China consumer inflation rises less than expected in January as producer price deflation persists
"China’s consumer inflation rose less than expected in January while the deflation in producer prices persisted, in a sign of continued deflationary pressure in the absence of stronger stimulus.
The consumer price index rose 0.2% in January from a year earlier
[...] China’s producer price index declined 1.4% from a year ago"
--- It seems some people are still waiting for the great stimulus.
These official numbers may not look too bad, but…
"Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said the data was distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year, which falls in mid-February this year after taking place in January last year. “This mismatch makes interpretation of macro data difficult,” Zhang said.
Zavier Wong, market analyst at eToro, echoed the view on holiday-related distortions, noting that “last January had more holiday-related price strength baked in, whereas this January does not.”"
--- So, it's even worse than it officially looks. And unofficially, hmm...
Europe’s China shock worsens as trade deficit widens
"The EU’s trade deficit in goods with China widened to €359.3 billion in 2025, up nearly a fifth from €304.5 billion in 2024, according to data published by Eurostat on Friday."
--- Which is hopefully relying entirely on European data, which should be much more reliable than the Chinese one.
"China has been on an inexorable economic ascent since joining the World Trade Organization in 2001. Neither the 2008 financial crisis, nor the recent deflation of a vast real estate bubble, has been enough to knock it off course."
--- Only if you rely on official Chinese numbers and ignore the obvious recession.
"French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said this week that Chinese officials have been “saying the right things” with talk of “rebalancing of the Chinese economy with more consumption.” But, he told reporters: “We feel that so far, there’s been a lot of talk, but not many results yet.”
It’s an attitude shared by top Commission trade official Joanna Szychowska who, at a conference last month, said the EU should not “all of a sudden become friends with China today because we have a shift in U.S. policy.”"
--- Yep.
China has another solution to its shrinking population: robots
"Chinese leader Xi Jinping has for years overseen a push to upgrade and automate the country’s manufacturing sector, part of Beijing’s goal to transform China into a self-sufficient high-tech powerhouse.
That push is now converging with Beijing’s rush to address the rebalancing of its population, which, if unaddressed, threatens to break the pension system, drive up families’ health care costs and crush productivity"
--- Well, the pension system barely exists, healthcare costs are comparatively high already, and productivity has been stagnating for a while.
"“If China can achieve sustained gains in labor productivity through robots, digitalization and AI, then it can maintain – or increase – industrial output with fewer workers on the factory floor,”"
--- More industrial output. Now, that's great. Too bad, that China already has problems finding buyers for all the stuff it produces. That's one of the reasons why it exports so much. And this will only get worse with a declining population.
How China became fixated on cloud seeding
"Over the past decade, the Chinese government has made multiple claims that its cloud seeding programme is producing noteworthy results. One press release said the 2025 spring rain initiative had increased precipitation over the targeted area by 20% compared with 2024. And China's meteorological agency said in December 2025 that its overall artificial rain and snow operations had resulted in 168 billion tonnes of additional precipitation (around 67 million Olympic swimming pools-worth) since 2021."
"Snowie's extensive dataset was a pivotal achievement; it not only showed that cloud seeding can work, but the complex balance of when and how it can work best. The data became a gold standard for a scientific field that was in desperate need of evidence.
The benchmark study has been cited in various peer-reviewed Chinese cloud seeding studies, with one saying the research "rigorously demonstrates that cloud seeding really has created precipitating clouds and increased surface precipitation"."
--- Wait! Are the Chinese "scientists" up to something?
"Still, Snowie's results indicated the output of cloud seeding is ultimately underwhelming. "That's why people were struggling to show it in these precipitating systems,""
--- Nope.
Why American born Eileen Gu competes for China in the Winter Olympics
"Gu has consistently said her decision was rooted in identity and influence rather than politics or money.
[...] Ahead of the 2026 Games, Gu told Time Magazine, “The U.S. already has the representation. I like building my own pond.” Time reported that she insisted the potential to earn more representing Chinese companies “didn’t cross her mind.”"
--- A Chinese at heart obviously.
