About Asia

SCMP specialist digital editor Jarrod Watt speaks with NY-based reporter Mark Magnier about China’s telling abstention from the UN vote on Ukraine, Joe Biden’s China remarks in his State of the Union, and reports that Xi Jinping was told by Vladmir Putin of his plans to invade Ukraine after the Beijing Winter Olympics. Brussels-based reporter Finbarr Bermingham discusses EU’s plea for Beijing to broker peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, and the importance of the Beijing-based AIIB development…

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, SCMP reporters Finbarr Bermingham and Mai Jun explore how tectonic policy shifts by Germany and others toward Moscow sanctions will change China's European relationships; Zhou Xin looks at how China's banks are reckoning with Swift bans on Russia, and how China's tech companies are navigating the tricky issue of Western sanctions and Beijing's firm opposition to such moves.

Brussels-based reporter Finbarr Bermingham and the Post’s Mai Jun from Beijing detail the diplomatic tensions between the EU and Beijing. Sino-Russian affairs expert Dr Stefan Auer analyses the end of “soft power” in Europe and how 50 years after Nixon played the “China card” against the USSR, Putin has done the same against the US. Taiwan-based academic Weng-Ti Sung analyses Russia’s actions and the response on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Get our podcast newsletter: sc.mp/c56a65

SCMP’s North America correspondent Mark Magnier analyses the agenda and impact of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s unofficial summit with Central Asian leaders at the Beijing Winter Olympics, as the geopolitics of citizenship weigh on Chinese-American athletes competing for gold. Political economy journalist Kandy Wong looks at what two years of Trump’s tariffs and the phase-one trade deal have brought to the US, and how Australian exporters are calling for a new approach to relations with China…

With his military massed on the Ukraine border, Russian President Vladmir Putin is in Beijing to sign a new agreement with Xi Jinping with huge implications for global geopolitics. SCMP reporter Laura Zhou unpacks the evolving relationship between the two nations; China desk senior editor Peter Langan reports from Tokyo on Japan's historic resolution on human rights for Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and how the Xi-Putin meeting resonates for Japan's establishment. Get our podcast newsletter: https:/…

Hear from Post correspondent in Washington, Jacob Fromer, about the US House of Representatives proposing a huge bundle of legislation known as the America Competes Act of 2022, with action proposed on everything from semiconductors to Xinjiang, Taiwan, the Quad and replacing Confucius Institutes in American universities with language centres that teach Mandarin, Cantonese, Mongolian and Uyghur. Brussels-based correspondent Finbarr Bermingham returns with analysis of the European Union's…

SCMP Brussels correspondent Finbarr Bermingham analyses the data showing Lithuania's exports to China have collapsed and asks: does this mean Beijing's trade coercion works? Meanwhile the European Parliament proposes measures to punish Hong Kong over media freedom. East Asia reporter Maria Siow unpacks the high-level meeting between Japan and France on defense co-operation, as the Philippines announces a purchase of cruise missiles from India. Get our podcast newsletter: https://sc.mp/c56a65

Hear how Beijing is making big inroads to Middle East diplomacy this week, meeting with foreign ministers of Turkey and Iran right after a five-day meeting with ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and other oil-rich Gulf nations. Learn more of Beijing’s agenda and how they connect to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Also, dive deep into China’s connection with Kazakhstan and amid the recent unrest.

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The SCMP's European correspondent Finbarr Bermingham unpacks the new 'anti-coercion instrument' announced by the EU, and its relevance to what looks like the weaponisation of trade with China, in a year where European attitudes to Beijing have dramatically changed. SCMP China desk editor Peter Langan reports from Tokyo with analysis on Japan's policy shift and changing military stance towards Beijing, and warnings over any future incursions in Taiwan.

Owen Churchill from the SCMP US bureau and William Zheng from the SCMP China desk discuss landmark US sanctions announced over products sourced from Xinjiang. They analyse a year in US-China relations from the start of Joe Biden’s presidency and his promise of a change in style from Donald Trump’s Twitter-based diplomacy. From confrontations in Alaska and Tianjin to new ambassadors in Washington and Beijing, it's been a rollercoaster ride for Sino-US relations. For podcast reviews and news…