# China
Latest news and articles about China
Total: 854 articles found
Hormuz Chokehold: Iran Keeps Crude Flowing to China as Washington Empties Reserves
Escalation between the United States and Iran has threatened oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed prices sharply higher. China continued to take most Iranian exports in January–February, while the U.S. and a coalition of countries tapped emergency reserves to stabilise markets, a stopgap that risks depleting strategic buffers without a political resolution.
China’s New ‘GEO’ Economy: Firms Paying to Seed and ‘Poison’ AI Recommendations
Chinese media exposed a growing industry—known as GEO—that creates and distributes coordinated promotional content to bias AI models’ outputs in favour of paying clients. By automating content production and leveraging networks of publishing accounts, firms can cause mainstream models to recommend fabricated or promoted products, posing risks to consumer trust and market fairness.
Inside China’s Private‑Domain Sales Machine: Cheap Medicines Repackaged and Sold at Five‑Fold Markups to the Elderly
A 3·15 investigation exposed a private‑domain marketing industry in China that repackages low‑cost medicines and supplements into expensive, persuasive video lectures sold to elderly consumers. The scam hinges on fabricated expert authority and intimate social‑platform channels, yielding markups of up to five times the purchase price and prompting renewed regulatory scrutiny.
From Geek Toy to Workplace Engine: How OpenClaw’s ‘Agent’ Boom Exposes a New Fault Line in AI
OpenClaw—an open‑source AI agent that executes tasks on local machines—has catalysed rapid adoption and alarm across China. It promises a shift from content‑centric AI to agents that perform real work, but its deep system privileges, a permissive plugin market and numerous disclosed vulnerabilities have prompted regulatory warnings and institutional bans. The likely trajectory is commercial hardening and new governance regimes, but risks to security and inequality remain acute.
How China’s Duck‑Neck Giants Went from Franchise Goldmines to Losing Bets
China’s major braised‑meat chains — Juewei, Zhouheiya and Huangshanghuang — have seen rapid store closures, revenue declines and collapsing margins after an era of aggressive expansion. High retail prices, overbuilt supply chains, competition from low‑cost street vendors and slowing urbanisation have combined to make the franchised duck‑neck business model unprofitable for many operators and franchisees.
CATL’s Cash Bonanza: How China’s Battery Champion Turned Dominance into Windfall Returns
CATL reported blockbuster 2025 results — ¥423.7 billion in revenue and ¥72.2 billion in net profit — and proposed a record ¥31.5 billion dividend, underscoring its dominant position in both EV batteries and energy storage. Years of heavy R&D investment and scale-up have given the company market share advantages and strategic leverage, although material constraints, competition and regulatory scrutiny pose material risks to future expansion.
China’s Space Tourists Are Coming — But Only for the Elite (For Now)
China is on the verge of joining the small club of nations offering commercial suborbital flights, with private firms targeting crewed launches in 2027–2028 and celebrities such as Huang Jingyu buying early tickets. The experience is short but intense — minutes of weightlessness and a planetary panorama — and remains prohibitively expensive until reusable launch systems and regulatory approvals bring costs down.
Japan’s Cost-No-Object Bid for Rare-Earth Independence Meets a Hard Reality
Japan has escalated efforts to end reliance on Chinese rare earths, investing in foreign suppliers, deep‑sea exploration and substitution technologies. Despite a new ‘cost‑no‑object’ posture and allied cooperation, technical, environmental and industrial hurdles mean Japan cannot quickly displace China’s refining dominance.
China Holds High-Level Talks with GCC Envoys, Urges Restraint as Regional Tensions Flare
China’s vice foreign minister met GCC envoys in Beijing on March 11, 2026, as Gulf states seek international support amid escalating regional tensions. Beijing reiterated opposition to unauthorized military strikes, condemned attacks on civilians, and offered to deepen communication to promote ceasefires and prevent further escalation.
At AWE, Chatting With Humanoids Felt Real — but the ‘Open‑Book’ Robot Is Still Work in Progress
At AWE this year humanoid robots demonstrated more convincing conversational skills by combining physical embodiments with retrieval‑based agent systems. The demos show practical gains — fewer factual errors and task‑oriented tool use — but hardware limits, orchestrated presentations and regulatory gaps mean wide consumer adoption is not yet assured.
More than 11 Million Barrels of Iranian Oil Routed to China as US Escort Rhetoric Falters
More than 11.7 million barrels of Iranian crude have been reported as flowing to China through the Strait of Hormuz since late February, even as regional tensions and threats to merchant shipping have risen. The episode highlights China’s growing energy resilience and the practical limits of US military guarantees in a high‑risk maritime environment.
China’s Helicopter Detachment in Abyei Passes UN Equipment Inspection, Underscoring Beijing’s Growing Peacekeeping Credibility
China’s sixth helicopter detachment in Abyei passed a UN first-quarter equipment inspection after meeting standards across aircraft, vehicles, weapons, medical and living facilities. The result highlights Beijing’s growing professionalism in UN peacekeeping and preserves the unit’s ability to perform patrols, medevac and logistics in a challenging operational environment.