China News

As US President Donald Trump’s tariff increases have roiled global markets and strained America’s alliances in recent months, China has been pursuing the opposite strategy: keeping import duties low and pledging further cuts as a way to secure strategic resources and build ties across the developing world. China’s average effective tariff rate – calculated by dividing total duties raised by the value of imports – has fallen steadily over the past decade and came to just 1.3 per cent in 2025,...

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President Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough implementation of central government strategies and policies at local levels, as the world’s second-largest economy rallies efforts to achieve a strong start to its five-year plan amid formidable external challenges and domestic headwinds. The instruction on Tuesday arrived at a delicate time, as Beijing enforces some overriding strategies, such as a whole-of-nation approach to break technological bottlenecks, a campaign to fight vicious price...

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China has condemned Monday’s suicide attack on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul, urging the Taliban to take further measures to protect the safety of its citizens in Afghanistan. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing had made “urgent representations” following the attack in a heavily guarded part of the capital that killed at least seven people – one Chinese national and six Afghans – and injured several others. Guo added that China had asked the authorities to “further adopt effective...

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China’s commercial space sector logged 50 launches last year – more than half of the country’s total – underscoring the growing role of private players alongside the state-led space programme, with Beijing highlighting aerospace as a strategic industry. Commercial launches accounted for 54 per cent of the country’s total in 2025, according to data released on Tuesday by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Of the total, 25 launches were carried out by commercial launch vehicles....

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The death toll from an explosion at a rare earth steel plant in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region has risen to nine. The explosion occurred at 3pm on Sunday at the Baotou Steel Group’s rare earth steel plant in Baotou, according to the city government. As of Tuesday, the accident has injured 84 people, killed nine and left one person missing, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The Ministry of Emergency Management sent a working group led by Vice-Minister Song Yuanming to the scene...

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Taiwan’s opposition parties are stepping up criticism of the island’s government over a controversial economic deal with the United States, warning that what officials portray as a tariff win could carry heavy long-term costs for the island’s economy and industrial base. The backlash against how the government plans to implement the deal comes as the cabinet on Tuesday released further details of the agreement, which allows Taiwan to secure a 15 per cent reciprocal tariff rate. The rate is down...

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China delivered a message of free trade, multilateralism, cooperation and dialogue at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday as the world, including the host continent Europe, grapples with increasingly aggressive moves from Washington. “Everyone should be equal before the rules; a very small number of countries should not enjoy the privilege of pursuing their own selfish interests. The world must not return to the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak,” Vice-Premier He Lifeng...

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The last two giant pandas in Japan are set to leave for China on January 27, one month ahead of schedule as bilateral tensions continue to worsen. The return of the twins, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, marks the first time in about half a century that Japan will be without any pandas. Beijing first sent two of the animals to Tokyo to mark the normalisation of diplomatic relations in 1972. The four-year-olds were born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo but technically all giant pandas and their offspring in overseas...

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Britain on Tuesday approved China’s plan to build a massive new embassy in London, clearing a major hurdle to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China later this month. The roughly 700,000 sq ft (65,030 square metre) embassy will be built at the site of the Royal Mint Court, the former headquarters of Britain’s coin maker, near the Tower of London. It will replace its embassy in central London. British media has reported that Starmer would visit Beijing and Shanghai from January 29 to 31,...

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New energy, artificial intelligence, electric vehicle (EV) and biotechnology companies will remain the driving force behind Hong Kong’s initial public offering (IPO) market in the coming years, according to the head of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). “In the past year, dozens of new companies in green energy, automation and other sectors have listed in Hong Kong, enabling them to scale their research and global impact,” wrote Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of HKEX, in an...

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Chinese authorities have signalled a new wave of measures to bolster domestic demand and hi-tech industries in the coming year, as Beijing seeks to rebalance growth and shore up momentum during its next five-year plan. On Tuesday, China’s top economic planner announced initiatives to boost consumption and technology investments, while the finance ministry unveiled programmes offering financial support to individuals and small businesses, following mixed economic data for 2025 released the day...

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China has confirmed that it received an invitation from the United States to join Donald Trump’s “board of peace for Gaza”. When asked about China’s position on the US president’s proposal on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the invitation had been received but he did not say whether Beijing would accept it. Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join the initiative as part of his efforts to push forward his 20-point plan to resolve the conflict in Gaza. The board was...

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China is working on a powerful 50-megawatt gas turbine to propel its next generation of warships and key facilities, according to state media. The gas turbine – an advanced power generation unit – is being developed by state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Economic Daily reported on Monday. It is part of a push by Beijing to establish a self-reliant supply chain for sectors it sees as crucial to national security and China’s industrial base. Advanced gas turbine engines are on...

