2 h. ago John Lee exclusive interview, Chinese rethink UK degrees: 5 weekend reads

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Don’t kill your successful DNA’: Hong Kong’s John Lee on tariffs, trade war 2. ‘It’s too much’: Chinese students reconsider UK degrees as policies harden 3. Loitering with intent: Beijing’s new silent South China Sea strategy? 4. Japan grows restless for next-gen fighter jets as progress with...

Politics

4 h. ago China’s consumer prices fall for fourth month amid weak demand, trade tensions

China’s consumer prices declined for a fourth straight month in May, highlighting persistent deflationary pressures driven by sluggish demand and trade tensions with the United States, which are compounding inventory strains for manufacturers. The national consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, fell 0.1 per cent year on year last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The figure beat market expectations after a poll by financial provider...

Events

4 h. ago Hong Kong firms must consider national interests in commercial deals: John Lee

Hong Kong businesses must consider national interests while pursuing commercial deals, the city’s leader has said, arguing that the two are not mutually exclusive. In an interview with the Post as he marked three years in office, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu stressed the importance of local companies keeping national interests in mind while seeking profits. Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings has recently drawn the ire of Beijing over a controversial deal to sell its...

Economics

4 h. ago China’s consumer prices extend decline for fourth month in May By Reuters

China’s consumer prices extend decline for fourth month in May By Reuters  Investing.com

Politics

8 h. ago Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding on Trump, the dollar and the rise of the yuan

Welcome to Open Dialogue, a new series from the Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. In this inaugural edition, we invited prominent economists from both sides of the Pacific to reflect on the recent turmoil in global trade, the diminishing role of the US dollar and whether China’s yuan could – or should – take its place. Professor Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University has repeatedly warned the US dollar is approaching...

Politics

8 h. ago Is the US dollar’s decline inevitable? Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding weigh in

Welcome to Open Dialogue, a new series from the Post where we bring together leading voices to discuss the stories and subjects occupying international headlines. In this inaugural edition, we invited prominent economists from both sides of the Pacific to reflect on the recent turmoil in global trade, the diminishing role of the US dollar and whether China’s yuan could – or should – take its place. Professor Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University has repeatedly warned the US dollar is approaching...

Politics

8 h. ago Exclusive | Is the US dollar’s decline inevitable? Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding weigh in

Exclusive | Is the US dollar’s decline inevitable? Kenneth Rogoff and Yu Yongding weigh in  South China Morning Post

Politics

17 h. ago Critically injured Hong Kong officer ‘did what he needed to do’: police chief

An officer critically injured after falling 10 metres from a flyover near Tuen Mun when trying to avoid an oncoming bus “did what he needed to do”, Hong Kong’s police chief said on Sunday. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said that the constable, 31, had regained consciousness but remained in the intensive care ward of Tuen Mun Hospital and was still in a critical condition. Chow declined to further discuss the progress or the direction of the investigation. The accident took place on...

Events

27 h. ago Pay dads to parent? How China could fix birth rate crisis, according to new research

Subsidising men’s participation in household chores and childcare could help reverse declining global birth rates, according to a new study, offering a fresh approach to deepening demographic challenges in countries like China. The study, co-authored by researchers from Fudan University and the University of Hong Kong (HKU), argued that subsidies for fathers produce significantly higher long-term fertility gains than solely subsidising mothers. The findings came as the world’s second-largest...

Events

30 h. ago ‘Don’t kill your successful DNA’: Hong Kong’s John Lee on tariffs, trade war

Hong Kong will not destroy its “successful DNA” and jeopardise its free-port status by retaliating with counter-tariffs on the US even if geopolitical tensions with China escalate further, the city’s leader has promised. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said his administration had made “contingency plans for the worst” and would increase support for local businesses in finding “blue oceans” in new markets. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with the Post to mark the third anniversary of his...

Events

48 h. ago Loitering with intent: Beijing’s new silent South China Sea strategy?

When a Chinese coastguard vessel appeared off the coast of Zambales province in late May, it didn’t fire a shot or issue a threat. Instead, it lingered – uninvited, silent and unmoving. To analysts in Manila, the message was loud and clear: Beijing was testing new tactics in the South China Sea, one quiet incursion at a time. The coastguard vessel was detected roughly 76 nautical miles (140km) off Palauig Point – well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and about 220km southeast of...

Politics

52 h. ago Trump, Hegseth, Rubio: a triple threat to global stability – and Asia

The Indo-Pacific cannot afford to become collateral damage in America’s descent from diplomacy into dysfunction – a decline embodied by Defence Secretary Peter Hegseth’s sabre-rattling and Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio’s overreach. At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth stunned Asia’s defence and diplomatic elite by demanding that Indo-Pacific countries raise defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product to “counter China”. The proposal...

Politics

63 h. ago Exclusive: China issues rare earth licenses to suppliers of top 3 US automakers, sources say

Exclusive: China issues rare earth licenses to suppliers of top 3 US automakers, sources say  Reuters

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong IPO Rules Tested as China Firms Weigh US Delistings

Hong Kong IPO Rules Tested as China Firms Weigh US Delistings  Bloomberg

Economics

3 d. ago US declines to label China a currency manipulator, but blasts its transparency policies

US declines to label China a currency manipulator, but blasts its transparency policies  AP News

Events

3 d. ago White House extends exclusions for Section 301 China tariffs

White House extends exclusions for Section 301 China tariffs  Supply Chain Dive

Events

3 d. ago Hong Kong should allow cinemas to host live events to survive: lawmaker

Hong Kong should relax the licensing renewal criteria for cinemas to allow them to host live performances or sports broadcasts, a lawmaker has said, as the city continues to grapple with a slew of theatre closures. Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, who represents sports, performing arts, culture and publication in the legislature, made the suggestion on Thursday after the Golden Harvest cinema at MegaBox shopping centre in Kowloon Bay announced it would be closing down at the end of the week. Fok said that...

Society

4 d. ago Exclusive | Australia’s Albanese to meet China’s Xi in Beijing this summer: source

Exclusive | Australia’s Albanese to meet China’s Xi in Beijing this summer: source  South China Morning Post

Politics

4 d. ago China's approvals of coal power plants grow after 2024 decline

China's approvals of coal power plants grow after 2024 decline  Reuters

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong housing market bound for gradual recovery: analyst

Hong Kong’s housing market is poised for a gradual recovery starting in the second half of this year, as population inflows, falling interest rates and a rebound in rental demand restore confidence, according to Bocom International. The investment bank said home prices could rise by 3 per cent over the next six months, followed by 5 per cent increases in both 2026 and 2027, as sentiment improved amid declining borrowing costs while returning residents and arriving professionals boosted...

Politics