TOPIC

/ location

Brazil

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

Capital

Brasília

Head of State

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Head of Government

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Serra Verde is Brazil’s only operating rare earth mine. Photo: AP

China-Latin America relations

Why Brazil’s rare earths will not break China’s magnet grip at least until 2032

Despite vast reserves, Brazil lacks the processing capacity and commercial plants needed to turn its own raw materials into magnets.

28 Aug 2026 - 3:33AMvideocam

Alibaba

Alibaba pushes into South America’s AI market with launch of Brazil data centres

27 Aug 2026 - 9:00PMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

US critical minerals proposals to Brazil go unanswered as China looms

27 Aug 2026 - 2:33AMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

Brazil fines TikTok record US$30 million for profiting from children’s data

ByteDance penalised for allegedly collecting data from 1 in 5 Brazilian children and failing to block minors from using TikTok.

26 Aug 2026 - 2:54AMvideocam

TikTok has faced mounting regulatory scrutiny around the world over child safety, age verification and the collection and use of young users’ data. Photo: TNS

US-China relations

US admits it lost the minerals race to China. Can Brazil exploit the rivalry?

Brazilian energy minister reveals Trump team’s concession as US announces major investment in South American rare earth mine.

25 Aug 2026 - 9:48PM

Get to Know

Meet Luana Lopes Lara, the self-made billionaire behind trading platform Kalshi

Having traded professional ballet for MIT, the Brazilian entrepreneur took over the Forbes wealth title from Lucy Guo and Taylor Swift.

25 Aug 2026 - 10:00AM

China-Latin America relations

Brazil presidential debate zeroes in on Chinese investment and US tariffs

‘What matters to Lulism is that we keep buying the finished product from China while we sell ore or sell our grain’: candidate Renan Santos.

24 Aug 2026 - 5:00PMvideocam

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. He was one of three candidates who did not show up for a televised debate on Sunday. Photo: AP

Animal welfare in Hong Kong

Hong Kong urged to adopt trait-based dog tiers, DNA checks after attacks

Proposal calls for risk tiers, certified handlers, muzzles or possible confiscation of highest-risk animals as authorities review fighting-dog rules.

24 Aug 2026 - 8:29PMvideocam

The Philippines

Philippines stakes claim as Latin America’s gateway to Asean

Shared history offers an edge, but analysts say the Philippines must deliver more than nostalgia to rival Singapore or Vietnam.

24 Aug 2026 - 4:40PMvideocam

Americas and the Caribbean

Brazil’s Lula seeks end to ‘baseless tariffs’ in call with Trump

Washington imposed two new sets of tariffs on Brazil in July, a key campaign issue ahead for the left-wing president ahead of the presidential election in October.

22 Aug 2026 - 4:51PM

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva speaks during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) at the Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover, Germany, on April 20. Photo: dpa

My Life

From Perth to the Pyramids, St Helena to Cheung Chau – 50 years of extraordinary travel

The Cheung Chau resident of 50 years talks about getting itchy feet at an early age, falling in love with Hong Kong at first sight, jumping into piranha-infested waters in Brazil and spreading the travel bug.

22 Aug 2026 - 9:45PM

Graham Elsom, a traveller and travel consultant since 1962, at his home on Cheung Chau Island. Photo: Alexander Mak

Xinjiang

In Focus | As the US widens a Xinjiang trade ban, China’s cotton industry shrugs it off

Dozens of firms that source from the region were added to a US import blacklist, but few appear worried after years of diversification.

21 Aug 2026 - 6:15AMvideocam

US-China tech war

SpaceSail’s record funding fuels China’s satellite challenge to Musk’s Starlink

Company pairs landmark capital with rapid satellite deployment and overseas expansion as China’s private aerospace sector breaks new ground.

20 Aug 2026 - 2:00PM

Art

Italian police recover stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse art worth millions

The three pieces were taken from a private museum earlier this year, in a nighttime heist that took less than three minutes.

15 Aug 2026 - 2:00AM

Italian Carabinieri officers pose with three artworks recovered following a police operation, in an image released on Friday. Photo: Italian Carabinieri via AP

Science

China, Brazil to launch 24/7 disaster early warning satellite for South America

The project will place Brazil among a small number of countries capable of developing and operating geostationary satellites.

