World News by Wild Rose

An increasing number of Chinese celebrities are voluntarily sharing their histories of mental illness, rather than following the previous practice of keeping them hidden, in what some see as an effort to win empathy and audience support. These conditions include depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In January last year, famous actress Zhao Lusi’s suspension of work due to severe depression put celebrities’ mental health...

China’s military has published what appears to be the first official photograph of a Y-20B heavy transport aircraft in PLA Air Force livery fitted with aerial refuelling pods, suggesting that the multi-role tanker-transport (MRTT) configuration has entered service. An image published by the PLA Daily newspaper on October 14 shows the four-engine aircraft painted in standard military grey, with refuelling pods beneath its wings and its rear cargo ramp open as a truck carrying equipment is behind...

Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)--A Chinese artificial intelligence tool called Artex is likely to have been used in cyberattacks targeting Japanese companies, an investigation by a Japanese cybersecurity business has found. GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae Inc., a subsidiary of GMO Internet Group Inc., traced cyberattacks targeting Japanese companies to six servers, all of which used Artex, an AI-pow...

A Chinese student who draped himself in the Japanese rising sun flag in a Russian university classroom has been expelled and asked to leave the country, according to state-run newspaper Global Times. The flag was used by the Japanese military during its imperial expansion and is still used by Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force. It remains a symbol of Japanese militarism and aggression in China and other parts of Asia. Moscow State University made the decision after the student was criticised by...

Stephen Roach argues Xi Jinping’s willingness to engage in a series of meetings with Donald Trump may reflect concern about China’s economy and a desire to buy time. Roach suggests Xi may not share the personal camaraderie Trump portrays and says Chinese officials are likely realistic about how much progress is possible with an unpredictable counterpart. He spoke with Stephen Engle on Bloomberg's Insight with Haslinda Amin. (Source: Bloomberg)

China has lodged a formal representation with the UK after British border authorities subjected Chinese citizens to extended questioning and seizures of personal electronic devices, including mobile phones. According to a statement from China’s embassy in Britain, multiple Chinese nationals – including trade delegates, tourists and people visiting relatives – have experienced long delays, as well as questioning by Border Force officers and confiscation of phones and other devices. The embassy...

Top executives at several Chinese nickel producers plan to meet as early as Tuesday to discuss coordinated output cuts at their battery material plants in Indonesia, according to people familiar with the matter.

“Bloomberg: The China Show” is your definitive source for news and analysis on the world's second-biggest economy. From politics and policy to tech and trends, Yvonne Man and David Ingles give global investors unique insight, delivering in-depth discussions with the newsmakers who matter. (Source: Bloomberg)

Stephen Roach argues Xi Jinping’s willingness to engage in a series of meetings with Donald Trump may reflect concern about China’s economy and a desire to buy time. Roach suggests Xi may not share the personal camaraderie Trump portrays and says Chinese officials are likely realistic about how much progress is possible with an unpredictable counterpart. (Source: Bloomberg)

China is ready to commercialise a 200-kilovolt transmission electron microscope with an information resolution down to 0.1 nanometres that could introduce a new challenger into a market long dominated by the US and Japan. Developed by Hefei-based manufacturer CIQTEK, the microscope features a point resolution of 0.25nm and an information limit of 0.1nm – on par with leading workhorse models on the market. This marks a shift for the country’s expanding advanced electron microscopy industry from...

Marshall Mills, the IMF's Senior Resident Representative for China, says the country needs more "urgent and forceful" measures to boost the property and consumption sectors. He speaks with Stephen Engle on the sidelines of the Bund Summit in Shanghai. (Source: Bloomberg)

The People’s Bank of China’s consideration of shifting its policy rate benchmark to the overnight reverse-repo rate would effectively lower borrowing costs, supporting bond investments, according to analysts.

A Chinese AI girl group has sparked intense online backlash after announcing that one of its virtual members was “pregnant” to explain her departure. BABYQUEEN, a four-member, K-pop-style AI girl group managed in Liaoning province in northeastern China, formed in September and has around 1,100 followers. On October 13, the group posted an announcement written from member Mity’s perspective. Saying she was “pregnant” and would pause all public activities, Mity asked fans to respect her privacy...

Cell Press, one of the world’s leading scientific publishers, has launched an investigation after prominent Chinese biologist Rao Yi accused the editor-in-chief of a top medical journal of soliciting bribes from mainland authors. “Several important international academic journals have seen editors, and even editors-in-chief, soliciting and accepting bribes,” said Rao, a tenured chair professor at Peking University who stepped down as president of Capital Medical University last year, in a social...

The British Army’s miraculous escape from Nazi Germany’s encirclement at Dunkirk is considered by some to be the greatest military retreat in modern history and a prime example of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Yet years before Dunkirk, the military retreat by the Chinese Red Army, known as the Long March, was more impressive and consequential. While the Dunkirk evacuation remains in Hollywood fare and a staple of World War II folklore, the Long March is taught at military academies...

