Cross-border rail proved to be one of the winners of China’s first fully re-opened Lunar New Year season. Operators of the 1,035-kilometre China–Laos Railway reported handling 12,900 international passenger trips between Kunming and Vientiane from 15 to 23 February—up 41.8 percent on last year’s holiday, with inbound traffic from Laos to China increasing an eye-catching

Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Hackers working for the Chinese government broke into more than 50 telecommunications companies and government agencies in 42 countries, in a campaign that exploited cloud platforms’ legitimate features to hide the attackers’ tracks. “The attacker was using

HONG KONG — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s purges of senior military officials run far deeper than previously thought, researchers say, threatening the effectiveness of his People’s Liberation Army. The crackdown, documented in two new studies released Tuesday, includes the recent ouster of Xi’s top two generals. Purges have been a regular occurrence under Xi, but

This article may be meeting you at a very Chinese time in your life. At least, if you’ve spent enough time recently on social media, where the phenomenon of “Chinamaxxing” has swept feeds with videos of people sipping hot water, shuffling around the house in slippers and donning a viral Adidas jacket resembling historic Chinese

China technology contract registration is undergoing significant changes as the country updates its regulatory framework for technology-related agreements. The new measures from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, effective March 1, 2026, redefine how contracts for technology development, transfer, licensing, consulting, and services are reviewed and certified. Companies aiming to access China’s technology-focused tax

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: Shein’s mysterious founder emerges China hits Japanese companies with export curbs Trump’s Iran ‘crisis of his own making’ We start in Guangzhou, where the mysterious founder of fast-fashion giant Shein used his first major public appearance yesterday to stress the company’s Chinese roots. What

Iran is nearing a deal with China to acquire CM-302 anti-ship cruise missiles, aiming to enhance its military capabilities. The missiles, which have a range of 290 kilometers and are designed to evade ship defenses, could pose a serious threat to US naval forces in the region, Reuters reported on February 24. The potential sale comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran, with China asserting its role in the