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The US-China trade war is entering a worrying new...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we explore the intensifying US-China legal arms race.For years, global businesses have been struggling to navigate rising trade tensions between the

Cuba calls on US to lift blockade rather than offer aid

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

The US should lift its blockade on Cuba rather than offer aid to the struggling island, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Thursday, as the country endures worsening power cuts. His comments came the same day CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials in Havana. The meeting took place “in a context marked by the complexity of bilateral relations, with the aim of contributing to the political dialogue between both nations”, a Cuban government statement read. Exchanges “made it

What Brics lacks in unity, it makes up for in...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

In recent years, the Brics grouping has attracted attention as it adds members and positions itself as the voice of the Global South. At a Brics forum held in Beijing last month, officials discussed expanding trade within the grouping. Such initiatives reflect both an impulse to reduce exposure to external shocks linked to the US dollar and a long-term ambition to reshape global finance. These gatherings are as much about signalling intent as delivering substance. Brics wants to be seen as a...

China restores US beef trade amid Trump-Xi summit,...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Brazil’s government expressed concern over China’s renewal of US beef import licences, warning the move could reshape competition in the country’s largest meat export market. A senior Brazilian government official told the South China Morning Post that the renewal brought “anxiety” to the sector and could affect domestic cattle prices. China is Brazil’s largest beef market, and the quota system already reduces the country’s competitiveness, the official said. The comments came after Bloomberg...

US tourist arrested for allegedly throwing rock at...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

A tourist from Washington state is facing federal charges after a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal just off a Maui beach last week. Special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrested Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, in the Seattle area Wednesday, the US attorney’s office in Honolulu said. Lytvynchuk, who lives in Covington, Washington, was scheduled to appear in US District...

US Border Patrol chief resigns, in latest Trump team...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

The head of US Border Patrol, the agency tasked with securing the nation’s frontiers and increasingly tapped by the Trump administration for immigration operations in American cities, announced his resignation Thursday. Michael Banks’ decision, announced in a Fox News interview and later confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security, is the latest leadership shake-up of officials implementing US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and comes as the Republican administration

Everything you need to know about Xi and Trump’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

We have put together stories from our coverage of Xi and Trump’s meeting in Beijing. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Thucydides Trap, personal touches – all you need to know from Xi-Trump summit so far The two leaders began the day with an extravagant welcome on the steps of the Great Hall of the People before heading in for talks. 2. After fanfare and banquet, day 1 of Trump’s China visit draws to a close Xi and Trump are expected to discuss

US moves to end fraud cases against Asia’s richest...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

US authorities are moving to resolve the fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, according to people familiar with the matter, and end a criminal case that has hung over Asia’s richest person for more than a year. The Justice Department may announce that they are dropping the charges as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential matter. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also moving to settle a parallel civil fraud case

Trump says Xi offered help on Iran as China seeks to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to help broker an end to the Iran conflict and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring how Middle East tensions have become intertwined with a broader effort by Washington and Beijing to steady relations. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity set to air on Thursday evening in the US, Trump said Xi had personally expressed willingness to assist amid mounting concerns over disruptions

Truck driver arrested after accident leaves 1 highway...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Hong Kong police arrested a driver after his truck hit a parked vehicle and killed a worker on a closed section of the Cheung Tsing Highway in Tsing Yi in an accident that also left five others, including four South Korean tourists, injured on Thursday. A source said that the accident happened at around 5.10pm when the local driver of a minivan carrying the four tourists pulled over to the side of a lane after one of the vehicle’s tyres burst. A highway worker arrived at the scene in a patrol...

Xi and Trump set sights on stability for China and...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

The meeting may have been delayed but when the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump took place on Thursday, it yielded a forward-looking agreement. Sitting down for talks at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, the two leaders agreed to make stability a key goal of relations over the next three years – and beyond, according to state media. Trump also invited Xi and first lady Peng Liyuan to visit the White House, setting the date for...

