Month: September 2025

Advertisement This emerging system aims to mass-produce space systems not just quickly but with consistent quality, lower cost and greater flexibility. With global space activity projected to grow exponentially fuelled by new technology and orbital launches reaching 170,000 tonnes of payloads annually by 2045, the country that masters scalable space production will dominate the future, according to the researchers. Traditional aerospace production has been a “push” system: components are made based on forecasts and schedules, often leading to mismatches, delays and inventory pile-ups. Mock-ups of the New Generation Launch Vehicles…

China’s first drone-carrying amphibious assault vessel, the Sichuan, is expected to begin sea trials soon following the release of new images of the ship. Advertisement Pictures circulating on social media showing that the covers had been removed from the Type 076’s electric launch catapult and that a radar system had apparently been installed generated speculation that the ship was ready for the trials. The Sichuan is seen as a key asset for the PLA Navy’s unmanned aerial vehicle operations because of its electromagnetic catapult launch system, and is often described…

Tunisia has unveiled a new Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Acupuncture Clinical Skills Training Centre, just months after the country’s health minister, Mustapha Ferjani, made a visit to China. Advertisement The facility, located at Mongi Slim University Hospital, just 18km (11 miles) from the capital Tunis, was opened on Friday and is a direct result of the two nations reaching a series of agreements on health cooperation during the February visit. Chinese ambassador to Tunisia, Wan Li, said the centre was the “latest achievement of China-Tunisia traditional medicine cooperation” and…

China’s transport authorities are expecting an increased number of journeys during the upcoming National Day holiday, which starts on Wednesday. Advertisement Deputy transport minister Li Yang, said on Sunday that the authorities expected around 2.4 billion journeys during the eight-day break, around 295 million travellers each day – a 3.2 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. The “golden week” holiday will begin on Wednesday, China’s National Day, and runs into the following week to include the Mid-Autumn Festival. The eight-day holiday is one of the most…

Advertisement The size of the cross-section – a measure of how detectable an object is by radar – was revealed in a programme aired on state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday. “As a stealth fighter, the J-35 series’ low observability comes from its unique airframe shape and the country’s proprietary metamaterial technology,” CCTV reported. “In the electromagnetic world, this ‘steel giant’s’ radar cross-section is smaller than a human palm.” Advertisement The F-35 has a radar cross-section of around 15cm², about the size of a golf ball, according to the Indian Defence…

The US military launched a covert strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, dropping several massive bunker-busting bombs on a single target. While US officials claimed the sites were completely destroyed, some reports suggested the core of these facilities might have survived. Advertisement This scenario underscores a persistent challenge in modern warfare: even the most powerful conventional weapons may fail to eliminate deeply buried, hardened underground targets. But what if nuclear weapons were used instead – not just one, but a coordinated sequence of multiple warheads striking the same location…

Allowing US companies like Nvidia to compete in China fits the interests of both Beijing and Washington, according to Jensen Huang, the US chipmaker’s founder and CEO, as Chinese players gear up to be Nvidia-free. Advertisement Washington should allow its technology industry to compete globally – including in China – to “proliferate the technology around the world” and thereby “maximise America’s economic success and geopolitical influence”, he said. China is “nanoseconds behind” the US, “so we’ve got to go compete”, Huang said, highlighting China’s progress in chipmaking and its manufacturing…

Some Chinese skiers are travelling to an unexpected destination to take part in the winter sport: the hot and humid tech hub of Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province, during next month’s eight-day National Day holiday, also known as the “golden week”. Advertisement Qianhai Huafa Snow World, which is being touted as the world’s largest indoor ski resort, is set to open there on Monday as authorities look to tie the winter sports economy to efforts to boost consumption. The 10-hectare (24.7 acre) indoor ski area at the resort will…

The southern Chinese city of Sanya has suspended all flights and neighbouring Haikou closed its port as Hainan Island braced for the arrival of Typhoon Bualoi on Sunday. Advertisement Bualoi, coming close on the heels of Super Typhoon Ragasa, is expected to skim the island and come ashore in Vietnam later on Sunday. According to the China Meteorological Administration, the typhoon’s centre as of 10am local time Sunday was about 160 kilometres (99 miles) from Sanya and most of Hainan Island is within the typhoon’s seventh-level wind zone between 13.9…

After four extensions of the statutory deadline to ban TikTok or force its Chinese owners to divest, US President Donald Trump has now signed an executive order transferring the app to US ownership. The announcement follows years of diplomatic sparring, bureaucratic manoeuvring, repeated efforts by federal and state governments to curtail the platform and even a ruling from the US Supreme Court. Has the fate of America’s most viral social media app finally been decided? Advertisement Those expecting closure will be disappointed. This latest “framework consensus” still leaves China with…