14 Aug 2026 - 10:38PMvideocam

Residents look out at the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River amid a drought in Humaita, Amazonas state. Brazil has teamed up with China to create a geostationary satellite that can predict extreme weather events. Photo: AP

China-Latin America relations

US accuses 9 Latin American countries of helping China avoid Trump’s tariffs

More than 40 countries targeted for helping Beijing illegally avoid tariffs by rerouting trade via nations with lower American import duties.

14 Aug 2026 - 7:34AMvideocam

Mental health

Letters | 5-year plan must take mental health seriously for the economy’s sake

Readers discuss why mental health ought to be positioned as a strategic asset, and how the city is well-placed to build health resilience for the world’s most impoverished.

13 Aug 2026 - 11:30AM

China trade

Fearing deflated China demand, US soybean growers pivot to new buyers, biofuel

With Chinese imports low according to a trade association, farmers are compensating by finding new markets and selling to biofuel makers.

12 Aug 2026 - 11:00PM

Soybeans are loaded into a truck so they can be hauled to an elevator and sold in Dwight, Illinois. Photo: TNS

China manufacturing

Scholar rebuts claims state subsidies caused China’s industrial overcapacity

In People’s Daily commentary piece, Cui Fan says ‘reasonable industrial subsidies … are a globally recognised and legitimate policy tool’.

11 Aug 2026 - 4:19PM

India

Can India and China rally Brics to ease Strait of Hormuz tensions?

Analysts say a unified Brics could support Oman-led talks for a resolution and provide an alternative to US diplomacy.

11 Aug 2026 - 6:29PMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

China moves to join Brazil’s WTO fight over Trump’s forced labour tariffs

Beijing said it held a substantial commercial interest in consultations Brasilia opened over duties of up to 37.5 per cent.

11 Aug 2026 - 6:05AMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Beijing in May 2025. China has asked to join Brazil’s WTO consultations over US tariffs. Photo: AP

Science

US and Israeli physicists hail China’s glueball discovery as a ‘triumph’

Global experts praise team for solving 50-year-old puzzle, while Chinese social media buzzes with Nobel Prize predictions.

9 Aug 2026 - 6:58PMvideocam

The Beijing Spectrometer III particle detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider in Beijing, where researchers have found the strongest evidence yet for the long-sought glueball. Photo: Handout

Science

What is a glueball? Chinese-led team finds rare particle made entirely of force

After 15 years of research, scientists discover definitive evidence of glueballs using the Beijing Electron Positron Collider II.

8 Aug 2026 - 9:00PMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

UnionPay to link Chinese payment apps to Brazil’s Pix after US tariffs

Central banks stay silent on pilot that would let tourists scan and pay weeks after Washington taxed the system.

8 Aug 2026 - 4:41AMvideocam

US-China relations

In Focus | Race for UN top job enters final stage: choice may ‘make or break’ bloc

A strong, visionary leader is needed as next secretary general as Iran war rages during one of most ‘unpredictable times geopolitically’.

7 Aug 2026 - 11:07PMvideocam

China trade

Opinion | Why China’s trade partners may question value of economic integration

Both Beijing and its economic partners must ask whether expanding trade strengthens domestic productive capacity and improves long-term competitiveness.

7 Aug 2026 - 5:17PMvideocam

Shipping containers are seen at the port in Nanjing, in China’s eastern Jingsu province, early on June 9. Photo: AFP

China-Latin America relations

Brazil to become regular borrower in China, treasury official says

Brasilia cannot guarantee debut will happen this year, but wants it repeated to give companies a yuan benchmark to aim for.

6 Aug 2026 - 2:34AMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

BYD’s first humanoid robots; world’s biggest buyer of Chinese cars: 7 EV reads

From a Chinese vessel logging a record shipment to BYD’s humanoid robots debut, here are seven EV stories you may have missed.

5 Aug 2026 - 2:30PM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW

Brazil

Why Brazil’s rare earths will not break China’s magnet grip at least until 2032

Despite vast reserves, Brazil lacks the processing capacity and commercial plants needed to turn its own raw materials into magnets.

Alibaba pushes into South America’s AI market with launch of Brazil data centres

US critical minerals proposals to Brazil go unanswered as China looms

Brazil fines TikTok record US$30 million for profiting from children’s data

ByteDance penalised for allegedly collecting data from 1 in 5 Brazilian children and failing to block minors from using TikTok.

US admits it lost the minerals race to China. Can Brazil exploit the rivalry?

Brazilian energy minister reveals Trump team’s concession as US announces major investment in South American rare earth mine.

Meet Luana Lopes Lara, the self-made billionaire behind trading platform Kalshi

Having traded professional ballet for MIT, the Brazilian entrepreneur took over the Forbes wealth title from Lucy Guo and Taylor Swift.