Is China set to benefit from new US Fed chair Kevin...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as the next chair of the United States Federal Reserve has fuelled debate over whether potential policy compromises with the administration of US President Donald Trump could undermine American financial credibility and inadvertently strengthen Chinese assets. The Senate confirmed Warsh as the 17th chair of the Fed on Wednesday in a 54-45 vote, mostly along bipartisan lines. He succeeds Jerome Powell, whose term expires on Friday, following a sustained pressure...

The toast, the tastes and the tech selfie that...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

The chandeliers glittered at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday night when Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump raised a toast to a “fantastic” summit.“It was a fantastic day, and in particular, I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome ... and for so graciously hosting us on this very historic state visit,” Trump said, nearly nine years after his first presidential trip to the Chinese capital. The banquet capped a day that yielded

Xi warns Trump about ‘extremely dangerous’ risks if...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the “Taiwan question” early in his summit with US counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday, warning that any mishandling of the critical issue could lead to conflict and push relations into an “extremely dangerous situation”. Xi’s messaging on Taiwan was tougher in tone than during their last Beijing summit in 2017, analysts noted. They suggested that managing this issue would be the primary factor for ensuring what the Chinese leader called “constructive...

Ex-Meta Chinese star researcher joins race for...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

A star Chinese researcher laid off by Facebook owner Meta Platforms has co-founded a start-up focused on self-improving artificial intelligence systems, joining a wave of US and Chinese firms developing models capable of autonomously refining their own code and reasoning. Tian Yuandong, former research scientist director at Meta’s FAIR (Fundamental AI Research) team, launched Recursive Superintelligence alongside seven other co-founders. The company said on Wednesday it had raised more than...

Medical blunder probe opened over death linked to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Hong Kong health authorities have opened an investigation into a suspected medical blunder involving an improperly sealed catheter used in a heart operation on a 75-year-old man who later died at Tuen Mun Hospital. The Hospital Authority said on Thursday that the patient, who had a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and high cholesterol, was admitted on Wednesday last week after his respiratory condition worsened. His health deteriorated further following an acute heart attack,...

How did the US and China tell 2 different stories...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Statements issued by China and the United States after their summit on Thursday revealed stark contrasts in each side’s priorities. Washington focused on trade, fentanyl and Iran, while Beijing emphasised Taiwan, stabilising bilateral ties and Trump’s compliments about President Xi Jinping. Trump’s state visit to China marks the first trip to the country by a US president in nine years and it began in the morning with more than two hours of talks between Xi and his US counterpart Donald Trump

Broke with autistic son, she thought about suicide. A...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Wrestling with mounting financial difficulties and the challenges of caring for a child with autism, Hong Kong mother Chau Ting-ting found herself struggling several years ago with thoughts of ending her life. The 30-year-old recalled on Thursday that her son Ziyi, now five, began displaying symptoms consistent with autism when he was two years old. Counsellors advised her to send the boy to a nursery to increase his contact with other children his age. “But when I went to the nursery, I saw...

UK health minister quits, calls for leadership...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

Labour’s Wes Streeting announced his resignation ⁠as health minister on Thursday, calling for a leadership contest to oust British Prime Minister Keir ⁠Starmer, who has shown no sign he is ready to step down. Disastrous results for the governing Labour Party in last week’s local elections have plunged Britain into its latest crisis, just under two years after Starmer won a large majority on a vow to bring stability and end a decade of political chaos. After days of calls by a growing number

France, Netherlands say all hantavirus contact cases...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/05/14

France’s health minister said on Thursday that 26 people in France identified as close contacts of hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship had tested negative for the illness. Dutch authorities said that all people who arrived in the Netherlands on evacuation flights from the ship this week have also tested negative. Twenty-six people are in hospital isolation in France, including 22 identified as close contacts of a Dutch woman on the MV Hondius that was at the centre of an...

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