Day: October 6, 2025

The Bali heat proved too much for Zhang Min, a 30-year-old tourist from Chengdu, one afternoon last month. She had made it to a cliff above one of the Indonesian holiday destination’s most sought-after scenic spots, but was exhausted by the journey. Advertisement “The roads are really poor,” Zhang said as her group stopped above the T. Rex-shaped headland – a unique land mass that has made Kelingking one of the world’s most photographed beaches. Her group opted against hiking down a steep, sun-exposed trail to the beach’s crescent of…

Premier Li Qiang will travel to Pyongyang to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of North Korea’s ruling party later this week, according to Beijing, the most senior Chinese official to visit the country since 2019. Advertisement The Chinese foreign ministry said Li would arrive in Pyongyang for a three-day visit on Thursday. A military parade commemorating the foundation of the Workers’ Party of Korea is expected to take place on Friday, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. Calling the two countries “friendly neighbours”, the Chinese foreign ministry statement on…

The apparent collapse of a 25-year tariff-free trade pact between the United States and Africa symbolises an American retreat, according to observers, who say the shift is paving the way for China to deepen its influence across the continent. Advertisement The Clinton-era African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expired on September 30 after Congress failed to pass a renewal bill, leaving more than 6,000 African exports, such as apparel and textiles, subject to higher US tariffs. The resulting economic uncertainty for businesses is expected to take a toll on countries…

Advertisement In September, Asean’s economic ministers issued a joint statement affirming their desire to accelerate the addition of four new members into the RCEP – namely, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Chile and Bangladesh. As an Asean-led initiative, it is notable that Hong Kong has the support of all Asean countries to join the trade bloc. Some 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s total merchandise trade in 2023 and almost half its service trade in 2022 was conducted with RCEP members. These numbers underscore the existing depth of trade ties and…

In the Capital Connectors series, exclusive interviews with six influential Chinese and global bankers reveal the opportunities and challenges for Hong Kong in its evolution as an international financial hub. Advertisement When Thai coconut water brand IFBH raised HK$1.16 billion (US$149 million) through a stock offering in Hong Kong in June, Li Chunbo, chairman and CEO of the deal’s sole sponsor Citic Securities International, saw it as more than just another listing from Southeast Asia. The world’s second-largest producer of coconut water had abandoned its original Singapore listing plan before…

As China drafts its 15th five-year plan – the next entry in a line of expansive blueprints that have set the tone for the country’s development over more than seven decades – we examine how these documents inform and reflect high-level policy priorities, what to expect in the coming iteration and whether the private sector will receive the level of support entrepreneurs are hoping for. Advertisement For more stories in this ongoing series, click here. To view SCMP Plus Factsheets on the 15th five-year-plan and more premium content, click here.…

When Beijing announced in September that it would no longer seek the special benefits that come with developing-country status at the World Trade Organization (WTO), some Western media outlets framed it as a concession. Meanwhile, to critics of China’s trade policy, it likely came across as a belated acknowledgement that the world’s second-largest economy should not be treated the same as, say, Cambodia or Ghana. However, China’s logic is far from being understood. Advertisement Through the lens of Mao Zedong’s protracted people’s war, this moment looks less like capitulation and…

The number of students arriving from Asia to the US in August fell by nearly 24 per cent this year compared with last year, according to recently released US government data, marking the lowest August numbers on record outside of the Covid-19 pandemic. Advertisement The data, based on arrival records of international students published by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), includes both new students and existing students returning to the US. August arrival data typically serve as a reliable indicator of enrolment in US schools as students…