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China’s MBA market is undergoing a correction as economic slowdown, automation and policy changes shrink demand for traditional management degrees. Top programmes retain value through alumni networks and tailored curricula, but many schools have cut fees and retooled courses to stay competitive amid fewer clear job outcomes for graduates.

Mainland investors net sold about HK$1.601 billion in Hong Kong stocks on January 23, with Alibaba and China Mobile among the largest net sold positions while Pop Mart drew sizable buys. The flows reflect selective profit-taking and sector rotation rather than a broad retreat from Hong Kong equities.

China’s decision to extend the 2026 Spring Festival to nine days signals a possible trend toward longer statutory holidays. Yet analysts warn that more days off will not translate into sustained consumption or well‑being unless workers have higher, more secure incomes and enforceable rest rights; otherwise many new leaves will remain “paper” benefits and tourism gains will be diluted.

Huabao Xinneng says its Dian Xiao Er portable power units have supplied off‑grid electricity for multiple Chinese rocket launches and related operations and are compatible with Starlink‑type satellite terminals. The announcement underlines the growing importance of specialised ground‑support equipment as China’s commercial space activity expands, though the claim is promotional and not independently verified.

Inferact, founded by the vLLM core team, raised $150 million in a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed at an $800 million valuation. The deal highlights investor enthusiasm for LLM inference and deployment infrastructure, but sets high expectations for rapid commercialisation amid fierce competition and regulatory questions.

China’s Foreign Ministry declined to confirm media reports that President Trump will visit China in April or that China’s leader will visit the U.S. later this year, while also saying details of a possible UK prime ministerial visit will be announced in due course. Beijing framed summit diplomacy as essential but offered no specifics, signaling a cautious, tightly managed approach to top‑level engagement.

China celebrated the one-year anniversary of the 054B frigate Luohe entering service, highlighting stepped-up stealth, sensors and weaponry in a 5,000-ton hull. The class narrows the capability gap with destroyers and Western frigates, and is intended to provide scalable, cost-effective escort and blue-water capability for the PLAN.

Inferact, founded by the creators of open‑source vLLM, raised $150 million in a seed round at an $800 million valuation led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed. The deal signals strong investor conviction in companies that can commercialize efficient LLM inference, but Inferact will face competition from cloud providers and specialized rivals as it seeks to translate open‑source credibility into enterprise revenue.

LandSpace will pursue a three‑pronged 2026 programme to validate first‑stage recovery and reuse for its Zhuque‑3 rocket: flight‑data analysis on re‑entry aerothermal and structural issues, another recovery flight test tied to constellation launches, and work to normalise post‑recovery maintenance and reliability. Success would advance China’s private space sector toward higher cadence, lower‑cost launches, but scaling reuse into routine operations remains the critical challenge.

The PLA has issued a comprehensive revision of medical standards for selecting flight cadets, effective 1 August 2026, shifting selection toward a scientific, combat-oriented model. Key changes include human–machine fit adjustments, a composite visual assessment, upgraded psychological screening, 24-hour ECG monitoring, and the relaxation of some non-essential exclusions to widen the candidate pool.

The US Navy says sewage-system failures aboard the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford are isolated and short-lived, and do not harm combat readiness. Still, repeated breakdowns, frequent repair requests and design similarities in forthcoming carriers raise questions about habitability, logistics and procurement choices across the Ford-class.

China Coast Guard ships Dongsha and Sanmen conducted a search-and-rescue operation after a foreign cargo vessel carrying 21 Filipino crew capsized near Huangyan Island on January 23, recovering 13 people so far. The rescue underscores the humanitarian role of China’s coast guard while highlighting the geopolitical sensitivities of operating near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Chinese A‑shares opened higher on January 23 with modest gains across the main indexes as precious metals, pharmaceutical retail and photovoltaic sectors led the advance. The moves reflect a combination of commodity-driven flows, policy incentives for pharma consolidation and renewed optimism about renewables, though gains are concentrated and policy‑sensitive.

China has published draft national standards for pre‑prepared dishes and a proposal requiring restaurants to disclose processing methods, and is soliciting public comment. The rules aim to improve consumer protection and industry standardisation but may raise compliance costs for smaller businesses while accelerating consolidation and investment in cold‑chain infrastructure.

A 32‑year‑old Guangzhou software manager collapsed and died after prolonged periods of excessive work following departmental reshuffles and understaffing. The company has applied for a work‑injury determination; local authorities are investigating as the case revives debate about long‑hours culture and labour protections in China’s tech sector.

China reported record grain harvests in 2025 and a 6% real rise in rural per‑capita disposable income as authorities shift from five years of special poverty relief to a ‘normalised’, development‑oriented support model. Policy priorities for 2026 include boosting grain capacity, modernising infrastructure and extending land contracts for longer tenure security.

Xuzhou has refrained from an emphatic announcement that its GDP surpassed one trillion yuan, publishing only a 5.8% real growth figure and urging officials not to be preoccupied with the milestone. The move reflects a broader policy tilt in China away from headline GDP targets toward higher-quality, more balanced urban development, though political incentives to tout such thresholds remain strong.

Average weekly working hours for enterprise employees in China fell in 2025 after nine years of increases, a shift driven by limits to hours, growing anti‑overtime sentiment and better enforcement. Yet entrenched overwork among many and rising underemployment among others, combined with low hourly wages and higher employer social insurance costs, point to persistent structural problems that simple declines in hours will not solve.

Yonghui Superstores reported a large projected net loss for 2025 as it shuts and refits hundreds of outlets while pivoting from expansion to ‘quality growth’. One-off writedowns, closure costs and investments have driven five consecutive years of losses, while early signs from remodelled stores are promising but not yet material enough to offset the short-term pain.

PBoC governor Pan Gongsheng said Beijing will pursue a ‘moderately loose’ monetary policy in 2026 with room for further reserve‑requirement and interest‑rate cuts, while accelerating a shift toward targeted structural tools and a market‑oriented monetary framework. The bank plans to expand re‑lending and risk‑sharing facilities for private firms, tech and small businesses, strengthen macroprudential oversight, and deepen international financial integration.