CiCM 12th December 2025

NEWS IN CHINA

China Launches Action Plan to Boost Elderly Care Service Capacity: According to a notice released by the National Health Commission, China will steadily improve its elderly care service system by 2027. The action plan aims to strengthen services across institutions, communities, and home-based care, while improving the skills of elderly care workers. Under the plan, qualified secondary and higher-level general hospitals and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals are required to standardize the establishment of geriatric medicine departments and allocate elderly care staff as required. Primary and secondary hospitals will also be supported to expand elderly care functions. As most senior citizens prefer to stay at home or rely on community services, the plan calls for extending institutional care into communities and households. It seeks to build a full nursing system covering acute disease treatment, chronic rehabilitation, stable care, and end-of-life services. The plan also promotes “Internet plus nursing services,” encouraging nurses to provide professional home care for elderly people with disabilities, dementia, or limited mobility.
China Will Cooperate with ASEAN to Promote Multilateralism: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Brunei’s Second Foreign Minister Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof in Beijing. He stressed that China sees ASEAN as its closest partner and is ready to work together on trust and cooperation. He. Wang said China and ASEAN will align development plans, create new areas of cooperation, support open regional growth, promote multilateralism, and resist any form of bullying or Cold War thinking. Wang noted that China will maintain high-level exchanges and build a China-Brunei community with a shared future. Erywan reiterated Brunei’s support for the one-China policy and national reunification. He stressed the importance of regional cooperation to resist unilateral actions and called for closer China-ASEAN ties. Both sides agreed to maintain peace in the South China Sea, increase consultations on the Code of Conduct, and promote a fair and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Ten Departments Issue Regulations to Improve Quality in E-Commerce: China issued new regulations to enhance the quality of products and services offered by online trading sites. On December 12, ten government departments, including the State Administration of Market Regulation and the Cyberspace Administration of China, published the “Guiding Opinions on Improving the Quality of Products and Services of Online Trading Platforms” (referred to as Opinions). The document stated that high product quality is essential to enhancing the online shopping experience, addressing the needs of people, and the sustainable growth of the platform economy. The Opinion calls for enhancing the literacy standards of live-streamers, mentoring them toward stricter product-selection standards, and offering systematic training. Platforms are also asked to create a blacklist to limit live-streamers and operators that consistently severely breach quality rules. The guidelines proposed stricter actions against unlawful trading activities, such as fake products, deceptive marketing, deceptive advertising, fraudulent testing reports, and discriminatory prices.
China Sets Theme and Priorities for 2026 APEC: China has outlined "China Year" and "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together" as the theme for the 2026 APEC during the APEC Informal Senior Officials' Meeting (ISOM). They have also proposed openness, innovation and cooperation as the priorities for 2026 APEC. Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu indicated that China is willing to take the opportunity of hosting the APEC meeting next year to enhance cooperation in Asia-Pacific in the fields of the Free Trade Area, connectivity, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence. The representatives of the APEC economies also expressed their impression of China's preparations and commitment to regional development. The ISOM was attended by nearly 200 participants and agreed unanimously on the theme and priorities put forth and set the agenda for the year. This marks the formal commencement of China's preparation to host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, which will take place in Shenzhen in November 2026.
China to Introduce Export Licensing for Selected Steel Products: China will introduce an export licensing system for selected steel products starting January 1, 2026, according to a joint statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs. The two authorities said certain steel products have been added to the revised 2025 catalog of goods subject to export licensing. Exporters will be required to submit export contracts and product quality inspection certificates issued by manufacturers when applying for licenses. From January to October 2025, China’s exports of finished and primary steel products reached $74.74 billion. The China Iron and Steel Industry Association stated that the licensing system will help standardize exports, support higher-quality development, and promote a more balanced and stable global steel market.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Father-in-Law Fakes Robbery to Keep Dowry, Goes Viral on Chinese Social Media: On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, a peculiar story from Yunnan has caught the attention of netizens under hashtags #ManClaimsRobberyToAvoidReturning268000YuanDowry and #ProspectiveFatherInLawStagesRobbery. Qujing police reported that a man surnamed He, unhappy with his son-in-law but unwilling to return a 268,000 yuan dowry, staged a fake robbery. He is now being handled according to the law for making a false police report. Public reaction has been a mix of shock, disbelief, and humor. Many netizens called the father-in-law “ridiculous” and “utterly stupid,” while others criticized his greed. Comments included, “This is the first time I’ve met a father-in-law like this,” and “How did you even come up with that?” Some users joked about the drama, calling it entertaining yet absurd. Overall, people expressed disbelief at the extreme lengths He went to avoid returning the dowry, while also sharing laughter and incredulity at the bizarre situation, making it one of the most discussed posts on Weibo recently.

INDIA WATCH

Chinese Media Discusses Why Global Tech Giants Invest Billions in India: A Chinese media outlet, Sina, discussed why global tech giants are pouring billions of dollars into India at an unprecedented pace. The article noted that in under 24 hours, Microsoft and Amazon pledged more than $50 billion toward India’s cloud and AI infrastructure, while Intel announced plans to manufacture chips in the country. According to the article, their bets are driven by India’s abundant data-center resources, large digital user base, vast talent pool, and rapidly expanding demand for AI and cloud services. Despite lagging behind the U.S. and China in developing homegrown foundational AI models, the piece stressed that India hopes to use its strong IT expertise to scale AI applications for businesses, an area that offers huge commercial opportunities. The report has also quoted Indian official S. Krishnan's statement that true AI deployment requires not only models and computing power but also a strong application layer and skilled workforce.

Prepared By

Neha Maurya

Neha Maurya is a fourth-year undergraduate student at FLAME University, pursuing a major in International Studies with a minor in Public Policy. Her research interests lie in strategic studies, governance, and education policy. She aspires to engage in work that links research insights to policy outcomes.