Bad to worse? Europe’s relief over US midterms tempered by prospect of Trump backlash

South China Morning Post - Nov 4, 2026

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...

Read full article
MORE NEWS
Trump suffers midterms trouncing weeks before Xi meeting
Trump suffers midterms trouncing weeks before Xi meeting
Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in midterm elections as US voters punished President Donald Trump over inflation, corruption and rising healthcare costs. The party was on track for...
Nov 4, 2026See more
Ex-HKEX vice-president and mother charged over alleged confidential data access
Ex-HKEX vice-president and mother charged over alleged confidential data access
A former vice-president of the Hong Kong stock exchange’s operator and his mother have been charged by the city’s corruption watchdog over allegedly accessing confidential information of listed companies, which...
Nov 4, 2026See more
As US-Iran war shows, China’s influence can’t secure its line to Gulf oil
As US-Iran war shows, China’s influence can’t secure its line to Gulf oil
China is becoming increasingly important to the Gulf’s economic future. Yet the Gulf remains capable of disrupting China’s own. That is the contradiction exposed by the US-Iran war. Beijing’s importance as...
Nov 4, 2026See more
Taiwan flags massive PLA naval mobilisation, spike in air sorties
Taiwan flags massive PLA naval mobilisation, spike in air sorties
Taiwan expressed concern on Tuesday over more than 100 People’s Liberation Army naval vessels and mainland Chinese coastguard ships sailing across the western Pacific, including the Liaoning strike group conducting...
Nov 4, 2026See more
‘Fake democracy’ or a plus for Beijing? Chinese internet users on the US midterms
‘Fake democracy’ or a plus for Beijing? Chinese internet users on the US midterms
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...
Nov 4, 2026See more
Tencent unveils Hy4 as open-weight AI race with DeepSeek, Z.ai, Alibaba heats up
Tencent unveils Hy4 as open-weight AI race with DeepSeek, Z.ai, Alibaba heats up
Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings has rolled out its latest flagship artificial intelligence model, Hy4, seeking to challenge top open-weight rivals with enhanced agentic capabilities built to power its enterprise...
Nov 4, 2026See more
US midterm shift could squeeze China on AI, but bring clarity to bilateral talks
US midterm shift could squeeze China on AI, but bring clarity to bilateral talks
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...
Nov 4, 2026See more
Operator should lose tender marks in future over meter glitch, experts say
Operator should lose tender marks in future over meter glitch, experts say
Hong Kong authorities should waive related fines and introduce a penalty mechanism for the city’s parking meter operator after a four-hour outage disabled about half of all meters, an industry...
Nov 4, 2026See more
‘I wasn’t on the ballot’: Trump deflects blame as Democrats on track to control Congress
‘I wasn’t on the ballot’: Trump deflects blame as Democrats on track to control Congress
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...
Nov 4, 2026See more
John Lee begins Beijing, Shanghai trip to deepen mainland economic ties
John Lee begins Beijing, Shanghai trip to deepen mainland economic ties
Hong Kong’s leader has begun a four-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai to deepen economic ties with mainland China, calling for closer collaboration on finance and innovation and technology (I&T),...
Nov 4, 2026See more
US voters unleash blue wave, handing Congress to Democrats in rebuke to Trump
US voters unleash blue wave, handing Congress to Democrats in rebuke to Trump
Follow the SCMP’s live coverage here After weeks of insults, fearmongering and eye-popping spending on advertising, Americans settled down to vote on Tuesday, unleashing a blue wave that saw Democrats projected...
Nov 4, 2026See more
Frequently labelled as communists, who are the Democratic Socialists of America?
Frequently labelled as communists, who are the Democratic Socialists of America?
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...
Nov 4, 2026See more
RECOMMENDED