Brazil presidential debate zeroes in on Chinese investment and US tariffs

‘What matters to Lulism is that we keep buying the finished product from China while we sell ore or sell our grain’: candidate Renan Santos.

Hong Kong urged to adopt trait-based dog tiers, DNA checks after attacks

Proposal calls for risk tiers, certified handlers, muzzles or possible confiscation of highest-risk animals as authorities review fighting-dog rules.

Philippines stakes claim as Latin America’s gateway to Asean

Shared history offers an edge, but analysts say the Philippines must deliver more than nostalgia to rival Singapore or Vietnam.

Brazil’s Lula seeks end to ‘baseless tariffs’ in call with Trump

Washington imposed two new sets of tariffs on Brazil in July, a key campaign issue ahead for the left-wing president ahead of the presidential election in October.

From Perth to the Pyramids, St Helena to Cheung Chau – 50 years of extraordinary travel

The Cheung Chau resident of 50 years talks about getting itchy feet at an early age, falling in love with Hong Kong at first sight, jumping into piranha-infested waters in Brazil and spreading the travel bug.

.css-1f6sr3w{color:#727272;}In Focus | As the US widens a Xinjiang trade ban, China’s cotton industry shrugs it off

Dozens of firms that source from the region were added to a US import blacklist, but few appear worried after years of diversification.

SpaceSail’s record funding fuels China’s satellite challenge to Musk’s Starlink

Company pairs landmark capital with rapid satellite deployment and overseas expansion as China’s private aerospace sector breaks new ground.

Italian police recover stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse art worth millions

The three pieces were taken from a private museum earlier this year, in a nighttime heist that took less than three minutes.

China, Brazil to launch 24/7 disaster early warning satellite for South America

The project will place Brazil among a small number of countries capable of developing and operating geostationary satellites.

US accuses 9 Latin American countries of helping China avoid Trump’s tariffs

More than 40 countries targeted for helping Beijing illegally avoid tariffs by rerouting trade via nations with lower American import duties.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Letters | 5-year plan must take mental health seriously for the economy’s sake

Readers discuss why mental health ought to be positioned as a strategic asset, and how the city is well-placed to build health resilience for the world’s most impoverished.

Fearing deflated China demand, US soybean growers pivot to new buyers, biofuel

With Chinese imports low according to a trade association, farmers are compensating by finding new markets and selling to biofuel makers.

Scholar rebuts claims state subsidies caused China’s industrial overcapacity

In People’s Daily commentary piece, Cui Fan says ‘reasonable industrial subsidies … are a globally recognised and legitimate policy tool’.

Can India and China rally Brics to ease Strait of Hormuz tensions?

Analysts say a unified Brics could support Oman-led talks for a resolution and provide an alternative to US diplomacy.

China moves to join Brazil’s WTO fight over Trump’s forced labour tariffs

Beijing said it held a substantial commercial interest in consultations Brasilia opened over duties of up to 37.5 per cent.

US and Israeli physicists hail China’s glueball discovery as a ‘triumph’

Global experts praise team for solving 50-year-old puzzle, while Chinese social media buzzes with Nobel Prize predictions.

What is a glueball? Chinese-led team finds rare particle made entirely of force

After 15 years of research, scientists discover definitive evidence of glueballs using the Beijing Electron Positron Collider II.

UnionPay to link Chinese payment apps to Brazil’s Pix after US tariffs

Central banks stay silent on pilot that would let tourists scan and pay weeks after Washington taxed the system.

In Focus | Race for UN top job enters final stage: choice may ‘make or break’ bloc

A strong, visionary leader is needed as next secretary general as Iran war rages during one of most ‘unpredictable times geopolitically’.

Opinion | Why China’s trade partners may question value of economic integration

Both Beijing and its economic partners must ask whether expanding trade strengthens domestic productive capacity and improves long-term competitiveness.

Brazil to become regular borrower in China, treasury official says

Brasilia cannot guarantee debut will happen this year, but wants it repeated to give companies a yuan benchmark to aim for.

BYD’s first humanoid robots; world’s biggest buyer of Chinese cars: 7 EV reads

From a Chinese vessel logging a record shipment to BYD’s humanoid robots debut, here are seven EV stories you may have missed.

In Focus | As the US widens a Xinjiang trade ban, China’s cotton industry shrugs it off

Letters | 5-year plan must take mental health seriously for the economy’s sake