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Zhongji Xuchuang forecast a near‑doubling of 2025 net profit to RMB 9.8–11.8 billion, driven by surging demand for high‑speed optical modules from data‑centre and compute expansion. The guidance highlights how AI and cloud capex are boosting suppliers in China’s photonics supply chain, though cyclical demand and competitive pressures pose risks to sustainability.

President Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and Wall Street banker, to be Federal Reserve chair. Markets moved sharply on the news as investors priced in a more hawkish US monetary stance, while the nomination raises questions about Fed independence and global spillovers from tighter US policy.

The CSRC has proposed amendments to permit major long-term institutional investors — including the national social security fund, pension schemes, insurers, mutual funds and bank wealth products — to qualify as strategic investors in targeted equity issuances. The draft sets a default minimum stake of 5%, requires active governance participation and strengthens disclosure and anti-evasion rules to ensure these investors act as genuine sources of patient capital.

The US LGM‑35A Sentinel ICBM programme has ballooned to roughly $141 billion and triggered a Nunn‑McCurdy breach after costs surged and schedules slipped. Much of the overrun stems from unexpectedly heavy investment in new hardened silos and associated infrastructure, creating risks to the timing and credibility of the US land‑based deterrent.

A South Korean C-130 experienced an engine power loss and made an emergency landing at a naval base in Okinawa on 30 January while en route to a defence exhibition in Saudi Arabia. Technicians replaced the faulty part, there were no injuries, and the aircraft continued later that day; the incident highlights maintenance issues and practical interoperability among U.S., Japanese and South Korean military facilities.

Hubei is accelerating its shift from low‑end manufacturing to higher‑value, tech‑intensive industries centred on Wuhan’s Optics Valley, electric vehicles, autonomous driving and biotech, while modernizing agriculture and cleaning up polluting industries. The province’s successes illustrate how regional industrial policy, targeted investment and university‑hospital‑industry collaboration can build supply‑chain resilience and new export capabilities.

Iran has announced live‑fire naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz on 1–2 February, warning it could impose temporary closures and showcasing new capabilities including large numbers of drones. The move raises the risk of disruptions to global oil supplies and tests the responses of the United States, regional actors and potential backers such as China and Russia.

Wingtech says it expects a 2025 net loss of RMB 90–135 billion after Dutch regulatory and court actions have restricted its control of Anshi (Nexperia). The firm will book significant investment losses and asset impairments, putting heavy strain on its finances and underscoring the geopolitical risk in cross‑border semiconductor deals.

Yantai Changyu (Zhangyu A) expects 2025 net profit to plunge about 75–82% as demand for wine — especially mid and premium segments — weakens. The company’s outlook is compounded by smaller one‑off disposal gains than in 2024, ongoing trademark litigation and a loss of index inclusion, highlighting structural challenges for China’s traditional wine sector.

Israel and the United States are closely coordinating possible military action against Iran, with a US decision reportedly possible within days. Israeli officials warn that even limited US strikes on nuclear or missile sites could provoke significant Iranian retaliation and precipitate wider regional escalation, forcing Israel to respond militarily.

President Trump's public warning to cut aid if Nouri al-Maliki returns as Iraq's prime minister sparked two nights of protests outside Baghdad's Green Zone, where demonstrators denounced U.S. interference. The incident highlights enduring Iraqi sensitivity to foreign influence and complicates Baghdad's fragile political balance between internal factions and external patrons.

China's leading optical‑module makers have issued 2025 profit forecasts that reflect a surge in demand from AI data‑centre deployments. Xinyisheng and Zhongji Xuchuang expect historically large, core‑business‑driven profit gains, while Tianfu Communication posts solid but smaller growth, underscoring an uneven competitive landscape.

China’s securities regulator, led by Wu Qing, held a meeting with listed‑company representatives to shape capital‑market priorities for the next five years. The CSRC pledged reforms to listing and refinancing rules, deeper market tier integration and measures to attract long‑term capital, while stressing risk prevention and stronger supervision.

A livestream‑built Shenzhen gold retailer, Jieweirui, suspended withdrawals after leveraged, option‑style products it sold to retail customers blew up amid sharp rises in precious‑metal prices. The firm's unlicensed, high‑leverage mini‑program ecosystem created large asymmetric exposures and possible illegal fundraising, affecting investors across many provinces and threatening Shuibei’s reputation as a jewellery hub.

A pro‑AI super PAC, Lead the Future, has raised over $125 million with donations from Greg Brockman, Joe Lonsdale and Andreessen Horowitz. The move signals Silicon Valley’s growing willingness to use large‑scale political spending to influence AI policy and elections at a time when regulators are tightening scrutiny of the technology.

Elon Musk is accelerating plans to relocate some large‑scale AI computing into orbit, arguing that intelligence density has been greatly underestimated. The idea could become economically viable within a few years as launch costs fall, but it faces serious technical, regulatory and geopolitical hurdles.

China’s market regulator announced an escalation in live‑stream e‑commerce oversight, insisting platforms act as gatekeepers and promoting a ‘one case, three investigations’ enforcement model. The measures include tougher verification, a national platform standard, targeted inspections of counterfeit and deceptive practices, and new tools that can limit a streamer’s traffic or suspend broadcasts.

CAICT forecasts China’s domestic smartphone shipments at 307 million units in 2025, reflecting a large but mature market driven by replacement demand and premium upgrades. Apple and Xiaomi stand to benefit from premium positioning and broad model portfolios, while suppliers and policymakers navigate margin pressure and localisation trends.

At Chengdu’s 2026 municipal political meetings, locally made AI health products — notably a multispectral, AI-driven "health hat" — were showcased as proof of the city’s strategy to marry AI with medical devices. Backed by national compute resources, strong manufacturing chains and favourable local policies, the company behind the hat reports rapid sales growth and expanding exports while aiming to shift spectral diagnostics into portable and home settings.

Harbin Engineering University and the China Institute of Atomic Energy have inaugurated a joint accelerator laboratory to advance accelerator physics and ion-beam applications. The partnership follows the commissioning of China’s first commercialised domestic serial accelerator and aims to deepen research, talent development and industrial application in the nuclear sector.