Reuters Reuters Following angry exchanges on Monday, Russia dealt a fresh blow to diplomatic efforts on Tuesday by refusing to substantiate claims of a Ukrainian attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence, instead using the unverified incident as justification to harden its position in conflict negotiations with Kyiv. US President Donald Trump said Putin had told him about the alleged attack in a phone call on Monday morning, which had angered him. Still, Trump repeated his belief that a peace deal may be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338073/russia-says-ukraine-tried-attack-putins-residence-kyiv-says-moscow-lying?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3338073/russia-says-ukraine-tried-attack-putins-residence-kyiv-says-moscow-lying?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 16:58:23 +0000 dpa dpa Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in victory for his war in Ukraine during a meeting with senior military officials on Wednesday amid a renewed diplomatic push to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. He said that more than 300 localities in the neighbouring country have been conquered this year alone. “Among them are also large cities that have been turned by the enemy into fortress nodes with permanent defensive installations,” Putin said. The Russian president said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336865/putin-vows-victory-ukraine-us-and-russia-prepare-miami-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336865/putin-vows-victory-ukraine-us-and-russia-prepare-miami-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 05:10:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump had been sent a proposal on territorial concessions Ukraine is ready to make to end its war against Russia. Merz said the proposal was sent after he and other European leaders had spoken by phone with Trump on Wednesday. “It mainly concerns the question of what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make,” Merz said. He cautioned however that ultimately “the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people have... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336094/proposals-territorial-concessions-ukraine-sent-trump-germanys-merz-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336094/proposals-territorial-concessions-ukraine-sent-trump-germanys-merz-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 11:17:53 +0000 Kyodo Kyodo A 2026 calendar issued by a North Korean publisher for Chinese tourists features a new beach resort on the country’s east coast, a copy obtained by Kyodo News showed on Wednesday. The Wonsan Kalma tourist area with hotels and leisure facilities was launched in the summer, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visiting there in July for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Before North Korea shut its borders in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many Chinese tourists had... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3335934/north-korea-beckons-chinese-tourists-beach-resort-2026-calendar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3335934/north-korea-beckons-chinese-tourists-beach-resort-2026-calendar?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:01:59 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang China and Russia have reached a “high degree” of strategic consensus on issues related to Japan and jointly oppose the revival of “Japanese militarism”, Beijing said after Foreign Minister Wang Yi met chief Kremlin security aide Sergei Shoigu in Moscow. Statements from the World War II allies after Tuesday’s meeting indicated continued solidarity amid growing China-Japan tensions. Shoigu, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also told Wang that Russia could achieve its “strategic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335058/wwii-allies-china-russia-take-united-stand-against-japanese-militarism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335058/wwii-allies-china-russia-take-united-stand-against-japanese-militarism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:42:57 +0000 Reuters Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies. US and Ukrainian officials have been trying to narrow their gaps over Trump’s plan to end Europe’s deadliest and most devastating conflict since World War II, with Ukraine wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on Russian terms, including... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3334146/ukraine-ready-advance-peace-plan-will-discuss-disputed-points-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3334146/ukraine-ready-advance-peace-plan-will-discuss-disputed-points-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 18:46:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his plan for a swift meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was on hold because he did not want it to be a “waste of time”. It was the latest twist in Trump’s stop-and-go effort to resolve the war in Ukraine. The decision to hold off on the meeting in Budapest, Hungary, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call on Monday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “I don’t want to have a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329859/trump-says-ukraine-talks-putin-now-doesnt-want-wasted-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329859/trump-says-ukraine-talks-putin-now-doesnt-want-wasted-meeting?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 22:28:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed preparations for a coming summit in Hungary between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in a call on Monday, both sides said. Rubio “emphasised the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war”, Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesman for the US State Department, said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329718/lavrov-and-rubio-discuss-putin-trump-summit-zelensky-seeks-invite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3329718/lavrov-and-rubio-discuss-putin-trump-summit-zelensky-seeks-invite?