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Belgium

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Belgium. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Brussels

Head of State

King Philippe

Head of Government

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz is trailing the rival Tisza Party in the polls ahead of the April 12 election. Photo: Reuters

China-EU relations

Orban on the brink: could Hungary’s election dent China’s influence in Europe?

‘Most consequential’ vote is being pitched as a referendum on whether the country should move towards the East or West.

6 Apr 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

France

France suspects link to pro-Iranian group HAYI in foiled Paris bomb plot

2 Apr 2026 - 12:12AM

Crime

France studies possible Iran link after bomb attack foiled at Bank of America

31 Mar 2026 - 12:47AM

China-EU relations

European Parliament heads to China after 8 years and lobbying from Beijing

Chair of consumer protection delegation due in China next week wants to convey ‘that our rules on product standards are to be followed’.

27 Mar 2026 - 6:12PMvideocam

After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week. Photo: Shutterstock

China-Germany relations

Germany’s Merz floats EU-China trade deal as European capitals soften on Beijing

Remarks urging ‘strategic partnerships around the world’ underscore how tensions with the US are inducing a more accommodating stance.

26 Mar 2026 - 8:31PMvideocam

Britain

UK police arrest 2 men over Jewish ambulances arson attack

Arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group with links to Iran.

25 Mar 2026 - 5:40PM

European Union

EU delays proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports

The proposal is not cancelled, but would no longer be published by April 15 due to ‘current geopolitical developments’.

24 Mar 2026 - 10:09PMvideocam

The Druzhba oil pipeline between Hungary and Russia at the Hungarian MOL Group’s Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta, Hungary. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

EU leaders clash with Hungary’s Orban for blocking Ukraine loan

A vital US$103 billion lifeline is being held up by Budapest over a dispute involving a war-damaged oil pipeline.

20 Mar 2026 - 2:42PM

European Union

EU inspects Druzhba pipeline in bid to unclog Hungary’s block on Ukraine aid

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has vetoed giving Ukraine its promised US$103 billion EU loan until Russian oil supply is resumed.

19 Mar 2026 - 6:26PMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

Jean-Claude Van Damme talks art; a chemist’s soy empire: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From a mother’s 22kg weight loss to a Taiwanese chemist’s soy empire in Australia, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

19 Mar 2026 - 4:16PM

Van Damme with his artwork “Hong Kong”, an impressionistic reproduction of a scene from his 1988 film Bloodsport, at the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong. Photo: Elson Li

China-EU relations

Exclusive | Chinese military set for EU and Nato talks as Iran war reshapes global security

The PLA delegation will travel to Brussels next week, where the Ukraine war remains a major barrier to better relations with Beijing.

19 Mar 2026 - 3:20AMvideocam

The PLA’s last talks with Nato and the EU took place two years ago. Photo: AFP

Crime

Chinese and Kenyan charged after nearly 2,000 live ants seized

Pair appear in a Nairobi court, accused of supplying ⁠live ants to foreign traffickers.

18 Mar 2026 - 1:44PM

China-Africa relations

China’s supply chain meets the wall of African resource nationalism

As resource-rich nations introduce export bans and other limits, analyst says investment may not automatically follow.

16 Mar 2026 - 6:13PMvideocam

China-EU relations

Tariffs and distrust: EU’s bid to ditch China hits capacity problems

‘Thinly spread’ bloc seeks this week to thrash out memorandum on critical minerals with the US, eyeing a more formal instrument down the road.

15 Mar 2026 - 6:15PMvideocam

This week’s summit of EU leaders in Brussels is supposed to be about the bloc’s competitiveness, widely understood as a response to China’s state-backed industrial expansion. Photo: Reuters

China-EU relations

Weaponise EU market against China or face manufacturing collapse: official think tank

Beijing’s ‘weakness creates opportunities’ for bloc to use chokepoints and leverage for negotiations, researchers say.

9 Mar 2026 - 3:23PMvideocam

Container ships are seen at Qingdao port in eastern China. Europe remains the last reasonably open advanced market where China can sell industrial and hi-tech goods. Photo: AFP

United States

As I see it | Under Trump, the US has unleashed its own wolf warriors

Chinese diplomats need to project a measured and calming presence on the international stage to contend effectively with American blowhards.

