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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

An aerial photo shows workers unloading imported fertilisers at the Lianyungang port, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, on April 8. Photo: AFP

China exports

China, the Iran war and the chemical suddenly stoking global supply fears

Food security is one of Beijing’s top policy goals – and that could spell trouble for countries dependent on Chinese sulphuric acid.

13 Apr 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

Americas and the Caribbean

Peru presidential run-off looms as Fujimori leads troubled vote

13 Apr 2026 - 6:18PMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

Chile exposes smuggling ring that shipped US$917m in stolen copper to China

9 Apr 2026 - 6:04AMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

US threats for Chile, China tariffs Mexico: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Panama Canal woes to an undersea cable scandal in Chile, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in March 2026.

1 Apr 2026 - 11:00PM

Chile’s President Jose Antonio Kast greets supporters. Photo: AFP

China consumption

How ‘salmon’ raised in landlocked Xinjiang is netting fans in China

Aquaculture in the far-western region is expected to grow even more rapidly after a dependence on imported eggs is diminished or ended.

25 Mar 2026 - 10:00AMvideocam

Science

China and Chile wrap up Atacama Trench mission as US pressure mounts

Scientists on Chinese research ship aimed to uncover mysteries of the trench in ‘most ambitious’ deep-sea expedition in the eastern Pacific.

17 Mar 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

Americas and the Caribbean

Channeling Trump, Chile’s new president launches work on border barrier

Arch-conservative leader Kast has vowed to crack down on immigration from Peru and Bolivia with his ‘Border Shield’ plan.

17 Mar 2026 - 10:33AM

A machine digs along a section of Chile’s northern border. Photo: AP

China-Latin America relations

Amid China cable fallout, Chile’s president ends term, calls for unity

Undersea fibre-optic cable project linking Chile to Hong Kong enraged US, causing dispute that defined Gabriel Boric’s final weeks in office.

12 Mar 2026 - 5:08AMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

US threats and a Chinese cable scandal mark first day for Chile’s new president

The US forced Chile to cancel a Chinese undersea cable. Now the region is asking who gets to decide what infrastructure Latin America builds.

12 Mar 2026 - 12:54AMvideocam

Two Sessions 2026

China ‘stands firm as a mountain’ to protect overseas interests, compatriots

Pledge from Foreign Minister Wang Yi at most-watched press briefing comes as global volatility tests supply chains and regional influence.

9 Mar 2026 - 9:00AMvideocam

People watch a Chinese New Year performance of traditional Chinese dances with a sculptural flag of the Communist Party seen in the background, in Beijing on March 1. Photo: AFP

China-Latin America relations

Why won’t Chile let China’s military hospital ship give medical aid?

The vessel has sailed into Valparaiso’s waters as the geopolitical winds shift in the western hemisphere.

28 Feb 2026 - 6:00PMvideocam

The Silk Road Ark is on a 220-day trip to Latin America. Photo: CCTV

Trip Inspiration

Why the Year of the Fire Horse calls for travel on horseback

Saddle up for some thrilling horse-related spectacles and experiences with our top picks from around the world.

17 Mar 2026 - 8:09PM

India

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep afloat a sinking global order

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

10 Feb 2026 - 8:54PM

Belt and Road Initiative

Trump wants China out of South America – but Peru’s Beijing-backed port is abuzz

Beijing’s hunger for minerals and raw materials is pushing trade in the region to record levels, even after incidents in Panama and Venezuela.

6 Feb 2026 - 7:30AMvideocam

A container is lifted by a crane at the Chinese-funded Chancay port in Peru, on October 29, 2024. Photo: AP

SCMP Highlights

China’s chip breakthrough, Tang Dynasty armour restored: 7 science highlights

From PLA developing quantum weapons to China’s dark matter breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.

28 Jan 2026 - 3:37PM

A fibre integrated circuit is a novel electronic device that is as thin as a strand of human hair. Photo: Handout

Commodities

Gold surge has analysts eyeing new highs after US$5,100 record

Safe-haven demand spikes amid de-dollarisation fears and supply-chain tensions, as gold buyers seek stability against growing macro uncertainties.

26 Jan 2026 - 3:07PMvideocam

Environment

Opinion | How China can strengthen High Seas Treaty governance

Xiamen’s recognised coastal management approach underpins its bid to host the treaty secretariat.

