China news roundup / Nachrichten 2025-08-05/06

China’s industrial policy is creating instability at home and abroad

"At home, Chinese overcapacity lies at the heart of the destruction of profits, debt management problems, and persistent deflation. The broadest measure of inflation, the GDP deflator, has been falling for nine quarters as of June 2025, and the fall in factory gate prices for consumer durables is the biggest since the 2008-09 financial crisis."

--- But - hey - economy is still booming, right?

"With relentless high-speed rail expansion, China is getting less, even zero, new GDP growth. Roughly 80-85% of high-speed rail lines operate at a loss, and China Railway, the state operator, is getting ever deeper into debt, with liabilities of more than 6tn yuan (£640bn) in 2024. Dr Lu has identified irrational and even illegal ventures, bribery and graft, inadequate passenger demand, stations constructed far away from cities they are intended to serve in areas of low population density, and extravagance for no purpose."

--- Well, at least it helps to prop up GDP numbers.

"Xi’s government seems set in its mercantilist ways, but at the cost of rising instability at home and abroad."

--- Yep.

Tens of thousands evacuated as torrential rains hit south China

"Homes and storefronts were inundated, prompting officials to launch an emergency response in Guangdong. Authorities have allocated 100 million yuan (US$14 million) in recovery funds, China’s top economic planner announced."

--- Another drop in the ocean...

China fights mosquito-borne chikungunya virus with drones, fines and nets as thousands fall ill

"Chinese state television has shown workers spraying insecticide around city streets, residential areas, construction sites and other areas where people may come into contact with mosquitoes. Workers sprayed some places [sic!] before entering office buildings. [...] This time, patients are being forced to stay in hospital in Foshan for at least one week and authorities briefly enforced a two-week home quarantine, which was dropped because the disease cannot be transmitted between people. [...] Reports also have emerged of attempts to stop the spread of chikungunya with fish that eat mosquito larvae and even larger mosquitoes to eat the insects carrying the virus"

--- Blind actionism, as usual in China. 'Let's show that we are doing something.'

"Officials have held meetings and adopted protocols at the national level in a sign of China's determination to eliminate the outbreak and avoid public and international criticism"

--- & some Western media fall for that bullshit.

Marcos: No way PH can stay out of China-Taiwan tussle

"“To be very practical about it, if there is confrontation over Taiwan between China and the United States, there is no way that the Philippines can stay out of it simply because of our physical geographic location,” he responded. “And so if you think about it, if there is an all-out war, then we will be drawn into it. And I assure you with the greatest hesitation, but again, we will have to defend our territory and our sovereignty,” Marcos also said."

--- A realistic approach. But I'm pretty sure we will hear soon from China how provocative & irresponsible these comments are.

The mindbending ‘cyberpunk city’ in China that exists on so many levels

"Due to the city’s unique landlocked geography and rapid growth, Chongqing has had nowhere to go but up, to the point where one building even has a train running through the middle of it."

--- Utter bullshit in a bullshit propaganda piece by CNN. Chongqing has a lot of room actually, there is no 'need to go up'. & that train running (it's a metro station in a high-rise, actually) through a building is an example of how the CCP is pushing certain tropes at the moment, via Western bloggers, vloggers & apparently now journalists, too.

"Social media has become the main way younger travelers learn about the city. One viral post on Instagram showing a building where “you think you’re on the ground floor, but you’re actually on the 12th” has racked up more than 17 million views."

--- On the 22nd or 23rd floor, really. If you get paid by the CCP, then you should get your lines correct at least. Particularly lines that have been used a gazillion times by above-mentioned China shills.

"Buildings often feature entrances on multiple floors depending on the surrounding street level based on the terrain. As a result, a single high-rise might have entry-level access on the 1st, 12th, or even 20th floor — creating what people call the astonishing “8D Space.”"

--- Another bullshit propaganda line. As if 8D actually means anything.

"As Chongqing has gone viral online, local authorities have invested heavily in both economic growth and cultural promotion."

--- Cultural promotion? Let's call it propaganda. & CNN is obviously not ashamed to do it for the CCP.

China’s cyber-abuse scandal: is the government unwilling to crack down on exploitation of women online?

"For Li, the recent incident reveals a widespread tolerance and lack of meaningful law enforcement on the issue in China. Rather than tackling the proliferation of sexist and abusive content online, authorities appear more focused on detaining female writers of homoerotic fiction and censoring victims of digital abuse, she says. “With the rise of deepfake technologies and rapid online circulation of surreptitiously filmed content, women’s bodies are being digitally exploited at an unprecedented scale,”"

--- More bullshit, this time from the Guardian. Everybody in China is exploited, one way or another. If this is your main concern about China, you got your priorities wrong.

Protests in China over viral school bullying case

"Bullying has become a highly sensitive topic in China in recent years, and student deaths over alleged bullying have triggered protests in the past."

--- Not bullying as such is the sensitive topic, but bullying by (perceived) members of the political or social elite which goes unpunished.

Chinese nationals charged with exporting Nvidia AI chips to China

US lawmaker questions Intel CEO's ties to China in letter to company board chair

--- China Uncensored: "The US is preparing for war. China, too."

--- China Uncensored: "I can't do this show anymore"

--- Bloomberg: Trump Says US Close to Trade Deal With China

--- Mover & Gonky Show: Fujian Fighter Launch

Überflutungen in China: Zehntausende in Sicherheit gebracht

"Die Regierung stelle 100 Millionen Yuan (12 Mio. Euro) für Wiederaufbaumaßnahmen bereit."

--- Wieder mal ein Tropfen auf den heißen Stein. & wie üblich werden so gut wie keine Opfer gemeldet.