4 Mar 2026 - 5:30AM

China-EU relations

EU strips AI, chips and quantum from industrial plan aimed at countering China

Leaked draft shows biotechnology and robotics are other cutting-edge sectors to be cut from Industrial Accelerator Act ahead of unveiling.

4 Mar 2026 - 1:16AMvideocam

European Union

Belgium special forces seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker

The European Union has blacklisted hundreds of vessels in a bid to sap Moscow’s war chest.

1 Mar 2026 - 7:17PM

The tanker ‘Ethera’ docked at the naval base in Zeebrugge, Belgium, on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Style Edit

Style Edit: Delvaux CEO Jean-Marc Loubier on the new K11 Musea flagship

The former LVMH executive has always been invested in Asia – and the new Hong Kong store is a testament to this.

25 Feb 2026 - 10:08AM

China-EU relations

Opinion | Germany’s outreach to China signals a reckoning, rather than a shift

The German chancellor realises that while China poses a long-term economic challenge, the United States is currently the more disruptive partner.

23 Feb 2026 - 9:07PMvideocam

Turkey

6 Europeans activists held in Turkey while investigating prison conditions

Their arrest came on the same day that police detained a Turkish journalist working for Deutsche Welle for ‘spreading false news’.

20 Feb 2026 - 8:40PM

A high-security prison is seen in the border city of Edirne, Turkey. Photo: Reuters

Religion

Belgium summons US ambassador over claims of antisemitism in rare diplomatic row

Ambassador Bill White had called an investigation into illegal circumcisions an ‘unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community’.

17 Feb 2026 - 5:59PM

Pedestrians walk through Brussels’ historic centre around the Grand-Place. Photo: EPA-EFE

Cambodia

Battered Cambodia seeks economic reset after Thailand border war

Shuttered borders have choked trade and sent migrant workers home, forcing Phnom Penh to seek new partners and markets.

17 Feb 2026 - 3:23PMvideocam

Greece

Greece will seek to obtain Nazi execution photos offered for sale on eBay

The images that appeared over the weekend allegedly show 200 Greek men being led to their deaths on May 1, 1944, at an Athens shooting range.

17 Feb 2026 - 5:03AM

China-EU relations

Exclusive | Cold shoulder? China, EU in diplomatic stand-off ahead of Munich showdown

Annual security conference could provide rare venue for high-level EU-China talks as top diplomats Wang Yi and Kaja Kallas attend.

11 Feb 2026 - 7:43PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the Munich Security Conference this week will be closely watched for possible breakthroughs in Beijing’s relationship with the European Union. Photo: Reuters

China consumption

Time on happy hour as French wine and spirit sales sour in mainland China, US

French alcohol exports to mainland China and the US dropped by 19.5 and 21 per cent in 2025 as tariffs stifled global trade.

11 Feb 2026 - 6:33PMvideocam

US tariffs hit French wine and spirits shipments hard last year, playing a major role in the overall drop of 8 per cent in value of one of France’s top exports, according to a trade body. Meanwhile, exports to the US slumped by 21 percent. Photo: AFP

Greenland

Open Questions | Trump’s ‘imperial’ agenda and the end of the old world order: Luuk van Middelaar

Political theorist says rapid acceleration of the US president’s ‘offensive, almost imperial’ agenda has left Europe disoriented.

9 Feb 2026 - 1:10PMvideocam

China trade

As Beijing and Moscow tout ties, China’s companies keep Ukraine’s lights on

Ukrainians are buying Chinese batteries and emergency items en masse after Russian strikes, with Beijing’s ties to Moscow no damper on trade.

7 Feb 2026 - 6:39AMvideocam

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Belgium

Orban on the brink: could Hungary’s election dent China’s influence in Europe?

‘Most consequential’ vote is being pitched as a referendum on whether the country should move towards the East or West.

France suspects link to pro-Iranian group HAYI in foiled Paris bomb plot

France studies possible Iran link after bomb attack foiled at Bank of America

European Parliament heads to China after 8 years and lobbying from Beijing

Chair of consumer protection delegation due in China next week wants to convey ‘that our rules on product standards are to be followed’.

Germany’s Merz floats EU-China trade deal as European capitals soften on Beijing

Remarks urging ‘strategic partnerships around the world’ underscore how tensions with the US are inducing a more accommodating stance.

