South China Morning Post
Chinese regions cut growth targets for 2026
Day: February 26, 2026
China sacks 9 senior military officers as Xi widens crackdown
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China has sacked nine senior military officers, including an army commander in a critical position for a potential attack on Taiwan, in a further sign of leader Xi Jinping’s deepening purge of the People’s Liberation Army. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress had stripped the officers of their position as delegates, alongside 10 other NPC members, it said in a statement late on Thursday ahead of the rubber-stamp…
The activist vs the carmaker: how Elliott forced Toyota into $35bn showdown
A showdown between the world’s most prominent activist investor and biggest carmaker over a ¥5.4tn ($35bn) take-private deal is hurtling towards a conclusion that could have far-reaching implications for Japanese companies and their global investors. Elliott Management, which has waged high-profile campaigns against BHP and Starbucks, has been locked in a months-long battle with Toyota Motor. The New York-based fund founded by Paul Singer, with $80bn under management, is pressing Akio Toyoda’s group to increase its offer price to take its largest subsidiary private. But Toyoda, who has invested ¥1bn…
What does Taiwanese leader William Lai’s rare ‘mainland China’ reference mean?
Addressing a group of Taiwanese businesspeople operating on the mainland on Tuesday, Lai used the term “mainland China” multiple times, contrasting with his frequent use of “China” in major speeches since his 2024 inauguration as the self-ruled island’s leader. During the annual gathering held to celebrate Chinese New Year with Taiwan’s business community, Lai also called for maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Advertisement “We hope to exchange and cooperate [with the mainland] so that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can move towards peace and common prosperity,”…
AI will not kill jobs in India’s outsourcing sector, says WNS chief
This online version of the India Business Briefing newsletter is free to read today. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. Good morning. India will unveil GDP data for this quarter later today. The figures will be calculated using a revised national account series with 2022-23 as the new base year (from 2011-12), as India looks to overhaul its calculations of real GDP growth. This follows the revision of the consumer price index, which earlier this month adopted 2024 as…
Boss of theatre hosting Chinese dance group Shen Yun in Sydney won’t be intimidated by ‘outrageous’ threats
The head of the theatre hosting the Shen Yun dance troupe in Sydney says the company would not be intimidated to pull the shows by any “outrageous” anonymous threats and that the publicity had increased interest in the show. On Monday, the Gold Coast venue for the Shen Yun performances was forced to evacuate after a bomb threat, with a similar threat forcing the evacuation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official residence, The Lodge, in Canberra the next day. Graeme Kearns, the chief executive of Foundation Theatres – the operator…
Europe is ready for strategic autonomy, but at what cost?
This year’s Munich Security Conference arrived as less of a shock to Europeans, who have largely accepted that the good old days are gone for good. A few might still have got teary-eyed when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described America as eternally “the child of Europe”, but most in the audience understood the underlying message: “You are on your own now, Granny.” The difference between Rubio’s more measured phrasing and Vice-President J.D. Vance’s blunt remarks last year is largely a matter of syntax. “Nobody doubts the good old…
Europe is ready for strategic autonomy, but at what cost?
This year’s Munich Security Conference arrived as less of a shock to Europeans, who have largely accepted that the good old days are gone for good. A few might still have got teary-eyed when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described America as eternally “the child of Europe”, but most in the audience understood the underlying message: “You are on your own now, Granny.” The difference between Rubio’s more measured phrasing and Vice-President J.D. Vance’s blunt remarks last year is largely a matter of syntax. “Nobody doubts the good old…
The companies behind China’s dancing, joking robots
Robots were the most talked-about characters in China’s biggest TV gala of the year — and the businesses behind them are now in the spotlight. State television ushered in the lunar new year with comedy sketches, choreography and martial arts performed by humanoid robots. The companies whose products feature in the annual television special — often a showcase for the latest technology — benefit from exposure and the broader perception that they have the backing of Beijing. Within hours of the broadcast, orders of robot-related products on ecommerce platform JD.com had…
US presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecoms systems, cites threat to national security
The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens US national security, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The message was conveyed during an unreported meeting between a US State Department team and Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday. Washington has been coordinating closely with Damascus since 2024, when Syria’s now President Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted long-time leader Bashar al-Assad, who had a strategic partnership with China. Syria is exploring the…