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China’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala has pivoted from traditional sponsors such as baijiu brands toward AI assistants, robots and internet platforms. ByteDance’s Doubao and several robotics firms are using the national broadcast to seed user growth and investor interest, but the technology and commercialization behind the spectacle remain nascent.

Sam’s Club in China faces a credibility test as a series of product and delivery mishaps have turned routine membership renewals into a calculated choice for many customers. The incidents expose vulnerabilities in last-mile delivery, high-touch food processing and product curation, forcing members to weigh emotional cost against savings.

China has formally established a Hainan New Area of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Wenchang, creating a consolidated local structure for R&D, assembly, testing and launch services. The move leverages Hainan's low latitude and free‑trade policies to accelerate China's aerospace industrialisation and improve its launch capacity for both commercial and dual‑use missions.

The FCC has authorised Amazon to add 4,500 satellites, bringing its Kuiper/Leo constellation to about 7,700 craft and positioning the company to start commercial LEO internet service later this year. Amazon is accelerating launches through multiple providers, seeking deadline relief from the FCC, and entering a scaling race with SpaceX, whose far larger satellite ambitions could reshape launch economics and orbital governance.

UU Paotui removed a contested “proxy New‑Year visit” service after social‑media backlash, pledged triple refunds for unfulfilled orders and launched a charity campaign to mend its image. The incident underscores the cultural sensitivity and reputational risks Chinese platforms face when monetising intimate, ritualised services.

xAI co‑founder Jimmy Ba announced he will leave the company, thanking Elon Musk and saying he will remain close to the team. He warned that 2026 will be an exceptionally consequential year for global development, underscoring the high stakes facing AI companies.

SMIC expects its monthly capacity to rise by about 40,000 12‑inch wafer equivalents by the end of 2026 over last year, but warns that early equipment purchases may not immediately translate into full production. Heavy capital spending will lift depreciation by around 30% year‑on‑year in 2026, squeezing margins unless utilization and cost efficiency improve.

SMIC reported a 2025 revenue increase of about 16% and a 36% rise in net profit, driven by higher wafer shipments, improved utilisation and a better product mix. The firm spent $8.1 billion on capital expenditure in 2025 and guided for flat first‑quarter sales and an 18–20% gross margin, while forecasting full‑year growth above its peers and capex roughly unchanged.

China’s central bank has reiterated a ‘moderately loose’ stance, with room to cut reserve requirements and interest rates, underpinning a surge in liquidity that is lifting markets and prompting renewed investment in sectors from memory chips to low‑altitude communications. The policy posture is encouraging private fund growth and corporate capital raising, but it also raises the prospect of speculative excess that regulators are already monitoring.

NIO’s CEO Li Bin has set bold targets: achieve non‑GAAP profitability in 2026 and sustain 40–50% annual growth toward a 2035 ambition of 5 million vehicles. To reach these goals the company will sharpen R&D spending, expand its battery‑swap and retail footprint, and reorganise around customer‑centric business units to improve efficiency and resource allocation.

A recent round of US–Iran talks ended without agreement, and Washington immediately escalated economic pressure while Tehran moved to shore up ties with China and Russia. Deep divides over negotiation scope, nuclear baselines, and mutual distrust make a quick resolution unlikely and favour a prolonged strategic contest.

January data show China’s headline CPI barely rose, held down by a strong base from last year’s Lunar New Year and falling food and energy prices. Core inflation and monthly PPI gains point to improving domestic demand and selective industrial recovery, but producer‑price weakness persists, leaving policymakers balancing support for growth with price stability.

A photo of a J‑15 fighter carrying the new YJ‑15 supersonic anti‑ship missile signals a meaningful upgrade in China’s carrier‑borne strike reach. With a lighter air‑launch design and a claimed range near 800 km, the missile extends PLA Navy standoff attack options, complicating regional defence planning even as it remains one element of a broader targeting and sensor ecosystem.

China’s main stock indexes opened lower on 11 February, dragged by declines in crude palm oil–linked stocks and semiconductor firms tied to AI compute and high‑bandwidth memory. The swing reflects a combination of profit‑taking, holiday‑thin liquidity and a reassessment of near‑term AI hardware deployment rather than a decisive change in long‑term demand trends.

PLA naval personnel visited two elderly veterans of the 1950 Chosin Reservoir battle in Shandong ahead of the Lunar New Year, using filmed footage to reintroduce comrades separated by 76 years and poor health. The visits combined veteran welfare, patriotic education, and a symbolic reaffirmation of continuity between wartime sacrifice and the present military.

The U.S. plans to send about 200 troops to Nigeria to train local forces against Islamic State-affiliated militants, reinforcing a small existing U.S. presence. The move follows U.S. airstrikes in Nigeria in December 2025 and reflects Washington’s shift toward limited advisory deployments to counter transnational extremist threats in West Africa.

Benjamin Netanyahu made an expedited trip to Washington to press President Trump to insist that any US negotiations with Iran include limits on ballistic missiles and an end to support for regional proxies. Israel intends to deliver fresh intelligence and has warned that a nuclear‑only agreement would leave key Israeli security concerns unaddressed.

Viral footage claiming Iran test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile has been dismissed by missile experts as almost certainly fake. Technical inconsistencies, absence of corroborating data, and Iran’s known force structure point to fabrication, highlighting risks from rapid misinformation in security affairs.

Israel has accelerated a high-level visit to Washington after warning that Iran’s ballistic-missile programme constitutes an existential threat; Israeli officials say they may strike unilaterally if Tehran crosses unspecified red lines on missile range and numbers. Tel Aviv still prefers coordinated action with the United States, but the signal of possible independent action is meant to sharpen deterrence and press Washington for support.

A report says Lockheed Martin delivered a batch of F-35s since June 2025 without the AN/APG-85 radar installed, leaving only the radar pedestal and preventing simple retrofit with the older AN/APG-81. The gap could degrade readiness, increase retrofit costs and spotlight supply-chain and integration strains within the U.S. defense-industrial base.