Month: April 2026

Chinese railway giant CRRC has been forced out of a Lisbon metro contract in favour of a Polish firm, after a European Commission investigation found that foreign subsidies allowed CRRC to underbid rivals. “The in-depth investigation confirmed these preliminary findings, revealing that the subsidies in question had indeed given the consortium an unfair competitive edge, to the detriment of other bidders taking part in the tender and the integrity of the EU’s internal market,” the European Commission said in a statement on Tuesday. Advertisement The Mota-Engil-led consortium, which submitted the…

Behind China’s landmark crackdown on the e-commerce and food-delivery sectors lies a darker narrative of resistance, secrecy and violence, after regulators uncovered a vast network of “ghost” bakeries and imposed a record fine on seven major platforms. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) levied a 3.6 billion yuan (US$528 million) fine on seven platforms run by PDD Holdings, Meituan, JD.com, Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, with the probe revealing a hidden office, violent clashes and an employee swallowing notes during questioning as firms desperately tried to shield data from…

Modern military supremacy – from stealth jets to hypersonic missiles – hinges on micron-scale “super powders” engineered using precision mills. A new Chinese facility unveiled last week – described as the largest in the world – may give the country a critical edge in this field. The mill in the southern province of Guangdong uses new technology that the company behind it said was 10 times more efficient than older methods and allowed for the industrial scale production of these powders. Advertisement At first glance, these mills look like crude…

Beijing is putting its power strategy under the microscope as China navigates the impact of a shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz that risks becoming a long-term economic liability. Calling energy security a pillar of national stability, Premier Li Qiang on Monday convened a high-level study session of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, according to Xinhua. Advertisement The meeting, focused on coordinating energy security and the sector’s transformation, was the latest in a series of policy discussions and re-evaluations by policymakers. Also in attendance were China’s top-ranked vice-premier, Ding…

China called on the United States to show “sincerity” in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue while sounding a warning about Japan’s discussion of possessing nuclear weapons in a recent official report. The assessments appeared in China’s latest National Report on the Implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released on Monday. The document outlines Beijing’s progress in nuclear disarmament and its long-standing nuclear policies, including no first use, while blaming the US for causing the current impasse over Iran’s nuclear…

China’s recent diplomatic efforts in the Middle East have led to speculation over whether its global strategy has shifted. There is consensus that China is stepping into a leadership role and trying to play peacemaker. Meanwhile, a few sceptics point out that the US-Israel war on Iran is not about China and has only exposed how thin Beijing’s influence is in the region. We’ve been here before. In the last decade, with each moment of conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, from Syria to Libya to Palestine, China…

China has announced that it now has the capacity to build up to 50 nuclear reactors simultaneously, as it doubles down on a push to rapidly expand its nuclear power generation and become a global leader in the sector. The figure came from a report released by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA) on Friday, which highlights the country’s ability to run dozens of nuclear projects concurrently spanning the full project life cycle – from design to construction. Advertisement “China’s nuclear technology capabilities have moved from ‘following’ to ‘keeping pace’,…

Researchers in China have replicated the epic journey of one of the world’s most fascinating migratory fish within the confines of an artificial pool, potentially saving it from extinction. From hatching to maturity and spawning, eels undergo six stages of physical transformation over at least five years as they travel 6,000km (3,700 miles) from the ocean depths to freshwater rivers and lakes. Zhao Feng and his team from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences used satellite-tracking technology to analyse environmental factors and feeding patterns of adult eels in their natural…