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:17:54 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in December, a trip that could test New Delhi’s delicate balancing act between Moscow and Washington amid escalating pressure from the United States over oil and weapons purchases from the sanctioned country. Analysts say the visit is likely to deepen India’s defiance of Western demands as it strengthens energy and defence ties with Russia. But it could also complicate Delhi’s strategic ambitions – including a potential trade deal with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327828/putins-visit-test-india-us-sticky-ties-amid-pressure-over-oil-weapons-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3327828/putins-visit-test-india-us-sticky-ties-amid-pressure-over-oil-weapons-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2025 11:34:27 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ukraine said on Sunday that Russia pounded the country with “hundreds” of drones and missiles overnight, killing at least four people in the capital alone, as neighbouring Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace. The attacks came after Russia warned Nato against taking sterner action in response to alleged incursions into airspace covered by the military alliance. The barrage also followed the revelation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv had received a US-made Patriot air... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327137/russia-pummels-ukraine-massive-missile-and-drone-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327137/russia-pummels-ukraine-massive-missile-and-drone-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 07:53:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the West on Saturday that any aggression against Moscow would face a “decisive response”, warning against attempts to down aircraft in Russian airspace and accusing Germany of militaristic rhetoric. As Russia’s war rages in Ukraine, tensions have mounted along Nato’s eastern flank in recent weeks as Estonia said Moscow sent three fighter aircraft into its airspace and Nato warplanes shot down Russian drones over Poland. “Any aggression against my... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327122/russia-tells-west-any-aggression-will-be-met-decisive-response?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3327122/russia-tells-west-any-aggression-will-be-met-decisive-response?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 23:05:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Vice-President J.D. Vance warned on Wednesday that Donald Trump was “growing incredibly impatient” with Moscow as Washington’s stance on Russia hardens after diplomatic efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine stalled. Trump performed a stunning about-turn at the United Nations on Tuesday, suggesting that Ukraine could not only retake all of the territory it lost to Russia militarily, but also take even more. Trump “doesn’t feel like they’re putting enough on the table to end the war. If the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3326804/us-russia-spar-over-ukraine-war-amid-calls-killing-stop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3326804/us-russia-spar-over-ukraine-war-amid-calls-killing-stop?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 06:32:03 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russia on Friday ruled out an immediate meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, as diplomatic tension escalated with the Ukrainian president, and US mediation efforts appeared to stumble. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “no meeting” between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky was planned, as Nato chief Mark Rutte visited Kyiv, largely to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. US President Donald Trump raised expectations for a swift summit between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents by saying... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3322888/ukraine-war-russia-rejects-zelensky-meeting-nato-chief-visits-kyiv-amid-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3322888/ukraine-war-russia-rejects-zelensky-meeting-nato-chief-visits-kyiv-amid-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:32:51 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russia said on Wednesday it had to be part of any discussion on security guarantees for Ukraine and downplayed the likelihood of an imminent summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky, tempering hopes for a quick peace deal. Nato military chiefs, meanwhile, held a virtual summit on security guarantees for Ukraine, the latest in a flurry of global diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the nearly three-and-a-half year conflict. “On #Ukraine, we confirmed our support. Priority continues to be a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322580/russia-says-it-must-be-part-ukraine-security-talks-nato-military-chiefs-meet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322580/russia-says-it-must-be-part-ukraine-security-talks-nato-military-chiefs-meet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 22:14:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Switzerland would grant Russian President Vladimir Putin immunity if he came to the country for talks on peace in Ukraine, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant, it said on Tuesday. