TOPIC

/ location

Chile

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

Capital

Santiago

Head of State

President Gabriel Boric

Head of Government

President Gabriel Boric

Science

The West cheered China’s coal-fired export ban. Then came the massive blackouts

Did Beijing’s decision to stop financing overseas coal plants after pressure from US and Europe lead to mass – yet avoidable – power cuts?

5 hours agovideocam

Diplomacy

China bids to host High Seas Treaty secretariat, even as US exits UN bodies

19 Jan 2026 - 10:01PMvideocam

Science

China, Chile to explore Atacama Trench with ‘tools no other country possesses’

19 Jan 2026 - 3:33PMvideocam

Natural disasters

Chile declares catastrophe as wildfires rage and kill at least 18

President Boric deploys the military to hard-hit regions as fast-moving blazes devour hundreds of homes.

19 Jan 2026 - 7:34PM

Police recover bodies after wildfires swept through homes near Lirquen, Chile. Photo: AP

Science

Chinese firm Sinovac to supply vaccine to Chile ahead of flu season

Chilean government procures doses of the jab from China for a second year in a row, with nationwide immunisation campaign to begin in March.

14 Jan 2026 - 3:18AMvideocam

US-Venezuela conflict

Chinese business owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Chinese entrepreneurs have returned to South American nation in recent years, but some fear consequences after Washington’s intervention.

6 Jan 2026 - 10:50PMvideocam

US-Venezuela conflict

Not just oil: is Trump’s Venezuela takeover also about critical minerals?

Venezuela, Greenland and Colombia all have large deposits of rare earths and other minerals needed by US technology and defence companies.

6 Jan 2026 - 6:15PMvideocam

US President Donald Trump, flanked by senior members of his administration, speaks to the press following American military strikes on Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: TNS

United States

Explainer | US interventions in Latin America: a history of coups and conflicts

From the Bay of Pigs to Operation Condor to Venezuela in 2026: A look at the legacy of CIA-backed coups and US military action in Latin America.

3 Jan 2026 - 11:16PM

Tourism

Expedition to Chile’s Cape Horn reveals awesome nature at the world’s end

A 5-day cruise to South America’s southern tip stuns with fiords, penguins and wind-blasted cliffs reached via the world’s deadliest waters.

30 Dec 2025 - 7:15AM

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chilean firms partner to form giant company to exploit lithium

Last month China approved the planned partnership between state-owned Codelco and private firm SQM, which features Chinese capital.

28 Dec 2025 - 5:17AM

A mining truck loads lithium sulphate at the Atacama salt flat in Chile. Photo: Anadolu via Getty Images

SCMP Highlights

PLA division’s new leaders, lessons from 2025 trade war: SCMP daily highlights

From the newcomers in charge of PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command to retailers’ retreat from China, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

17 Dec 2025 - 9:15PM

Air Force Lieutenant General Yang Zhibin, pictured in uniform, is shown at the annual commemoration of the Nanking massacre on Saturday. Photo: CCTV

China-Latin America relations

China seeks greater influence in US backyard

The US is trying to shut China out of Latin America, even as the Asian nation outlines plans to further grow trade and investment in the resource-rich region.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM

China-Latin America relations

Chile’s sharp shift to the right puts it at the centre of China-US rivalry

Election of Jose Antonio Kast in Latin American country adds to Donald Trump’s vocal allies but analysts expect China ties to stay stable.

17 Dec 2025 - 6:06AMvideocam

Banking & finance

Hong Kong signs tax treaty with Norway, marking fourth such agreement this year

Treasury chief Christopher Hui said the government plans to begin CDTA negotiations with Slovenia and Oman early next year.

16 Dec 2025 - 6:47PM

Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui (left), exchanges documents with Norway’s Ambassador to China, Vebjørn Dysvik, in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Hong Kong is stepping up its competitiveness in aviation

By funding upgrades to the airport and signing international aviation deals, the city is proactively working to expand its global reach.

