SCMP China·Thursday, January 1, 2026

SCMP China - Thursday, January 1, 2026

10 stories~15 min

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Stories Covered

Taiwan arms, missing Chinese boy, Trump’s Jimmy Lai appeal: 7 US-China relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering US-China relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. As Trump upends US foreign policy, analysts see fresh openings for China Trump was expected to continue applying a wrecking ball to long-standing US national security architecture, threatening global stability and jolting long-time allies, with China a major beneficiary, analysts and former.

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Beijing’s Venezuela plans, Mexico-China tariffs: 7 Latin America relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Mexico stands by its decision for 50% tariffs on Chinese goods Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard in December defended Mexico’s decision to impose new tariffs on imports from China and other Asian countries, describing the move as a necessary step to protect hundreds of thousands of domestic...

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China’s Ukraine war role, EU vs Shein and Temu, Trump-Modi call: 7 global relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening European officials were parsing evidence of an increase in battlefield weapons being shipped from China to Russia as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prepared to drag into its fifth year, adding to the well-documented flow of goods with

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How the ‘world’s supermarket’ rode out Trump’s tariffs – and grew even stronger

Wang Nan, a hardware trader in China’s eastern city of Yiwu, expected her business to feel some pain when the US-China trade war escalated in April. “Last year, we still had many American clients, but the tariffs changed everything,” she said. Yet, Wang’s firm not only survived a rollercoaster year – which at one point saw US tariffs soar to triple-digit levels – it has emerged even stronger. An aggressive push to find new buyers in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa paid off. In the end,.

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As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

Beneath the “China threat” thesis, often heard in Western policy circles, is the assumption that China will become expansionist as it grows more powerful. But history gives us little reason to treat that as inevitable. At moments of peak strength, China has not consistently converted power into the kind of overseas colonialism, expansionism or conquest that marked the ascent of Western great powers. There are three often-cited reasons to suggest China’s rise might lead to expansionism. First,...

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Can Beijing and Washington shield their planned state visits from Taiwan tensions?

Tensions over the Taiwan Strait are likely to persist in 2026, but analysts expect Washington and Beijing to manage risks to ensure that reciprocal state visits planned for the new year are not derailed. Beijing launched massive live-fire drills around Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday, less than a fortnight after Washington announced its largest-ever arms sale to the self-ruled island. The People’s Liberation Army said the drills served as a warning to “independence forces” and against external...

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Japanese business leaders shelve annual China trip as tensions mount

A group of about 200 prominent Japanese business leaders has reportedly postponed their annual visit to mainland China, the first such deferral in more than a decade, amid tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. The postponement, first reported by Bloomberg and Kyodo, is widely seen by observers as a worrying sign of fraying corporate diplomacy – long regarded as a stabilising channel in the countries’ complicated relationship. It comes amid Beijing’s intensified efforts to rally a...

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China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk

China has warned that the rapid expansion of internet satellite constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink presented “pronounced safety and security challenges”. Addressing an informal United Nations Security Council event initiated by Russia on Monday, Beijing’s representative cited several incidents, including near collisions between Starlink satellites and the Chinese space station in 2021, and a satellite that disintegrated in December. The representative also pointed to the disregard of...

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China’s Wang Yi takes aim at Japan in call with South Korean foreign minister

With less than a week to go until a presidential summit, China’s top diplomat has used talks with his South Korean counterpart to reassert Beijing’s stand on Taiwan and take aim at Tokyo. In a phone call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Wednesday, China’s Wang Yi raised the spectre of Japan’s colonial past to get support for his country’s position on Taiwan. Wang accused “certain political forces in Japan” of trying to “reverse the course of history and whitewash [the country’s]...

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Why investors should remain bullish on Hong Kong, mainland stocks in 2026

Judging by investor sentiment in the final quarter of last year, the spectacular rally in mainland Chinese and Hong Kong equities is over. The CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks declined 0.2 per cent while the MSCI China Index fell by over 7 per cent. The Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, lost 4.5 per cent. While most Wall Street banks remain bullish on Chinese stocks, some have turned more cautious. Morgan Stanley believes 2026 will be “a year of stabilization after 2025’s high...

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