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Former top Chinese intelligence official Gao Yichen has been expelled from the Communist Party for corruption after being accused of receiving bribes and interfering with judicial matters. Gao, 75, former vice-minister of the Ministry of State Security, was found to have “seriously violated party discipline”, according to an official announcement by top anti-corruption watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Tuesday. He also served as deputy director of the party’s...

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As China struggles to boost consumer spending, a professor at one of the country’s top universities has argued that authorities first need to overcome a psychological barrier: a deep-seated “luxury-phobia” that has taken hold among the Chinese public. The suggestion by Su Jian, a professor at Peking University, comes amid a debate in Chinese policy circles about how to revive the country’s sluggish demand, with retail sales slowing despite government efforts to rebalance the economy towards a...

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China’s Chang’e-7 mission this year will be the world’s first to attempt to sample and directly measure water on the moon, but just touching lunar ice could mean losing it, a team of scientists warns in a new paper. Its spacecraft is expected to touch down near the rim of Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole, where it will deploy a rover and hopper to search for ice. While water could support long-term human activity on the moon, from providing drinking water and oxygen to producing rocket...

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While there may be hopes in Beijing that Washington’s attempt to acquire Greenland has strained transatlantic ties and might draw European countries closer to China, a veteran US diplomat said such a fundamental realignment was unlikely. The core task of the European Union’s foreign policy will remain navigating intensifying US-China rivalry while seeking a workable balance between the two, according to William Klein, a former charge d’affaires at the US embassy in China. Addressing a seminar at...

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Shares of Chinese toymaker Pop Mart rallied nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday morning after the company announced its first share buy-back in nearly two years, following a decline from last year’s peak. Pop Mart’s Hong Kong-listed shares rose to HK$198.70 as investors welcomed the move. The stock remains below last year’s closing level of HK$200.20, and about 42 per cent off its August peak, suggesting softer momentum amid fierce competition and sluggish consumption. The company repurchased 1.4...

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Shanghai has laid out a full spectrum of goals on finance for the next five years and beyond, following an unequivocal push by China’s central leadership to grow the city into an international financial centre. China’s largest city-level economy aims to evolve into a world-class, socialist metropolis by 2035, with an intensified focus on innovation and manufacturing, according to a local document released on Monday. Shanghai unveiled its proposals for the drafting of its own 15th five-year plan,...

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China achieved its twin goals of tech advancement and macro stability in 2025. Its goals for 2026 remain the same. However, a rapidly deteriorating global security environment is likely to shift national priorities towards preparation for worst-case scenarios. Oil supplies and sea lanes are becoming insecure. The US-China trade war could reignite at any time. China will have to accelerate its goals of energy and technology self-sufficiency to enhance national resilience. Fighting for sea lane...

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Taiwan’s military held a closed-door briefing on Monday to break an opposition blockade of a controversial NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.5 billion) special defence budget that has prompted accusations of “black box” decision-making from rival parties. Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung delivered a classified briefing to the legislature’s foreign affairs and defence committee, seeking to persuade lawmakers to allow the long-stalled bill to be referred for committee review. The package...

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China has emerged as a credible challenger to the US in artificial intelligence-driven drug discovery, where advantage depends not only on computing prowess but also on the ability to effectively mine data, from genomes to clinical trial results, according to Leung Chuen-yan, a private equity investor and life sciences scientist. “Globally, the way companies develop and use AI to discover drugs is similar, from finding the drug target and designing the molecule to planning clinical trials,” said...

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For years, many of mainland China’s art students dreamed of working or studying in Europe. After hours spent poring over the works of the continent’s masters as part of their degree requirements, living where their pieces are preserved, displayed and appreciated would seem a natural fit. But with funding and hiring freezes striking numerous overseas art programmes and museums, that path grows less appealing by the day. Now, rather than relocate to a new continent to further their studies, more...

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Brazilian beef exports will remain stable ‌in 2026 compared with last year, beef lobby Abiec said on ‍Monday, projecting shipments between 3.3 million and 3.5 million metric tonnes this year. That compares with 3.5 million tonnes of beef exported in 2025, including fresh and processed products, when Brazil’s ⁠beef shipments had their best year on record both in volumes and revenue, according to trade data. Roberto Perosa, Abiec president, said exports would remain broadly unchanged after top...

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An explosion at a Chinese restaurant in central Kabul on Monday killed at least seven people and wounded more than a dozen others, emergency services said. An Agence France-Presse journalist saw police cars and an ambulance at the scene following the blast on a street known for its flower sellers in the Shahr-e-Naw area. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion happened at the Chinese Noodle restaurant, which he said mainly served Chinese Muslims. “A Chinese Muslim ... and six...

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