China Pulse Digest

China is advancing on three fronts at once, tightening control, sharpening defenses, and raising pressure.

• South China Sea grip: National...

Unitree unveiled its high-speed Superman robot—achieving a 2-meter standing jump and 12.66 m/s top speed—just days before becoming the first...

China's nine-department plan marks a pivot to targeted regional stimulus rather than broad measures.

• Nine ministries jointly issued the "Opinions"...

Foreign firms diverge sharply on China strategies:

• Google will move all Pixel production out of China by 2027, expanding in Vietnam and India.
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Premier Li Qiang pledged to accelerate China's shift to new growth drivers, underscoring the leadership's focus on structural transformation amid ongoing economic pressures.

China's new AI companion rule aims to shut down chatbots designed to form emotional relationships with users, as Beijing pioneers regulations that could reshape how such technologies interact with people.

China's EV exports jumped 120% in the first half of 2026, helping push average global BEV prices to about $37,000 in 2025—below hybrids for the first time—thanks to battery scale-up and wider LFP adoption.

SMIC is accelerating new production lines and hiking prices for select wafers after Q2 utilization hit 93.7% and revenue crossed $3 billion for the...

The White House report estimates $19-26 billion in annual U.S. tariff revenue lost to Chinese transshipment schemes.

• Mechanism: Chinese goods...

China's economy faces twin pressures from weakening growth and a prolonged housing downturn.

• GDP growth hit a more than three-year low in Q2, with...

The Philippines filed 27 diplomatic protests against China over its actions in the West Philippine Sea during the first half of 2026, marking a sharp escalation in diplomatic friction.

US actions now target drones and robotics to cut Chinese supply chains from its market.

• Drone tariffs test whether allies can replace China
• FCC...

China's retail sales grew just 0.6% and overall investment shrank 6.7% year-over-year, with the official jobless rate at 5.2%, signaling weakening household consumption and drawing global attention to the world's second-largest economy.

Taiwan will propose a record NT$1.1225 trillion ($35.2 billion) defense budget for 2027—over 3% of GDP—as it faces growing military pressure from...

• US private AI investment outpaces China by 23 times, yet Beijing directs every available dollar toward AI self-sufficiency rather than real...

Huawei's evolution from U.S. sanctions target to a 5G patent leader with 7,523 international applications in 2025 illustrates how a commercial firm...

Ford and GM are retreating from China, once their key profit engine now delivering losses.

• Ford will end Lincoln production in China for US export...

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that tariffs on China for intellectual property theft will persist across administrations to protect...

China's energy dependence on the Gulf—importing 11.1 million barrels daily with 20 million bpd transiting Hormuz—is driving deeper security...

China's domestic demand weakened across housing, consumption, and investment in July, pointing to a deepening slowdown.

• Housing stagnation: New...