16 Dec 2025 - 6:45AM

A Cathay Pacific jet takes off from Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok on November 28, 2024, the day the third runway was inaugurated. Photo: Dickson Lee

Americas and the Caribbean

Chile takes hard-right turn as Kast scores landslide election victory

Jose Antonio Kast declares Chile ‘wanted change’ as the South American nation chooses its most right-wing president in decades.

15 Dec 2025 - 3:33PM

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong signs aviation deals with 7 countries to expand global reach

Transport chief Mable Chan says deals reached with mostly Latin American nations, while Airport Authority CEO calls for more investment to manage risks.

9 Dec 2025 - 8:06PM

China-Latin America relations

Trump’s national security blueprint aims to combat China’s rise in Latin America

Framework pledges to stop competitors from threatening the stability and political alignment of neighbouring countries in the region.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:37AMvideocam

US President Donald Trump unveiled a new national security blueprint on Friday, prioritising US dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Photo: EPA

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Fact-Check | Firefighters in Hong Kong? This video was shot in Chile in 2024

An old video is being misrepresented online as Hong Kong authorities battling deadly blaze in Tai Po.

1 Dec 2025 - 4:15PM

Hong Kong economy

Editorial | ‘Partner port’ ties will help Hong Kong navigate global trade volatility

New deals with mainland Chinese and Chilean ports will enhance the city’s status as an international hub for finance, shipping and trading.

1 Dec 2025 - 7:15AM

Americas and the Caribbean

Venezuela airspace should be considered ‘closed in its entirety’, Trump says

The South American nation slammed the US president’s ‘colonialist threat’, and said his comments were incompatible with international law.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:57PM

Latam Airlines planes sit on the tarmac in Bogota, Colombia on Friday. Several other airlines have also cancelled flights in recent days following a security alert issued by the United States related to Venezuela. Photo: AFP

Peru

Peru declares state of emergency as fears of migrant influx from Chile mount

Presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast warns undocumented migrants in Chile that they have 103 days left to leave the country voluntarily.

29 Nov 2025 - 1:56PM

Peruvian police stand near the Chacalluta border complex to block Venezuelan migrants seeking to leave Chile. Photo: Reuters

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

28 Nov 2025 - 7:30AM

Space

Nasa shares new images of 3I/ATLAS and rejects alien spacecraft ‘rumours’

US space agency officials say that 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever observed, is a comet.

20 Nov 2025 - 2:12PMvideocam

United States

Opinion | Don’t blame China for America’s authoritarian turn

America’s authoritarian turn didn’t start with Donald Trump and has been decades in the making.

19 Nov 2025 - 9:30AM

US President Donald Trump participates in a reenlistment ceremony for soldiers during a military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary on his 79th birthday on June 14 in Washington. Photo: AP

China-Latin America relations

Colombia pushes for talks – to include China – over US military action in region

Petro steps up rhetoric as biggest US aircraft carrier backs an anti-drug operation near Venezuela; the latest strikes face legal questions.

18 Nov 2025 - 3:54AMvideocam

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has called for a high-level security meeting with the United States, China and regional partners to discuss the growing tension in the region. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong links up with 3 key ‘partner’ ports to ride out trade volatility

Hong Kong leader John Lee tells a logistics conference partnerships have been formed with two ports in mainland China and one in Chile.

18 Nov 2025 - 12:29AM

Americas and the Caribbean

Polarised Chile facing presidential run-off between communist and conservative

Presidential contenders Jeannette Jara and Jose Antonio Kast are headed to the second round of elections, scheduled for December 14.

17 Nov 2025 - 2:47PM

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Chile

The West cheered China’s coal-fired export ban. Then came the massive blackouts

Did Beijing’s decision to stop financing overseas coal plants after pressure from US and Europe lead to mass – yet avoidable – power cuts?

China bids to host High Seas Treaty secretariat, even as US exits UN bodies

China, Chile to explore Atacama Trench with ‘tools no other country possesses’

Chile declares catastrophe as wildfires rage and kill at least 18

President Boric deploys the military to hard-hit regions as fast-moving blazes devour hundreds of homes.

Chinese firm Sinovac to supply vaccine to Chile ahead of flu season

Chilean government procures doses of the jab from China for a second year in a row, with nationwide immunisation campaign to begin in March.

