Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center — China was set to launch its Shenzhou-21 spacecraft on Friday, carrying a new three-person crew to man the country’s own Tiangong space station on a mission focused on scientific research. The replacement crew includes China’s youngest-ever taikonaut — as China’s space program calls its astronauts — and, for the first time…
China’s “institutional strength” will help the country tackle “major tests” over the course of the next five-year plan, analysts and state media have said. The country’s latest development plan, which is due to start next year and run until 2030, comes at a time when Beijing is facing increasing obstacles to its long-term ambitions both…
A commentary by state news agency Xinhua on Monday said that Taiwan will be “governed by patriots” after reunification with mainland China, and that all of its products could enter the mainland’s market duty free. “We not only seek reunification in formality, what’s more important is the mental bonding of compatriots on the two sides…
China‘s state-owned defense giant Norinco in February unveiled a military vehicle capable of autonomously conducting combat-support operations at 50 kilometres per hour. It was powered by DeepSeek, the company whose artificial intelligence model is the pride of China’s tech sector. The Norinco P60’s release was touted by Communist Party officials in press statements as an…
In a lengthy article on Saturday detailing some of the build-up to the Communist Party’s fourth plenum this week, state news agency Xinhua and party mouthpiece People’s Daily said Xi “personally headed” the team that drafted the outline for the next five-year plan. “[He] oversaw and guided the formulation of the proposal for the 15th…
The Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party replaced 11 members at a key meeting in Beijing this week amid an ongoing military purge. The change, reported by Chinese state media on Thursday, represents the highest turnover of officers and personnel since 2017. Veteran general Zhang Shengmin, 67, was promoted to second-ranked vice chair of the…
BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party said Thursday it would focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology in the face of “profound and complex” changes and rising “uncertainty.” The announcement came in a communique at the end of a four-day meeting on the party’s next five-year economic plan for the country. China…
As China’s leadership meets this week to chart a policy course for the 15th five-year plan – China’s development blueprint for the rest of the decade – events that unfolded more than 70 years ago are echoing again. The growing external challenges of today have similarities to those the country faced in the 1950s –…
US President Donald Trump is expected to approach his coming summit with Xi Jinping by relying on personal chemistry and his “gut”, but his ability to charm the Chinese leader will be limited at best, analysts and former government officials in Washington said on Tuesday. The first meeting in six years between the heads of…
China’s ruling Communist Party kicked off a key four-day conclave on Monday that will determine the country’s development over the next five years. The fourth plenum of the party’s Central Committee began on Monday morning, according to state news agency Xinhua. Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is also the nation’s president, delivered a work…