Citing national security concerns, the US government has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and any third-party services developed using the Chinese artificial intelligence model from their information systems. In a notice made public on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also barred agencies from acquiring DeepSeek products and services, including those developed by affiliated entities. The notice said that using the company’s products “may result in...

Honduran migration officials have summoned or placed under review 41 Chinese nationals after inspecting shops in the capital and a hospital being built by a state-owned contractor from China in the south of the country. Teams from the National Migration Institute, working with police and intelligence officers, interviewed 86 Chinese citizens at 54 shops in Comayaguela, Tegucigalpa’s twin city and main commercial district, and told 25 of them to report for further document checks. Migration...

Ukrainian ⁠Foreign Minister ​Andrii Sybiha said on ​Monday that a summit between Russia, China ​and the ‌US would ⁠encourage President Vladimir Putin ‌to prolong the war. The ​Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed a ​summit next month ​with US ​President Donald Trump and Chinese President ​Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war on terms ⁠that would favour Moscow. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis reports.

President Duma Boko pledged to oppose Taiwan independence at talks with Xi Jinping, as Botswana and China upgraded ties and signed security and mining papers. The post Botswana Backs China on Taiwan on 13 Oct appeared first on The Rio Times.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Washington wanted to compete for business in Central Asia without asking countries to stop working with China, as the United States and five regional governments outlined proposals to deepen cooperation on minerals, transport and technology. Speaking in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Rubio was asked what Washington could offer as Beijing expanded its presence in the region. “I mean, look, it’s competition, right? We have products, we have companies;...

A second unusual Chinese vessel suspected of being designed to launch and recover large underwater drones has appeared in Guangzhou, raising questions over whether Beijing is developing a fleet of specialised motherships to extend its undersea operations beyond coastal waters. The smaller vessel, seen under tow on the Pearl River in images circulating online, resembles a ship about 200 metres long seen at a Shanghai shipyard last month that has since been launched. Both feature conspicuous...

Washington and Beijing should put aside their mutual distrust to address the risks posed by artificial intelligence, much as the United States and Soviet Union cooperated on nuclear arms control during the Cold War, a former US Treasury secretary has urged. Robert Rubin, who served as US Treasury secretary under former president Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999, cited the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between Washington and Moscow decades ago as an example of two superpowers working...

China's green export surge is forcing Latin America to choose between cheaper clean technology and building its own industrial capacity. The post China’s Electric Car Exports Reshape Latin America Trade appeared first on The Rio Times.

Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 19, 2026 — China reports 4.5% Q3 growth and a US$28 billion green-tech export surge; Japan begins Keen Sword drills and PM Takaichi sends Yasukuni offering; Indonesian stocks fall over 5% as haze crisis and MSCI warning converge. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Monday, October 19, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

Taiwan’s coastguard said it warded off 16 mainland Chinese vessels in one day after they sailed into the island’s self-defined restricted waters in a coordinated, multi-pronged operation that experts say points to a shift in Beijing’s maritime pressure tactics. The vessels – 12 coastguard and research ships, as well as four fishing boats – operated simultaneously on Sunday in waters east of Hualien, south of Pingtung, southwest of Kaohsiung and around the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands,...

Beijing’s ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan has denied making threats after he was summoned over his recent comments that China could “easily win” a war between the two countries. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro met Jing on Monday to express “serious concern and strong objections” over his “provocative and unacceptable” language. Lazaro added that he had aggravated an already sensitive situation and undermined efforts to build mutual understanding between the two countries,...

China’s economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, keeping it broadly on track to meet Beijing’s annual growth target, as robust global demand for the country’s hi-tech exports bolstered economic momentum. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5 per cent in the third quarter, accelerating from 4.3 per cent in the second quarter, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics. This beat the 4.4 per cent consensus forecast from economists surveyed by Chinese...

China’s central bank signaled its overnight reverse repurchase rate will replace the current seven-day rate as the new policy benchmark, in another step that aligns it closer with global peers.

China’s export machine is accelerating as its domestic economy remains under strain. This comes amid growing trade friction as China’s partners question whether persistent surpluses can coexist with balanced and resilient regional growth. Last month, China’s exports rose 36.3 per cent year on year, while shipments to Southeast Asia jumped 52.3 per cent. The trade surplus reached US$133.5 billion, taking the nine-month total to US$938.1 billion. In contrast, retail sales grew just 0.4 per cent in...

Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)--Taiwanese individuals with Japanese professional qualifications, such as doctors, nursery teachers and real estate appraisers, no longer have to list "China" as their nationality in documents, it was learned Monday. At a meeting of a group of lawmakers promoting friendly relations between Japan and Taiwan on the day, the Japanese government reported that it had ...