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COMAC showcased its C909 firefighting aircraft and the larger C919 airliner at the Singapore Airshow and signed a contract with a Shanxi general aviation operator for six C909s. The deal signals China’s strategy of using specialised and government‑linked buyers to build operational track records while the C919 progresses toward wider commercial acceptance.

SpaceX has acquired Elon Musk’s xAI with the stated aim of building solar‑powered data centres in orbit, a strategy Musk argues will solve the energy and scale limits of terrestrial AI. The plan links Starlink connectivity and Starship launch capacity into a long‑term bet that could reshape AI compute economics but faces steep technical, regulatory and financial hurdles.

Elon Musk has merged xAI into SpaceX in a stock-swap that values the combined entity at roughly $1.25 trillion and lays out a plan to move large-scale AI compute into orbit using Starship, Starlink and lunar resources. The integration aims to create virtually unlimited solar-powered compute capacity but faces steep technical, regulatory and geopolitical hurdles.

Waymo has secured a record $16 billion financing round valuing the company at about $126 billion, signalling investor confidence in robotaxis. The deal accelerates global expansion plans but arrives amid safety incidents and federal probes that underscore regulatory and operational risks.

A rapid sell‑off in international precious metals markets on 2–3 February triggered a cascade of limit‑down moves across 13 Chinese futures contracts and sharp equity losses across Asia. Indonesia’s market fell nearly 5% and South Korea briefly invoked an emergency trading halt, underscoring crowded long positions, leverage and fragile liquidity. Regulators and exchanges have responded with valuation changes and supervisory interventions, but the episode raises questions about market structure and systemic risk.

China’s internet giants have deployed more than RMB4 billion in AI‑themed red‑packet campaigns ahead of Lunar New Year, prompting a sell‑off in Hong Kong technology stocks. Tencent fell nearly 5% as investors weighed rapid user‑acquisition tactics against margin pressure and uncertain monetisation timelines.

Cambricon’s shares tumbled up to 14% intraday on 3 February, reducing its market value to about RMB 450 billion. The company said it did not know the precise cause, dismissed many market rumours as false, and attributed the move to secondary-market fund flows and sentiment. The episode highlights the fragility of AI-related valuations in China and the importance of timely corporate communication to prevent rumor-driven volatility.

A Huaxia Fund product launched in late 2020 with a tech-and-consumption strategy has underperformed severely, suffering near-50% cumulative losses and a nearly 70% drawdown amid manager turnover and strategy drift. Successive managers failed to restore performance in time to capture the 2024–25 AI-led market recovery, exposing governance and succession weaknesses within the asset manager. The episode highlights systemic risks in China’s mutual fund industry: overreliance on star managers, misalignment between rhetoric and trading, and the reputational danger of poor product governance.

Cambricon shares plunged nearly 10% as Alibaba’s chip unit unveiled a new high‑end AI chip and reports suggested its Zhenwu PPU shipped at scale in 2025. The drop came despite Cambricon forecasting a strong full‑year turnaround and a fivefold revenue increase, underlining investor concerns about intensifying domestic competition in AI semiconductors.

China’s A‑shares rallied at mid‑day as speculative themes — notably commercial space, photovoltaic and AI application stocks — led a broad advance that saw over 4,400 stocks rise. Turnover was about RMB1.6 trillion, while precious metals and non‑ferrous miners fell sharply, highlighting a rotation in domestic investor flows.

Balochistan authorities say security forces killed 145 militants in a concentrated 40‑hour operation after a string of attacks that killed civilians and officers. The sweep forms part of a broader, intensive counter‑terror campaign in Pakistan and has prompted a month of strict security restrictions in the province, raising questions about long‑term stability and the protection of civil liberties.

An undercover probe by New Beijing News uncovered systematic insurance fraud and abuse at private psychiatric hospitals in Hubei, where facilities recruit patients with promises of free care, fabricate diagnoses and billable treatments, and sometimes coerce or harm inpatients. The practices—paired with “fake discharge” tactics to evade audits—have siphoned public medical insurance funds and left vulnerable patients mistreated and trapped.

Cambricon denied circulating rumours that it held a private meeting issuing RMB20 billion revenue guidance after its shares fell over 13% on Feb. 3. The company said it had not provided any guidance, affirmed steady R&D progress, and warned it may take legal action against those spreading false information. The incident highlights how social-media rumours can quickly unsettle China’s AI and technology stocks.

Iran publicly showcased a subterranean missile complex storing hundreds of new “Abu Mahdi” anti‑ship cruise missiles that Tehran says can reach beyond 1,000 km and penetrate warship defences. The display is both a tactical signal about asymmetric coastal striking capability and a strategic challenge to U.S. naval operations in the Gulf and nearby waters.

Chinese state media released footage of a drone fitted with a gun firing during motorized troop exercises in Tibet, signaling an operational push to integrate armed UAVs into high-altitude combined-arms tactics. The demonstration highlights both the PLA’s interest in cost-effective, distributed firepower and the technical limits and countermeasures that such systems will provoke.

Britain is considering joining a second round of the EU’s SAFE defence financing programme, reopening a debate over post‑Brexit security cooperation. The move would deepen practical ties with European partners but will hinge on agreement over costs, legal terms and governance.

The PLA’s 71st Group Army began the year with a party-organized lesson using red historical resources to teach ideals, Party character and officer ethics centered on Zhou Enlai’s example. The session underscores Beijing’s continuing emphasis on ideological loyalty and moral discipline as foundations for military cohesion and modernization.

Chinese state commentary argues that successive U.S. administrations have become dependent on special operations as a low‑cost means of power projection, a habit that risks strategic blowback. The piece ties historical institutional development to recent high‑profile raids and warns that frequent unilateral actions erode international norms and invite dangerous retaliation.

Iran’s parliament speaker announced that Tehran will treat European militaries as terrorist organisations after the EU designated the IRGC as a terrorist group. The declaration is largely rhetorical but raises serious legal and operational risks, complicating European deployments and increasing the chance of miscalculation in an already tense region.

A state military outlet in Beijing published a tribute to veterans emphasizing an enduring "soldier spirit," part of a wider effort to shape public memory and manage civil‑military relations. The piece is symbolic of Beijing’s dual strategy to maintain morale and integrate veterans into a patriotic narrative while signaling cohesion to domestic and international audiences.