Chinese business owner in Venezuela warns of spillover after Maduro’s abduction

Chinese entrepreneurs have returned to South American nation in recent years, but some fear consequences after Washington’s intervention.

Not just oil: is Trump’s Venezuela takeover also about critical minerals?

Venezuela, Greenland and Colombia all have large deposits of rare earths and other minerals needed by US technology and defence companies.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | US interventions in Latin America: a history of coups and conflicts

From the Bay of Pigs to Operation Condor to Venezuela in 2026: A look at the legacy of CIA-backed coups and US military action in Latin America.

Expedition to Chile’s Cape Horn reveals awesome nature at the world’s end

A 5-day cruise to South America’s southern tip stuns with fiords, penguins and wind-blasted cliffs reached via the world’s deadliest waters.

Chilean firms partner to form giant company to exploit lithium

Last month China approved the planned partnership between state-owned Codelco and private firm SQM, which features Chinese capital.

PLA division’s new leaders, lessons from 2025 trade war: SCMP daily highlights

From the newcomers in charge of PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command to retailers’ retreat from China, here’s a round-up from today’s coverage.

China seeks greater influence in US backyard

The US is trying to shut China out of Latin America, even as the Asian nation outlines plans to further grow trade and investment in the resource-rich region.

Chile’s sharp shift to the right puts it at the centre of China-US rivalry

Election of Jose Antonio Kast in Latin American country adds to Donald Trump’s vocal allies but analysts expect China ties to stay stable.

Hong Kong signs tax treaty with Norway, marking fourth such agreement this year

Treasury chief Christopher Hui said the government plans to begin CDTA negotiations with Slovenia and Oman early next year.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Opinion | Hong Kong is stepping up its competitiveness in aviation

By funding upgrades to the airport and signing international aviation deals, the city is proactively working to expand its global reach.

Chile takes hard-right turn as Kast scores landslide election victory

Jose Antonio Kast declares Chile ‘wanted change’ as the South American nation chooses its most right-wing president in decades.

Hong Kong signs aviation deals with 7 countries to expand global reach

Transport chief Mable Chan says deals reached with mostly Latin American nations, while Airport Authority CEO calls for more investment to manage risks.

Trump’s national security blueprint aims to combat China’s rise in Latin America

Framework pledges to stop competitors from threatening the stability and political alignment of neighbouring countries in the region.

Fact-Check | Firefighters in Hong Kong? This video was shot in Chile in 2024

An old video is being misrepresented online as Hong Kong authorities battling deadly blaze in Tai Po.

Editorial | ‘Partner port’ ties will help Hong Kong navigate global trade volatility

New deals with mainland Chinese and Chilean ports will enhance the city’s status as an international hub for finance, shipping and trading.

Venezuela airspace should be considered ‘closed in its entirety’, Trump says

The South American nation slammed the US president’s ‘colonialist threat’, and said his comments were incompatible with international law.

Peru declares state of emergency as fears of migrant influx from Chile mount

Presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast warns undocumented migrants in Chile that they have 103 days left to leave the country voluntarily.

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

Nasa shares new images of 3I/ATLAS and rejects alien spacecraft ‘rumours’

US space agency officials say that 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever observed, is a comet.

Opinion | Don’t blame China for America’s authoritarian turn

America’s authoritarian turn didn’t start with Donald Trump and has been decades in the making.

Colombia pushes for talks – to include China – over US military action in region

Petro steps up rhetoric as biggest US aircraft carrier backs an anti-drug operation near Venezuela; the latest strikes face legal questions.

Hong Kong links up with 3 key ‘partner’ ports to ride out trade volatility

Hong Kong leader John Lee tells a logistics conference partnerships have been formed with two ports in mainland China and one in Chile.

Polarised Chile facing presidential run-off between communist and conservative

Presidential contenders Jeannette Jara and Jose Antonio Kast are headed to the second round of elections, scheduled for December 14.

Explainer | US interventions in Latin America: a history of coups and conflicts

Opinion | Hong Kong is stepping up its competitiveness in aviation