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A Shenzhen‑based private gold platform, Jieworui, has frozen withdrawals and offered investors steep haircuts, leaving potential claims exceeding 100 billion yuan and tens of thousands affected. The product was a high‑leverage, social‑media‑distributed ‘lock‑price’ scheme that failed when rising gold prices overwhelmed the operator’s liquidity, prompting regulatory scrutiny and potential criminal probes.

ByteDance has started a limited rollout of Seedance 2.0, a next‑generation video‑generation model, inside its Doubao AI assistant app. The grayscale test lets select users try the new model while ByteDance evaluates performance and safety before a wider release, with implications for creators, platform engagement and regulatory oversight.

ByteDance has begun grey testing Seedance 2.0 in its Doubao app, allowing select users to generate short (4–15s) multimodal videos that use images, audio and text as references. The staged rollout, short-duration limits and quota system show a cautious path to embedding advanced generative video tools into ByteDance’s creator ecosystem while managing technical and policy risks.

With the election days away, Sanae Takaichi’s surge in the polls has elevated constitutional revision and the formal enshrinement of the Self‑Defense Forces into central campaign issues. A parliamentary supermajority would make amendment feasible, with wide implications for domestic politics and regional security, drawing sharp responses from China and Russia.

Tencent’s Yuanbao launched a RMB1 billion red‑packet promotion that briefly flooded social networks and propelled the app to the top of China’s app charts. The campaign aims to replicate WeChat’s 2014 red‑packet playbook to seed Yuanbao as a mainstream AI assistant, but faces steeper challenges: lower natural frequency of AI usage, stronger competition, model quality concerns and the well‑documented difficulty of turning paid acquisition into long‑term retention.

Seedance 2.0, a Chinese generative video model, can produce hyper-realistic footage by integrating image, motion, audio and text, lowering the barriers to making sophisticated video. Its realism has sparked copyright backlash and deepfake concerns even as China’s large user base, open-source releases and supportive AI policy accelerate development and adoption.

Meituan has acquired Dingdong Maicai’s China business for an initial $717 million, absorbing a network of over 1,000 front-line warehouses and more than seven million monthly users. The deal strengthens Meituan’s instant-grocery capabilities and reflects broader consolidation as high fulfilment costs and thin margins push standalone fresh-retail specialists into the arms of platform giants.

Tencent has launched a 1 billion yuan red‑envelope campaign to promote its Yuanbao AI assistant and new social features, aiming to recreate WeChat’s viral momentum. The stunt forms part of a broader New Year push by Chinese tech giants to capture AI users, with long‑term winners likely to be those with superior models and practical use cases rather than the biggest marketing budgets.

Zhipu Technology raised prices for its GLM Coding Plan and launched GLM-5 overseas on February 12, citing surging developer demand and the need for heavier investment in compute and model optimisation. The increase — 30% or higher domestically and substantially larger on overseas API pricing — marks a shift in China’s AI industry from low‑price competition to value-based monetisation.

Baidu and Tencent have launched multi‑hundred‑million‑yuan Spring Festival cash campaigns, coupling traditional digital red packets with AI demonstrations and ecosystem plays. The promotions highlight an emerging pattern: China’s tech giants are using culturally resonant incentives and AI showpieces to drive short‑term transactions and long‑term platform engagement, with implications for competition and regulation.

Qianwen has launched a 3 billion yuan Spring Festival campaign, enlisting multiple Alibaba ecosystem services to offer free orders and large cash red packets aimed at turning AI from a chat tool into a transactional assistant. The push comes amid competition from rivals such as Yuanbao, which offered 1 billion yuan in red packets, and marks a broader pivot by Chinese platforms to embed AI into everyday commerce during the high-spend Lunar New Year period.

Tencent launched a RMB 1 billion Yuanbao campaign on February 1 that uses shareable red envelopes and limited 10,000‑yuan reward cards to drive viral engagement on WeChat. The mechanics are designed to pull users back into existing social networks, accelerating distribution for Tencent’s new AI‑oriented app while raising questions about spam, abuse and regulatory attention.