UK police arrest 2 men over Jewish ambulances arson attack

Arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group with links to Iran.

EU delays proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports

The proposal is not cancelled, but would no longer be published by April 15 due to ‘current geopolitical developments’.

EU leaders clash with Hungary’s Orban for blocking Ukraine loan

A vital US$103 billion lifeline is being held up by Budapest over a dispute involving a war-damaged oil pipeline.

EU inspects Druzhba pipeline in bid to unclog Hungary’s block on Ukraine aid

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban has vetoed giving Ukraine its promised US$103 billion EU loan until Russian oil supply is resumed.

Jean-Claude Van Damme talks art; a chemist’s soy empire: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From a mother’s 22kg weight loss to a Taiwanese chemist’s soy empire in Australia, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

.css-19im5qg{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | Chinese military set for EU and Nato talks as Iran war reshapes global security

The PLA delegation will travel to Brussels next week, where the Ukraine war remains a major barrier to better relations with Beijing.

Chinese and Kenyan charged after nearly 2,000 live ants seized

Pair appear in a Nairobi court, accused of supplying ⁠live ants to foreign traffickers.

China’s supply chain meets the wall of African resource nationalism

As resource-rich nations introduce export bans and other limits, analyst says investment may not automatically follow.

Tariffs and distrust: EU’s bid to ditch China hits capacity problems

‘Thinly spread’ bloc seeks this week to thrash out memorandum on critical minerals with the US, eyeing a more formal instrument down the road.

Weaponise EU market against China or face manufacturing collapse: official think tank

Beijing’s ‘weakness creates opportunities’ for bloc to use chokepoints and leverage for negotiations, researchers say.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}As I see it | Under Trump, the US has unleashed its own wolf warriors

Chinese diplomats need to project a measured and calming presence on the international stage to contend effectively with American blowhards.

EU strips AI, chips and quantum from industrial plan aimed at countering China

Leaked draft shows biotechnology and robotics are other cutting-edge sectors to be cut from Industrial Accelerator Act ahead of unveiling.

Belgium special forces seize Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker

The European Union has blacklisted hundreds of vessels in a bid to sap Moscow’s war chest.

Style Edit: Delvaux CEO Jean-Marc Loubier on the new K11 Musea flagship

The former LVMH executive has always been invested in Asia – and the new Hong Kong store is a testament to this.

Opinion | Germany’s outreach to China signals a reckoning, rather than a shift

The German chancellor realises that while China poses a long-term economic challenge, the United States is currently the more disruptive partner.

6 Europeans activists held in Turkey while investigating prison conditions

Their arrest came on the same day that police detained a Turkish journalist working for Deutsche Welle for ‘spreading false news’.

Belgium summons US ambassador over claims of antisemitism in rare diplomatic row

Ambassador Bill White had called an investigation into illegal circumcisions an ‘unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community’.

Battered Cambodia seeks economic reset after Thailand border war

Shuttered borders have choked trade and sent migrant workers home, forcing Phnom Penh to seek new partners and markets.

Greece will seek to obtain Nazi execution photos offered for sale on eBay

The images that appeared over the weekend allegedly show 200 Greek men being led to their deaths on May 1, 1944, at an Athens shooting range.

Exclusive | Cold shoulder? China, EU in diplomatic stand-off ahead of Munich showdown

Annual security conference could provide rare venue for high-level EU-China talks as top diplomats Wang Yi and Kaja Kallas attend.

Time on happy hour as French wine and spirit sales sour in mainland China, US

French alcohol exports to mainland China and the US dropped by 19.5 and 21 per cent in 2025 as tariffs stifled global trade.

Open Questions | Trump’s ‘imperial’ agenda and the end of the old world order: Luuk van Middelaar

Political theorist says rapid acceleration of the US president’s ‘offensive, almost imperial’ agenda has left Europe disoriented.

As Beijing and Moscow tout ties, China’s companies keep Ukraine’s lights on

Ukrainians are buying Chinese batteries and emergency items en masse after Russian strikes, with Beijing’s ties to Moscow no damper on trade.

Exclusive | Chinese military set for EU and Nato talks as Iran war reshapes global security

As I see it | Under Trump, the US has unleashed its own wolf warriors