Although ...
Winter Olympics 2026: China reportedly paid U.S.-born athletes, including Eileen Gu, nearly $14 million
"Gu and Zhu Yi, a fellow American-born figure skater who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for “striving for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In all, the two were reportedly paid nearly $14 million over the past three years."
--- More like a stereotypical Chinese businesswoman: Greedy and lying.
Japan says it seized Chinese vessel amid tensions with Beijing
China's Xi Jinping makes rare reference to recent military purge
CIA pitches Chinese military officers on helping the US in new video
--- China Uncensored featured the usual weekend news variety again:
--- China Uncensored: "Japan Just Dealt China A HUMILIATING Defeat"
--- DW: How China uses religion for political influence in Taiwan
--- Hoover Institution: The Origins of Modern China
--- NHK WORLD: Japan hotels change strategy as Chinese stay away
Neue Weltordnung: Welche Macht hat China?
"Wie können sich die EU und andere gegen die zwei Supermächte behaupten? Es geht, sagte der kanadische Premier Mark Carney beim Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos. In München wird er vermutlich mit derselben Botschaft auftreten: Die mittleren Mächte müssten zusammen agieren. Denn wenn sie nicht am Tisch säßen, stünden sie auf der Speisekarte.
"Kanada hat sehr gut gezeigt, das ist nicht hoffnungslos", sagt May-Britt Stumbaum."
--- Hä? Kanada hat das gezeigt? Carney hat sich in China Kaiser Xi zu Füßen geworfen. Er will mit China zusammen eine neue Weltordnung bauen. Viel hirnrissiger geht's nicht.
Schwache Nachfrage und Deflationsgefahr
"Daten des Nationalen Statistikamts Chinas zeigen, dass im Januar frisches Gemüse, Obst und Fisch teurer geworden sind im Vergleich zum Vorjahresmonat. Insgesamt sind die Lebensmittelpreise demnach jedoch unterm Strich etwas gesunken - um 0,7 Prozent. Andere Waren, Konsumgüter und Dienstleistungen, sind etwas teurer geworden. Die Verbraucherpreise in China sind im Januar insgesamt um 0,2 Prozent gestiegen im Vergleich zum Vorjahresmonat."
--- Offizielle Zahlen. Wir wissen, was davon zu halten ist.
"Der schwache Konsum wirkt sich auch auf die Läden aus. Hu Xianrong betreibt seit fünf Jahren einen kleinen Kiosk. Vor ein paar Jahren sei noch alles gut gewesen, doch jetzt höre man überall, dass Geschäfte nicht gut laufen. "Die aktuelle Wirtschaftslage ist nicht gut. Wenn Kunden kommen, dann kaufen sie nur das Günstigste", klagt Hu Xianrong. "Früher haben sie zum Beispiel 50 Yuan für eine Packung Zigaretten ausgegeben, jetzt nur noch zehn bis 20 Yuan, um ein wenig zu sparen. Weil die Wirtschaft nicht läuft, geben die Menschen nicht so viel aus.""
--- "Journos, hört die Signale!" Die Saft-Ärsche haben die Wahrheit vor Augen. Aber wollen sie nicht sehen.
1,2 Milliarden Euro Falschgeld: Spur führt nach China
"Internationale Fahnder haben nach Angaben von Europol Falschgeld in Höhe von 1,2 Milliarden Euro sichergestellt. Bei einer mehrmonatigen Aktion, wobei die dritte und operative Phase unter der Leitung Österreichs stattfand, wurden in 18 Ländern Pakete mit gefälschten Banknoten und Münzen abgefangen, teilte die europäische Polizeibehörde am Mittwoch in Den Haag mit. Die Fälschungen hätten in der EU in Umlauf gebracht werden sollen.
Die Blüten seien den Angaben zufolge per Post verschickt worden. Über 90 Prozent der Lieferungen stammten laut Europol aus China."
--- 1,2 Milliarden? Und das sollen allein ein paar Fälscherbanden gewesen sein? Riecht nach staatlicher Einmischung.