A sudden change in U.S. Fed leadership expectations triggered a dollar rally and mass liquidations that sent gold and silver tumbling from record highs in late January. Forced margin calls, tightened exchange risk controls and algorithmic selling amplified the shock, producing one of the most violent single-day declines in decades while raising questions about leverage and liquidity in commodity markets.

A violent rout in gold and silver prompted the CME to raise COMEX margin requirements, with gold margins moving from 6% to 8% and silver from 11% to 15%, effective after the close on Feb. 2. The crash was driven by a rapid shift in Fed expectations following the nomination of Kevin Warsh and the unwinding of crowded, highly leveraged long positions, forcing exchanges to shore up clearinghouse protections.

WeChat has restricted direct opening of links from Tencent’s Yuanbao app, after the app’s New Year ‘red‑envelope’ campaign spread via high‑frequency share tasks and drew user complaints. The move exposed a strategic rift within Tencent between a product philosophy that defends user experience and a group push to drive rapid user acquisition through viral mechanics.

An open‑source agent called OpenClaw has popularized always‑on, self‑executing AI workflows by running locally with broad control over devices and services. Its rapid spread exposed a new paradigm—delegated, 24/7 digital labour—that big cloud providers are racing to productize while security experts warn of multi‑layered, systemic risks.

Tencent has launched a concentrated RMB1 billion push to embed AI into social products, notably upgrading its Yuanbao offering to group chat and using culturally resonant red‑envelope incentives to drive adoption. The plan leverages Tencent’s social graph and payments infrastructure but must navigate regulatory scrutiny and fierce competition from Chinese AI rivals.

China is effectively easing its "three red lines" deleveraging rules for property firms, with some developers no longer required to file monthly metrics. The move reflects a sector-wide shift from aggressive deleveraging to stabilisation, but analysts remain split on the timing and strength of any sustained recovery.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and COO, has long been the operational anchor behind Elon Musk’s ambitions, credited with rescuing the company during its 2008 crisis and sustaining key customer relationships. As SpaceX prepares for a high‑profile IPO, her steadiness reassures investors, even as public markets will demand clearer governance and succession structures than a founder‑centric private company has relied on to date.

Xpeng's humanoid robot IRON fell during a public walk demonstration in Shenzhen. CEO He Xiaopeng framed the mishap as part of the development process, comparing it to a child's learning to walk. The incident highlights the technical and reputational challenges facing automakers and tech firms entering humanoid robotics.

A candid video by Li Yapeng about rent arrears at the Yanran Angel Children’s Hospital triggered a wave of online donations that raised nearly 20 million yuan in days. The surge highlights the power of Chinese social media to mobilise aid quickly but also exposes structural limits: legal separation between fund and hospital, rising urban rents and the need for sustainable funding mechanisms for non‑profit medical providers.

A large portion of China’s household time deposits — estimated by some commentators at 90–120 trillion yuan — will mature over 2025–26, pushing savers to reallocate into banks, wealth-management products, insurance, mortgages and equities. The migration could deepen equity financing for strategic industries while raising financial-stability risks if funds concentrate in smaller banks or opaque vehicles.

ByteDance has declared its 2026 priority: make the Doubao/Dola AI assistant the central interface that links its consumer apps and cloud services. The company has scaled user adoption rapidly, advanced its model capabilities and pushed into phone‑level automation, but now faces fierce competition from Alibaba and Tencent, regulatory scrutiny, and practical permission barriers from other app and device owners.

Beijing authorities fined Kuaishou ¥119.1 million for failing to stop a coordinated surge of pornographic live streams that exploited technical vulnerabilities on December 22, 2025. The penalty, imposed under China’s Cybersecurity Law, highlights both Kuaishou’s short-term security lapses and deeper strategic strains amid fierce competition from Douyin and Video Accounts.

