# China
Latest news and articles about China
Total: 856 articles found
China Tightens the NCO Pipeline: PLA Wraps Up 2026 Spring Sergeant Selection as Professionalisation Push Continues
The PLA is finalising its 2026 spring NCO selection and promotion round, a regulated process combining technical assessments and political vetting to build a more professional non‑commissioned officer corps. Strengthening the NCO pipeline supports China’s broader military modernisation by preserving technical expertise and improving unit readiness, while maintaining tight party oversight of personnel.
Beijing’s Calculated Response: Export Controls Target Japanese Defence Firms to Curb ‘Re‑militarisation’
China has placed 20 Japanese entities on an export‑control watchlist, citing concerns over Tokyo’s alleged re‑militarisation and potential nuclear ambitions. Beijing frames the move as a lawful, narrowly targeted effort to cut off dual‑use technologies that might enable offensive military capabilities, a step that could reverberate through regional security dynamics and supply chains.
China Advances Local Bond Quotas: Guangdong Leads as Provinces Ready 2.4 Trillion Yuan for Early Issuance
Nineteen Chinese provinces have revealed advance allocations of next year’s local government borrowing limits totalling about 2.4 trillion yuan, with Guangdong receiving the largest share. The advance quotas — dominated by special-purpose bonds and often re-lent by provinces to cities and counties — are meant to speed infrastructure financing and stabilise investment, but they raise questions about transparency and contingent debt risks.
China’s 2025 Census Snapshots: Coastal Boom, Interior Fade — Guangdong and Hainan Buck National Trends
Provincial statistics for 2025 show population gains concentrated in Guangdong and Hainan, driven largely by migration and, unusually in Guangdong’s case, a high number of births. Several interior provinces continued to lose residents, reinforcing regional divergence and posing fiscal and social challenges for policymakers.
China’s Provinces Reveal Scale of New Childcare Subsidies as Beijing Eyes Wider Rollout
Fourteen Chinese provinces reported roughly ¥45.9 billion in 2025 allocations for a new childcare subsidy that pays ¥3,600 per child annually for children under three. Beijing says about ¥100 billion will be spent nationally in 2025 and that more than 30 million infants have received payments; however, regional disparities and implementation challenges leave the policy’s demographic impact uncertain.
When Memory Becomes a Bottleneck: How the AI Chip Boom Is Driving Up Car Prices
A surge in DRAM and other memory prices sparked by AI demand and producers shifting capacity away from low‑margin chips has created acute shortages of car‑grade memory. The result is higher component costs for automakers, with some firms seeing DRAM expenses for a single vehicle nearly triple and potential upward pressure on EV prices unless supply rebalances or manufacturers absorb costs.
320,000 Down: China’s Smoke-and-Spirits Shops Shrink as Margins Vanish
A steep downturn in China’s dedicated tobacco-and-liquor shops has wiped out margins and closed roughly 320,000 outlets in 2025, reflecting shifts in consumer behaviour, channel strategies and pricing transparency. The result is a structural retail shakeout in which surviving businesses will need new models of service, niche focus or integration with digital channels to stay viable.
Modest Income Gains, Uneven Recovery: Beijing Pushes to Convert Rising Incomes into Stronger Household Spending
China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported a 5.0% rise in per‑capita disposable income to 43,377 yuan in 2025, with rural incomes growing faster than urban ones but a large urban‑rural gap persisting. Household consumption rose modestly, with services now nearly half of spending, while Beijing rolls out policy measures aimed at boosting incomes and converting saving into spending.
When New Recruits Meet Old Hands: A Moment That Sells Continuity in China’s Military
A Xinhua photo of a new recruit meeting a veteran has been framed as a symbol of continuity in the People’s Liberation Army, conveying both political messaging and practical concerns about recruitment, professionalization and veteran reintegration. The image underscores Beijing’s effort to present the military as modern yet rooted in tradition, even as the PLA confronts evolving personnel and welfare challenges.
China’s Daily: Chengdu’s Bonded Zone Opens as Regulators Tighten Rules on Platforms and Tech Firms Recalibrate
Chengdu’s new airport comprehensive bonded zone began operations, promising lower logistics costs and stronger western trade links. Simultaneously, Beijing has tightened food‑safety obligations for online delivery platforms, while tech firms adjust strategies amid regulatory and market pressures — a pattern of opening paired with firmer oversight.
Beijing Pushes Back as Washington Calls for China to Join US–Russia Nuclear Talks
The United States has asked China to join trilateral nuclear arms talks with Washington and Moscow. China responded cautiously, reiterating demands for equality, security guarantees and an avoidance of double standards, while highlighting the technical and political obstacles to three‑party arms control.
Beijing Tightens Disclosure Rules for Private Funds, Bans Performance Forecasts and Return Guarantees
China’s securities regulator has issued new measures to tighten disclosure and curb misleading marketing by private funds, banning performance forecasts and guarantees of principal or minimum returns. The rules, effective September 1, 2026, strengthen custodial review, reporting obligations and enforcement powers, and are likely to raise compliance costs while improving investor protection and market credibility.