Lancang-Mekong cooperation: Six nations pledge closer ties in Beijing

China Global Television Network (CGTN) - Nov 5, 2026

Lancang-Mekong cooperation: Six nations pledge closer ties in Beijing

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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here After almost two years in which the transatlantic alliance verged on collapse, a Democratic landslide in the US midterm elections was welcomed in Europe on Wednesday, even if few believed it would be a panacea for ailing ties. The Democratic Party swept both chambers of the US Congress in a crushing rebuke of US President Donald Trump’s two-year record. For Europe, that period has led to a shattering of the post-war order and deep schisms in the Western...

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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here In the wake of Democrats’ sweeping victory in congressional elections, Asian countries are weighing how their ties with the US will shift under a lame-duck Trump administration. Observers expect the “blue wave” midterm results will push the Trump administration to heighten pressure on Washington’s Asian allies for greater US investment and increased defence cost-sharing. In South Korea, analysts have predicted that managing relations with Washington will...

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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here Democrats won control of both chambers of the US Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, dealing a heavy blow to President Donald Trump as voters vented frustration over rising costs and the Iran war. With Democrats set to take over Congress in January, they will have the power to block Trump’s agenda and investigate his administration. Under these conditions, the president is expected to face a far more constrained final two years in office, with...

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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here Chinese social media users have voiced mixed views on the US midterm elections, criticising American politics while debating the implications of President Donald Trump’s political future for China. Held on Tuesday, the midterm elections saw Democrats win control of both chambers of the US Congress, taking the House of Representatives and the Senate from the Republicans. Democrats reached the 218-seat threshold needed for a House majority and also secured...

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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here Beijing has vowed to continue working with Washington towards a “constructive relationship of strategic stability” following the Democrats’ sweeping victory in the US midterm elections on Wednesday. But analysts said a Democratic-controlled US Congress would ramp up pressure on Beijing over Taiwan, artificial intelligence (AI) and export controls, though it might also eliminate uncertainties in negotiations. When asked by reporters about the results on...

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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here In what appears to be an early attempt to distance himself from the Democrats’ historic gains, US President Donald Trump has sought to shift attention away from his party’s performance in the midterm elections, taking to social media to remind voters that he “wasn’t on the ballot”. “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote as early results showed Democratic gains in places...

Will US midterms and lame duck Trump force a rethink in Washington, Beijing and beyond?
Nov 4, 2026
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Americans and the rest of the world woke up on Wednesday to a seismic shift in the US political landscape as Democrats trounced Republicans, US President Donald Trump’s weapons of fear and intimidation suddenly appeared dull and possibly, just possibly, the US could start repairing its badly battered global image. While the final electoral count could take days, the trend was crystal clear. A blue tsunami had washed over the noisy, powerful land, with Democrats set to hold 55 or 56 Senate seats...

Frequently labelled as communists, who are the Democratic Socialists of America?
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Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here For years, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) had little influence over the machinery of the Democratic Party. That is beginning to change. The organisation has more than doubled its membership since 2024, reaching roughly 120,000, while growing numbers of DSA-backed candidates are positioning to expand its presence in Congress from two members to as many as seven. The breakthrough came in New York, where Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the 2025 mayoral...

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