China’s reusable space plane is circling Earth once again.
The Shenlong (“Divine Dragon”) spacecraft launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Feb. 6, kicking off the robotic vehicle’s fourth-ever orbital mission.
Far East Watch
China Ousts 3 Generals From Top Political Advisory Body Amid Sweeping Purges NTD News
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A Cheongung missile launcher is displayed during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2025) at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on October 17, 2025.
South Korean defense stocks saw massive gains on Tuesday after the country’s markets returned from a public holiday, as the Iran war fuels interest in defense names globally.
Heavyweight Hanwha Aerospace, which is South Korea’s largest defense manufacturer, saw shares surge nearly 25%, before paring gains to about 13%, while Korea Aerospace Industries gained more than 12%, but cut those to 2.4%.
Shares in air defense systems maker LIG Nex1 soared 25%, while electronic warfare systems manufacturer Victek and anti-aircraft missile components’ maker Firstec saw shares rise more than 20% and 15%, respectively.
Why Is Xi Still Purging His Generals? China Leadership Monitor
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Taiwan Faces Major Obstacles Building “Asymmetric Hell” Against China Despite UAV Strategy Defense Express
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China’s ongoing military corruption purges have created serious deficiencies in the command structure of its armed forces and are likely to have affected the readiness of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to a leading defence research centre.The purges, led by the Chinese president Xi Jinping, which have spanned the supreme central military commission, theatre commands, weapons procurement, development programmes, and defence academia, are expected to be incomplete, said London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) this week, according to Reuters.
China’s First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier Will Challenge US Sea Power Newsweek
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China military purge taking toll on command and readiness, study finds Reuters
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China’s ‘Space Aircraft Carriers’: Nantianmen Project Could Mean Drone Mothership and a U.S. Military Scrambling to Respond 19FortyFive
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CHINA has been accused of a massive nuclear expansion as well as carrying out secret tests by the US.
The latest accusations come as the United States bids to force Beijing to join a future arms control treaty.
Xi Jinping’s Generals Are Hiding in Their Barracks, Afraid They Could Be Purged Next Vision Times
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Signs within China point to instability continuing in the wake of Chairman Xi’s recent purge of an attempted coup that appears to have been led by the-then second most powerful man in China, Zhang Youxia. Zhang was well-respected by the military, and they appear willing to send public signals they continue to support him.
That signal came through their newspaper, the Liberation Army Daily, which featured an article signaling support for an historic figure like Zhang Youxia, Zhang Guotao, who broke with Mao Zedong in the 30s. This was the first of six similar articles released following the reported arrest of Zhang Youxia.
Xi Jinping Has Turned China’s Military Against Him, and the Party’s Own Newspaper Proves It Vision Times
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On Feb. 11, the Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of China’s military, published yet another article invoking Zhang Guotao, a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party who broke with Mao Zedong in the 1930s and is remembered in Party mythology as the archetype of treachery and “splitting the Party and the army.” The article accused Zhang Guotao of “carrying out activities to split the Party and the Red Army,” language that transparently targets two recently purged military leaders: Zhang Youxia, the former vice chairman of China’s top military command body (the Central Military Commission), and Liu Zhenli, the former chief of the Joint Staff Department, China’s most senior operational military commander.
This was the sixth such article since Jan.16, the date that online sources say Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli were physically detained, eight days before their purge was officially announced on Jan. 24. All six articles share a revealing pattern: every one of them invokes the historical villain Zhang Guotao, and every one of them avoids mentioning Zhang Youxia or Liu Zhenli by name. The gap between the fury of the rhetoric and the absence of the actual targets’ names speaks volumes about how politically explosive these purges remain.
The six articles, with their dates and titles, are:
Jan. 18: “Courage Is Measured by What You Fear and What You Don’t”
Feb. 2: “Political Army-Building Special: Strong Organizations Make a Strong Army”
Japanese exports climbed 16.8% year on year in January, sharply beating market expectations and growing at their fastest rate since November 2022 as shipments to Asia and Western Europe surged, government data on Wednesday showed.
Growth was higher than December’s 5.1%, and beat Reuters-polled economists’ estimates of 12%.
Value of exports to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, jumped 32%, after rising 5.6% in December at a time when the two countries are locked in a diplomatic standoff over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments over Taiwan.
Chinese Officials Purged for ‘Improper Discussion’ as Xi Tightens Political Discipline Vision Times
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Spotlight China Why Xi Jinping’s upheaval within the Chinese military is just the beginning Intelligence Online
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Xi’s purges could mean more instability along the border The Indian Express
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DHAKA: The United States is concerned about China’s expanding presence in South Asia and is planning to offer Bangladesh’s next government US and allied defence systems as alternatives to Chinese hardware, Washington’s ambassador to Dhaka told Reuters.
Bangladesh votes in a general election on Thursday (Feb 12) after a Gen Z-led uprising toppled India-allied premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. She has since taken refuge in New Delhi, allowing China to deepen its influence in Bangladesh as India’s presence wanes.
China recently signed a defence agreement with Bangladesh to build a drone factory near the India border, worrying foreign diplomats. Bangladesh is also in talks with Pakistan to buy JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed with China.
Taiwan has told Washington that its proposal to move 40% of the island’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S. was “impossible,” the country’s top tariff trade negotiator said in an interview.
Speaking on a local television broadcast Sunday, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said she had made it clear to Washington that the country’s semiconductor ecosystem, built over decades, could not simply be relocated.
Taiwan’s international expansion, including its investments in the U.S., is predicated on the notion that the industry remains’ rooted in Taiwan and continues to expand domestic investments, she said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
China expels defence officials from legislature amid corruption crackdown – South China Morning Post
China expels defence officials from legislature amid corruption crackdown South China Morning Post
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How the Chinese Communist Party Destroys Its Own: The Falls of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli Vision Times
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China’s disappearing generals show Xi Jinping’s deepening grip on military Business Standard
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‘CCP out’ chants echo through Seoul as anti-China protests grow Taipei Times
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China eyes reshaping global order as US influence wanes dw.com
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Xi Jinping Overhauls PLA Rocket Force After Missile Failures in Western China Dainik Jagran MP CG
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Chinese businesses have pledged hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of investment in the U.K. and struck new partnerships with British peers as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China spurred a flurry of bilateral business activity and investment flows.
During his four-day visit in China last week, Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping and secured deals that would see hundreds of millions worth of new investments from Chinese businesses, in addition to £2.2 billion ($3 billion) worth of exports and £2.3 billion in market access, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Following the high-profile visit, the two leaders hailed the benefits of cooperation, with Xi describing the bilateral ties as “mutually beneficial.” Starmer, who brought a large delegation of executives from banking, pharmaceutical, and automobile companies to China, also described the country as vital to Britain’s interests.
South Korea’s ‘fake news’ law tests press autonomy Yahoo News UK
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Beijing, the first British leader to make an official trip to China since 2018, after he said he believes he can unlock business opportunities there despite security concerns.
A chartered British Airways jet carried the Prime Minister to Beijing overnight — allegedly to keep Chinese spies away from the Prime Minister’s own government plane — for the first of a three-day trip to China, which the Labour leader hopes will thaw relations after what he called an “ice age”.
The hurried trip was only officially announced by China on Tuesday and seems to be something of a reward for Starmer after the British government forced through permission for Beijing to build a new “mega-embassy” in London just last week. The new complex, which will be the largest embassy in Western Europe once completed, has been the subject of intense criticism over spying and national security fears, but was signed off on nevertheless by one of Starmer’s government ministers.