23 Jan 2026 - 5:30AM

Americas and the Caribbean

Chile’s president-elect picks Pinochet lawyers as ministers of human rights, defence

Jose Antonio Kast installs a ‘great team for difficult times’, after being elected on a wave of anti-crime and anti-immigrant sentiment.

21 Jan 2026 - 2:45PM

Chile’s president-elect Jose Antonio Kast. Photo: AFP

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?

21 Jan 2026 - 6:12AMvideocam

Diplomacy

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

China puts forward Xiamen as potential future home of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction secretariat as treaty comes into force.

19 Jan 2026 - 10:01PMvideocam

Science

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

Three-month expedition will plumb uncharted depths of eastern Pacific in quest for new life forms and insights into quakes and tsunamis.

19 Jan 2026 - 3:33PMvideocam

The team will sail aboard the Chinese research vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao to cover 700km around the Atacama Trench, one of the deepest and least explored regions of the eastern Pacific. Photo: Handout

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

Members of Cuban Assault Brigade 2506 after their capture at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, April 1961. Photo: AFP

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

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Chile

China, the Iran war and the chemical suddenly stoking global supply fears

Food security is one of Beijing’s top policy goals – and that could spell trouble for countries dependent on Chinese sulphuric acid.

Peru presidential run-off looms as Fujimori leads troubled vote

Chile exposes smuggling ring that shipped US$917m in stolen copper to China

US threats for Chile, China tariffs Mexico: 7 Latin America relations reads

From Panama Canal woes to an undersea cable scandal in Chile, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in March 2026.

How ‘salmon’ raised in landlocked Xinjiang is netting fans in China

Aquaculture in the far-western region is expected to grow even more rapidly after a dependence on imported eggs is diminished or ended.

China and Chile wrap up Atacama Trench mission as US pressure mounts

Scientists on Chinese research ship aimed to uncover mysteries of the trench in ‘most ambitious’ deep-sea expedition in the eastern Pacific.

Channeling Trump, Chile’s new president launches work on border barrier

Arch-conservative leader Kast has vowed to crack down on immigration from Peru and Bolivia with his ‘Border Shield’ plan.

Amid China cable fallout, Chile’s president ends term, calls for unity

Undersea fibre-optic cable project linking Chile to Hong Kong enraged US, causing dispute that defined Gabriel Boric’s final weeks in office.

US threats and a Chinese cable scandal mark first day for Chile’s new president

The US forced Chile to cancel a Chinese undersea cable. Now the region is asking who gets to decide what infrastructure Latin America builds.

China ‘stands firm as a mountain’ to protect overseas interests, compatriots

Pledge from Foreign Minister Wang Yi at most-watched press briefing comes as global volatility tests supply chains and regional influence.

Why won’t Chile let China’s military hospital ship give medical aid?

The vessel has sailed into Valparaiso’s waters as the geopolitical winds shift in the western hemisphere.

Why the Year of the Fire Horse calls for travel on horseback

Saddle up for some thrilling horse-related spectacles and experiences with our top picks from around the world.

India’s trade blitz seeks to keep afloat a sinking global order

‘Jolted out of its slumber’ by US tariffs, New Delhi is aggressively diversifying trade alliances to act as a bridge in a polarised world.

Trump wants China out of South America – but Peru’s Beijing-backed port is abuzz

Beijing’s hunger for minerals and raw materials is pushing trade in the region to record levels, even after incidents in Panama and Venezuela.

China’s chip breakthrough, Tang Dynasty armour restored: 7 science highlights

From PLA developing quantum weapons to China’s dark matter breakthrough, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.

Gold surge has analysts eyeing new highs after US$5,100 record

Safe-haven demand spikes amid de-dollarisation fears and supply-chain tensions, as gold buyers seek stability against growing macro uncertainties.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | How China can strengthen High Seas Treaty governance

Xiamen’s recognised coastal management approach underpins its bid to host the treaty secretariat.

Chile’s president-elect picks Pinochet lawyers as ministers of human rights, defence

Jose Antonio Kast installs a ‘great team for difficult times’, after being elected on a wave of anti-crime and anti-immigrant sentiment.

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 puts forward Xiamen as potential future home of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction secretariat as treaty comes into force.

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

Three-month expedition will plumb uncharted depths of eastern Pacific in quest for new life forms and insights into quakes and tsunamis.

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-19im5qg{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.

Opinion | How China can strengthen High Seas Treaty governance

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