China

Middle East banks and wealthy investors are poised to increase their investments in Hong Kong amid geopolitical tensions to diversify their risk and capture growing opportunities in Asia, according to the head of InvestHK, the government agency tasked with attracting foreign investment. A couple of Middle East banks were in the process of setting up offices […]

In my experience, most people misunderstand the concept of “separation of powers”, and so I would not be at all surprised if most people also misunderstand the term “executive-led government”. In the case of separation of powers, the confusion usually arises from the use of the word “separation”. It connotes a meaning of absolute independence or […]

SINGAPORE/KARACHI: Asian utilities are increasingly turning to coal-fired power to manage rising energy costs and secure supply, as the war involving Iran disrupts liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and drives prices sharply higher, industry officials said. The conflict has choked key supply routes, with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely […]

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The first of a series of public evidential hearings into a fire that engulfed a residential complex in Hong Kong and killed at least 168 people begins on Thursday, nearly four months after the disaster. Ordered by the […]

Iranian president confirms death of intelligence ministerIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday confirmed in a post on social media platform X that Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib was killed.U.S. forces bomb Iranian missile sites near Strait of HormuzU.S. forces struck Iranian missile sites along Iran's coastline near the Strait of […]

Animal rights groups have urged Hong Kong authorities to review their culling strategy for wild boars and to install animal bridges and other measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict in urban areas after incidents involving wild boars and a buffalo. They warned that as urban expansion, particularly the Northern Metropolis project, cleared large tracts of […]

Hong Kong’s monetary authority kept its base rate unchanged after a similar move by the US Federal Reserve, as analysts said that the Middle East conflict has added to the uncertainty over the pace of rate cuts this year. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) maintained the city’s base rate at 4 per cent on Thursday. Hours earlier, the Fed also kept […]

BEIJING, 19th March, 2026 (WAM) -- President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a letter to His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, concerning bilateral relations and ways to enhance them within the framework of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.The letter was delivered by […]

Washington DC [US], March 19 (ANI): White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated that US President Donald Trump is not 'controlled by another country', and makes decisions keeping the US' best interest in mind.Leavitt made the comments a day after Joe Kent resigned from his post as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. After his […]

(Photo credit: Fabrizio Bensch-Reuters via Imagn Images)The World Anti-Doping Agency will not take up the issue of national governments that fail to pay their dues until later the year, the organization said.Those countries include the United States.Last week, the Associated Press reported that the WADA executive committee would consider banning government […]

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has unveiled the match schedule for the 2026 Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands. While India Men's are set to kick off their campaign with a match against Wales, the Women's team will play their first World Cup match against China. India Men's will also face off […]

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 18 (ANI): India's Om Semwal produced a sensational upset on the opening day of the Indian Open 2026, defeating higher-ranked Mexican Sebastian Salazar in a gripping five-game encounter in Mumbai on Wednesday.According to Olympics.com, the 22-year-old, ranked 223 in the world, showed remarkable composure under pressure to […]

Washington, DC [US], March 18 (ANI): US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that Pakistan's missile developments have the potential to reach the US.Gabbard, while speaking at a Senate Intelligence hearing on worldwide threats, said that Pakistan's long-range ballistic missile development potentially could include ICBMs with the range […]

Orleans [France], March 18 (ANI): Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth suffered a first-round exit at the Orleans Masters 2026 after going down in straight games to Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in Orleans, France, on Wednesday.Ranked 30th in the world, Srikanth made a bright start, opening up a 5-2 lead in the first game. However, Johannesen quickly took […]

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): At a time when India is looking to strengthen its Air Force, the Defence Ministry has informed the Standing Committee on Defence that it is looking to join one of the two European global consortia working on developing sixth-generation fighter aircraft. The Committee said one of the consortiums has the UK, Italy and Japan, […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday issued a guideline outlining arrangements for pilot work to extend rural land contracts by an additional 30 years upon the expiration of the second-round contracts.The document, jointly issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, […]

(260318) -- GUADALAJARA, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- A visitor views a bronze human head from the Sanxingdui archaeological site during an exhibition on the bronze civilization of southwest China at the Guadalajara Museum in Guadalajara, Spain, on March 17, 2026. An exhibition showcasing the bronze civilization of southwest China opened on Tuesday evening at […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Turkmenistan should expand the scale of cooperation in the natural gas sector, and elevate trade and investment levels, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Beijing on Wednesday.Xi made the remarks when meeting with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly […]

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed charges against three cadres of the proscribed People's Liberation Army (PLA) terrorist organisation in the Assam Rifles truck ambush case, in which two personnel of the paramilitary force were killed in Manipur last year.The chargesheet, filed before the NIA […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Turkmenistan should expand the scale of cooperation in the natural gas sector, and elevate trade and investment levels, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Beijing on Wednesday.Xi made the remarks when meeting with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly […]

Hong Kong authorities have raided three illegal fuelling stations and arrested two men, seizing more than 1,800 litres (475.5 gallons) of petrol with an estimated market value of HK$54,000 (US$6,891) as oil prices continue to spike amid the widening conflict in the Middle East. The joint crackdown by the Fire Services Department and the Customs and Excise […]

Hong Kong’s securities regulator on Wednesday recommended strengthening the stock exchange’s regulations to better protect investors following a review of 2024 compliance and enforcement cases. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) submitted its findings after vetting listed companies’ internal control reviews, their handling of late auditor […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday urged avoiding further casualties and losses regarding the war raging in the Middle East, and pledged China's mediation efforts to facilitate a ceasefire.Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) will spotlight the theme of "Full Integration Between Technological and Industrial Innovation," an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Wednesday.This year's ZGC Forum will be held in Beijing from March 25 to 29. More than 1,000 guests from over 100 countries and […]

(260318) -- BEIJING, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is on a goodwill visit to China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

(260318) -- BEIJING, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, special envoy of the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to China, in Beijing, capital of China, on March 18, […]

TIANJIN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The four-day 22nd China (Tianjin) International Equipment Manufacturing Industry Expo (CIEX) kicked off in north China's Tianjin on Wednesday, attracting over 800 enterprises from home and abroad to participate.