Tencent distributed RMB 1 billion in red envelopes to promote its AI app Yuanbao ahead of the 2026 Lunar New Year, briefly overloading servers and generating broad, short‑term engagement. The campaign bought reach inside Tencent’s vast social graph, but turning festive trials into lasting AI habits will depend on product depth, day‑to‑day usefulness and sustained infrastructure investment.

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.

China’s NDRC and NEA have instructed provinces to strengthen capacity‑price mechanisms for coal, gas, pumped storage and new grid storage, mandating that capacity payments recover at least 50% of coal units’ fixed costs and establishing rules for reliable capacity compensation tied to spot market development. The package aims to stabilise dispatchable revenues, encourage storage participation in markets and support reliability as renewables expand, while requiring provincial assessments of consumer affordability and stricter performance oversight.

Xiaomi has set up an automated share repurchase programme worth up to HK$2.5 billion and will cancel the shares it buys back, a move management says signals confidence and protects shareholder value. The plan further trims the public float and strengthens per-share metrics, while prompting questions about the trade-off between buybacks and investment.

A 32-year-old manager at Shiyuan, Gao Guanghui, collapsed and died suddenly at home in late November. His widow says chronic overwork, a heavy workload after a transfer, and a company culture that rewarded long hours are key parts of the context; the employer has paid RMB390,000 but denies legal responsibility. The case highlights broader concerns about occupational health, overtime norms and employer accountability in China’s technology sector.

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.

Li Yapeng’s January 23 livestream on Douyin drew millions of viewers and generated over ¥50 million in sales within 90 minutes, topping the platform’s commerce charts. The event came amid scrutiny over property and financial questions tied to a children’s hospital and the celebrity-backed Yanran Angel charity, provoking calls for more professional management and greater transparency.

An online storm of donations for Li Yapeng’s Yanran hospital revealed a legal and structural divide: funds raised for the Yanran Angel Fund cannot legally pay the hospital’s rent because the fund and hospital are separate entities under Chinese charity law. The episode spotlights the limits of celebrity-driven philanthropy and the need for sustainable financing and clearer regulations for China’s non-profit medical sector.

A candid 31‑minute video by former actor Li Yapeng about Yanran Angel Children’s Hospital’s unpaid rent reversed public opinion and triggered millions of yuan in donations and surge in livestream sales. The episode illuminated the power of transparency but underscored structural weaknesses in charity hospital financing and the risks of celebrity‑dependent philanthropy.

The 2026 US–Japan 'Iron Fist' amphibious exercise, running 11 February–9 March, is the largest yet and spans 19 sites in and around Okinawa. With deeper operational integration between US and Japanese commands, expanded amphibious forces and sharpened political rhetoric in Tokyo and Washington, the drills both bolster deterrence and raise regional risks of miscalculation.

Li Yapeng’s six‑hour Douyin livestream on January 30 generated 160 million yuan in GMV, set a record for a Pu'er tea special, and attracted more than 40 million total views. The event accelerated inventory clearance for the tea sector, boosted Li’s follower base past 10 million, and intersected with his pledge to donate livestream proceeds amid a hospital funding controversy.

China’s local governments saw land‑sale revenues fall for a fourth straight year in 2025, dropping to about ¥4.15 trillion and roughly halving since the 2021 peak. The slump has tightened municipal budgets, increased debt pressure and cut land‑related spending, prompting proposals for central fiscal backstops and targeted measures to stabilise the housing market in 2026.

China’s 2026 Central No.1 document makes agricultural modernization and rural revitalization the guiding priorities of the 15th Five‑Year period, anchoring food security, seed innovation, land protection and rural public services. It formally transitions post‑poverty support to a "normalized, precision assistance" model and mobilizes fiscal, financial and technological tools to raise yields, incomes and local industrial capacity.

Guotou’s Silver LOF hit its fifth straight limit‑down after trading resumed, with the market quote falling to ¥3.099 and a still‑elevated premium of 28.73%. The collapse reflects a wider silver sell‑off, late NAV adjustments and structural liquidity shortfalls in commodity‑linked funds, prompting probable regulatory scrutiny and calls for reforms in valuation and market‑making practices.

