Year: 2025

China has appointed its first female pilot to exclusively captain flights on its home-grown C919 jet, with more aspiring women waiting in the wings as the nation expands its talent pool and systemically transitions elite pilots who used to fly Boeing and Airbus jets to operate the narrowbody airliner. Yu Yue, who made a high-stakes switch from her decade-long career flying the US-made Boeing 737 to be a C919 captain this year, has become a source of inspiration for many in the country. According to state media reports, Yu –…

Lee Jae-myung is set to become the first sitting South Korean president to travel to China since 2019 with a visit scheduled for early January. Analysts said Lee was expected to engage Beijing on security issues, including North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and the enforcement of international sanctions, while seeking to build on his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October. Neither side has confirmed the visit, but preparations are under way, highlighted by a recent strategic vice-ministerial dialogue in Beijing between Park Yoon-joo, South Korea’s first foreign vice-minister, and…

Foreign forces have used deepfakes and other artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to create public panic and obtain sensitive information, posing a threat to China’s national security, the country’s top intelligence agency has warned. Deepfake technology, which uses AI’s deep learning algorithms to simulate and forge images, audio and video, can be abused or used maliciously to endanger individual legal rights, social stability and national security, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) said in an article on Friday. It said some “hostile foreign anti-China forces” had used this technology to generate…

From luxury handbags to vintage Bordeaux, China’s consumers have long associated French products with fine living. Now, France aims to hook the country’s expanding middle class on another local speciality: foie gras. China placed tight restrictions on imports of the iconic French goose liver pate amid Europe’s bird flu epidemic, but there are signs that things could change, with Beijing recently vowing to get more produce “from French farms to Chinese tables”. Paris and Beijing also signed a declaration on agriculture during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China earlier…

As 2025 draws to a close amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over new arms sales to Taiwan, analysts warn that the worsening atmosphere could weigh on the substance – if not the scheduling – of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China next year to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Washington’s announcement last week of a US$11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, the largest to date, has sharpened frictions at a sensitive moment, making it less likely that Beijing will be inclined to offer concessions or deliverables…