Asia China China’s top leadership convened in Beijing from 10 to 11 December for the Central Economic Work Conference to determine the country’s economic direction for 2026, the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan
Asia China Authorities will launch investigations and criminal probes for the deadly blaze that engulfed 8 residential blocks in Tai Po, Hong Kong, causing 35 deaths and 280 missing: the rapid spread of fire was “unusual” with styrofoam material found in buildings
Asia China New data centres with state funding will have to only use Chinese-made artificial intelligence chips, according to Reuters sources, and regulatory authorities ordered data centres that are less than 30% complete to remove all installed foreign chips
Asia China Two top military leaders have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on corruption charges; they are the most senior officers to be purged in an anti-graft drive that began in 2023
Asia China Golden Panda Film Festival concluded in Chengdu, Sichuan; 5.343 works were presented, of which 3.910 from 126 foreign countries; 27 prizes in 4 categories will be awarded: films, documentaries, animation, tv and series
Asia China Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has undergone a five-day load test ahead of the opening later this month: 96 trucks drove onto designated points to test the bridge's structure; 625m above a river, it will be the world's highest and longest mountain bridge
Asia China Over 12.000 Chinese troops participated in the parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II; the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea have appeared in public together for the first time
Asia China The World Humanoid Robot Games, world's first Olympic-style event, took place in Beijing in a venue built for 2022 Olympics; in the opening ceremony robots danced and played music and 500 androids competed in 26 sports, from 400m sprint to table tennis
Asia China Thousands of mosquito-eating fish have been released into parks in Foshan, Guangdong province, to control the spread of dengue fever, chikungunya and other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes; over 4.000 chikungunya cases have been reported in the city
Asia China Beijing has once again stated that only the Chinese government can choose the future leader of Tibetan Buddhism; the Dalai Lama, who will turn 90 this month, had instead said that his successor will be identified by a Tibetan exile group
Asia China The first cluster of satellites for a planned AI supercomputer system have been launched; it will be the first-of-its-kind array and will enable scientists to perform in-orbit data processing
Asia China Logo for the 'Conference to Commemorate 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War', or Victory Parade, scheduled for 3 September, was officially unveiled on 13 May
Asia China Tension escalated in the South China Sea as Chinese and Philippine personnel both raised their national flags on Sandy Cay, a contested outcropping, underscoring the persistent territorial disputes and the strategic importance of the area for both nations