Baolide, once East China’s largest private luxury‑car dealer and a Mercedes‑Benz flagship franchise in Hangzhou, has been largely vacated and is in formal bankruptcy proceedings. Courts accepted its insolvency filing in 2025 and appointed administrators; showrooms are locked and vehicles bear enforcement notices, raising questions about dealer financing, customer protection and channel stability for foreign automakers in China.

At a Beijing forum, chief engineers from three leading Chinese commercial space firms unveiled competing plans to prove reusable rocket technology in 2026. Their strategies differ—batch production and engine upgrades, large kerolox modular rockets, and a dual small/large vehicle path—yet all target lower costs and higher cadence to serve satellite‑internet constellations.

China’s MIIT convened PV industry leaders on 28 January to curb destructive “involution” in the solar sector, proposing coordinated market and legal measures — from capacity control to price enforcement — and urging the industry association to boost self‑discipline. The initiative aims to stabilise margins, improve quality and reduce trade frictions, but could cause short‑term supply tightness and higher module prices.

New-issue large-denomination bank deposits in China have moved decisively into single-digit annual yields, with tenors shortening and minimum subscription amounts rising. Faced with a 75 trillion yuan maturity wave in 2026, savers are largely redeploying funds across banks rather than into equities, forcing lenders to compete through targeted rate offers, higher thresholds and bespoke customer retention tactics.

China's PCB industry is racing to capture a rising share of the booming low‑Earth‑orbit satellite market by investing in high‑frequency, high‑reliability boards and scaling production. Domestic firms have manufacturing scale and supply‑chain advantages, but still face certification and materials hurdles before they can fully capitalise on mass deployments.

Trump’s public manoeuvres over Greenland and a vague NATO “agreement framework” have prompted European pension funds to reduce U.S. Treasury holdings, exposing how geopolitical unpredictability can transmit into markets. The episode sits alongside fresh military tensions with Iran, commodity rallies and corporate guidance shocks, underlining a fragile intersection of politics, finance and strategic resources.

Foxconn Industrial Internet expects a roughly 56–63% year‑on‑year jump in Q4 2025 net profit and a 51–54% rise for the full year, driven by explosive sales of 800G+ switches and AI servers. The results reflect a major upgrade cycle in Chinese data centres as cloud providers scale up capacity for large AI models, while also exposing the company to customer concentration and component‑supply risks.

Xiaomi Auto said it delivered over 39,000 vehicles in January 2026, a substantial monthly volume for a recent entrant to China’s EV market. The result suggests Xiaomi has achieved meaningful scale, but sustaining profitable growth will hinge on product quality, after-sales operations and market positioning amid fierce competition.

A series of recent visits by G7 leaders to Beijing has highlighted a pragmatic turn among Western governments toward economic engagement with China, driven by market incentives and dissatisfaction with perceived U.S. unpredictability. The trend reflects hedging rather than alliance abandonment and raises challenges for U.S. influence if Washington cannot offer steadier, credible leadership.

Alipay will start its 2026 Lunar New Year "collect‑fu" campaign on February 3 and is introducing a new "Health Fu" red packet distributed by Ant Group’s mascot, Ant Afu. The addition refreshes the platform’s seasonal engagement playbook and ties holiday promotions to health themes that can support product cross‑selling while smoothing regulatory optics.

A joint investigation in Huaiyang, Henan found that school leaders and staff improperly handled 410.565万元 in student meal funds returned by a catering contractor. Fourteen people have been disciplined, one has been expelled and referred for prosecution, and the district government has ordered full restitution and issued an apology while promising systemic reviews.

SpaceX has applied to the FCC for permission to deploy and operate up to one million satellites as an "Orbital Data Center" designed to host AI compute in space, linking to Starlink via optical intersatellite links and relying on Starship launches. The plan raises immediate questions about regulatory approval, collision risk, financing, and geopolitical and commercial consequences for cloud and satellite sectors.