With domestic profits narrowing and production capacity expanding, China’s firms are continuing to widen their overseas footprints in search of new, more lucrative markets. In this series, we examine China Inc.’s next phase of “going global” and the complex, challenging international environment its companies have chosen to enter. When Lawrence Wong decided to set up a toy factory in Vietnam last year, he had a clear plan: 600 square metres (6,458 sq ft) of floor space at the start of 2026, with...

In recent years, warnings about Hong Kong’s rapidly ageing population have become increasingly urgent. Long hospital waits, chronic shortages in long-term care and a shrinking working-age population have led many policymakers and researchers to portray ageing as an approaching demographic crisis that a small, densely populated city might be unable to absorb. In some quarters, this has fuelled dire predictions about the sustainability of Hong Kong’s healthcare and social care systems. This...

Spain and Brazil signed a flurry of agreements at Pedro Sanchez and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s first bilateral summit, as the Spanish leader seeks to build an alliance to counter US President Donald Trump. “The relationship between Spain and Brazil goes far beyond the strictly bilateral,” Sanchez told reporters after signing 15 deals covering areas including critical minerals, telecommunications and artificial intelligence. “Peace and the values that sustain it are being attacked by a...

Congress passed a short extension to a high-profile surveillance law on Friday after failing to secure the long-term reauthorisation pushed by US President Donald Trump. The brief pause comes after a late-night attempt to reauthorise the law for ‌five years failed in the House. It sets up another round of wrangling over whether and how to reform what is known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the National Security Agency to surveil foreigners using data...

France and Britain said on Friday that they would lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the force was being set up as they co-chaired international talks in Paris focused on ensuring free-flowing trade through the critical shipping corridor. The...

Pope Leo called on Cameroonians on Friday to reject violence and be generous with their neighbours during an event billed as the biggest of his four-nation Africa tour, with roughly 120,000 people flocking to a mass he led in the port city of Douala. Amid heavy security, some believers had made their way on Thursday to the city’s Japoma ‌Stadium, venue of the mass, and slept overnight outside on mats to hear Friday’s address from the pontiff, who has become outspoken on war and inequality and...

Scores of Chinese women were brought to Germany without valid residency permits for sex work across the country, prosecutors in Frankfurt alleged on Friday. Five suspects are accused of organised smuggling of foreigners for their roles in operating the prostitution ring over the past three years, according to prosecutors. Prostitution is legal in Germany but is strictly regulated. A 43-year-old Chinese man and a 35-year-old Chinese woman allegedly ran the illegal business, using a network of...