Day: August 1, 2026

Researchers from China’s national police academy have developed an AI framework that can detect illicit cryptocurrency transactions with nearly 90 per cent overall accuracy, according to a recent study. Cryptocurrency transactions are growing rapidly, but their pseudonymous and cross-border nature can provide channels for money laundering and other illegal activities. In an article published in the peer-reviewed Chinese publication Journal of Intelligence, corresponding author Dr Sun Jingchao wrote that the study “provides a precise, generalisable and interpretable solution for detecting illicit cryptocurrency transactions”. It also “provides an innovative technological pathway…

Having marked its 99th anniversary on August 1, the People’s Liberation Army is now just one year away from its centenary goals, with its evolution highlighting the past, present and future of China’s military strategy. In the third part of a series, Yuanyue Dang and William Zheng examine how Beijing leans on Mao-era doctrines and anti-corruption drives to guarantee absolute party control over the armed forces. In December 1929, then Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong led a pivotal meeting in Gutian, Fujian province. The Communist Party’s armed wing at the time…

A recent US executive order requires major arms manufacturers to trace their multi-tier supply chains and actively phase out Chinese rare earths, aiming to end years of reliance on cheap minerals from China. Far from a radical policy shift, industry observers view the directive as a long-overdue enforcement crackdown designed to inflict short-term contractor pain for long-term national security gain. While contractors face immediate hurdles to requalify suppliers and find non-Chinese alternatives, US analysts said the market adjustments were manageable, though delivery timetables for future military hardware could slightly stretch.…

Chinese President Xi Jinping has honoured a veteran naval test pilot with a first-class merit award for defence science and technology. Yang featured in a documentary that aired this week on state broadcaster CCTV and described a life-threatening incident in which his plane lost pressure at an altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 feet) following a leak in the cabin. “If the aircraft does not descend, the cabin pressure will completely dissipate. If the pilot becomes incapacitated, the aircraft will lose control and [the situation will] become uncontrollable,” Yang said. But…

The July 6 launch – in which a dummy warhead travelled 8,000km (5,000 miles) – was China’s first confirmed submarine-based missile test since 1982, and the first known firing from a nuclear-powered submarine. The type of missile used has not been officially confirmed, but a report in the Global Times – a newspaper owned by the party mouthpiece People’s Daily – suggested it was a JL-3, which can be fired from nuclear-powered submarines. The intercontinental-range ballistic missile is expected to become a key pillar of China’s nuclear arsenal by boosting…

As China’s era of catch-up growth fades, experts warn that profound issues in research culture and institutional incentives may hamstring the country’s ambition to become a leader in scientific innovation. In a dialogue held at the Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS) last month, leading scholars discussed the hurdles China faces with Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine. Lu Bai, a neurobiologist and the president of SANS, noted that China had been able to use Western scientific advances to make swift progress across multiple fields for decades,…