Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker, September 2026

South China Morning Post - Oct 9, 2026

Chinese President Xi Jinping was busy travelling abroad last month. In September, he paid a historic state visit to the United States, his first to the country in more than a decade. He also made his first visit to India in seven years, meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Brics summit. China will host the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, where Xi will meet US President Donald Trump for the third time this year. During the summit, Xi is...

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N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of party founding anniversary

N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of party founding anniversary

North Korea has held a series of events marking the upcoming founding anniversary of the country's ruling party, state media reported Friday, revving up a festive mood ahead of this week's celebration. The General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea and the Socialist Women's Union of Korea held separate concerts Thursday in celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Workers' Party, which falls on Saturday this year, according to the Rodong Sinmun, one of the North's most-widely read newspapers. China's Ambassador to Pyongyang Wang Yajun also delivered a flower basket to the North's ruling party on behalf of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday to mark the anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). A separate flower basket from the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang was also delivered alongside those from other foreign missions in the country, including Vietnam, Iran and Cuba. The U.S.-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that preparations for a possible celebratory event for the anniversary appear to be under way at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang,

PM vows efforts to uphold value of Hangeul in AI era

PM vows efforts to uphold value of Hangeul in AI era

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Friday pledged to make efforts to uphold the value of the Korean writing system, Hangeul, even in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Han made the remarks during a ceremony celebrating the centenary of Hangeul Day, which commemorates the Korean script created by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in 1443 and promulgated in 1446. "The government will do its best so that Hangeul is loved not only by our people but people around the world and so that its value is maintained even in the era of artificial intelligence," she said. Han, a former chief executive of online portal giant Naver, said the value of language has become increasingly more important, noting its role connecting people with AI. She shared plans to increase the number of types of Korean language corpora used to train AI from the current 174 to 340 by 2030 so that the technology better understands the language. Han also noted the country plans to expand the number of King Sejong Institutes, which teach the Korean language overseas, from the current 273 to more than 350 by 2030. M

More cafes, PC rooms found violating food safety rules

More cafes, PC rooms found violating food safety rules

Internet cafes accounted for three-quarters of food hygiene violations since 2020 at leisure venues popular with children and teenagers, while inspections of kids cafes have fallen by nearly half, according to data from the office of Rep. Seo Young-seok of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Friday. Authorities recorded 782 violations of the Food Sanitation Act at kids cafes, internet cafes, comic book cafes and board game cafes from 2020 through June this year. The figures come from Ministry of Food and Drug Safety data submitted to DPK lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee. Internet cafes, known locally as "PC bang," accounted for 588 cases, or 75.2 percent, followed by kids cafes with 121, comic book cafes with 38 and board game cafes with 35. Failure to complete mandatory hygiene training was the most common violation at 464 cases, or 59.3 percent. It was followed by failure to undergo health checkups at 107, violations of operator compliance rules at 78, breaches of sanitary handling standards at 67 and facility standards violations at 40. Inter

Ambience takes center stage at BIFF opener 'The Table: Day and Night'

Ambience takes center stage at BIFF opener 'The Table: Day and Night'

As director Kim Jong-kwan noted, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opening film, "The Table: Day and Night," is dedicated to the beauty of the fleeting little moments in life. The romantic anthology film, starring a solid ensemble of actors including Kim Min-ha, Shim Eun-kyung and Han Sun-hwa, portrays the conversations between four different couples who visit the venue through summer and autumn. Kim marvelously crafts the warm and brisk air of a cafe probably located in a quiet neighborhood in Seoul, spending quite some time capturing the tables, the cups and saucers and the portraits of the diverse customers visiting the venue. Strangers come and go, having conversations on everything from getting loans to finding the right person. Spoken language is not the only means of conversation in the cafe, with a group of lively girls who use sign language appearing to be regulars. The first vignette features "Pachinko" star Kim and Joo Joong-hyuk, as Yoo-jin, a young woman who wears a broken watch gifted by a relative, and Hyeon-oh, a young man fascinated with the small world that e

Hong Kong needs tougher inspection regime, experts say after CK Asset building fiasco

Hong Kong needs tougher inspection regime, experts say after CK Asset building fiasco

Lawmakers and engineering sector leaders have called for a review of Hong Kong’s building inspection mechanism and a blacklist to bar errant contractors from government tenders, after Hong Kong’s first privately built “starter homes” project hit a snag over shoddy steel work. The government should review the inspection regime and increase its supervisory manpower, lawmakers and engineers said on Friday, calling for inspectors to be stationed at construction sites of private-sector-built...

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: youth-led charity supports young cancer patients

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: youth-led charity supports young cancer patients

Timothy Chan Chi-fung was 19 when a testicular tumour sent him into a Hong Kong hospital system largely designed for children or much older adults. Neither door quite fitted. His experience eventually led him to found Youth Cancer Hong Kong, a contribution that has earned him a place as a finalist in the community category of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards. The awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post, were launched in 2013 to recognise individuals and...

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: firm uses 3D-printed tiles to restore coral reefs

Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: firm uses 3D-printed tiles to restore coral reefs

In 2014, a University of Hong Kong research team watched two years of reef restoration work collapse in Sai Kung. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department had asked the researchers to speed up coral recovery. Cement structures were placed on the seabed and coral began to grow. But as the colonies became larger, they became unstable. “They have no roots,” said Vriko Yu Pik-fan, then a doctoral student on the project. “The bigger they got, the less stable they were.” That failure...

Hong Kong national security police charge man over seditious social media posts

Hong Kong national security police charge man over seditious social media posts

Hong Kong national security police have charged a man with publishing seditious material on social media, while court proceedings did not reveal details of his posts. The force’s national security department said on Friday it had charged a 52-year-old man for posting seditious material with the intent to provoke hatred towards the central Chinese authorities, the Hong Kong government and the judiciary. The defendant had attended the first hearing on Wednesday afternoon, according to the force’s...

Former Greentown China head charged for taking bribes over stake in real estate project

Former Greentown China head charged for taking bribes over stake in real estate project

Hong Kong’s corruption watchdog has charged the former head of a listed company for allegedly accepting HK$20 million (US$2.5 million) in bribes from a mainland Chinese property developer in exchange for acquiring a stake in the developer’s real estate project. Zhang Yadong, 58, who was chairman of Greentown China Holdings from 2019 to 2025, faced a count of conspiracy to accept advantages, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday. The case was mentioned at Eastern...

Hong Kong to deploy extra manpower for Huanggang Port opening on Monday

Hong Kong to deploy extra manpower for Huanggang Port opening on Monday

The revamped Huanggang border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will open on Monday, with extra manpower deployed and high-level command centres activated to ensure a smooth opening. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Friday that his bureau would activate its Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to oversee operations, while a joint command centre will be established with Shenzhen authorities. “We will monitor passenger and vehicle flows as well as surrounding traffic...

27 people, groups named finalists for 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards

27 people, groups named finalists for 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards

Twenty-seven individuals and groups have been named finalists for the 14th Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, which recognises the unsung heroes of the city who have made major contributions to society. This year’s shortlist for the awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post, is divided into nine categories: community, culture, innovation, sustainability, perseverance, teamwork, youth, nurturing and entrepreneurship. “The self-effacing yet extraordinary efforts of these...

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