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NEWS IN CHINA

• China Opposes Japan’s Bid for UN Security Council Seat: China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, stated on Friday that Japan is not qualified to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Fu made the remarks during UN General Assembly negotiations on Security Council reform, which focused on fair representation and possible expansion of the body. In his statement, Fu pointed out that Japan has consistently failed to reflect on its wartime aggression. He added that Japan has undermined the postwar international order and interfered in the internal affairs of other countries. According to him, these actions have created new risks to regional peace and stability. Fu then outlined China’s views on Security Council reform, stressing that the Council should not become a club serving only a few major powers. He noted that reform must benefit the broader international community and called for stronger representation of developing countries, especially African nations, to address historical injustices. Finally, Fu urged that reform efforts should go beyond today’s global situation and be guided by a long-term and strategic vision.
  
  
• China Reclaims Spot as Germany’s Top Trading Partner: China once again became Germany’s most important trading partner in 2025, according to data released on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Bilateral trade between Germany and China reached 251.8 billion euros, up 2.1 percent year on year. China has remained Germany’s largest source of imports since 2015, with imports totaling 170.6 billion euros in 2025, while German exports to China stood at 81.3 billion euros. In contrast, Germany’s trade with the United States declined amid US tariff policies and trade disputes, and total trade volume fell 5 percent to 240.5 billion euros, with German exports to the US dropping 9.4 percent. China had been Germany’s top trading partner for eight consecutive years until 2023, before the US briefly took the lead in 2024.
  
  
• China Tightens Food Safety Oversight During Spring Festival: Food consumption demand surged during the Spring Festival holiday, prompting market regulators to strengthen food safety supervision across key sectors. The State Administration for Market Regulation instructed local departments to tighten oversight, clarify responsibilities, and crack down on illegal practices to protect holiday food safety. Supervision efforts were aligned with festive consumption patterns, focusing on supermarkets, agricultural wholesale markets, New Year goods markets, tourist sites, and catering hubs. Regulators closely monitored staple foods and local specialties while targeting producers, small workshops, New Year’s Eve dinner providers, and online food platforms. Through inspections, joint enforcement, and online patrols, authorities strengthened controls over sourcing, processing, storage, and catering services. Major regions rolled out tailored measures. For example, Beijing tightened oversight at temple fairs and wholesale markets, while Heilongjiang used “Internet + AI” tools to guard food safety in ice and snow tourism areas. Shanghai focused on warehousing risks associated with online platforms, while Jiangsu carried out wide-ranging inspections across markets and tourist zones. Other provinces, including Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Yunnan, enhanced targeted enforcement based on local conditions.
  
  
• China Unveils Plan to Advance Capital Metropolitan Area Development: China has released the Spatial Coordination Plan for the Modernization of the Capital Metropolitan Area (2023–2035), outlining key steps to advance coordinated regional development. Wang Changlin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that building a modern capital metropolitan area will require joint efforts, with authorities focusing on four priority areas. First, the plan calls for optimizing the capital’s functions by strengthening Beijing’s roles as a political, cultural, international exchange, and innovation center. Non-capital functions, including universities, hospitals, and central enterprises, will be steadily relocated to Xiong'an New Area. Beijing’s sub-center will further enhance administrative and public service functions. Second, innovation-driven growth will be boosted by expanding the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei science and technology innovation center and developing industrial clusters in areas such as artificial intelligence and biomedicine. Third, reforms and opening-up will deepen through pilot reforms in Tianjin Binhai New Area and expanded cross-regional government services. Finally, the plan emphasizes improving education, healthcare cooperation, and building a more livable ecological environment across the region.
  
  
• China Shifts to Smart Enforcement, Boosts Environmental Violation Detection: China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced that nationwide on-site ecological and environmental inspections will fall by nearly 40 percent as enforcement shifts from manpower-based to technology-driven approaches. Despite fewer physical inspections, the problem detection rate is expected to rise by 10 to 25 percentage points. An official from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment noted that local authorities are continuing to standardize inspections involving enterprises, moving from a purely regulatory approach toward a model that combines regulation with service. Enforcement now follows the principle of balancing leniency with strictness, allowing enterprises committing minor violations to avoid penalties. In 2025, authorities handled 8,947 such cases without imposing fines, easing operational pressure on businesses. At the same time, environmental departments are expanding the use of satellite remote sensing, infrared imaging, drones, and unmanned vessels, integrating these tools with data systems and artificial intelligence to enable monitoring. This shift led to 204,000 non-site inspections nationwide, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy. 

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Weibo Buzzes Over the Launch of Google Gemini 3.1 Pro: A post with the hashtag #GoogleGemini3.1ProOfficiallyReleased# is gaining significant traction following Google’s official unveiling of Gemini 3.1 Pro. Its upgraded core AI model is aimed at handling complex scientific, research and engineering tasks. According to the post, the new model doubles inference capabilities and will be gradually rolled out across Google’s consumer, developer and enterprise platforms. Online public reactions show enthusiasm and skepticism about the new features. One user stated that they would simply use “whoever provides services for free.” Another user commented that they were “not bothered” and would stick to the free version. Several users questioned whether the tool could be used in China, with some noting that access was restricted and upgrades only led to regional limitation prompts. One user complained that a “bug wiped out chat history,” while another dismissed the model as “far below GPT standards.” At the same time, a smaller group praised the release, calling it “the best one right now,” and emphasizing that competing products were barely comparable.

INDIA WATCH

Finance Sina Reports India Softens Stance on Chinese Imports: An article in Finance Sina discussed India’s cautious shift toward easing restrictions on Chinese equipment imports, framing it as a pragmatic response to mounting supply pressures. The article cited a Reuters article that noted that two Indian government officials had confirmed limited exemptions allowing state-owned power and coal companies to import Chinese equipment amid shortages and project delays. It emphasized that this marked India’s first relaxation of such curbs in five years, potentially reopening access to a government procurement market valued at $700–750 billion. It highlighted officials’ remarks that power transmission projects could face a 40 percent shortfall in key equipment over the next three years if imports remained blocked. The article further analyzed that while New Delhi allowed state-owned enterprises to bypass approval requirements, the exemptions were described as time-limited and subject to safeguards. The article concluded that Indian authorities remained wary of low-priced Chinese bids affecting domestic competitiveness and that they plan to announce binding exemption measures following relevant agency consultations. 

Prepared By

Neha Maurya

Neha Maurya is a fourth-year undergraduate student at FLAME University, pursuing a major in International Studies with a minor in Public Policy. Her research interests lie in strategic studies, governance, and education policy. She aspires to engage in work that links research insights to policy outcomes.