CiCM 11th December 2025

NEWS IN CHINA

Xi Jinping Delivers Important Speech at the Central Economic Work Conference: China’s Central Economic Work Conference convened in Beijing, with Xi Jinping delivering an important speech summarizing 2025 achievements and outlining 2026 tasks, while Premier Li Qiang gave concluding remarks. Both leaders noted 2025’s uncommon progress, steady growth under pressure, advancing new quality productive forces, reforms, risk mitigation and livelihoods, completing 14th Five-Year Plan targets amid global challenges. For 2026, the conference stressed “seeking progress amid stability,” more proactive fiscal policy, including higher deficits, optimized spending, local fiscal relief and appropriately accommodative monetary policy (rate cuts, liquidity boosts), expanding domestic demand, fostering new forces, unified markets and risk controls for qualitative improvement and quantitative growth. The eight priorities also include inner-loop markets, innovation, reforms, opening-up, coordination, green transition, livelihoods and risk resolution. Xi also emphasized on the Party’s leadership in drafting the 15th Five-Year Plan, year-end supplies and concluded by calling for unity to ensure a strong “15th Five” start.
Beijing Criticises Mexico’s New Tariffs as Protectionist: China’s Foreign Ministry and Commerce Ministry have criticised Mexico’s decision to hike tariffs on imports from non-FTA partners, including China, calling it a unilateral, protectionist move that harms bilateral trade. Mexico’s Congress approved a revised import-export tariff law that will raise duties on selected products from several Asian countries to between 5 and 50 percent starting 1 January 2026, though some rates on auto parts, light industrial goods and textiles were lowered compared with a September draft. A Commerce Ministry spokesperson said the measures will “substantially damage” the interests of partners such as China and confirmed that Beijing launched a trade and investment barrier investigation into Mexico in late September to protect Chinese industry. The ministry also noted Mexican officials have linked the hikes to future reviews under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, warning that no pact should undermine global trade or China’s legitimate interests.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged Mexico to “correct” the move and “walk toward China,” arguing that going against economic globalisation and “engaging in protectionism” ultimately hurts all sides. Beijing says it still values China-Mexico economic ties and hopes Mexico will manage differences prudently through dialogue.
China Slams Taiwan’s Ban on RedNote as “Anti-Democratic”: China’s State Council of Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson, Chen Binhua, harshly criticized Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for imposing a one-year ban on the Chinese social media app RedNote (Xiaohongshu), calling it anti-democratic and driven by self-interest. Taiwan’s interior affairs department announced the ban, citing alleged cybersecurity failures and fraud risks, but Beijing argued that the move mainly targets a platform that allows young Taiwanese to learn about mainland life and interact with its users. The spokesperson said that the decision stripped Taiwanese, especially youth, of their right to information and social media choice and hurt those who depend on the app for income, noting RedNote has over 3 million users in Taiwan, with around 70 percent born after 1990. Despite the ban, downloads surged and briefly pushed the app to the top of Taiwan’s social rankings, with most access now via VPN. Chen contrasted the DPP’s focus on RedNote with media reports blaming Facebook for thousands of fraud cases, and echoed Kuomintang criticism that the move is a first step toward a “Great Firewall” in Taiwan, labelling the DPP a “party of restricting people.”
China Eases Visas, Expands Tax Refunds to Attract Tourists: China is expanding visa-free access and streamlining departure tax refund procedures to boost inbound tourism and shopping, as policy upgrades since 2015 have shown clear effects. An April 2025 package of reforms aimed to lower the minimum purchase for tax refunds from 500 yuan to 200 yuan and double the cash refund ceiling from 10,000 to 20,000 yuan, expanding eligible stores and products and improving service quality. From January to September, overseas visitor tax refund applications jumped 229.8 % year on year, with refund amounts up 97.4 %, highlighting revived inbound consumption. Shanghai has over 1,700 tax-refund stores, 26 centralized refund points, and even set up a one-stop instant refund station inside the 8th China International Import Expo, enabling integrated POS refunds and online pre-authorisation via platforms like Alipay; by late September, its tax-refund sales and refund values were up around 84 and 83 percent respectively, topping all provinces.Guangzhou now has 1,500+ tax-refund stores and centralized refund points, plus QR-based one-stop online refunds that can credit accounts in as little as five minutes, while tourists from Switzerland and Spain quoted in the report praised the roughly 9 percent “discount-like” refund and the breadth of eligible Chinese products, from electronics to traditional clothing.
China, Brunei Reaffirm “Shared Future” Partnership: China and Brunei pledged to deepen cooperation and advance a “community with a shared future” during a Chinese delegation’s visit to Bandar Seri Begawan. Peng Qinghua, NPC Standing Committee vice chairman and head of the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament, met Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and Legislative Council Speaker Haji Abdul Rahman.Peng said ties have been steadily upgraded under the two heads of state and called for stronger political trust, deeper practical cooperation and joint development to implement leaders’ consensus. Brunei reiterated its high regard for relations with China, firm adherence to the one‑China policy, and readiness to expand exchanges across the board and strengthen people‑to‑people friendship within the Brunei–China “shared future” framework.Peng also attended a “Civil Dialogue on Contributing People-to-People Strength” to that community-building effort, underscoring the role of societal links alongside official diplomacy.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

Mixed Reactions to Livelihood Pledges from Central Economic Work Conference takes over Chinese Social Media: Weibo exploded as the Central Economic Work Conference outlined 2026 priorities including livelihood measures like supporting flexible workers' insurance, expanding high school places and stabilising key group employment. The hashtags on “encourage flexible workers to join employee insurance” and “increase regular high school places” racking up thousands of comments. Users welcomed flexible employment insurance but immediately questioned funding, “What do we pay with? Cover employer shares too?” while griping that self-employed folks could not afford it amid retirees drawing 10,000+ yuan pensions. Jobseekers vented their frustration saying, “Solve employment for people over 40 first!” and “Graduation equals unemployment,” demanding real job security over slogans. Labour demands too dominated the conversations with users stating that “Eight-hour days, weekends off, enforce it everywhere!”

INDIA WATCH

Chinese Media Reports on US “Core 5” Idea Which Includes India: Chinese outlet Guancha highlighted a US proposal from Trump’s unpublicized National Security Strategy for a “Core 5” (C5) grouping of the US, China, Russia, India and Japan, population giants over 100 million each, to hold G7-style summits on issues like Middle East security, explicitly sidelining the EU. Guancha framed it as Washington seeking a new great-power concert free of G7’s “ideological constraints,” while questioning if India, champion of strategic autonomy, would join a format equating it with rivals. The article noted Trump’s past regrets over Russia’s G8 expulsion and deals like Nvidia chip sales to China, but the White House denied any secret version exists. For New Delhi, said the article, this underscores its pivotal role in US recalibrations amid great-power flux. The article also noted how the Washington document states that the US cannot possibly tackle all the political instability around the world currently, but at the same time, cannot also let China and Russia take over leadership positions in regions across the world.

Prepared By

Kanav Aggarwal

Kanav Aggarwal is an undergraduate student majoring in International Relations and minoring in Literary and Cultural Studies at FLAME University. He is Passionate about geopolitics, defence strategy, and international security. Through his studies and research experience, he aims to deepen his understanding of global power dynamics and contribute analytical insights to the team’s ongoing projects.