Month: September 2023

China is pushing ahead with the construction of a second satellite megaconstellation to provide broadband internet services and compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. G60 Starlink, which is backed by the Shanghai municipal government, will eventually comprise more than 12,000 satellites in low earth orbit. Its potential size is similar to Guo Wang, or National Network, a separate constellation consisting of some 13,000 satellites and commonly known as China’s answer to Starlink. It is now under construction by the state-owned Guo Wang company. 01:27 China beats SpaceX with world’s first methane-powered rocket…

China unveiled a plan to boost the tourism industry and attract more foreign visitors by resuming visa-free policies and making travel and payments easier as the country began its National Day “golden week” holiday. The plan was published on the website of the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Friday night but was dated Wednesday. It came as travellers are expected to make nearly 900 million trips in mainland China during the public holiday marking National Day on October 1. This year the Mid-Autumn Festival overlaps with the National Day break,…

The ministry’s statement was referring to PLA activities over the previous week involving aircraft and ground troops at Dacheng Bay in Fujian province. The exercises appeared to be a series of amphibious drills involving fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and were in addition to the PLA’s regular fly-bys or crossovers of the median line to areas close to the island, the ministry said. 03:15 Taiwan holds nuclear emergency drill as mainland Chinese planes enter island’s air defence zone Taiwan holds nuclear emergency drill as mainland…

“The survey showed a rise in the proportion of manufacturing factories reporting intensified competition, high costs of raw materials and tightness in funds. The recovery and development of the manufacturing sector still face some difficulties,” Zhao said in a separate statement on the NBS website. He added that the government should strengthen implementation of support policies to consolidate the recovery. Within the official manufacturing PMI, the new orders subindex rose to 50.5 in September from 50.2 a month earlier, while the new export orders subindex improved slightly to 47.8 from…