7 h. ago Seoul expresses ‘concern’ over US immigration raid at Hyundai’s Georgia plant

South Korea on Friday expressed “concern and regret” over a major US immigration raid at a sprawling Georgia site where South Korean auto company Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong described the number of detained South Koreans as “large”, though he did not provide an exact figure. His ministry would not confirm or deny South Korean media reports saying that about 300 South Koreans were detained in Georgia on Thursday. The Atlanta...

Politics

7 h. ago Xi’s Parade and Summit Send a Powerful Message Straight to Trump

Xi’s Parade and Summit Send a Powerful Message Straight to Trump  Bloomberg.com

Politics

30 h. ago Europe leaders call Trump after Ukraine security guarantees summit in Paris

European leaders on Thursday spoke to US President Donald Trump after holding a summit with President Volodymyr Zelensky on security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace accord to end Russia’s three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine. The guarantees by the so-called coalition of the willing, which remain under wraps but are expected to include ramped-up training for the Ukrainian army and deployment of troops by some European states, have angered Russia. They form part of a push led by...

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4 d. ago SCO summit 2025 live: China's Xi meets Putin and Modi as Trump's shadow looms

SCO summit 2025 live: China's Xi meets Putin and Modi as Trump's shadow looms  Reuters

Politics

5 d. ago China’s Xi Hosts Modi and Putin for Summit Amid Anger Over Trump’s Tariffs

China’s Xi Hosts Modi and Putin for Summit Amid Anger Over Trump’s Tariffs  Time Magazine

Politics

6 d. ago SCO summit in China: Who’s attending, what’s at stake amid Trump tariffs?

SCO summit in China: Who’s attending, what’s at stake amid Trump tariffs?  Al Jazeera

Politics

7 d. ago Eric Trump hails China’s crypto power at Hong Kong’s bitcoin summit

Eric Trump, one of the final acts in Hong Kong’s biggest gathering of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, praised the city and China during his fireside chat with the organiser of the Bitcoin Asia conference. “There is no question that you have made an unbelievable mark on cryptocurrencies,” said the second son of the US President Donald Trump in his chat with Bitcoin Asia’s CEO David Bailey. “There is no question that China is a hell of a power when it comes to this.” The younger Trump, who was in Hong...

Politics

8 d. ago The risks of South Korea’s gambit for peace on Korean peninsula

In his first Liberation Day address, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung spoke optimistically and promised timely action in inter-Korean affairs. As he addressed the nation on August 15, Lee laid emphasis on peace as the foundation of his administration’s policy towards North Korea, stressing that reconciliation and stability must form the future of inter-Korean relations. However, Pyongyang’s reaction to Lee’s overtures so far has been less than reconciliatory. North Korea has not wavered from...

Events

9 d. ago Seoul reluctant on Trump’s push for more flexible US Forces Korea

South Korea’s new president has signalled reluctance to give ground to US President Donald Trump on the role of US forces in Korea in relation to Taiwan, but experts say he may be continually pushed to take a clearer stance in the future. On Sunday, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung told reporters on his flight to Washington for an inaugural summit with Trump that it was difficult to agree to an American demand for strategic flexibility of US Forces Korea (USFK). Lee, who became president in...

Politics

9 d. ago Seoul balks at Taiwan role for US troops stationed in South Korea

Seoul may be reluctant to support the White House’s call for South Korea-based US troops to shift their focus from the North to a Taiwan conflict but it might be forced to get behind the strategy, according to analysts. On his way to meet his US counterpart in Washington on Sunday, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said it would be difficult to agree to an American demand for US Forces Korea (USFK) to have “strategic flexibility”. “This is not an issue we can easily agree with,” said Lee, who...

Politics

9 d. ago China may not be waging war in Ukraine. But it still stands to win

It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied...

Events

9 d. ago As the West cedes leverage over Ukraine, China stands to benefit

It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied...

Politics

1 week ago The ‘write’ stuff: Trump’s pen praise sends South Korean stock soaring

Shares in a South Korean penmaker surged on Tuesday, an unexpected outcome from the first summit between US President Donald Trump and his counterpart, Lee Jae-myung, in Washington. Lee signed a guest book before entering the Oval Office for talks with Trump, and the handcrafted wooden fountain pen he used caught the US leader’s eye. “Is that your pen? It’s a nice pen. Do you want to take it with you?” Trump said, drawing laughter in the room. “You know, I like it. The writing is beautiful, the...

Politics

1 week ago Trump tests South Korea’s Lee by demanding ownership of US military base land

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung emerged heavily burdened with an unexpected challenge from his high-stakes first meeting with US President Donald Trump, whose penchant for expansionism and unconventional diplomacy has kept allies on edge, analysts say. Lee’s spokeswoman, Kang Yu-jung, sought to frame the summit positively, describing it as a “rapport-building” get-together and declaring: “The summit went so well that there was no need for a joint statement.” Yet the absence of a statement...

Events

1 week ago 'Have cards that can destroy China, but...': Trump's veiled threat at Beijing as he hosts South Korea's Lee

'Have cards that can destroy China, but...': Trump's veiled threat at Beijing as he hosts South Korea's Lee  Firstpost

Politics

1 week ago Trump says China must ensure rare earth magnets or face 200 per cent tariffs

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that China must ensure the US supply of rare earth magnets or face 200 per cent tariffs, and that he will continue to allow Chinese students into the country. “They have to give us magnets,” otherwise “we have to charge them 200 per cent tariff or something”, Trump told reporters while meeting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House. He conceded, though, that such high duties would mean a breakdown in bilateral trade. “We have a much more...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says China must ensure rare earth magnets or face 200% tariffs

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that China must ensure the US supply of rare earth magnets or face 200 per cent tariffs, and that he will continue to allow Chinese students into the country. “They have to give us magnets,” otherwise “we have to charge them 200 per cent tariff or something”, Trump told reporters while meeting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House. He conceded, though, that such high duties would mean a breakdown in bilateral trade. “We have a much more...

Politics

1 week ago Trump, South Korea’s Lee stress common ground in White House meeting

US President Donald Trump struck a cordial tone in his meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Monday, despite making remarks just hours earlier that threatened to set an uneasy backdrop for the talks. “It’s an honour to be with President Lee of South Korea. We’ve known each other and gotten along very well,” Trump said at the Oval Office, adding that he felt “very warmly” about the country. Earlier in the day, Trump had posted on his social media platform that there seemed to be a...

Politics

1 week ago Beijing bets on AI, China’s ‘doll economy’ boom: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Red Arsenal: a new databank on China’s latest military hardware The Post’s comprehensive databank visualises each weapon with graphics to help readers understand Beijing’s wide-ranging arsenal. 2. ‘Ignorance and neglect’ mark flawed US policy in China race: Da Wei The Tsinghua University expert looks at the prospects for a Xi-Trump summit and explains why...

Politics

1 week ago South Korea’s Lee makes Japan first foreign visit before Trump summit

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung agreed on Saturday to closer security and economic ties ahead of Lee’s planned summit with US President Donald Trump on Monday. On his first official visit since taking office in June, Lee met Ishiba at the premier’s residence in Tokyo to discuss bilateral ties between the East Asian neighbours, including closer security coordination with the United States under a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors. “As the...

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