China's Week, September 24
First ship-launched stealth combat drone. Everyone wants 'look to pay'. 1GW nuclear plants @ 15% of US cost. 75% of US scientists consider leaving.
Science & Technology
Chinese 500-kW, earth-penetrating radar antenna, 5x NYC area, finds the largest gold deposit, ultra-large lithium reserves and first deep uranium ores.
DeepSeek engineers bypass conventional training barriers, use rewards to teach AI to solve problems.
China’s new drugs, R&D pipelines top 30% of global total, closes biotech gap with USA.
Chinese firms’ path to daily utility of their glasses is “look‑to‑pay.” Everyone wants ‘look to pay’.
First “bone glue” securely bonds fractured bone fragments in 2-3 minutes. Tested on 150 patients, it will replace metal implants, revolutionize orthopedic treatment.
Record-smashing cable-stayed Yangtze mega bridge opens. Striking asymmetric design to the precision tools developed to build it.
Huawei opens world’s first 100 MW charging facility for electric trucks, demonstrating a new era of high-power, ultra-fast charging technology.
6,000-meter deep-sea explorer Haiqin completes sea trial.
Seven ministries, fifteen hospitals, and public insurance converge to turn brain-computer interfaces from lab demos into market reality years ahead of schedule.
110 MW: China rolls out first 110MW gas turbine to power 3.6 million homes.
Atomic-level decoding of coccolithophores’ photosynthetic prowess, featured on the cover of Science, unlocks secrets to efficient light use and carbon capture.
Economy & Finance
China takes aim at West's Made in China bling. One of the curious developments over the past few months has been a deluge of social media posts about the “Made in China” European luxury goods. Alex Krainer investigates.
Huawei retains world leadership in wearables with 20% of global share, 9.9 million shipped.
China’s 1GW nuclear plants @ 1/6 US price. (US$ must fall 83% vs CNY for the US to compete (5/6 cheaper = 83%).
Western clean tech VCs say China’s dominance leaves key sectors in the West uninvestable after a road trip visiting factories, meeting startup investors and founders.
Robotic mowers are forcing LiDAR to shrink, cheapen, and smarten faster than cars ever did, and China’s scale may decide who wins the race.
Governance
The Economist: "Since the 1980s China has built a motorway network twice America’s, high-speed rail 15X Japan’s with as much solar and wind power as the rest of the world combined while producing 35% of our manufactured goods.
Outline of 15th Five-Year Plan Priorities, 14th Five-Year Plan Achievements.
On October 1, 1955, the NPC abolished Xinjiang Province, proclaimed Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region whose regional people’s congress adopted bilingual seals, formalized minority public holidays and guaranteed ethnic representation in every county. “Autonomy” meant power for people.
Five Chinese Scientists Stripped of Awards for Corruption and Misconduct.
Milton Friedman at Shanghai's Pudong district October 1993: "Pudong will become a state monument for a dead Pharaoh, just like the pyramids." Two Lucky People: Memoirs.
Rocket force bans 200 suppliers, evaluators after corruption investigation. Investigators find errors, collusive bidding and forgery dating back to 2016.
Diplomacy & Geopolitics
A foreign organization sent operatives into remote southwestern regions in China disguised as mountaineers and charity workers, where they posed as providing medical aid to gain villagers’ trust and recruit guides to illegally investigate local politics, economy, geographic resources, and social governance.
“Tianxia is an alternative model to the Westphalian model of international relations based on competing nation states. Tianxia represents Asian wisdom, a brilliant, inclusive system that can be applied on a global scale, in which conflicts are overcome through integration and shared responsibility, not hegemony.
Zhou Ming, top engineer involved in Boeing 787 and A380 design, leaves US for China. Industrial software specialist joins the Eastern Institute of Technology as dean of its engineering college. Related: 75% of US scientists consider leaving.
Defense
The world’s first ship-launched stealth combat drone, the GJ-11, evolved from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s ‘Sharp Sword’.
China’s new Type 100 hybrid drive tank a step towards ‘intelligent uncrewed’ warfare.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments that Washington is not seeking conflict with China marks a “significant shift” in policy says Chad Sbragia, former deputy assistant secretary of defence for China. The language Hegseth used with Chinese counterpart Dong Jun was “unprecedented”.