Author: Media Library

The People’s Liberation Army has made a rare public appeal for tip-offs about procurement problems in its air force, as Beijing presses ahead with its anti-corruption campaign in the military. The announcement was posted on Monday on the PLA’s official procurement website – the main bid information platform for suppliers – seeking information about “irregular” procurement activities organised by air force units. It is the first time such a request has been made about a specific branch of the military, which comprises the ground force, navy, air force and rocket…

It has been a turbulent year for the fraught US-China relationship. In the third part of a series looking back at the events of 2025, we examine China’s growing military might and how it’s narrowing the tech gap with the US. US defence chief Pete Hegseth told a conference in Washington this month that America would maintain a “clear-eyed appreciation” of China’s “rapid, formidable and holistic” military build-up. That build-up is being watched globally, with defence experts in recent years tracking the country’s military advances as the People’s Liberation Army…

Last month, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery company, started building a massive joint venture plant in Spain. It came weeks after Spain’s King Felipe visited Beijing, seeking a stronger EU-China relationship as US commitments wobble. Except Spain, electrified by the potential job creation, ran into a problem: CATL wants to bring 2,000 Chinese workers to build the plant. What’s happening in Spain is part of a complicated new showdown between the European Union and China. At one end, China’s demands are forcing Europe to choose between…

Chinese carmaker BYD plans to build a new factory in Brazil within the next three years after rising demand for electric buses filled its existing production capacity and forced the company to redraw its manufacturing strategy in the country. The project would sharply expand output, create hundreds of jobs and support exports across South America, with Africa also being considered, as BYD strengthens a business segment that predates its move into passenger electric vehicles. BYD has assembled electric bus chassis in Campinas, Sao Paulo state, since 2015. Over nearly a…

The growth rate of Chinese tourists to Japan significantly slowed in November, according to official data released by Tokyo, as Beijing cut flights and issued travel warnings amid rising tensions with Japan over Taiwan. According to the latest report released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on Wednesday, although Chinese tourists continued to visit Japan in November and the numbers kept growing, it was at a much slower pace than before, both year on year and month on month. In November 2025, the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Japan…