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Reactions to Iran war; US-China; Two Sessions; DeepSeek and Qwen
There has been some speculation that because of the US attack on Iran, Xi would postpone or cancel his meeting with President Trump at the end of the…
 • Bill Bishop
Reactions to the US-Israel attack on Iran; Prepping for the Two Sessions; Science and technology insurance
This was supposed to be a fairly quiet week heading into the “Two Sessions”, with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opening…
 • Bill Bishop
Chinese Debates on a Fragmenting Global Order | Sinification: February 2026
Global Order & US-China Relations | Japan | Taiwan | Middle East | Europe | Latin America | Chinese Economy | Technology & Society - Commentary on the…
 • James Farquharson, Thomas des Garets Geddes, and Jacob Mardell

February 2026

NPC countdown; More PLA officers out; US-China; DeepSeek; Xi Thought on Diplomacy
Where is DeepSeek’s new model? - The world was expecting DeepSeek’s new model around the Lunar New Year. Is it delayed because, as some rumors suggest…
 • Bill Bishop
German Chancellor Merz in Beijing; Shanghai relaxes housing purchase restrictions; PLA purges; Cyberspace; US-China
PRC actors using OpenAI for information operations - OpenAI issued a report titled Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI that documented several case studies…
 • Bill Bishop
Ratcheting up the economic coercion on Japan; Mixed holiday economic data; Germany's Merz arrives in Beijing; US-China; AI; Political…
Welcome to the Year of the Horse. 1. Ramping up economic coercion on Japan - The Ministry of Commerce started its Year of the Horse work with a…
 • Bill Bishop
DeepSeek distilling Open AI?; Japan seizes PRC fishing boat; US-China; CIA video targets PLA; Spring Festival Internet cleanup
Bloomberg reports that OpenAI has sent a memo to the House Select Committee on China accusing DeepSeek of surreptitiously distilling OpenAI models to…
 • Bill Bishop
Sharp China: Pending Taiwan Arms Sales; Jimmy Lai Sentenced; Takaichi Secures a Supermajority; AI Models as Propaganda Vectors
On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with the reports that the PRC is threatening to scuttle Trump’s visit to Beijing over a second arms package from…
 • Bill Bishop
53:22
Xi wishes the troops a happy New Year; State Council study session on “AI+”; Another Hong Kong conviction; January price data
The comments in the brief readout that are getting the most attention are: Xi pointed out that the past year was very unusual and extraordinary. The…
 • Bill Bishop
Xi's Beijing inspection; Li on rare earths; Hong Kong white paper; Taiwan Affairs Work Conference; PBoC report
Wang Huning stated that it is necessary to adhere to the one-China principle and the “1992 Consensus,” unite the vast number of Taiwan compatriots…
 • Bill Bishop
Jimmy Lai sentenced; Xi on Sci-tech self-reliance; Japan elections; US-China; Nanjing Museum case; AI propaganda
A Hong Kong court sentenced UK citizen Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison. Six other Apple Daily staffers got sentences ranging from 6 years and 9 months…
 • Bill Bishop
PLA Tremors and the Chairman in Charge
A guest post by Holly Snape on the Chairman Responsibility System - On the same day the news hit that Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman…
 • Bill Bishop
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