China's Week, Sunday, Mar. 15

Exports soar; Fusion advances; Stent amazes; COSCO cripples Panama; Huge emissions fine; OpenClaw grips China; Beidou at war; Rising education offsets falling births.

Science & Technology

Fusion will be won by the civilization that can manufacture it at scale. China’s supply chain: superconductors from Shanghai; armor materials from Zhejian; insulation systems from Jiangsu; 60% of reactor components made locally.

Liver failure patient the first living person to be surgically connected to a genetically modified pig liver. No signs of rejection. He later received a human liver transplant and is recovering well.

World’s first domestically developed, mass produced T1200-grade carbon fiber, diameter 10% of a human hair, tensile strength 10x steel, density 25% of steel. For decades, this grade was tightly controlled by Japan’s Toray/Teijin duopoly.

US grants breakthrough device status to MicroPort’s stent which replaces risky open-chest surgeries, enables minimally invasive endovascular treatment.

World-first accelerator-driven nuclear reactor nears as China’s 1000-year energy source. Burns spent uranium, 100% safe..

China’s new helper molecule, FACE, strengthens the connection between the cancer-fighting CAR-T cells and the leukemia cells to prevent cancer remission after therapy.

Economy & Trade

China’s YTD trade data: EU exports up 28%. Exports to Germany up 31%. Netherlands 18%. France 32%. Italy 36%.

Tesla meets with hundreds of suppliers in China building Optimus Chain of components to be exported to Fremont for assembly and sale to US factories.

COSCO halts Panama Canal port calls after government seizes terminals.

Tungsten prices surge 600% amid China export controls and geopolitical tensions with Japan.

China’s semiconductor exports grew 72.6% YoY, to $260 billion annualized, or 27% of the global IC market. Volume is up only 13.7%, suggesting higher prices per chip.

A record 39.3 million barrels of sanctioned crude are sitting on tankers off China’s coast, including 30M barrels from Iran, 6M from Venezuela, and 3.5M from Russia.

Iran is sending more oil through Straits of Hormuz than before the war, and setting anti-ship mines.

From Dubai to Hong Kong: the Iran Crisis Is Redirecting Global Wealth. The Iran strikes cracked Dubai’s sense of security, sending money back to Hong Kong.

Society & Environment

Seven civic projects celebrating China’s cultural heritage: some of our favourite cultural and civic architecture projects in China.

Archaeologists make jaw-dropping discovery of giant underground tunnels beneath ancient Chinese city.

“In ancient China, scholar-officials were loyal to the Emperor, but they did not have to be loyal to the Emperor’s lies.

For building a fashion-focused smart mirror powered by an AI agent, Vivo star Song Ziwei raised $14 million for her startup.

Going Viral: Influencers who give a patriotic tinge to cultural heritage topics are quickly growing their fanbases on Chinese short video platforms.

“China’s energy consumption exceeds the US and Europe combined, and China built 50% of increased global generation since 2010.

The Grand Canal is the longest artificial waterway in the world, roughly equivalent to the distance between Seattle and Tijuana, Mexico.

Atlanta woman driving the only Chinese EV allowed in America says ‘Tesla feels premium, but this feels luxury’

Governance

Lee Kwan Yew on Chinese officialdom

A Ningxia company paid 59M¥ for failing to hand over carbon allowances to cover its 2023 emissions, the largest penalty ever imposed by China’s carbon market.

2026 macroeconomic targets: GDP growth: 4.5%–5%; CPI/inflation): 2%; Urban unemployment: 5.5%; Fiscal budget deficit: 4% of GDP; New urban jobs: 12+ million.

A provincial official said her city had set up a special AI task force with 9 working groups of officials and new policies supporting OpenClaw were on the way.

Beijing is rushing to mint a final generation of engineers and chip designers before its young population starts falling rapidly. Beijing is expanding top-tier schools to secure high-tech talent.

Despite declining birth rates, rising education (11.3 years; 60% new workers have degrees) will sustain higher quality labor for high-quality development.

