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China’s Politburo signals decisive macroeconomic...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

China’s leadership has stressed the need for a more proactive macroeconomic stance to support the country’s new five-year plan, ahead of next week’s annual “two sessions” – one of the country’s most important political events. Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the Politburo – a major decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party – met on Friday and set a decisive tone for policy direction, highlighting the need to expand domestic demand and strengthen new growth drivers. In an official...

Trump’s State of the Union report underlines shift to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was a long and rambling preparation for the congressional midterm elections in November. If, as Trump claims, America “is back, bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before”, what does it mean for the rest of the world? Is the global economy as a whole bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever? Or are we in what Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney argued in his stunning speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos

Hong Kong budget 2026-27: minister defends cuts to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Hong Kong authorities have defended a controversial subsidy cut for the kindergarten sector for the coming financial year, saying the low birth rate and resultant shrinking pupil population have prompted a reassessment of education policy priorities. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said on Friday that the government would channel more resources towards promoting “high-quality education” and adopt a more targeted approach to helping pupils in need. According to the 2026-27

Global debt soars by US$29 trillion as US, China...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Global debt climbed to a record high in 2025, rising at the fastest pace since the pandemic, with China and the United States accounting for a large share of the increase, according to a new report. Total global debt surged to US$348 trillion last year, with nearly US$29 trillion of new debt added over the year, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said. Government borrowing accounted for more than US$10 trillion of the increase, with the United States, China and the euro zone

Is this maritime court case a model of China’s...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

China’s top court has hailed a mediated resolution to an international shipbuilding dispute as a landmark example of the country’s anti-sanctions law working to protect domestic industry. In a social media post on Friday, the Supreme People’s Court said the case was a milestone in China’s legal response to foreign “bullying” and “long-arm jurisdiction”. “Its ruling’s principles demonstrate China’s firm commitment to safeguarding the multilateral trading system and offer judicial insight

China seeks to mediate after Pakistan declares ‘open...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

China has stepped in to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan following an escalation of their conflict, urging both sides to end the fighting and settle their disputes through dialogue. This comes after Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan on Friday, including the capital Kabul, and declared “open war” with its neighbour after months of deadly clashes. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Friday that as a neighbour and a friend to both countries, China

Wild boar put down after 5 hurt as animal roamed MTR...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

A wild boar was euthanised in Hong Kong hours after it roamed inside an MTR station and a housing estate on Friday, injuring five people who were either knocked down, bitten or had attempted to capture the animal. Police said they received multiple reports of sightings of the boar at Wu Kai Sha station and the Lake Silver housing complex at 5.08pm. A woman, 68, was reportedly bitten by the animal, police said. Two men and another woman, aged 45 to 87, were knocked down. They were taken to

Retiree jailed for 8 months over seditious online...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

A Hong Kong court has jailed a retiree for eight months for posting speeches on his social media account in which he seditiously criticised authorities and called on voters to boycott last year’s Legislative Council election. Lam Ming-chung, 68, on Friday admitted to posting seditious content on his Facebook account between September 2024 and November last year, in violation of the domestic national security law. According to the prosecution, the defendant spread hatred against authorities in...

As the yuan sizzles, China’s central bank deploys...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

With China’s currency having steadily strengthened in recent months, the central bank has rolled out a pair of measures to lower foreign exchange hedging costs and support cross-border yuan financing. In a notice on Thursday, the People’s Bank of China refined the framework for domestic banks to conduct cross-border yuan interbank financing, explicitly endorsing their role in providing stable yuan liquidity to offshore markets through regulated channels. The move comes as Beijing has been...

Hong Kong exports surge 33.8% in January thanks to...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Hong Kong’s exports surged by more than 30 per cent in the first month of 2026, thanks to a rebound from last year’s low base after US-China trade war fears eased.According to the Census and Statistics Department, the total value of Hong Kong’s export of goods rose in January by 33.8 per cent year on year to HK$520.6 billion (US$66.6 billion), while the value of imports surged by 38.1 per cent to HK$534.7 billion. “Exports to most markets and of most major commodities increased visibly,” a...

Moore Threads’ flagship AI chip compatible with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Semiconductor designer Moore Threads Technology has achieved full-stack compatibility between its flagship MTT S5000 graphics processing unit (GPU) and Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen3.5-series artificial intelligence models, as China’s tech self-reliance efforts gather pace. Beijing-based Moore Threads, founded by former Nvidia executive James Zhang Jianzhong, on Thursday said the firm’s flagship AI chip was now compatible with the three new models under the latest Qwen series – Qwen3.5-35B-A3B,...

