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NEWS IN CHINA 

• Pakistan’s President Visits Hunan to Mark 75 Years of China-Pakistan Diplomatic Ties: The President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, visited Hunan as part of his visit to China to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan. President Zardari's trip from 25 April to 1 May includes visits to Hunan and Hainan provinces. He also held high-level meetings with the provincial leadership and undertook industrial trips, including Sany Heavy Industry in Changsha. Additionally, he visited the Hunan Tea Group to explore Pakistan-China cooperation in agro-processing. President Zardari also conferred the Sitara-i-Pakistan, the highest civilian award of Pakistan, to Chinese doctor Prof. Pan Xiangbin in Changsha. The Pakistani Foreign Office stated that the President will hold meetings with provincial leadership to review the full spectrum of Pakistan-China ties with a particular focus on economic and trade cooperation as well as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). President Zardari also witnessed the signing of three MoUs in Changsha related to water desalination in Karachi, agricultural technology and tea sector cooperation. 
  
  
• Fujian Launches Premium Tourism Routes for Taiwanese Citizens: Fujian Province has launched five premium routes for Taiwan compatriots to strengthen cross-Strait cultural ties. The initiative is titled "The Journey of Shared Heritage and Glory" and was unveiled following a series of central government measures to promote cross-Strait exchange, including tourism. The five routes, each lasting six or seven days, focus on themes such as southern Fujian culture, folk beliefs, ancestral temples, regional cuisine, and revolutionary history. Organisers have stated that the routes are tailored to meet the needs of residents of Taiwan seeking to visit ancestral homes, attend religious ceremonies or reconnect with relatives. In 2025, Fujian received 2.14 million tourists from Taiwan, a 58.1% increase from the previous year. Fujian was also the first province to resume travel for mainland residents to Jinmen and Matsu islands administered by Taiwan after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  
• China Delivers Largest Domestic Built LNG Carrier: China delivered the largest independently designed and built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. The carrier, Celsius Georgetown, departed for Singapore after completing delivery at a dock of China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd. The vessel, 298.8 meters long and 48 meters wide, has an LNG transport capacity of 180,000 cubic meters and is equipped with a dual-fuel, low-speed propulsion system. Border inspection officers boarded the vessel in advance to expedite clearance procedures, helping timely and safe departure. The company informed that they have secured orders for six such vessels. The remaining five are currently under construction, with a second ship expected to be delivered in three months. LNG carriers are designed to transport natural gas in liquid form at temperatures of minus 163 degrees Celsius. The technological complexity of LNG carriers has earned them the nickname "the crown jewel" of the shipbuilding industry, a field dominated by a small number of global shipbuilders.
  
  
• NPC Standing Committee Discusses Draft Revision of National Defense Mobilisation Law: The draft revision of the National Defense Mobilisation Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress for its first review. The main function of the law is to regulate national defense mobilisation work, clarify the rights and obligations of citizens and organisations in national defense mobilisation, and provide legal guarantees for building a robust national defense. The revision of the law is based on three considerations. First, it is necessary to implement the decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee. The draft revision of the law stipulates that national defense mobilisation adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, implements Xi Jinping's thought on strengthening the military, adheres to the overall national security concept, and implements the military strategic guidelines for the new era. Second, it is necessary to improve the national defense legal system. As an important law in the field of national defense, the National Defense Mobilisation Law needs to be revised and improved and  aligned with relevant laws to ensure legal coordination. Third, it is necessary to carry out national defense mobilisation work in accordance with the law.
  
  
• China Launches Campaign to Regulate Recycling and Utilisation of Used Power Batteries: A special joint law enforcement campaign is launched to regulate the recycling and utilisation of used power batteries. The campaign is launched by five departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, focusing on issues related to the recycling and utilisation of used power batteries from new energy vehicles. It will investigate and punish a number of illegal activities in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. An official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that China has made positive progress in building a recycling system for used power batteries in recent years. However, the industry still faces issues such as illegal sales of used power batteries, production of substandard products using used power batteries, failure to fulfill information traceability responsibilities, illegal dismantling and environmental pollution, and unlicensed operations. Further, the campaign will punish behaviours such as refusing to report or submitting false traceability information and illegal sales. In the market supervision and management sector, the focus will be on strengthening the quality supervision of lithium battery products for electric bicycles, electric bicycles and other similar products.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Halt to Acquisition of Manus AI by Meta Sparks Debate on Weibo: The hashtags #What Signal Does the Halt to Meta's Acquisition to Manus Send #, #Experts Say the Manus Incident Reminds the Chinese Investment Community # are trending on the social media platform Weibo. The post discusses the halt in the acquisition of Manus, an AI software developed by a Chinese startup company. The acquisition of Manus was announced as halted five months after the public announcement of being acquired by the US tech giant Meta. The Office of the Foreign Investment Security Review Mechanism under the NDRC announced that foreign investment is prohibited in Manus, requiring both parties to withdraw the acquisition. This incident has led to differing views among users on Weibo. Some users stated that this could lead to startups to relocate to more favorable locations, leading to a loss of business from China. Others have raised questions on data privacy, stating that the customer data of Chinese citizens is involved, and likely a similar foreign-origin AI would not pass the review to relocate to China. Comments related to data privacy express fear by netizens that Meta will use Chinese domestic data for training their AI models. Others have commented that at this critical moment in the US-China strategic rivalry, AI startups should avoid prioritising profits. Many users have also criticised the startup company for using Chinese technology and resources to build the AI; however, looking to relocate abroad to maximise profits. Users have also highlighted the aspect of sanctions, that successful Chinese AI companies are likely to get sanctioned by the US in the future and have called for better regulatory policies in the technology sector.

INDIA WATCH

The Paper Discusses Military Technology Transfer Between India and the US: An article in the Chinese news media outlet The Paper, discussed military technology transfer between India and the United States, focusing on a recent preliminary agreement for the licensed production of General Electric’s F-414 turbofan engines in India. It described this as the first major US military technology transfer of its kind to New Delhi. The article stated that GE would transfer the production licence and 80% of the intellectual property rights, with manufacturing to be organised within India. It noted that the engine was intended for use in India’s Tejas Mk2 fighter jet, which was scheduled for its maiden flight later in the year. The Tejas Mk2 was presented as an advanced iteration within the Tejas family, with the ambition of reaching fourth-generation fighter capabilities comparable to Pakistan’s J-10CE. The article further alleged that the air battle between India and Pakistan in May had exposed vulnerabilities in the Indian Air Force’s defences. It claimed that despite publicly downplaying the outcome, India had intensified efforts to address capability gaps by pursuing new acquisitions and accelerating domestic fighter jet programmes. In comparison, the article argued that Pakistan’s J-10CE surpassed the Tejas Mk2 in areas such as engine thrust, radar detection range, missile performance and operational experience. The article concluded that the Tejas Mk2 faced uncertainties linked to technical risks in its development.

Prepared By

Rituja Ghosh

Rituja Ghosh is a Research and Administrative Intern at Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). She holds a master's in International Relations from South Asian University, New Delhi. She has presented her work in several prestigious conferences, such as the paper titled "Sinicization in the People's Republic of China: An Analysis of Language Policies" at the 16th All India Conference on China Studies. She has previously worked as a Security Analyst with a corporate firm and as an Academic Associate at the Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad. Her interests lie in studying the politics of South Asia, India-China relations and China’s social and cultural policies.