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told a press conference that, under certain circumstances, he would be allowed to set foot in Switzerland. Last year, the Swiss government defined “the rules for granting immunity to a person under an international arrest warrant. If this person comes for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3322409/switzerland-offers-putin-immunity-ukraine-peace-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3322409/switzerland-offers-putin-immunity-ukraine-peace-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:34:11 +0000 Shi Jiangtao,Alyssa Chen Shi Jiangtao,Alyssa Chen The highly anticipated US-Russia presidential summit in Alaska had raised hopes for progress on ending the Ukraine war, but instead left more questions than answers. Still, observers viewed Vladimir Putin’s diplomatic return to US soil – his first in a decade – as a symbolic win for Moscow. The nearly three-hour talks, which both Putin and Donald Trump described as “productive”, signalled a potential thaw in the fraught US-Russia relationship despite concluding without a ceasefire agreement,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322104/will-trump-putin-thaw-alaska-leave-china-facing-3-way-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3322104/will-trump-putin-thaw-alaska-leave-china-facing-3-way-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Aug 2025 14:24:28 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan The South China Morning Post’s live blog for the Trump-Putin summit is online. Check it out now for updates on the talks and ground reports from Anchorage. The highly anticipated talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, ended without a deal and without clear answers – only broad assurances from both sides that the summit was “productive” and that progress had been made towards peace in Ukraine. Addressing a joint press conference... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322061/trump-putin-soon-sit-down-high-stakes-ukraine-talks-alaska?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322061/trump-putin-soon-sit-down-high-stakes-ukraine-talks-alaska?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 14:56:05 +0000 Sagina Walyat Sagina Walyat As geopolitical tensions realign global power centres, the trilateral forum of Russia, India and China (RIC) is seeing renewed diplomatic interest. While Moscow has expressed optimism about reviving the grouping and Beijing seems to support the idea, New Delhi has walked a cautious tightrope between signalling openness and managing its strategic autonomy. Against the backdrop of an increasingly transactional and multipolar world, the question arises: Can the elephant, the dragon and the bear... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3320703/can-russia-india-and-china-work-together-stabilise-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3320703/can-russia-india-and-china-work-together-stabilise-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:01:40 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow As friction with the West builds over energy imports and trade, India is weighing a delicate recalibration: reviving its long-dormant trilateral dialogue with Russia and China, even as it insists it remains committed to its partnerships with the US and its allies. India indicated earlier this month its openness to resuming the Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue, a platform established in the early 2000s to foster coordination among the three Eurasian powers. Describing the RIC as a consultative... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319638/why-china-russia-troika-talks-are-back-indias-table?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3319638/why-china-russia-troika-talks-are-back-indias-table?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 07:00:08 +0000 Raymond Ma,Neil Denslow Raymond Ma,Neil Denslow Shanghai took tentative steps towards creating a yuan stablecoin, and the world’s first yuan-denominated tokenised fund entered the market as technology developments support China’s push for wider international use of its currency. City leaders in Shanghai have ordered a study into the feasibility of introducing stablecoins, the Post reported this week, citing two local officials familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. China Asset Management’s Hong Kong arm, ChinaAMC, introduced... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3318725/yuan-stablecoin-china-eu-summit-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3318725/yuan-stablecoin-china-eu-summit-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:00:09 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg North Korea has suspended foreigners’ access to a newly opened beach resort on its east coast, just days after Russia’s top diplomat visited the area and vowed to help increase tourist flows to the isolated country. North Korea’s National Tourism Administration said the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area that began operations this month is temporarily not accepting foreign guests, without elaborating. The beach resort is one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s pet projects. Kim has a private... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3318695/north-koreas-new-resort-closes-foreigners-days-after-russian-tourism-pledge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3318695/north-koreas-new-resort-closes-foreigners-days-after-russian-tourism-pledge?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:00:15 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to push for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” and reform of the global governance system. Wang told a meeting of foreign ministers from the Eurasian security bloc’s 10 members in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin: “Hegemonism and power politics are going against the trend of the times, protectionism is surging, and regional conflicts are emerging one after another.” Against that backdrop, he said the bloc... