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How China’s state insurer is turning Brazil’s credit...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

With one of the world’s highest benchmark interest rates among major economies, Brazilian importers who buy from China are turning to a state-owned Chinese credit insurer to sustain trade flows that reached US$158 billion in 2024. Facing working capital lines that cost upwards of two per cent a month, equivalent to roughly 27 per cent a year according to market calculations, mid-sized importers are securing deferred payment terms directly from Chinese suppliers through credit limits backed by...

Hong Kong woman loses HK$2.5 million in online...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

A housewife in Hong Kong has lost nearly HK$2.5 million (US$320,500) in an online shopping scam after she tried to buy collagen drinks for HK$530, according to police.The victim saw a Facebook post advertising collagen drinks and transferred HK$530 via Faster Payment System, police said on their CyberDefender Facebook page. The seller later claimed the item was out of stock and offered a refund, sending the woman a link to a fake Facebook page that asked for her online banking...

Tai Po probe: workers turned off fire safety system,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

Staff at the property management company at Hong Kong’s inferno-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing estate acted with disregard for legal requirements, taking such actions as deactivating the fire safety system despite knowing they needed a registered contractor to do so, an evidential hearing has been told. Victor Dawes, lead counsel for an independent committee investigating the November 26 blaze that claimed 168 lives, also pointed to the management company’s workflow as a contributing factor

4 Hong Kong schools to close as 9 seek mergers over...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

Four of 15 Hong Kong public primary schools at risk of closure due to insufficient enrolment plan to shut down, while nine are seeking to merge with other institutions, the Education Bureau has said. One intended to run Primary One classes privately from the coming school year, it said. The bureau said four schools would gradually wind down operations or at the latest end their services by the 2029-30 academic year, and nine had applied to merge with other institutions. But one of the...

How Donald Trump could reframe US goals in Iran war...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

With Washington’s objectives in the Iran war shifting, the evolving goals could allow US President Donald Trump to justify success and finish the conflict sooner than expected, Chinese analysts said. However, the observers cautioned that a wide gap with Israel over the conflict’s endgame could hinder the White House from swiftly moving past the war. The assessment coincides with growing international scepticism regarding the duration of the war in the Middle East. With global oil markets

US threats for new Chile leader, China tariff on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. As Trump ramps up pressure on Cuba, China has ‘very limited options’ As Washington stepped up rhetoric and pressure on Cuba after the start of its campaign in Iran, Beijing found itself torn between geopolitical reality and ideological affinity. Read the full story here. 2. US

France suspects link to pro-Iranian group HAYI in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

France suspects a pro-Iranian group known as HAYI to be behind a foiled attack on Bank of America’s Paris offices, its anti-terrorism prosecutor said on Wednesday, while stressing the link has not yet been formally established. HAYI, which stands for Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, or ‌Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, had posted a video on social media on March 23 targeting Jewish interests and communities in France and Europe, the prosecutor’s office said in a...

Trump-Xi summit hopes, UN ‘manipulation’, stand-up...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

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. Trump-Xi summit will be very amicable, predicts former Biden official US President Donald Trump’s focus on short-term deliverables and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bid for bilateral stability are likely to mean an exceptionally amicable summit when they finally sit down, despite

Is China’s commercial rocket now cheaper than Elon...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

China’s commercial space sector has reached a cost milestone as its new rocket debuts for less than the ticket price of the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle. The Kinetica-2 Y1 carrier rocket, also known as the Lijian-2 Y1, took off on its inaugural flight on Monday before delivering three satellites into orbit, including a prototype commercial cargo spacecraft and a satellite to function as a mini-orbiting space lab. The rocket developed by Chinese commercial space firm CAS Space

BBC defends action in new sex abuse scandal involving...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

The BBC defended on Wednesday its handling of a DJ sacked years after he was the subject of a police investigation into allegations of sexual offences against a teenage boy. The controversy surrounding former radio host Scott Mills, 53, is the latest involving a high-profile presenter to roil the publicly funded broadcaster. London’s Metropolitan Police said this week that it questioned Mills in 2018 over allegations of “serious sexual offences” against a boy under the age of 16. The case was...

