Month: July 2025

China’s top anti-spying agency has urged citizens to beware of data leakage through deliberately designed or maliciously embedded “technical back doors” in chips and smart gadgets produced overseas, warning of risks to national security. Advertisement The Ministry of State Security said on its official social media page on Monday that imported chips, software and smart devices for critical sectors might feature embedded “exploits” or access points at the initial design stage. These would allow malicious actors to bypass security controls and gain unauthorised access to systems, potentially causing severe data…

After record levels of expansion over the past few years, China’s high-speed rail network – already the world’s largest – is set for further upgrades, as Beijing pledges to improve services and lower logistics costs over the coming half a decade. Advertisement China added 10,000km of operational high-speed rail tracks between 2021 and 2024, putting the nation on track to reach its goal of 50,000km by the end of the year, Minister of Transport Liu Wei said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. “The operating mileage of China’s…

Advertisement The regulations, released by the Central Military Commission (CMC), were designed to “strengthen political loyalty”, according to the official newspaper PLA Daily. It stressed the importance of Communist Party officials embedded within the military “acting with fairness and integrity in personnel matters, and leading by example”. A commentary published by the newspaper on Monday said the new rules drew “clear political red lines, boundaries on the exercise of power and limits on social interactions”, and “represented a solemn commitment to the entire military”. The report did not say when…

In discussions with major carmakers, China has repeatedly brought up the “irrational competition” driving down prices – an economy-wide issue threatening the buoyancy of emerging growth drivers, particularly new energy vehicles (NEVs) – calling for firms to establish lasting standards to ensure fair and orderly market activity. Advertisement As Beijing seeks to rein in a cutthroat price war driving down growth potential in the sector – a trend that is also fuelling deflationary pressure – industry leaders gathered in the capital for two symposia held over two consecutive days, according…

China has confirmed that it barred a senior Wells Fargo executive from leaving the country, saying it banned her exit because of a “criminal case” investigation. Advertisement Last week, reports surfaced that Chenyue Mao, an Atlanta-based managing director at the American banking giant and a United States citizen, had been stopped from leaving China. In response, Wells Fargo has suspended all business travel to China. “Ms Mao Chenyue is involved in a criminal case currently being handled by Chinese law enforcement authorities and is subject to the exit restrictions in…

A joint China-Singapore research team is using nanoparticle technology to create a cancer vaccine that has produced promising results in animal tests – reducing the regrowth and spread of tumours up to seven times more effectively than existing treatments. Advertisement The nanovaccine attacks not only regular cancerous cells but also cancer stem cells (CSCs), which can lie dormant within tumours during treatment, only awakening when conditions are more favourable to the disease. The bioinspired approach developed by the researchers, led by Yang Yanlian from the National Centre for Nanoscience and…

Chinese investors are snapping up exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track bonds, betting on their lower costs and diversified exposure to profit from an environment of stubborn deflation and policy support for the corporate sector. Advertisement Assets managed under such ETFs surged to more than US$50 billion at the end of June, up from $10 billion at the beginning of last year, according to Bloomberg data. The number of those targeting corporate notes increased sixfold since the end of last year to become the fastest-growing segment, accounting for more than half…

China is poised to begin receiving iron ore shipments from Guinea and Algeria this year, as Chinese firms complete the railway lines and ports needed to overcome logistical bottlenecks. Advertisement For years, the lack of railway infrastructure connecting mine sites to port facilities had stymied iron ore exports from both nations. These massive projects are strategically important to China as it tries to diversify its supply of iron ore away from Australia and Brazil, which together account for about 80 per cent of seaborne exports. Simandou, in the remote southeast…