📰 Latest News

Kimi, a Chinese AI startup also known as Yue Zhi Anmian, has raised over $700 million in a new funding round led by existing investors, bringing two consecutive financings to more than $1.2 billion and valuing the company at $10–12 billion. The deals signal strong investor appetite for large AI models in China and a scramble by tech giants to secure model supply, but commercialisation and regulatory risks remain significant.

AI‑enabled smart glasses emerged as a standout Lunar New Year purchase in China, with sales up 70–80% in Shenzhen’s electronics district amid a broader tech spending rebound. Subsidies, rapid miniaturisation and on‑device AI models are pushing the category from niche headsets toward everyday wearables, while global production plans and shipment forecasts suggest the market could scale to tens of millions of units within a few years.

Robotic performances at China’s Spring Festival Gala triggered a surge in consumer demand — orders jumped about 150% and several models sold out within minutes. The televised showcase amplified commercial interest in domestic robotics while prompting debate over reliability, safety and the broader geopolitical signal of China’s tech ambitions.

China's financial regulators jointly summoned six travel platforms over problematic practices in selling loan products through partner lenders, demanding clearer disclosures, bans on misleading marketing, and better complaint handling. The move is part of a broader regulatory focus on risks from embedded finance and aims to protect consumers while forcing platforms and their lending partners to tighten compliance.

Qianwen has launched a 'daily first-order' discount that gives users reduced prices — as low as RMB 3.8 — when they place orders via its one-sentence AI ordering feature, and those discounts can be combined with promotions on major platforms like Taobao, Fliggy and Damai. The move is designed to convert AI-driven interactions into frequent commercial transactions, accelerating Qianwen's shift from research project to consumer-facing commerce channel.

Maxscend’s co‑controller Xu Zhihan has transferred 17.15m shares (about Rmb1.3bn at current prices) to his ex‑wife as part of a divorce settlement. The transfer was registry‑based, includes caps on annual disposals, and does not change the company’s controlling block due to existing voting agreements. The move coincides with a weak earnings outlook as the company shifts toward a Fab‑Lite model.

China has launched a Rmb62.5 billion Spring Festival subsidy program that prioritises trade‑ins for affordable smart devices, offering consumers 15% rebates up to Rmb500 on phones, tablets and wearables priced under Rmb6,000. The measures aim to stimulate near‑term spending while accelerating mass adoption of connected hardware, benefiting mid‑range manufacturers and related supply chains.

Fund managers have become the most bearish on the US dollar in over a decade, driven by political unpredictability under President Trump and expectations of Fed rate cuts. Large institutional investors are cutting or hedging dollar exposure, pushing derivatives indicators to extremes and raising the prospect of broader capital flows away from US assets.

Chinese platforms adjusted hongbao allocation from pure randomness to a "double-average" cap that limits each claim to twice the remaining per-person average. The tweak reduces the early-grabber advantage, preserves randomness and keeps users feeling the distribution is fair while maintaining the ritual’s social and engagement value.

Henan Mining Crane Co. distributed RMB60m in cash at an annual meeting and RMB180m in total year‑end bonuses, equal to two‑thirds of 2025 net profit, benefiting over 7,000 employees. The move—driven by majority owner Cui Peijun and paired with commission‑heavy incentive structures and labour‑sensitive policies—highlights a pragmatic approach to retention and productivity amid broader cost‑cutting in Chinese manufacturing.

China’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala showcased multiple robot makers and shone a spotlight on listed suppliers and investors with exposure to embodied-intelligence technologies. While the public debut boosted attention and prompted capital-market scrutiny, most corporate participants report only small-batch orders and pilot-stage business, leaving the sector’s commercial inflection point uncertain.

China’s major delivery platforms have turned Lunar New Year’s Eve meals into a strategic instant-retail scenario, each adopting different approaches: JD focuses on quality and service, Taobao on targeted subsidies, and Meituan on steady platform integration. Operational improvements and riders’ willingness to work through the holiday are underpinning a permanent expansion of festival delivery, even as profitability pressures force more nuanced competition.

Spot gold fell below $5,000 per ounce and silver dropped over 2% as a firmer dollar, rising real yields and softer post-holiday physical demand in Asia weighed on prices. The move underscores how macroeconomic data and monetary policy expectations, rather than safe-haven flows alone, are dominating precious-metals markets.

Chinese media and imagery indicate accelerated construction of a large fourth carrier, 004, at Dalian with a reported waterline wider than the US Ford class and likely nuclear propulsion. Fitted with four EMALS and expected to enter service in the late 2020s, the ship is portrayed domestically as a capability to extend China’s reach beyond the first island chain and contest US maritime dominance in the Western Pacific.

US deployments of A-10s, F-15Es and supporting assets to the Middle East have intensified after stalled Oman talks with Iran, signalling a retained option for military action. Tehran's consultations with China and Russia, combined with Israeli pressure and US economic tightening, raise the risk of broader regional and geopolitical escalation rather than a contained strike.

China’s military media released footage of troops singing a patriotic song tied to Korean War hero Qiu Shaoyun, blending historical martyrdom with contemporary calls to “fight and win.” The portrayal is a deliberate mix of morale-building and political signalling as the PLA modernises and faces more frequent regional tensions. The episode highlights how Beijing fuses cultural programming with force development to shape troop identity and communicate resolve to domestic and international audiences.

Singapore has publicly criticized what it sees as the risk of a resurgent Japanese militarism after a commanding LDP election win, invoking wartime memories of the 1942 occupation. The response blends historical grievance with contemporary defence preparedness and sends a wider diplomatic signal about regional stability and the preservation of the postwar order.

The United States has redeployed aircraft and defensive systems closer to Iran and extended troop rotations as indirect nuclear talks with Tehran begin in Geneva. The concurrent build-up and diplomacy constitute a coercive strategy that raises the risk of miscalculation and could escalate regional instability if negotiations fail.

A Feb. 17 video from China Military Video Network profiles women soldiers serving at high altitude, using emotional storytelling to humanize the PLA. The piece serves domestic legitimacy, gender messaging and strategic signalling by showcasing resilience and readiness in geopolitically sensitive plateau regions.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israel’s cabinet approval to restart systematic land registration in parts of the West Bank, saying it risks dispossessing Palestinians and undermines the two-state solution. The move, the first large-scale registration since 1967, could convert wide areas to state land and deepen international concern about de facto annexation.