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Brazil

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Brazil. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Brasília

Head of State

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Head of Government

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

The Chinese approach, forged in the fires of domestic industrial competition, views AI as “relational infrastructure”: a connective tissue for physical systems. It is designed to get its hands dirty, such as in mining, ports and factories. Photo: Adobe Stock

China technology

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

10 Dec 2025 - 10:26AMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

US senators warn of China-cartel links forming a global ‘Silk Road of crime’

10 Dec 2025 - 7:28AMvideocam

US-China trade war

‘A slap in the face’: some US farmers unhappy with Trump’s US$12 billion bailout

9 Dec 2025 - 8:08AMvideocam

Jair Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro’s son says he could drop his Brazil presidency bid ‘for a price’

Flavio Bolsonaro’s announcement comes as his allies push for amnesty for his father, the jailed former president.

8 Dec 2025 - 11:02AM

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasilia, Brazil on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

China exports

Why China sees Brazil as ‘last untapped blue ocean market’ for investment boom

Chinese investment in Brazil is soaring as firms eye the vast potential growth in South America’s ‘blue ocean market’.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:24AMvideocam

South Korea

‘Relive the magic’? K-drama dating service probed for sex crimes in Brazil

The KDramaDate platform offers curated outings with Korean men, including one of an ‘intimate experience’ at a motel or client’s home.

4 Dec 2025 - 5:05PM

China trade

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:21AMvideocam

Vehicles are seen loaded on a cargo ship for export at Wuhu Port, Anhui province. Photo: Getty Images

TikTok

TikTok to invest more than US$37 billion in Brazil data centre

China is Brazil’s top trading partner and is seeking to expand economic and political ties across the region amid tensions with the US.

4 Dec 2025 - 10:45AM

China-Latin America relations

China unlikely to aid Maduro if US acts, but may benefit from fallout: analysts

Beijing condemns US pressure on Caracas but offers limited support, prioritising its economic interests and long-term gains.

4 Dec 2025 - 7:01AMvideocam

Banking & finance

Opinion | How yuan internationalisation is helping to close the climate finance gap

Through fast-growing markets for yuan-denominated bonds, China is showing it can support sustainability projects across the Global South.

3 Dec 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Engineers walk past solar panels at Benban Solar Park, one of the world’s largest solar power plants, in Aswan, Egypt, on October 19, 2022. Photo: AP

China-Latin America relations

Trump seizes on China ‘ban’ in Brazil soy trade, but data shows US gains small

China halted imports of soybeans from five Brazil-based exporters after pesticide-treated wheat was found mixed into cargo bound for Beijing.

3 Dec 2025 - 7:34AMvideocam

US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that US farmers are benefiting from China’s recent ban on select Brazilian soybean shipments. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

China manufacturing

Factory of factories: China’s manufacturers join wave of overseas expansions

With many of their clients moving or building sites abroad, China’s factory owners are following suit, seizing a ‘last chance’ for new revenues.

11 Dec 2025 - 11:20AMvideocam

Mental health

Teen mauled to death after climbing into lion enclosure at Brazil zoo

Authorities say 19-year-old Gerson de Melo Machado, who had mental health struggles, scaled a six-metre wall to enter the enclosure.

2 Dec 2025 - 1:47PM

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s central bank chief says China’s low-cost imports have eased inflation

Gabriel Galipolo confirms imports from China have grown while their prices have fallen, easing inflation in Brazil in the short term.

2 Dec 2025 - 4:50AMvideocam

Central bank president Gabriel Galipolo says that cheaper goods from China have helped to reduce inflation and keep interest rates stable in Brazil. Photo: Pedro Franca/Agência Senado

SCMP Highlights

China halts Brazilian soy imports, disbelief over robot clip: 5 weekend reads

From portraits of courage from Hong Kong’s deadly fire to Brazilian soy imports, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

1 Dec 2025 - 1:49PM

A worker inspects soybeans during the soy harvest near the town of Campos Lindos in Brazil on February 18, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Music

Video killed the radio star and now streaming has killed MTV across Europe

MTV Music, MTV Hits and its 80s and 90s music shows will be shut down in the UK and other European countries in the coming months.

30 Nov 2025 - 3:20PM

Americas and the Caribbean

Venezuela airspace should be considered ‘closed in its entirety’, Trump says

The South American nation slammed the US president’s ‘colonialist threat’, and said his comments were incompatible with international law.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:57PM

China-Latin America relations

China halts soy imports from Brazil plants, pivots to US amid food safety probe

China’s ban follows detection of pesticide-treated wheat in soy cargo as Beijing ramps up US farm purchases after trade talks.

29 Nov 2025 - 3:49AMvideocam

A customs officer checks soybeans imported from Brazil at a wharf in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. China has halted some soybean imports from Brazil due to contamination issues. Photo: Getty Images

Climate change

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

28 Nov 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

28 Nov 2025 - 7:30AM

Asean

Opinion | In its year under Malaysia, Asean tried to set systemic reform in motion

Despite grumbles about loss of focus and misgivings about the longevity of new networks, Malaysia, ironically, perhaps didn’t go far enough.

27 Nov 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hands the gavel over to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr at the closing ceremony of the 47th Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 28. The Philippines takes over as Asean chair on January 1. Photo: Xinhua

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why next year’s G20 could be make or break for global development

As the US prepares to chair the G20, it faces a strategic choice: engage or revert to a narrower agenda.

26 Nov 2025 - 7:57AMvideocam

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Bolsonaro begins 27-year prison sentence for coup attempt

Top court closes the case against Brazil’s far-right former president, who was convicted of plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat.

26 Nov 2025 - 1:05PM

Crime

Brazil’s top court upholds jailing of Bolsonaro after ‘attempt to flee’

Top court panel unanimously rules the former president should remain arrested after admitting he broke his ankle monitor.

