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NEWS IN CHINA

• Xi Jinping Hails Volunteer Service in Letter to National Congress: Xi Jinping sent a letter to the third China Volunteer Service Federation member congress, urging volunteers, organisations and workers to “spread truth, kindness and beauty, and positive energy” by serving national strategies, people’s livelihoods and social governance to contribute to national rejuvenation. The letter highlighted three service focuses: aligning with national priorities by integrating personal efforts into state development, addressing issues such as new employment groups, healthcare, and elderly care through targeted aid, and embedding volunteers in grassroots governance to bridge communities and government in emergencies, disputes, and daily needs. This comes following the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, which explicitly proposed developing volunteer service and strengthening the management of volunteer service organizations.
  
  
• China Expands Direct Maternity Allowance Payments to 27 Provinces: The number of provinces in China authorized to directly issue maternity allowances has increased to 27, following the inclusion of Hunan and Guangdong. Under Chinese law, employers must provide living-expense support to female employees during maternity leave, a benefit known as the maternity allowance. According to reports, over 90% of maternity benefits are already being paid directly to individuals within their respective pooling areas. The Hunan Healthcare Bureau noted that, as of June 2025, 253 million people nationwide were enrolled in the maternity insurance program. During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), insured individuals received maternity insurance benefits 96.14 million times, with total expenditures reaching 438.3 billion yuan (approximately USD 61 billion). Currently, only five regions have yet to fully implement direct individual payments for maternity allowances: Beijing, Tianjin, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Xinjiang.
  
  
• 2025 “Understanding China” Conference Spotlights 15th Five-Year Plan: The 2025 “Understanding China” International Conference opened in Guangzhou, focusing on China’s forthcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) and its global initiatives. Speaking at the conference, Li Cheng, Founding Director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World, University of Hong Kong, emphasised the role that education and talent played in shaping China, stressing how a quarter of the world’s engineers now live in China. The event underscored how the plan built on the 20th Central Committee Fourth Plenum will drive institutional opening up, two-way investment and high-quality Belt and Road partnerships to foster shared global growth. Attendees discussed China’s vision for a new air-space-land-sea-network infrastructure system and holographic digital mapping technology, positioning these as engines for innovation and economic potential. The conference saw a participation of over 200 delegates from 72 countries and regions.
  
  
• China Rejects Japan’s Taiwan Stance at UN: China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, sent another letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, circulated as an official General Assembly document, firmly refuting Japan’s statements on Taiwan and accusing Tokyo of dodging key issues while blaming China. Fu criticised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks linking a Taiwan contingency to Japan’s survival-threatening situation, calling them a violation of WWII outcomes, the UN Charter and Japan’s commitments in the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement.  He dismissed Japan’s claim of a “passive defense strategy” as self-contradictory, highlighted Tokyo’s military expansions, including 13 years of rising defence budgets and arms exports, and warned of vigilance against Japan’s “militarism revival ambitions,” urging it to reaffirm the one-China principle or bear consequences. This comes amid worsening Beijing-Tokyo relations, which also saw the Chinese Coast Guard expelled a Japanese vessel today for entering the waters of the Japanese-administered Senkaku islands, which China claims as its own islands of Diaoyu Dao.
  
  
• China-Laos Railway Hits 62.5 Million Passenger Trips in Four Years: The China-Laos Railway has carried over 62.5 million passengers and 72.5 million tonnes of cargo since opening in December 2021. Passenger services have expanded sharply; daily trains on the Chinese section rose from eight to a peak of 86, totalling 51.34 million trips, while the Lao section grew from four to 18 daily, reaching 11.24 million trips.​ Cross-border flows have surged, with monthly passengers climbing from 600,000 to 2.2 million and daily volumes from 300 to 1,400; four daily international trains now link Kunming and Vientiane, carrying 640,000 travellers from over 120 countries on 2,674 runs, fuelling tourism and economic vitality. Daily cross-border freight trains peaked at 23 with volumes exceeding 16 million tonnes, cutting Kunming-Thailand costs by 30-50% and intra-Laos rates by 20-40%.

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER

iPad Discounts Spark Debate Over Apple’s Waning Influence in China: The Weibo hashtag “#iPad Mainland Market Share Drops Sharply” has gone viral following reports of Apple’s weakening position in China’s tablet market. iPad prices in mainland China have plunged—some by as much as 30%—fueling discussions about Apple’s market challenges and shifting consumer preferences. Meanwhile, Huawei has reclaimed the top spot in the domestic tablet market. The trend triggered a wave of reactions from Chinese netizens. Many argued that Huawei’s stronger performance stems from its more affordable pricing compared to Apple. Others acknowledged that while Apple products typically offer higher quality and longer lifespan, the iPad’s practicality lags behind Huawei’s devices for everyday use. One user noted that average households have little need for Apple’s high-end features, making the premium price harder to justify.

INDIA WATCH

Chinese Media Reports India’s Mandate for Pre-Installed Security App: Chinese media outlet Guancha has reported on India’s new mandate requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi security app, sparking speculation that Apple may refuse to comply. According to the report, India’s telecom ministry has instructed Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi to add the cybersecurity app to all new devices within 90 days, with existing phones to receive it through software updates. The app is designed to help track stolen devices, block IMEI-related fraud, and identify scam callers. Guancha suggested that Apple is likely to push back, citing concerns that third-party mandatory installations could pose privacy and security risks to the iOS ecosystem. The report added that Apple may privately tell New Delhi that it does not permit such pre-installs anywhere in the world and could instead propose an optional user-consent prompt as a compromise. India, however, defends the requirement as critical for fighting fraud in its vast second-hand phone market, highlighting over 5 million downloads since January and 700,000 recovered devices. Meanwhile, Samsung and other manufacturers are still evaluating the directive.

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.