appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Trump team presses unlikely buyers to snap up US soybeans

Shut out of China’s massive soybean market, the United States is pressing countries across Africa and Asia to step up purchases of American soybeans, as President Donald Trump’s trade team seeks new markets, while tensions over tariffs ripple through global trade.
2. Malaysia’s Petronas CEO sorry for ‘misplaced exuberance’ at F1 champagne shower
Malaysia’s top state energy official has apologised after facing backlash at home for taking part in a champagne-spraying celebration at the Singapore Grand Prix, in the latest controversy over Islamic norms and the conduct of government-linked companies.
3. Indonesian consulate helps family of domestic helper killed in Hong Kong crash
The Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong is working with authorities to help the family of a domestic helper who died in a car crash alongside her boss on Monday. A spokeswoman for the consulate told the Post on Tuesday that it has already established contact with the deceased domestic helper’s family.
4. Kyoto set to slap tourists with Japan’s highest-ever hotel tax

Japan’s government has granted final approval for Kyoto to implement the nation’s highest-ever hotel tax, authorising the historic capital to charge guests up to 10,000 yen (US$68) per person, per night at luxury hotels from next March in a bid to rein in rampant overtourism.
5. Asian student arrivals to US plunge to lowest level since pandemic
The number of students arriving from Asia to the US in August fell by nearly 24 per cent this year compared with last year, according to recently released US government data, marking the lowest August numbers on record outside of the Covid-19 pandemic.
6. As China’s population falls, 300,000-strong robot army keeps factories humming
China’s factories welcomed 295,000 newly installed industrial robots last year, easing fears the nation’s manufacturing juggernaut could falter after the population declined for a third consecutive year. The robot boom in the rapidly ageing society is helping offset some of the challenges of a declining workforce and bolstering its manufacturing edge, which is set to sharpen further as humanoid technology matures, analysts said.
7. After China’s high-speed rail investment, Indonesia wants more. What about debt?

On Bali, an island thick with beach tourists, surfing instructor Amri Anjulius is holding out for a 60km (37.3-mile) urban subway to relieve pressure on a maze of two-lane streets, where cars crawl and motor scooters weave between them. Like many Indonesians, he believes China will be at the forefront of efforts to expand the travel network across the archipelago nation’s 6,000 inhabited islands, home to 285 million people. That confidence stems from China’s role in building Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway on Java, the world’s most populous island.


Xpeng’s driverless cabs; Tesla launches FSD in China; Nio slams price wars: 7 EV reads

Singha beer dynasty scandal, Malaysia’s sunken missile deal: 7 Asia highlights

Chinese coal mine accident, Cathay Pacific flight turbulence: 5 weekend reads you missed

Selfies and symbolism: behind the scenes from Xi’s summit with Trump and Putin

SCMP Highlights

Petronas CEO’s F1 champagne shower, Kyoto hotel tax: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Race winner George Russell (centre) of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz (left) and third-placed Lando Norris of McLaren celebrate on the podium with champagne during the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. Photo: Formula 1 via Getty Images

Soybeans are harvested on a farm in the US state of Indiana last month. Soybeans have become the latest flashpoint in the trade dispute between China and the US. Photo: AP

Tourists visit Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, Japan, last year. Photo: AFP

An aerial drone photo taken on May 20, 2025, shows a high-speed train leaving Tegalluar Station on the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) in Bandung, Indonesia. Photo: Xinhua

China fields golden dome prototype, Argentina’s soy exports anger US: SCMP’s 7 highlights

People cycle along a track backdropped with the city skyline in Singapore in June. The city state crossed the 6 million population threshold in 2024. Photo: AFP


US President Donald Trump makes an announcement regarding the Golden Dome space-based missile defence system, as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on, in the Oval Office on May 20. Photo: Reuters

Revellers pose for a selfie during the fireworks display on National Day. Photo: Eugene Lee

US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George (left) meets leaders from the 35th Air Defence Artillery Brigade and soldiers from the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defence Artillery Regiment in South Korea on September 22. Photo: US Army

Stefano Passerini will head Nanjing Normal University’s new International Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage. Photo: Handout

US reinstates China National Day tradition; a ‘super golden week’: SCMP daily highlights

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sent Washington’s congratulations to China as it celebrates its National Day. Photo: AFP

Passengers wait for trains at Hangzhou East Railway Station on April 30, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Illustration: Henry Wong

China’s ‘Golden Dome’ prototype, world’s highest bridge: 7 science highlights

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in southwest China took three years to build. Photo: Xinhua

On May 20, US President Donald Trump announced he had selected the path forward for his ambitious Golden Dome missile defense shield. A Chinese team has announced it has its own working prototype of a global defence system. Photo: EPA-EFE

The airship-like S1500 is about the size of a basketball court and as tall as a 13-storey building. Photo: Handout

Yuan Yuan has joined Westlake University’s Institute for Theoretical Sciences. Photo: Handout

Asia’s youth lie flat, Indonesian megaproject downgrade: 7 Asia highlights

A young Korean job-seeker looks for employment opportunities at a women’s university in Seoul. Photo: AFP

Illustration: Huy Truong

People take photos in front of the presidential palace in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, in August. Photo: AFP

Fans dance inside a cinema during the screening of Indian actor Rajinikanth’s new Tamil-language movie “Coolie” on the first day of its release in Mumbai on August 14. Photo: AFP

Fujian’s landmark jet launch, Hong Kong after Super Typhoon Ragasa: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Yu Faxin is also a Qiushi distinguished professor at Zhejiang University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Hangzhou. Photo: Shutterstock

The carrier-based J-15T, J-35 and KJ-600 aircraft have completed their inaugural electromagnetic catapult-assisted take-off and landing tests on the Fujian aircraft carrier. Photo: Xinhua

A man sits on a bench on the Tseung Kwan O promenade as the waves approach. Photo: Elson Li

High-end luxury homes in London. US authorities estimate that US$340 million in UK property has been acquired with money stolen from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund. Photo: EPA

Fan Zihe, a Pakistani adopted by a couple in China has announced she will marry her Chinese partner on September 17. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin/Sohu

The Dashixia mega dam in Xinjiang is 247 metres high – about the same as an 80-storey building. Photo: CCTV

News

World

From Kyoto set to start Japan’s highest hotel tax to China’s 300,000 new industrial robots, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting


From Kyoto set to start Japan’s highest hotel tax to China’s 300,000 new industrial robots, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting.


Petronas CEO’s F1 champagne shower, Kyoto hotel tax: SCMP’s 7 highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Kyoto set to start Japan’s highest hotel tax to China’s 300,000 new industrial robots, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. Trump team presses unlikely buyers to snap up US soybeans

From Kyoto set to start Japan’s highest hotel tax to China’s 300,000 new industrial robots, here are highlights from SCMP’s recent reporting