Trump claims Iran wants ceasefire, Tehran calls...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that Iran’s leader wanted a ceasefire, in a social media post that Tehran called “false and baseless”. Trump claimed that “Iran’s New Regime President” was seeking a ceasefire, which he said would happen only once the Strait of Hormuz was “open, free, clear”. It was not immediately clear who Trump was referring to in Iran, which still has the same president. The US president, who is scheduled to address the nation later in the day, had earlier

US church launches search for new HKIS school head...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

A US church that co-founded a prestigious Hong Kong international school has said it will take the lead in searching for a new head as the operator had failed to nominate candidates since 2022, accusing it of creating the “risk of leadership interruption” in the latest salvo in a war of words. The move by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) was revealed in a letter to parents on Sunday from Hong Kong International School (HKIS) management, which called the search part of church actions...

What does the China-Pakistan plan for the Iran crisis...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

By issuing a joint five-point plan on the Iran crisis on Tuesday, China and Pakistan have laid out what Chinese analysts described as a “feasible path” towards a ceasefire and renewed diplomacy. At the same time, the move quietly signalled an early effort to shape the post-war Middle East order in a region where the long-standing US-dominated security framework was already facing growing strain and uncertainty, the observers said. In recent weeks, regional powers have emerged as mediators to...

Philippines seeks Iran talks for safe passage of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

Manila is following its Southeast Asian neighbours’ lead by seeking talks with Iran to secure safe passage for Philippine-bound tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a move observers have called “a matter of survival”. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro posted on social media that she and energy secretary Sharon Garin had met Iran’s envoy Yousef Esmaeilzadeh on Wednesday to discuss energy cooperation and the advancement of bilateral ties. “Pleased to meet Iranian Ambassador

What the Iran war reveals about Nato’s appetite for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

The United States attacked Iran without consulting its European allies. President Donald Trump assumed the operation would be a quick win, over before anyone had to take a position. Instead, Washington answered a question Western governments had long avoided. After years of pushing Nato towards confrontation with China, would the transatlantic alliance fight a war it had not chosen together? The answer was no. Iran and Taiwan are different cases. One sits on Europe’s wider periphery and

Taiwan’s KMT chair Cheng Li-wun to honour Sun Yat-sen...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), will visit Nanjing during her visit to mainland China next week. According to a KMT press statement issued on Tuesday night, she will pay tribute at the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China – Taiwan’s formal name – and a symbol of the shared past between Taiwan and the mainland. Cheng will arrive in Shanghai on April 7 and then travel by train to Nanjing, in eastern Jiangsu province, the

Hong Kong investment chief joins global board in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

The head of Hong Kong’s government investment agency has been appointed as a director of a global organisation that brings together leading firms and investors, marking the first time a Chinese sovereign wealth fund has held a seat on the board. FCLTGlobal announced on Wednesday that Clara Chan Ka-chai, CEO of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), had become one of the 19 directors on its board. “Clara brings deep experience and thoughtful leadership that will strengthen our work to...

Qiushi reaffirms China’s trade-rebalance push, calls...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

China’s top Communist Party journal has reaffirmed the country’s push to rebalance trade, saying a worsening global environment marked by rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions is adding urgency to its ongoing shift from an “unsustainable” export-driven growth model. “The underlying conditions, and both domestic and external environment shaping China’s trade balance, are undergoing profound changes, while deep-seated weaknesses in the foreign trade sector remain pronounced,” said a...

Japan, France to draw road map for supply of critical...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Wednesday to design a road map for critical minerals supply as they seek to deepen cooperation in the sector amid China’s dominance of global rare earths. The two leaders also affirmed that Japan and France will maintain close communication in support of efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and establish a high-level dialogue on artificial intelligence, Takaichi said at a joint press appearance...

Hong Kong weighs tougher enforcement against illegal...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/04/01

Hong Kong’s security minister has revealed that authorities are reviewing fire safety laws to expand enforcement powers and toughen penalties as part of a broader crackdown on illegal fuel sales in the city amid surging global oil prices. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Wednesday the government’s review included possible penalty increases, expanding enforcement powers for the Fire Services Department to make arrests and seize vehicles, and an examination of the legal...

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