25 Nov 2025 - 2:19PM

Climate change

Opinion | China’s quiet climate leadership offers hope for Global South and world

The Global North is failing to deliver on its climate pledges while Beijing patiently lays the groundwork for a greener future.

25 Nov 2025 - 7:44AMvideocam

Climate change

‘Important steps’: what Cop30 deal means for climate unity and Global South

Despite the limited outcome, the summit also reveals how developing nations can still influence the global transition, analysts say.

24 Nov 2025 - 5:29PM

A fire truck is seen submerged in floodwaters in Songkhla province, southern Thailand, on Monday. The Cop30 summit set a goal of scaling up global climate finance to at least US$1.3 trillion per year by 2035. Photo: AP

Venezuela

Several international airlines cancel flights to Venezuela after US warning

Flights cancelled following an FAA warning of a ‘potential risk’ amid a major buildup of American forces in the region.

24 Nov 2025 - 10:39AM

India

Ambani zoo, India cleared of probe curbing endangered animal imports

Vantara, a 3,500-acre zoo in Gujarat run by the Ambani family, faced allegations of improper imports of some endangered animals.

23 Nov 2025 - 6:21PM

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Brazil

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.

US senators warn of China-cartel links forming a global ‘Silk Road of crime’

‘A slap in the face’: some US farmers unhappy with Trump’s US$12 billion bailout

Bolsonaro’s son says he could drop his Brazil presidency bid ‘for a price’

Flavio Bolsonaro’s announcement comes as his allies push for amnesty for his father, the jailed former president.

Why China sees Brazil as ‘last untapped blue ocean market’ for investment boom

Chinese investment in Brazil is soaring as firms eye the vast potential growth in South America’s ‘blue ocean market’.

‘Relive the magic’? K-drama dating service probed for sex crimes in Brazil

The KDramaDate platform offers curated outings with Korean men, including one of an ‘intimate experience’ at a motel or client’s home.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?

Across numerous sectors, China’s firms are setting up shop worldwide – and gaining ground on their well-entrenched competitors.

TikTok to invest more than US$37 billion in Brazil data centre

China is Brazil’s top trading partner and is seeking to expand economic and political ties across the region amid tensions with the US.

China unlikely to aid Maduro if US acts, but may benefit from fallout: analysts

Beijing condemns US pressure on Caracas but offers limited support, prioritising its economic interests and long-term gains.

Opinion | How yuan internationalisation is helping to close the climate finance gap

Through fast-growing markets for yuan-denominated bonds, China is showing it can support sustainability projects across the Global South.

Trump seizes on China ‘ban’ in Brazil soy trade, but data shows US gains small

China halted imports of soybeans from five Brazil-based exporters after pesticide-treated wheat was found mixed into cargo bound for Beijing.

Factory of factories: China’s manufacturers join wave of overseas expansions

With many of their clients moving or building sites abroad, China’s factory owners are following suit, seizing a ‘last chance’ for new revenues.

Teen mauled to death after climbing into lion enclosure at Brazil zoo

Authorities say 19-year-old Gerson de Melo Machado, who had mental health struggles, scaled a six-metre wall to enter the enclosure.

Brazil’s central bank chief says China’s low-cost imports have eased inflation

Gabriel Galipolo confirms imports from China have grown while their prices have fallen, easing inflation in Brazil in the short term.

China halts Brazilian soy imports, disbelief over robot clip: 5 weekend reads

From portraits of courage from Hong Kong’s deadly fire to Brazilian soy imports, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Video killed the radio star and now streaming has killed MTV across Europe

MTV Music, MTV Hits and its 80s and 90s music shows will be shut down in the UK and other European countries in the coming months.

Venezuela airspace should be considered ‘closed in its entirety’, Trump says

The South American nation slammed the US president’s ‘colonialist threat’, and said his comments were incompatible with international law.

China halts soy imports from Brazil plants, pivots to US amid food safety probe

China’s ban follows detection of pesticide-treated wheat in soy cargo as Beijing ramps up US farm purchases after trade talks.

Opinion | How Cop30 laid bare the new geopolitics of climate action

Fractures, even among the Global South, show the energy transition is not just a technical challenge but a deeply political negotiation.

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

Opinion | In its year under Malaysia, Asean tried to set systemic reform in motion

Despite grumbles about loss of focus and misgivings about the longevity of new networks, Malaysia, ironically, perhaps didn’t go far enough.

Opinion | Why next year’s G20 could be make or break for global development

As the US prepares to chair the G20, it faces a strategic choice: engage or revert to a narrower agenda.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro begins 27-year prison sentence for coup attempt

Top court closes the case against Brazil’s far-right former president, who was convicted of plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat.

Brazil’s top court upholds jailing of Bolsonaro after ‘attempt to flee’

Top court panel unanimously rules the former president should remain arrested after admitting he broke his ankle monitor.

Opinion | China’s quiet climate leadership offers hope for Global South and world

The Global North is failing to deliver on its climate pledges while Beijing patiently lays the groundwork for a greener future.

‘Important steps’: what Cop30 deal means for climate unity and Global South

Despite the limited outcome, the summit also reveals how developing nations can still influence the global transition, analysts say.

Several international airlines cancel flights to Venezuela after US warning

Flights cancelled following an FAA warning of a ‘potential risk’ amid a major buildup of American forces in the region.

Ambani zoo, India cleared of probe curbing endangered animal imports

Vantara, a 3,500-acre zoo in Gujarat run by the Ambani family, faced allegations of improper imports of some endangered animals.

Opinion | Why the Global South is embracing Chinese AI

Explainer | As China’s companies become industry leaders, where in the world are they going?