China consumption start to year seen as worst outside Covid
"Retail sales for the first two months of the year likely rose 2.1% compared with the same period of 2025, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of the official release on Monday. That would be the lowest ever reading in a data series that started in 2000, outside of January-February 2020, when the economy was reeling from the Covid shock."
--- Funny how some analysts still believe there will be positive numbers in China's economy. But of course the official Chinese numbers coming out tomorrow or the day after will be positive as well. But who trusts in them?
China’s New Five-Year Plan Prioritizes Robotics. The World Should Pay Attention
"Section 2 of Chapter 5 – on “future industries” (未来产业) – lists embodied intelligence alongside quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G as the six designated growth engines for the next decade. The specific language calls for “building a full-chain cultivation system for future industries” and “promoting quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and 6G mobile communications to become new economic growth points.”
This places humanoid robots and AI-driven physical systems in the same strategic tier as nuclear fusion – a designation that unlocks access to the 60 billion RMB ($8.2 billion) National AI Industry Investment Fund, provincial matching funds, and the full apparatus of state-backed venture capital."
--- Which does not necessarily mean there will be a lot of innovation. What it means is that there will be a lot of companies with fake products or with no products at all, which will be supported by local governments because there are connections to the CCP.
"a framework for institutional adoption, not merely technological development. When the plan instructs every provincial government to integrate AI into governance, healthcare, and education, it creates guaranteed demand for robotic systems at a scale that no market signal alone could produce"
--- Meh, the central government tried to do the same with Chinese operating systems, but local governments and other institutions usually just kept using Windows anyway.
Then again ...
OpenClaw fever sweeps China as officials warn the AI assistant could trigger data disasters
"improper installation and configuration of the tool could create security vulnerabilities.
OpenClaw’s ability to operate autonomously requires high-level system permissions, a design feature that increases the potential impact of misuse or exploitation.
Officials warned such careless deployment inside office environments could allow attackers to gain access to sensitive systems.
This is even more risky when organizations fail to
configure endpoint protection tools correctly or overlook existing firewall safeguards.
[...] OpenClaw, formerly known as Clawdbot and Moltbot, is an AI assistant that executes tasks on behalf of users.
It is deeply integrated with the operating system and can manage digital tasks such as drafting reports, organizing emails, and preparing presentations.
This creates risk because malicious instructions may pass unnoticed during routine operations, and Microsoft has warned about running it on enterprise workstations.
The tool may be vulnerable to so-called prompt injection attacks, in which hidden instructions embedded in web content manipulate the agent into performing unintended actions."
--- ... When AI does the work of lazy and corrupt local officials, these may actually be tempted to install it and use it. Whether that will make the work more efficient or not will have to be seen.
'Tigers and flies': Millions of officials later, why is Xi's corruption purge still going?
"The surprise is not that people are taking inducements or backhanders, the surprise is that there's people that don't do that…"
--- Yep. Oh, well. Actually, are there any CCP officials who don't take bribes?
"For Xi, observers argue, corruption has become a catch-all term that encompasses not just graft, from small-time favours to huge bribes, but much more - ideological impurity, a lack of commitment to China's ambitions and, crucially, disloyalty."
--- These observers are bullshitting you. For Xi, it's the other way around. He uses corruption allegations to get to people he suspects of disloyalty.
Top US allies are turning toward China instead. Blame Trump.
"The 21st century is more likely to belong to Beijing than to Washington — at least that’s the view from four key U.S. allies.
Swaths of the public in Canada, Germany, France and the U.K. have soured on the U.S., driven by President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions"
--- That's only Trump America, though. Once Trump is out of office, everything will be back to normal, I guess.
Iran offers China a huge espionage opportunity. You can bet they're using it
"After the October 7 attacks, Beijing appeared to have lost diplomatic clout in the Middle East. Now, Iran’s destabilisation offers China the opportunity to pull Tehran and other regional partners closer to its orbit. China can offer surveillance infrastructure, digital governance tools, and deeper intelligence cooperation without the military commitment that would antagonise Washington. By presenting itself as a mediator and trusted interlocutor, Beijing can expand its regional influence while preserving strategic flexibility."
--- Or, maybe, countries will see that China's support doesn't do much for you, actually.
U.S. and China economic chiefs meet in Paris to clear path to Trump-Xi summit
China resumes military flights around Taiwan after sudden 10-day hiatus
Australian businessman found guilty of working for suspected Chinese spies
--- China Uncensored featured the usual weekend news variety again:
--- China Uncensored: "WW3 Alert: Russia Helping China Invade Taiwan"
Weltgrößter Automarkt: VW ist in China wieder Marktführer
"VW verdrängte den einheimischen E-Auto-Hersteller BYD, der mit sinkenden Subventionen für umweltfreundlichere Autos zu kämpfen hat. Auch der chinesische Autobauer Geely, zu dem unter anderem Volvo gehört, und Weltmarktführer Toyota liegen in China inzwischen vor BYD. Dem chinesischen Pkw-Verband zufolge kamen die chinesischen Gemeinschafts-Unternehmen von VW zusammen auf einen Markt-Anteil von rund 14 Prozent."
--- Aber, aber, aber... das kann doch nicht sein. Nach Angaben deutscher "Autoexperten" sind deutsche Autounternehmen in China am Ende.
China: Lebende Hamster als Preise in Greifautomat empören Chinesen
"Immer wieder tauchen Aufnahmen aus chinesischen Spielhallen auf, in denen Tiere, etwa Mäuse, in engen Automaten eingesperrt sind und als Gewinne erspielt oder direkt gekauft werden können."
--- Eben, daran ist nichts neu. Höchstens die Tatsache, dass es in einem Einkaufszentrum passierte. Aber auf der Straße ist sowas in China völlig normal.
