China

A Hangzhou court sentenced Zou Wei and Zan Aizong for meeting on the Qiantang River on 13 July 2024, the seventh anniversary of Liu’s death, to commemorate the intellectual, one of the promoters of Charter 08, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his nonviolent commitment to human rights. Despite his death, he continues to inspire fear among China’s rulers today.

Humanoids starred in China's most-watched TV show, bringing New Year's traditions into the digital world, thus showcasing the country’s technological advances. Billions-dollar investments and competition among digital giants are bringing the prospect of robots in factories and offices that much closer.

Geopolitical tensions have put the spotlight on China's large investments in global maritime hubs. Chinese companies hold majority stakes in 17 ports, while they hold minority stakes in most others or have operational management agreements. The cases of Piraeus (Greece) and Ream (Cambodia) are noteworthy. The lack of transparency regarding their conditions is well known.

The mass exodus for the holidays that bring Chinese families together is already underway. This year, a record 9.5 billion passenger trips are expected, 540 million by rail. With tickets hard to come by on the busiest routes on key days, the authorities are trying to stem the proliferation of travel agencies that exploit the imbalance between supply and demand.

In all the reports from Beijing's official media on the 20-year prison sentence handed down on 9 February to the Hong Kong entrepreneur, a public interview from 2019 is deliberately misrepresented. To justify the harsh sentence with words that the founder of Apple Daily never said. Instead, they are silent about what he said that day about the link between his Christian faith and the struggle for freedom and justice.

After five years, the landmark trial under the national security law ended. The founder of Apple Daily was charged with conspiracy and sedition. Chief Executive Lee praised the “severe” sentence that brings “relief to all”. Cardinal Zen was in the courtroom with Lay’s wife. Eight other defendants were also sentenced. Attention now turns to the trials of Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho.

Despite the tariff war in 2025, China broke through the $1 trillion mark in its trade surplus, 45% of which is now generated in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. However, this wealth is not driving domestic consumption, because the fall in producer prices in the name of competitiveness is also squeezing wages and incomes. This is an issue that the new five-year plan due in March does not seem likely to address.

At the Winter Olympics that open tomorrow, the Chinese team arrives with a record delegation and the desire to confirm its status as a new power in winter sports, earned in 2022 at Xi Jinping's Games. Among athletes, women outnumber men. The growing popularity of winter sports is also used as a model for the sinicisation of minorities.

A well-known reporter from Chengdu has been deprived of his freedom along with one of his colleagues for reporting on Chinese social media about the abuse of power by a local Communist Party official that led to a professor's suicide. Meanwhile, in Beijing, the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party is touting the ‘fight against corruption’ to justify the purges.

China is the main foreign investor in Uzbekistan, with large capital inflows for new projects, but the growing Chinese presence is causing great concern among farmers. Data from the Uzbekistan National Institute of Statistics last year counted 17,900 farms with foreign participation, of which almost 7,000 with Chinese capital

Prescribed by doctors for anxiety disorders, the drug use is raising questions among doctors due to its increasing abuse. Advertised in forums and private chats, it is presented as a "safer" alternative to other, more controlled, substances. The problem of limited responses to young people's psychological distress is compounded by the stigma that still discourages many of them from seeking help.

Bangladesh inks an agreement with China to manufacture UAVs, with technology transfer and the development of military infrastructure. Although Dhaka stresses the technology’s civilian use, New Delhi views the agreement as a strengthening Chinese military presence in a neighbouring country.