Oil-rich Venezuela has been a springboard for Beijing’s geopolitical and economic interests in Latin AmericaFinancial Times
Day: January 5, 2026
India will grow in 2026, but will Indians be better off?
This article is an on-site version of the India Business Briefing newsletter. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. Good morning and happy new year! Welcome back to India Business Briefing. Last week we analysed the big themes of 2025. Today, we look at what the economy, markets and the government will have to deal with in 2026. India is a dichotomous country. This is both its beauty and its burden. With a population of 1.4bn spread over every…
China’s DeepSeek adds advanced ‘thinking’ feature to chatbot amid buzz over next model
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has updated the user interface of its flagship chatbot by adding an advanced “thinking” feature, as its app recorded a massive 90 per cent jump in monthly active users (MAU) in December. The upgrades, including a deep research mode similar to OpenAI’s namesake product, marked a rare improvement on the consumer side for the Hangzhou-based firm at a time when anticipation was building over its next-generation models, analysts said. DeepSeek’s… South China Morning Post
China-Japan military tensions: what lies ahead in 2026?
As the new year unfolds, China finds itself grappling with strategic pressures fuelled by two US treaty allies at its doorstep – Japan and South Korea. In the first of a two-part series, Seong Hyeon Choi looks at how historically fraught China-Japan ties might fare as Tokyo bolsters its military posture with record budgets and advanced weaponry. China and Japan have never fully resolved the decades-old grudges of their wartime history and territorial disputes, but it was near the end of 2025 –… South China Morning Post
‘It ought to provide a deterrent’: what US action in Venezuela means for Taiwan
Perception that Chinese-made weapons could not stop a ‘decapitation strike’ may give Beijing pause for thought The sight of a hostile regional superpower launching an overnight raid to depose the leader of a smaller neighbouring country could easily have sent pulses in Taiwan racing. The US on Saturday revealed the details of a surprise raid to capture Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, who was whisked away to the US, where he was frogmarched into a court in New York on Monday. Continue reading… The Guardian
China, Russia won’t ‘dare test’ US, says Hegseth after show of military might in Venezuela
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth delivered a stark warning to China and Russia on Monday, declaring that the United States is rebuilding military dominance to a level so absolute that its enemies would “not dare” test it. Addressing shipyard workers and naval personnel at Newport News Shipbuilding, the nation’s largest military shipyard, Hegseth pointed to the recent US military operation in Venezuela as evidence of renewed American military readiness and the limits of non-American defence technology. “We’re re-establishing deterrence that’s so absolute and so unquestioned that our enemies will…
It’s HAL out there: Tencent AI chatbot tells user to ‘get lost’ in rare angry outburst
Chinese social media and gaming giant Tencent Holdings apologised after its artificial intelligence chatbot Yuanbao was accused of “verbally insulting” a user, fuelling online debate about the risks posed by fast-evolving generative AI tools. Yuanbao is among China’s most popular AI chatbots. Embedded in Tencent’s WeChat and used by tens of millions of people each day, there have been no previous reports of the assistant generating insulting replies in user conversations. The complaint surfaced on Chinese social media platform RedNote on Friday, where a user said Yuanbao responded to coding…
‘Donald Trump highway’: how one China ally is courting the US
For decades, Cambodia has shown its appreciation for its most important backer by naming major roads after China’s leaders. Mao Se Toung Boulevard has been on the map for 60 years, while Xi Jinping Boulevard was unveiled in 2024. Now, Cambodia may be ready to bestow the same honour on a US president. Cambodia is considering renaming National Route 4, the 225km-long highway that connects capital Phnom Penh with the port city of Sihanoukville, after Donald Trump, in one of the strongest signs yet of its intention to build warmer…
TikTok-ban critic with ‘economic patriotism’ agenda to lead Democrats on House China panel
Ro Khanna, a California progressive who opposed the US congressional effort to force the Chinese divestment of TikTok, will replace Illinois Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi as the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Communist Party later this month. The announcement, made by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on Monday, comes eight months after Krishnamoorthi said he would run for a Senate seat that will be vacated by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin. Durbin announced last April that he would not seek re-election in the November midterms. Krishnamoorthi has served…
US foes and allies denounce Trump’s ‘crime of aggression’ in Venezuela at UN meeting
The US has faced widespread condemnation for a “crime of aggression” in Venezuela at an emergency meeting of the United Nations security council. Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Eritrea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Spain were among countries that on Monday denounced Donald Trump’s decision to launch deadly strikes on Venezuela and snatch its leader, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to stand trial in the US. “The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line,” Sérgio França Danese, the Brazilian ambassador to the…