Demand for AI talent in China outpaces job postings in ‘new-economy’ sectors: more than a quarter of new-economy job listings in the first two months of the year.

Washington is afraid Americans might learn the very thing about China that they least want to happen to be true of America..

Iran has shipped 12 million barrels of crude oil to China through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, despite attacks in the key waterway.

China’s most original, diverse, and fascinating political debates took place more than two millennia ago, but they have profoundly shaped Chinese political thinking and practice ever since.

Shenzhen Puts Real Money Behind the World’s First OpenClaw Support Policy: subsidized hardware, free housing, 3 months free compute, and up to 10M¥ in equity.

Mao was “in control” the way the Rain God is in control. His ruling style comes close to how ancient Greeks imagined Gods interfering with the matters of mortals.

Diplomacy, Geopolitics

If the oil has been paid for with Yuan, Iran may allow tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. No final decision yet, but the proposal appears aimed at yuan-based revenue.

For the US to make war on Russia or China or Iran, it must effectively every major US base on the planet to concentrate enough military power to undertake the mission.

High resolution Sino-Russian orbital targeting for cheap Iranian drones is remarkably effective. China has greater industrial capacity to build drones, a tighter kill chain imagery, targeting, and kinetics more sophisticated Chinese weapons.

The U.S. has spent $3.4 trillion countering the “China threat” since 2012, says Brown University’s Costs of War project – more than 20 years in Afghanistan ($2.3T).

No, the U.S. will never start war with China. They will continue attacking and sabotaging the periphery and proxies and allies of China to blunt China’s efforts.

Last March, Panama seized Balboa port from Hong Kong’s Hutchison Group, so COSCO, (20% of volume, 30%+ of revenue), suspended operations there, rerouted empty containers, and filed an ICC arbitration claim for $2 billion.

Defense

Serbia’s Air Force has Chinese CM-400 air-launched Mach 5 missiles with 400 km range.

“We moved our air defense missiles from Asia to Israel in order to weaken China”. S. Korean President trying to calm the population. Asia Pacific pays attention.

"China and Russia will not target any third party, but if hegemonic forces threaten China and Russia, or threaten world peace, China and Russia will stand together and fight”.

China has lowered the cost of an anti-drone microwave system to just a few yuan per shot, making it a cost-effective option for policing applications.

For 20 years, China has transferred to Iran IP for guidance systems, satellite navigation, electronics, sensors and materials.

The PLA’s multi-spectral imagery of live ops is impressive. So is the electronic intelligence they have built watching F-35s, F-22s and US munitions in action.

US Admiral Thad Allen on Beidou: “GPS’s capabilities are now substantially inferior to those of China’s Beidou.”

Iran switched from using GPS to guide its weapons to using Beidou, vastly improving penetration and precision of Iranian missile and drones.

Jingan Technology intercepted radio signals from US B-1 stealth bombers that struck Iran on March 1 and released an audio clip to back up its claims.

Serbia’s president said they have Chinese CM-400AKG supersonic surface-attack cruise missiles. “They are extremely expensive and extremely effective. We have a significant number of them and we will have even more”.

Iran Mission Creep and the US’ “Distant Blockade” on China. The US but believes it has the best chance of weathering it and emerging the strongest on the other end.

Chinese VLS are 850 x 850 mm and American VLS are 660 x 660 mm: 65% more area per VLS.

Iran War Delays Delivery of U.S. Reaper Drones to the Republic of China Air Force.

China’s gallium oxide leap leave US F-22 radar generations behind. Chinese research combines power and memory for smaller, more powerful military electronics.

PLA sees US air defense vulnerable to Iranian hypersonic missiles. China has far more advanced and numerous hypersonic missiles than Iran and leads the world in both nuclear and conventional hypersonic missiles.

Japan confirmed plans to station 1,000 km. missiles on Yonaguni Island, 50 miles from Taiwan, by 2031. Not just defensive tools, they can hit Mainland bases.