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NEWS IN CHINA

• Wang Yi Meets with South Korean Counterpart in Beijing: Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with the Republic of Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun to further strengthen bilateral ties as the two countries approach the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year. During talks in Beijing, Wang Yi called on both sides to expand common interests, deepen mutual trust, and explore new areas of cooperation to support long-term development. Wang said China attaches great importance to relations with the ROK and is ready to strengthen cooperation beyond traditional sectors. He highlighted emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, green and low-carbon development, and the silver economy as potential new engines of growth for both countries. He also noted that as the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held, China is willing to work with the ROK to promote the building of an Asia-Pacific community and support regional development and prosperity. Cho Hyun said bilateral relations have recovered and continued to grow following exchanges between the two countries' leaders. He pointed to increased trade and people-to-people exchanges as signs of improving ties. Cho also reaffirmed the ROK government's commitment to the one-China policy.
  
  
• Premier Li Qiang Meets Thai PM, Calls for Deeper Bilateral Cooperation: Premier Li Qiang met with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok. During the talks, Li said China is willing to work with Thailand to further consolidate political mutual trust, support each other's core interests, and unlock new opportunities for cooperation across various sectors. Li called for closer alignment of development strategies, progress on key projects such as the China-Thailand railway, and expanded cooperation in areas including new energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and trade. Li also called for advancing the building of a China-Thailand community with a shared future, strengthening industrial and supply chain cooperation, expanding cooperation in the digital economy, and enhancing exchanges in culture, tourism, education, media and youth affairs. He said China is ready to deepen coordination and cooperation with Thailand in regional and multilateral frameworks to jointly safeguard free trade and the stability of industrial and supply chains. Anutin reaffirmed Thailand's willingness to strengthen high-level exchanges, provide a favourable environment for Chinese investment, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, and deepen cooperation in connectivity, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and other fields. After the meeting, China and Thailand signed a series of cooperation documents spanning the automotive sector, vocational education, agriculture, customs, and security.
  
  
• President Xi Calls for Stronger Party Governance in State-Owned Enterprises: President Xi Jinping has called for continued efforts to strengthen Party leadership and governance in China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs), in a meeting on Party building held in Beijing. He emphasised that maintaining full and rigorous Party self-governance is important for helping SOEs become stronger, more efficient, and more competitive. Xi also highlighted the progress made in Party building within SOEs since the 18th CPC National Congress. He noted that Party organisations have helped improve corporate governance, strengthened discipline, and enhanced the ability of enterprises to carry out major national strategies and responsibilities. He also stressed the importance of strengthening Party organisations at all levels, improving discipline, and ensuring that officials and employees maintain a strong sense of responsibility. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. He called for implementing Xi Jinping's important instructions and further advancing high-quality Party building in state-owned enterprises. Cai called for adapting Party building in SOEs to new circumstances and strengthening anti-corruption efforts. He also emphasised further institutionalising and standardising the Party's leadership over state-owned enterprises.
  
  
• China Seeks Public Feedback on New Automobile Modification Rules: China has released a draft Automobile Modification Management Measures for public consultation, marking the country's first national-level policy framework aimed at systematically regulating vehicle modifications. The draft was jointly prepared by multiple government departments and is intended to support the development of the automotive aftermarket while ensuring safety and environmental protection. The draft introduces two categories of vehicle modifications: those that do not affect safety or environmental performance, and those involving systems such as brakes and suspension that require stricter oversight. Authorities have also prepared an initial list of 43 approved modification items, including 29 first-category and 14 second-category projects. Under the proposal, automobile manufacturers are required to establish detailed modification records for each vehicle. A key focus of the draft rules is maintaining high safety and environmental standards. The draft rules require vehicle manufacturers to prepare technical modification plans and ensure modified systems and components meet relevant technical standards. According to the draft, projects with significant safety or environmental implications would undergo review by national-level testing institutions.
  
  
• China Targets Major Expansion of New Energy Storage by 2030: China has unveiled a plan to accelerate the development of new types of energy storage during the 15th Five-Year Plan period to build a modern electric power system and support the country's energy transition. The plan, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA), sets a target of reaching 300 million kilowatts of installed new energy storage capacity by 2030, with an average storage duration of around three hours. The plan focuses on storage technologies beyond pumped-storage hydropower, including electrochemical, compressed-air, and gravity-based energy storage systems. The plan also seeks to shift the sector toward market-driven growth by expanding participation in electricity markets and improving pricing mechanisms for stored energy. According to NEA, China currently leads the world in new energy storage deployment and by the end of 2025, the country had 136 million kilowatts of operational new energy storage capacity, accounting for roughly 40 per cent of the global total. Officials said the new target is intended to support power system needs while promoting sustainable and orderly industry growth.
  
  

SOCIAL  MEDIA CHATTER

Weibo Users Debate China's Debt Levels and Economic Outlook: A post challenging the IMF's assessment of China's government debt has sparked discussion on Weibo, with users debating debt calculations, economic conditions, and fiscal policy. According to the post, the IMF's assessment of China's government debt was inflated by international institutions that overstate China's debt burden by including local government and financing platform liabilities in their calculations. Some users argued that concerns over debt should not be dismissed, with one commenter stating that “banks' bad debts are beyond imagination, and IPOs keep going public just to get the secondary market to pay for debt restructuring.” Others defended the inclusion of local government liabilities in debt calculations, arguing that “Chinese local government bonds are also government-guaranteed, foreign local government debt is essentially local government debt and can go bankrupt.” Another commenter echoed this view, noting that “losses from local government debt ultimately have to be covered by the government.” The discussion also turned to fiscal policy and economic recovery. One widely shared comment suggested that the ongoing economic downturn continued to place pressure on household debt burdens, and that “shifting part of this burden to government debt could support economic recovery”, while also arguing that “current fiscal policies lacked sufficient ambition and had been implemented inadequately.”

INDIA WATCH

Guancha Discusses India’s Manufacturing Push and Job Shortfall: An article in Guancha discussed an assessment by India’s public policy think tank, NITI Aayog, which acknowledged that the country’s flagship Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has fallen well short of its employment goals. According to the article, the program has achieved 76 per cent of its investment target and 64 per cent of its production target, but only 28 per cent of its employment target, despite being more than halfway through its implementation period. It noted that the Indian government committed around $23 billion to the scheme to attract manufacturers, strengthen domestic supply chains and expand industrial production across 14 sectors, including telecommunications, textiles, medical devices, automobiles, solar modules, drones and advanced batteries. The article stated that the initiative helped attract companies such as Apple and Samsung and contributed to export growth, yet job creation has remained below expectations. It further noted that NITI Aayog argued employment growth often lags behind investment and production, suggesting that hiring could increase as newly established factories become fully operational. However, the article highlighted that employment remains a major concern for India, particularly among young people. Official data cited in the article showed that the unemployment rate among Indians aged 15 to 29 stood at around 10 per cent in 2025, while separate studies suggested unemployment levels were significantly higher among university graduates. The article concluded that the PLI scheme had helped boost manufacturing activity and attract global companies, but its impact on employment remained below expectations.

Prepared By

Farhat Naz

Farhat Naz holds a postgraduate degree in International Relations and Political Science from the Central University of Kerala and a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Patna University. Her research interests include international security, great-power politics, geopolitical competition, South and West Asian affairs, conflict and peace studies, and the evolving international order.