industry

How China Unlocked a West African Mine to Reshape the Global Iron Ore Trade

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

Against all odds, Guinea’s $20 billion Simandou megaproject, including a 600-km railway, a new Atlantic port, multiple tunnels and bridges, and a twin set of mines, stunned the global mining world.

Caixin Global

A Coffee of Exile and Memory Comes Home to Hainan

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

Created by Hainanese migrants in Southeast Asia, the brew returned with re-migrants in the 1950s. Now, a new generation is pushing it into the future.

Coral Yang

Fast Feud: China’s Regulator Summons Delivery Giants Over Turf War

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

As tensions heat up between JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me to corner China’s lucrative food delivery market, the government steps in once again to mediate.

Li Xin

Fun Factory: Why China’s Tourists Are Queuing Up at Assembly Lines

From car plants to breweries and even robot labs, companies are looking to capitalize on the growing interest in industrial tourism.

Fan Yiying

Fu Xiaoqing

Chinese Hospitals Issued Health Certificates Without Exams: CCTV 

State broadcaster investigation found agencies sent stand-ins, health certificates were sold online, and restaurants knowingly accepted unverified or forged documents.

Ding Rui

Auto Shanghai: Carmakers Push Past EVs With Flying Cars, Robots

Amid rising competition, Chinese carmakers are tapping EV supply chains to branch into futuristic tech.

China’s Small Vendors Try to Strike It Rich on DeepSeek 

The homegrown large language model’s runaway popularity has opened the door to all manner of profit-making schemes, from paid installs to fortune telling.

Jiang Xinyi

A New Look: Can China’s EV Boom Rescue Its Design Industry?

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

China’s carmakers are spending wildly on dealerships, accessories, and branding. For designers still reeling from the real estate crash, it’s been an unexpected lifeline.

Cai Yineng

Seek and Deploy: China’s Tech Giants Race to Adopt DeepSeek AI

From Tencent to Baidu, major firms slash costs and streamline access as they integrate DeepSeek into cloud platforms and AI services.

He Qitong

The Big Switch

SPECIAL PROJECTS

China is producing EVs at an unprecedented scale, reshaping industries, economies, and daily life. Sixth Tone unpacks what’s working, what’s breaking down, and what’s next in a race that’s upending the global auto market.

Sixth Tone

China’s EVs Are Smart, Green, and Cheap — Until They Aren’t

For millions of Chinese EV owners, early promises of affordability, convenience, and cutting-edge tech are now tested by aging batteries, replacement costs, and warranties.

The Motor Cities Behind China’s EV Empire

China’s push to dominate the EV market starts in factory towns deep in the countryside, where assembly lines run day and night and life is tethered to nonstop production.

Wu Huiyuan 

The Foot Soldiers Steering China’s EV Ambitions Abroad

China exported more than a million EVs in 2024. But between a price war at home and trade tensions abroad, the industry’s future depends on a handful of expat sellers.

Can China’s College Grads Find Peace on the Factory Floor? 

Educated young workers are increasingly applying for manufacturing positions. Why?

The Paper

Factory Reset: A New Generation Races to Save China’s Family Businesses

Across China, family-run factories are passing to a new generation on an unprecedented scale. Can they overcome e-commerce challenges, rising costs, and family pressures to reshape their businesses for the future?

Behind the Numbers: China’s Diamond Industry

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

How did China get a cut of the global diamond trade?

Luo Yahan

Wang Jingyang

Sound Check: How High Costs Are Silencing China’s Music Festivals

With rising costs, shifting consumer demands, and stricter regulations leading to a wave of music festivals being canceled, festival organizers are struggling to attract price-sensitive audiences while maintaining profitability.

Ye Zhanhang

Huang Yang

China’s Labor Day Box Office Hits Near-Record Highs

Increased ticket sales in smaller cities and an uptick in older audience attendance underscored a growing demand for family-oriented films during the five-day holiday.

Last Stop: Looking Past the Stigma Facing China’s Morticians

A long-serving mortuary technician in Shanghai explains the tough conditions he faces in the workplace and the societal prejudices that persist against his profession.