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NEWS IN CHINA

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer Arrives in Beijing for State Visit: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing to begin a four-day official visit to China. This visit marked the first visit by a UK prime minister in eight years. It is reported that during the trip, President Xi Jinping will meet with Starmer, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji will also hold separate talks with him on bilateral relations and shared concerns. The visit follows growing high-level engagement between the two countries. China and the UK are important economic and trade partners, with bilateral goods trade expected to reach USD 103.7 billion and investment stock approximately USD 68 billion. Starmer is accompanied by executives and representatives from over 50 major British companies and institutions across finance, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, culture, and creative industries. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson noted that amid global uncertainty, the China-UK meeting is vital to enhance communication between the two countries. In addition to Beijing, Starmer will also visit Shanghai.
  
  

• Local “Two Sessions” Kick Off, Mapping 2026 Growth Plans: As China enters the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, regions such as Zhejiang, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin and others have convened their annual “Two Sessions” to map development priorities and set key economic targets for 2026. The key themes that dominated the annual sessions across these regions included enhancing scientific and technological innovation, building a modern industrial system, and increasing domestic consumption. The regions also set economic growth targets. Zhejiang set a target of 5–5.5 %, Beijing and Henan around 5%, Hebei over 5%, Guangdong 4.5–5 %, and Tianjin 4.5%. These goals are set in alignment with national guidance focusing on domestic economic growth. Beijing and Tianjin announced plans to strengthen education, healthcare, elderly care, childcare and domestic services, focusing on unlocking new consumption growth points. At the national level, authorities plan a strategic program to expand domestic demand from 2026 to 2030, with service consumption prioritized. Guangdong and Beijing showed faster commercialization of innovation and Zhejiang and Guangdong emphasized large-scale application of artificial intelligence. Experts noted these regions are expanding domestic demand and new productive forces to transform innovation into growth to kick off the 15th Five-Year Plan.
  
  

• Wang Huning Addresses United Front Work Meeting: The National Conference of United Front Work Department Heads was held in Beijing. Wang Huning, Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech. He emphasized the need to take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as guidance, uphold the “two establishments” and “two safeguards,” and fully implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Wang stressed that united front work must unite people’s hearts and minds to ensure a strong start to the “15th Five-Year Plan” and advance Chinese-style modernization. Wang affirmed achievements made in the past year and called for strengthening ideological and political guidance, and therefore, consolidating unity and enhancing the role of the united front. He pointed out important tasks such as improving the political party system, promoting the rule of law in religious affairs, engaging non-Party intellectuals, private entrepreneurs, and overseas communities, and building a strong cadre team. Li Ganjie, head of the United Front Work Department, presided over the meeting. He urged adherence to Party leadership and institutionalized development of united front work.
  
  

• China Launches Spring Festival Consumption Campaign: China has officially started the 2026 National Spring Festival Cultural and Tourism Consumption Month. The festival is designed to stimulate cultural and tourism spending during the Spring Festival holiday. The aim is to better meet public demand during festivals and to provide high-quality leisure experiences. The festival will run from late January to early March. The Consumption Month will showcase seasonal cultural and tourism products across the country. The festival will feature activities focusing on popular Spring Festival themes such as traditional folk customs, performances, exhibitions, ice and snow tourism, oriented toward winter leisure trips and family travel. Local governments and cultural institutions are encouraged to design programs with regional characteristics and holiday demand. According to official plans, about 30,000 cultural and tourism consumption events will be held across the country and consumer vouchers and related subsidies will be distributed to support spending. Additional measures such as ticket price reductions, ticket stub discounts and cross regional cultural and tourism benefits will also be introduced. These initiatives aim to broaden access to inclusive consumption policies, enrich holiday choices and create a lively cultural atmosphere for residents and tourists celebrating the Spring Festival.
  
  

• China Rolls Out New Land Measures to Support Elderly Care Services: China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and National Health Commission jointly issued new measures to strengthen land resources for elderly care services, aiming to cut costs and expand service supply. The policy emphasizes better planning and land support for elderly care facilities. New urban areas, residential communities, and housing projects will be required to include elderly care service facilities in line with planning standards. Authorities are also encouraged to promote mixed land use models such as “residential + elderly care” and “medical + elderly care” to reduce land costs. To lower operating burdens, non-profit elderly care institutions may receive land through allocation, while for-profit projects can access flexible supply options such as long-term leasing and phased land payments. Idle commercial buildings, factories, schools, and community spaces can be used for elderly care without changing land use rights for up to five years. Authorities will streamline registration and financing processes and strengthen cross-departmental supervision to ensure effective implementation and long-term policy impact.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Weibo Abuzz Over Proposal for 4.5-Day Workweek in Jilin: A new proposal from Jilin Provincial CPPCC member Li Ming has gone viral on Weibo with hashtag #JilinProvincialCPPCCMemberSuggests2.5DayWeekend#. This trend went viral as Li suggested implementing a 4.5-day workweek in schools and enterprises to encourage short-distance weekend travel across the province, during sessions of the Jilin Provincial People’s Congress and CPPCC in Changchun. Netizens quickly weighed in, sparking lively debate. Many questioned the practicality of the idea, with one comment reading, “Can we first resolve the issue of working six days on and one day off?” Another user joked, “Aim high and you’ll get the middle; aim for the middle and you’ll get the low.” Other users commented on the realities of modern work life, noting “These days, the average person gets four days off a month, which is considered a lot; most people only get two!” Some users also suggested alternative approaches, such as stricter enforcement of overtime penalties, and raised concerns about government agencies, hospitals, and essential services as one comment read as “If this is applied everywhere and the eight-hour day were strictly enforced, life would become inconvenient, and getting documents or services would be difficult.” A portion of users expressed support and called the proposal “good” and urged nationwide promotion.

INDIA WATCH

The Paper Discusses India-EU FTA and Strategic Implications: An article in The Paper discussed the historic India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was signed after nearly 20 years of negotiations. The article noted that the agreement covers around 2 billion consumers and is the largest trade deal in the history of both India and the EU, describing it as “the mother of all deals.” According to the article, the deal reduces tariffs on more than 90% of traded goods, benefiting India’s key export sectors such as textiles, jewelry, and pharmaceuticals. At the same time, India has made significant concessions on automobile tariffs. The article quotes Chinese academics like Liu Zongyi and Xin Hua who present that the agreement is driven not only by trade considerations but also by strategic interests, as India seeks alternative markets amid US protectionism, and the EU aims to reduce dependence on the US and counterbalance China. The article highlights broader cooperation expected from the summit, including security and defense partnerships covering emerging technologies, and agreements facilitating the mobility of Indian students and professionals in Europe. It concludes that the India-EU FTA shows a trend of middle powers forming strategic economic alliances to mitigate geopolitical risks, which signals a deepening of India-EU relations despite short-term economic gains.

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.