In a wide-ranging, two-hour year-end briefing on Friday, Washington’s top diplomat Marco Rubio offered pragmatic remarks on China, signalling a tonal shift in the administration’s approach towards Beijing amid broader “America first” priorities for 2026. While detailing a recalibration of US foreign policy, Rubio’s comments on China marked a notable evolution from both his own…
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s ultra-hot heat pump breakthrough paves way for melting ore…
It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the fourth part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine the impacts of Trump’s foreign policy on global geopolitics. As the administration of US President Donald Trump ends its first year, expect the unabashed disrupter to continue applying…
China’s military mouthpiece aimed its rhetoric at Japan’s space ambitions and its new intelligence unit on Thursday, accusing Tokyo of embarking on a space arms race and undermining regional security. The criticism in two articles in the PLA Daily is the latest salvo in a diplomatic dust-up over the past month that has involved near-daily…
A Chinese tourist stranded in Japan, having been assisted by a local man who invited him to stay the night, sent 300 masks during the Covid-19 pandemic as a gesture of gratitude. Recently, the Japanese variety show The World’s Astonishing News! highlighted a 2016 story of friendship between China and Japan, sparking discussions among netizens…
Senior US officials on Monday pushed back against suggestions of American retreat from the Indo-Pacific, declaring that Washington is recalibrating its foreign assistance to more effectively outcompete China in the strategically vital region while maintaining support for allies through targeted aid and security cooperation. The focus, they said, is shifting away from broad assistance towards…
TOKYO (AP) — Popular twin pandas at a Tokyo zoo are set to return to their homeland in China in late January, officials said Monday, leaving Japan without a panda for the first time in about half a century. Prospects for their replacement are not favorable either as ties between the two countries have deteriorated….
The global air travel market has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, with the industry upbeat about 2026 and the Asia-Pacific region expected to lead worldwide traffic growth, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Monday. Load factors in Asia-Pacific were projected to hit an all-time regional high of 84.4 per cent next year, according…
Hong Kong recorded a 17 per cent rise in visitors in November to 4.2 million, compared with the same month last year, bringing total arrivals for the first 11 months close to the full-year forecast. The Hong Kong Tourism Board announced on Monday that between January and November, tourist arrivals rose 12 per cent to…
Christmas celebrations will be muted in Hong Kong following the city’s deadliest fire in seven decades, business leaders say, as they try to balance the need to generate revenue with public mourning for the 160 victims. After the inferno that tore through Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26, many parties, gatherings, concerts…