US must be able to ‘turn around and punch’ in space...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

China’s rapid expansion of surveillance satellites means protective measures in space are not sufficient for the United States, which needs the offensive capability to “turn around and punch”, a US Space Force general said. According to the US military news website The War Zone, Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon said China had built “the second-best remote sensing architecture in the world from outer space”. He said China had expanded from fewer than 100 satellites in 2013, when Xi Jinping

‘Two sessions’, Trump tariffs, JD.com earnings

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Chinese lawmakers gather next week for the annual “two sessions” legislative meetings, where they will approve the 15th five-year plan and likely see a shift towards less emphasis on economic growth. Premier Li Qiang will summarise the new five-year plan and announce the 2026 GDP target on March 5, the first day of meetings for the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature. Lawmakers will likely give near-unanimous support to the plan, which runs through 2030, when the meeting...

Malaysians asked to help find Daim’s 4 children as...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency on Friday asked the public for help in locating the four children of the late tycoon and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, as it widened an investigation into the family’s wealth. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said it was seeking information on the whereabouts of Asnida Abdul Daim, 63, Md Wira Dani Abdul Daim, 46, Muhammed Amir Zainuddin Daim, 29 and Muhammed Amin Zainuddin Daim, 26, “to assist in investigations”. The statement, however, did

Merodi debut in Hong Kong shows Pop Mart’s struggle...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

At Pop Mart’s shop in Hong Kong’s bustling Causeway Bay shopping district, a display of the toymaker’s newly launched character, Merodi, drew little attention on Friday morning. “A few people are buying it,” a salesperson said. “It’s not very well known yet.” The new series, Merodi After School, features a mischievous little girl with the magical ability to talk to animals. It was created by Taiwanese artist Will Chen Wei-hua. The launch came two months after Pop Mart’s previous debut,...

Hong Kong workers least happy among 8 Asia-Pacific...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Hong Kong employees are the least happy among eight Asia-Pacific economies, including Singapore, with only 47 per cent of local workers reporting that they felt happy at work, a leading job recruitment platform has found. On Friday, Jobsdb released its survey of 1,020 local workers, which also found that 44 per cent of local respondents reported burnout at work and about 66 per cent were dissatisfied with their stress levels. Hong Kong’s workplace happiness ranked the lowest among the eight...

AI backlash is growing, but how much is just hype?

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

A week ago, I had never heard of Matt Shumer. Today, I and 80 million others have viewed his “Something Big is Happening” essay warning about the all-conquering power of the AI revolution, counselling us to maximise our use of artificial intelligence immediately and to put our finances in order. The message? A technology as flexible and powerful as AI will leave many people’s careers permanently devastated. For the truly paranoid, Citrini Research’s 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis report this...

Hong Kong’s ‘king of shops’ Edwin Leong sells home on...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Edwin Leong Siu-hung, chairman of Tai Hung Fai Enterprise Group and long dubbed Hong Kong’s “king of shops”, has sold a flat in the ultra-exclusive Mount Nicholson enclave on The Peak, saying weak rental returns did not make it worthwhile to hold the property any longer. Land Registry records showed Leong sold the 4,566 sq ft four-bedroom flat for HK$323 million (US$41.3 million), or about HK$70,740 per square foot. He bought the property in 2016 for about HK$312 million. While the selling

Paul Chan confident Hong Kong can handle debt of...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Hong Kong’s finance chief has assured the public that the city can manage its debt after proposing the issuance of more bonds to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis, expressing confidence in the long-term investment returns from the megaproject. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po sought to reassure the public during a radio programme on Friday after a university student voiced concerns that his generation might suffer if the city failed to repay the growing number of bonds...

Malaysian politician Fahmi Zainol charged with...

News - South China Morning Post ·

2026/02/27

Penang’s youngest executive councillor Fahmi Zainol has been charged at the Magistrate’s Court in the Malaysian state with voluntarily causing hurt to his wife. The 35-year-old, who is the Pantai Jerejak assemblyman, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before Magistrate Chia Huey Ting. Based on the charge sheet, he is charged with purposely causing injury to his wife, Nur Hidayah Abd Jabar, 35, at a house in Bayan Lepas at around 10pm on Sunday. The charge was framed under...

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