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President Xi Jinping attended a Central Military Commission New‑Year cultural performance for retired senior officers on Feb. 6, delivering greetings to veterans nationwide. The ceremony underlines Beijing’s use of ceremonial politics to reinforce party control over the military and to shore up loyalty among retired cadres.

Alibaba’s Qianwen launched a 30 billion yuan promotional blitz offering free orders that generated roughly 10 million orders in nine hours, crashing ordering systems and overwhelming tea shops and couriers. The firm extended voucher expiry dates to ease pressure while markets cheered the traffic; analysts warn the stunt highlights logistic limits and the difficulty of turning subsidy‑driven users into loyal customers.

OpenClaw, an open‑source AI agent that can execute system‑level tasks and retain long‑term memory, has catalysed a new agent ecosystem and revived investor fears that autonomous agents will disrupt traditional software business models. The rush to deploy agents has produced parallel waves of innovation, market volatility and security warnings, forcing firms and regulators to confront questions about control, accountability and the future of paid and unpaid labour.

Dreame Technology, founded in 2017 and known for its robot vacuums, is executing a rapid, multi‑category expansion under CEO Yu Hao’s charismatic leadership. The company claims strong revenue growth and profitable units, but its aggressive ecosystem strategy—funded internally and via an affiliated venture fund—carries governance, funding and execution risks reminiscent of prior Chinese tech conglomerates.

China launched a reusable experimental spacecraft on February 7 from Jiuquan atop a Long March‑2F rocket to carry out technology verification tests. The mission advances Beijing's push for lower‑cost, higher‑cadence access to space and carries both civilian and strategic implications.

OpenClaw, an open‑source AI agent that can run on users' computers and remember long interactions, has catalysed a new ecosystem of agent services and marketplaces, while also triggering major security warnings and a sell‑off in software stocks worried about a structural threat to subscription models. The technology promises productivity gains but forces companies and regulators to confront novel cybersecurity, liability and economic questions.

Ahead of the Lunar New Year, city and rural commercial banks in China have rolled out limited‑time, high‑minimum deposit products with three‑year yields up to about 2%, outpacing offers from larger banks. The moves are tactical attempts to capture year‑end cashflows and shore up funding, but they are localized, come with restrictions, and are unlikely to signal a sustained rise in nationwide deposit rates.

Alibaba’s Qianwen used a RMB 3 billion subsidy campaign to drive an early wave of AI‑powered shopping, triggering more than 10 million orders in nine hours and overwhelming some bubble‑tea shops and couriers. The promotion succeeded at user acquisition but exposed technical glitches, uneven merchant economics and limits in AI recommendations when customers sought novelty.

Big U.S. tech companies plan roughly $660 billion of AI-related capital spending in 2026, triggering a sharp market sell-off despite strong revenue growth. Investors worry the large, front-loaded investments will lengthen return timelines and concentrate risk, while Apple’s lower-spend, partnership-led approach has been rewarded.

China’s central bank increased its gold holdings for the 15th month in a row to 74.19 million ounces at end-January 2026, adding roughly 40,000 ounces. Foreign-exchange reserves rose to $3.399 trillion, helped by a weaker dollar and asset price gains; analysts see Beijing’s modest, persistent gold buying as a cautious move to diversify reserves.

U.S. markets rallied on February 6 with the Dow surpassing 50,000 for the first time and major indices ending higher. Precious metals jumped sharply and China-focused stocks strengthened, while indirect U.S.–Iran talks in Muscat provided a cautious geopolitical backdrop.

Allegations of systematic medical‑insurance fraud at several psychiatric hospitals in Hubei have revealed links to Aier Medical Investment, the non‑listed vehicle controlled by Chen Bang, founder of listed Aier Eye. The case spotlights how opaque ownership layers can shield high‑risk healthcare businesses and raises the prospect of intensified regulatory and market scrutiny across China’s private medical sector.

German companies are redirecting investment toward China as U.S. policy volatility undercuts confidence in the American market. Surveys and official data show rising German FDI into China, while investment into the U.S. has fallen sharply, prompting Berlin to pursue high‑level talks with Beijing to secure better market terms.

China’s tax authority has scheduled the 2025 comprehensive personal income tax reconciliation for 1 March–30 June 2026 and will allow taxpayers to book appointments via the Personal Income Tax App from 25 February for filings between 1–20 March. The rest of the filing period (21 March–30 June) requires no appointment and is open for walk-in processing.

China’s traditional fried‑snack and nuts sector has been recast as a premium retail category, with mall stores, designer packaging and viral products pushing prices into ranges once associated with luxury goods. Rapid brand upgrades and industry growth coexist with consumer resistance and the risk that price rises will outstrip perceived value.

A massive clearance sale at seven closing IKEA stores in China drew chaotic crowds and highlighted a larger shift away from suburban, big‑box home furnishing malls. Declining occupancy, rising bankruptcies and the rapid rise of small‑format and online‑born domestic brands suggest the industry is being reshaped by new consumer habits and retail economics.

Meituan’s 5 billion‑yuan acquisition of Dingdong Maicai ends the start‑up’s independent run and reflects a defensive, strategic push in China’s instant‑retail wars. The deal gives Meituan regional market share, warehouses and a curated sourcing capability, but integration risks diluting Dingdong’s locally tuned advantages as the sector consolidates ahead of another likely subsidy‑driven showdown in summer 2026.

An official PLA video highlighting the professionalism of a military cook squad has gone viral, drawing praise and attention not for combat capability but for troop welfare and logistical competence. The clip is a deliberate public-relations move that underscores the PLA’s modernization beyond hardware, with implications for recruitment, domestic legitimacy and strategic messaging.

China’s 12th peacekeeping infantry battalion in Juba conducted its first live‑fire training since deployment, testing small arms and sniper systems under extreme heat to sharpen combat readiness. The drills combined realistic scenarios with systematic data collection, drawing praise from UN staff and signalling China’s emphasis on professionalising its peacekeeping forces.

Following General Secretary Su Lin’s re‑election, Vietnam’s foreign minister rushed to Beijing while a leaked military memo warned of a potential “second US invasion,” underscoring Hanoi’s deep strategic caution. The episode reveals Vietnam’s attempt to balance economic ties with the United States against historical mistrust and pragmatic security cooperation with China.