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318428/chinese-foreign-minister-wang-yi-urges-sco-work-more-equal-and-orderly-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318428/chinese-foreign-minister-wang-yi-urges-sco-work-more-equal-and-orderly-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jul 2025 08:35:45 +0000 SCMP SCMP Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. How Trump’s latest tariffs on allies, rivals could fund his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ As the ink on US President Donald Trump’s signature “One Big Beautiful Bill” barely dried, he turned his focus back to tariffs, ending a three-month lull in global trade tensions. 2. China’s exports accelerate in June as US trade truce creates opening China’s exports recorded a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3318176/how-trumps-tariffs-could-fund-his-bill-chinas-exports-june-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3318176/how-trumps-tariffs-could-fund-his-bill-chinas-exports-june-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:15:07 +0000 Anthony Rowley Anthony Rowley What good are bricks without mortar? For that matter, what good is the Brics bloc of developing and emerging nations without a strong bonding force that enables its members to jointly construct a new global political and economic order? This question arose again after the news of President Xi Jinping’s absence from the latest Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, with Prime Minister Li Qiang attending in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3317727/brics-still-lacking-cement-build-better-structure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3317727/brics-still-lacking-cement-build-better-structure?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jul 2025 08:30:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Top South Korean, US and Japanese military officers urged North Korea to cease all unlawful activities that threaten regional security, as the three nations flew advanced warplanes for a joint exercise in a show of force against the North. The development came Friday as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was to travel to North Korea amid booming military and other cooperation between the two countries that have raised concerns among their neighbours. During their regular meeting in Seoul on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3317835/south-korea-us-and-japan-hold-aerial-drill-russias-lavrov-heads-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3317835/south-korea-us-and-japan-hold-aerial-drill-russias-lavrov-heads-north-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jul 2025 06:19:17 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Southeast Asia’s plan of presenting a united front on US tariffs appears to have fallen apart, after the region’s diplomatic bloc admitted that its members will have to pursue their own talks with Washington to bring down punishing levies that threaten to sink demand for their vital exports. All but two members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were served with letters from US President Donald Trump earlier this week, announcing tariffs of between 20 and 40 per cent that will... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317827/asean-accuses-israel-openly-committing-genocide-demands-end-gaza-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317827/asean-accuses-israel-openly-committing-genocide-demands-end-gaza-war?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jul 2025 05:31:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russian and American top diplomats held a “frank exchange” as they met in Malaysia on Thursday, Moscow said, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov had shared a “new idea” on Ukraine. The pair met hours after Moscow pummelled Kyiv for a second night in a row and as the UN said the number of victims from Russian attacks was at its highest level in three years. After launching the barrage, which killed two people in the Ukrainian capital, Moscow denied... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3317743/rubio-meets-russias-lavrov-asean-meet-malaysia-amid-trumps-tariffs-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3317743/rubio-meets-russias-lavrov-asean-meet-malaysia-amid-trumps-tariffs-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 11:43:28 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim China’s top diplomat put Chinese and US trade practices in sharp contrast on Thursday as he pressed Southeast Asian countries not to undermine the interests of others in tariff talks with the United States. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called US trade practices “unreasonable and immoral” during a meeting in Malaysia with Md. Touhid Hossain, adviser for foreign affairs of the interim government of Bangladesh. “China-Bangladesh cooperation delivers mutual benefits. China grants zero-tariff... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317742/china-blasts-immoral-us-trade-practices-courts-asean-free-trade-unity-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317742/china-blasts-immoral-us-trade-practices-courts-asean-free-trade-unity-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 11:35:28 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia will have “about a month” to negotiate a better tariff deal with the United States, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said, as the Southeast Asian nation scrambles to bring down punishing levies that threaten to cut growth and ruin businesses reliant on American demand. US President Donald Trump earlier this week revealed he had sent letters to 14 nations announcing tariffs of between 25 and 40 per cent that would take effect from August 1, much of it focused on members of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317639/asean-calls-wisdom-and-prudence-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317639/asean-calls-wisdom-and-prudence-south-china-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 04:21:46 +0000