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Belgium

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

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Brussels

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King Philippe

Head of Government

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province in 2010. Photo: Reuters

US-China trade war

Opinion | Can China make its rare earth controls bite?

If China backs down or fails to enforce its controls effectively, it will undermine this policy and cast doubt on other tools it wields.

23 Oct 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Ukraine war

US sanctions Russian oil giants over Ukraine war as Trump’s patience snaps

2 hours agovideocam

China-EU relations

Nexperia seizure: China urges Dutch to ‘properly’ resolve case as talks continue

22 Oct 2025 - 4:51PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Trump says Ukraine talks with Putin off for now, doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’

Decision follows a call between top US and Russian diplomats that reaffirmed Moscow’s opposition to an immediate Ukraine ceasefire.

22 Oct 2025 - 9:58AMvideocam

Matryoshka dolls depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump at a gift shop in Moscow. Photo: AFP

China-EU relations

China agrees to crisis talks in Brussels to discuss rare earths compromise

EU trade chief to meet Chinese counterpart to find ‘urgent solutions’ to China’s tightening of its restrictions on rare earth exports.

22 Oct 2025 - 2:03AMvideocam

France

Louvre jewels may be irrecoverable as French police race against time

Police hunt for Louvre raiders before priceless Napoleonic jewels are melted down and cut into untraceable individual stones.

21 Oct 2025 - 12:54PMvideocam

US-China trade war

China’s rare earth magnet exports to US plunge 29% as tensions simmer

The decline in Chinese shipments to the US accelerated in September, predating Beijing’s new export controls and the flare-up that followed.

21 Oct 2025 - 12:07PMvideocam

A worker waters the site of a rare earth mine in China’s eastern Jiangxi province. China’s exports of rare earth magnets to the United States have plunged amid the trade war. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Will Zelensky join Trump and Putin in Budapest for peace talks? Only if invited

The Ukraine president criticised pro-Kremlin EU member Hungary as a venue for Putin-Trump talks, insisting on neutral locations for discussions.

20 Oct 2025 - 4:31PM

China-EU relations

Editorial | Europe can only play so much tech hardball with China

The Europeans might want a more muscular policy towards China, but Beijing still holds significant leverage when it comes to trade.

18 Oct 2025 - 7:15AM

China-EU relations

Brussels and Beijing lawmakers spar over Russia, Taiwan in first talks since 2018

Chinese delegation defends Moscow and questions Nato as EU warns ties hinge on Beijing’s stance over Ukraine.

17 Oct 2025 - 1:17AMvideocam

Meeting between the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China and the 42nd China-EU IPM Delegation of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on Thursday in Brussels. Photo: handout

France

France’s PM survives confidence votes amid pension reform row

Sebastien Lecornu secured fragile support to pass an austerity budget amid political turmoil and reform backlash.

16 Oct 2025 - 6:49PM

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives for the result of the second vote on a no-confidence motion at the National Assembly in Paris, France on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

China-EU relations

China frames message of partnership for EU members to take to Brussels

Foreign Minister Wang Yi urges European counterparts to champion Beijing’s cause and support “genuine strategic autonomy”.

16 Oct 2025 - 9:30PMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

Trump’s cooking oil embargo threat, ‘red gift bag’ arrest: SCMP daily highlights

From US president calling China ‘economically hostile’ to scholars on how trade war could help Beijing, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

15 Oct 2025 - 10:39PM

China-EU relations

As China’s EV boom makes the EU anxious, is it too late to work together?

Decades after their first joint venture, EU carmakers fear losing their markets to China’s upstarts. Is it too late for them to work together?

15 Oct 2025 - 11:25AMvideocam

China-EU relations

EU urged to ‘flex its muscles’ on Chinese tech transfer and rare earths

Bloc’s trade chief says he has received ‘a lot of concerned calls’ from industry about Beijing’s latest controls.

15 Oct 2025 - 12:05AMvideocam

China’s latest rare earth curbs have alarmed European businesses. Photo: Reuters

Climate change

Key bee and butterfly species in Europe face extinction risk: study

At least 172 species of wild bees face extinction, while more than 40 per cent of butterfly species in Europe are classified as threatened.

11 Oct 2025 - 8:57PM

China-EU relations

‘Free trade is over, it is dead’, former French minister declares

Europe needs to ‘wake up’ to harsh reality and pursue a more ‘nationalistic’ approach to trade policy, former finance minister Eric Lombard says.

10 Oct 2025 - 4:08PMvideocam

Drones

Drone terror plot foiled in Belgium, prime minister among targets

Police detain three suspects in Antwerp for planning a suspected jihadist-inspired attack using explosives mounted on a drone.

10 Oct 2025 - 1:14PM

Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Thursday. Photo: Belga via AFP

China-EU relations

Why new EU steel tariffs to curb Chinese imports are giving carmakers a headache

Proposal to cut tariff-free quotas, double duties for imported steel triggers sell-off in Europe’s auto stocks, complaints from industry group.

9 Oct 2025 - 11:46PMvideocam

China-EU relations

China’s rare earth clampdown deepens EU anxiety on industry and Ukraine support

Observers and business leaders suggest Europe should prepare for Beijing to ramp up this economic lever.

9 Oct 2025 - 9:21PMvideocam

European Union

EU’s von der Leyen survives 2 no confidence challenges

The EU chief weathered two no confidence votes in parliament amid discontent over policy and transparency.

9 Oct 2025 - 8:25PM

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faced two confidence votes on Thursday, highlighting tensions within the assembly, though her leadership remains secure. Photo: AFP

China-EU relations

Transformation of China’s supersized market will suit Italian investors: Wang Yi

Top diplomat’s message to Rome includes benefits of next five-year plan’s focus on rapid move to high-end, more open economy.

9 Oct 2025 - 4:32PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani meet in Rome on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

World economy not doing as badly as feared, IMF chief says

Kristalina Georgieva warns global resilience has not been ‘fully tested’, as the full effect of US tariffs is ‘still to unfold’.

9 Oct 2025 - 11:32AM

Renewable energy

Opinion | China is driving a green energy future while the US is frozen in the past

Even as the US leverages its political power to market its oil and gas, the rest of the world is surging ahead on an unstoppable green transition.

7 Oct 2025 - 4:35PMvideocam

China economy

Opinion | China’s WTO concession only marks phase one of a protracted campaign

In one move, Beijing gets to disarm Washington of a rhetorical weapon while maintaining the mantle of leadership within the Global South.

7 Oct 2025 - 7:17AMvideocam

Workers untie the cables of a vessel at the Qianwan Container Terminal of Qingdao Port in Shandong province on April 30. Photo: Xinhua

Ukraine

Czech Republic’s ‘Trumpist’ ex-PM wins election, putting Ukraine aid in doubt

Billionaire Andrej Babis’ victory could draw the country closer to EU mavericks Hungary and Slovakia, which oppose sanctions on Russia.

5 Oct 2025 - 1:14AM

ANO leader Andrej Babis speaks during a press conference at the party’s election headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Royalty

Luxembourg’s Guillaume sworn in as grand duke after his father abdicates

Grand Duke Guillaume, 43, takes over from his father Henri, 70, who had served for 25 years in the largely symbolic role.

3 Oct 2025 - 6:33PM

Russia

Putin vows ‘significant’ response as Russia-Europe tensions soar

Russian president’s warning follows France’s detention of an oil tanker over sanction-busting suspicions.

3 Oct 2025 - 2:20PMvideocam

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