(260318) -- BEIJING, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, speaks at a video conference on employment and entrepreneurship for college graduates and other young people in Beijing, capital of China, on March 18, 2026. […]

TIANJIN, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The four-day 22nd China (Tianjin) International Equipment & Manufacturing Industry Expo (CIEX) kicked off in north China's Tianjin on Wednesday, attracting over 800 enterprises from home and abroad to participate.

by sportswriters Xue Yanwen and Zhang ShuhuiSYDNEY, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Mark Whelan's fists cut through the air like thunder. His body moves as one with each punch, footwork steady as flowing water."Like a tree with stable foundation, but it changes with different seasons," he explains, "It has strong branches and it has soft branches that flow in the […]

(260318) -- TIANJIN, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- People visit the 22nd China (Tianjin) International Equipment & Manufacturing Industry Expo (CIEX) in north China's Tianjin, March 18, 2026. The four-day expo kicked off here on Wednesday, attracting over 800 enterprises from home and abroad to participate. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

New Delhi [India], March 18 (ANI): Indian men and women teams have been handed a decent draw in the group stages of the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup championships to be held in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24 to May 3.Both the Indian teams, seeded eighth in the tournament based on their individual players' world rankings, have been clubbed in Group A alongside […]

A Hong Kong campsite operator has been convicted of murdering his live-in girlfriend and sentenced to life imprisonment after telling police he believed she was an alien, with the judge describing the killing as a “vicious, brutal and savage attack and murder”. A High Court jury of four men and three women on Wednesday unanimously found Tang Lung-fai, […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Deep inside a huge lab at the "Science Island" in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, engineers are meticulously upgrading the core of China's "artificial sun," also known as the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak).This isn't a purely local endeavor, however. The high-temperature superconducting […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) will spotlight the theme of "Full Integration Between Technological and Industrial Innovation," an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Wednesday.This year's ZGC Forum will be held in Beijing from March 25 to 29. More than 1,000 guests from over 100 countries and […]

Hong Kong’s education authorities plan to establish an “internationally benchmarked” version of the city’s university entrance exam on a pilot basis to allow foreign students to apply for admission to higher education institutions both locally and in mainland China. They revealed that technical explorations and studies with relevant bodies on […]

(260318) -- BEIJING, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, holds talks with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, special envoy of the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to China, in Beijing, capital of […]

Taipei [Taiwan], March 18 (ANI): Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected the presence of 36 Chinese military aircraft, eight naval vessels and an official ship operating around its territorial waters as of 6 am (local time) on Wednesday.Of the 36, 24 crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ.In a […]

Cosco Shipping Ports, a unit of state-owned giant Cosco Shipping, reported modest earnings growth for 2025, as management expects to expand in emerging markets amid rising geopolitical risks to global trade. Net profit rose 1.1 per cent to US$312.1 million, and revenue increased 11 per cent to US$1.67 billion, according to its 2025 results. Total container […]

Hong Kong’s labour chief has said geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have made the city, with its relative security and stability, “a more attractive place” for global talent, including those from Gulf countries. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han also highlighted the government’s efforts in recent years to attract talent, […]

A former Hong Kong lawmaker on trial for allegedly inciting subversion has denied abetting criminal activity by supporting mainland Chinese dissidents, accusing Beijing of levelling false charges against them. Prosecutors on Wednesday challenged Lee Cheuk-yan’s claim that he had no intention to incite others to overthrow the mainland’s communist rule […]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- With China's new five-year blueprint ushering in fresh commercial opportunities driven by tech innovation and industrial upgrading, foreign capital is repositioning for another wave of investment in the country's emerging sectors.The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, released last week, urges steering foreign investment […]

Hong Kong customs officers have seized 986 smuggled live turtles worth about HK$1 million (US$127,620) from a private car attempting to leave the city, arresting the driver and a passenger. Officers discovered the turtles hidden in seven black plastic bags in the vehicle’s boot at the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge control point on Tuesday. A […]

Hong Kong’s Airport Authority is partnering with a private company to develop a HK$300 million (US$38.28 million) art storage facility set to open next year, as the city looks to cement its position as a global hub for trading valuable works. Speaking at a contract signing ceremony on Wednesday, authority CEO Vivian Cheung Kar-fay said Hong Kong was the […]

(260318) -- HARBIN, March 18, 2026 (Xinhua) -- A worker unloads fertilizers at the Suihua business department of Harbin Railway Logistics Center in Suihua, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 17, 2026. Heilongjiang Province, dubbed the "grain barn" of China, has entered the peak season recently for the shipment of agricultural materials for the […]