Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

China’s First National Ecological and Environmental Code, Explained

The code provides a systemic legal framework for farm fires, pollutants, and human-wildlife conflicts, as well as carbon markets and environmental rights.

Jiang Xinyi

Chinese University Cuts Arts Majors, Citing an AI-Driven Future

An explanation from the university’s top official led to debate on social media. But students say they’re not surprised by the cancellation.

Bean There, Done That: How Chinese Coffee Extracts a New Kind of Belonging

Catering to both tourists seeking novelty and locals seeking familiar cultural flavors, cafés across China are using regional ingredients to create new coffee flavors.

Fan Yiying

Chen Xiashiyu

Shanghai Announces 2026 Tobacco Control Plan

The city is banning smoking at bus stops, ramping up oversight of areas where smoking is forbidden, and mandating smoking questionnaires during patient intake.

2026’s Two Sessions Takeaways: PE, Labor Rights, and Domestic Violence

Officials proposed more emphasis be placed on physical education, the abolition of the labor dispatch system, and allowing domestic violence exemptions to the mandatory 30-day “cooling-off” period prior to divorce.

Li Xin

‘Raising Lobsters’: How OpenClaw Became China’s Hottest AI

The agent, which operates as an autonomous personal manager rather than a query-and-response platform, represents a key advance in the field. But barriers to entry and security risks are steep.

Two Sessions: China Boosts Science and Tech Spending

The government simultaneously cut spending on business trips and meetings to free up funds for developing key sectors.

Chen Yiru

Pop Mart Sues Chinese 3D Printer Company Over Labubu Copies

Users downloaded templates online to print the hugely popular collectible toys at home for a fraction of the retail price.

Two Sessions: China Targets 5% Growth, 12 Million Jobs in 2026

Opening China’s annual policy meetings, Premier Li Qiang pledged wider market access and progress on new trade agreements.

Can China Repeat Its Winter Paralympic Success Abroad?

After a record-breaking performance in Beijing, China returns to the Milano-Cortina Paralympics with 70 athletes and titles to defend.