12 h. ago China’s AI and EV boom drives record power demand, widening energy gap with US

China’s total electricity consumption hit a record high of 10.4 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, more than double that of the US, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Saturday. The 5 per cent jump from the previous year marked the first time in China’s history that annual electricity consumption had surpassed 10 trillion kWh – the highest in the world and more than the combined total of the European Union, Russia, India and Japan, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing NEA...

Politics

8 d. ago Uncovering the History of How China Fell in Love With Photography

Uncovering the History of How China Fell in Love With Photography  PetaPixel

Culture

9 d. ago How China’s history links military strength to fighting corruption

For China’s leadership, the most urgent lesson of modern military power comes not from a foreign manual but from its own history books. Its catastrophic defeat by Japan in 1895, born of internal corruption, forms the invisible backdrop to every Chinese showcase of modern hardware. The recent live-fire drill around Taiwan code-named Justice Mission 2025 – a forceful display of Beijing’s resolve to achieve reunification and deter any challenge to its core interests – was no exception. To Beijing,...

Events

9 d. ago Opinion | How China’s history links military strength to fighting corruption

Opinion | How China’s history links military strength to fighting corruption  South China Morning Post

Events

2 w. ago Why talk of a Japanese nuclear option is resurfacing – and why it alarms critics

An editorial in the Sankei Shimbun has reopened a long-taboo debate in Japan over whether the country should even discuss acquiring nuclear weapons, after off-the-record remarks by a senior security official arguing the country should have them sparked domestic and regional backlash. The conservative daily argued that growing threats from Japan’s neighbours mean no option for protecting the public should be beyond discussion, a stance that has drawn praise from some on the right and alarm from...

Events

2 w. ago Champagne sparklers blamed for Swiss bar fire that killed 40

Investigators said on Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year’s Eve revellers. Authorities planned to look into whether the material on the ceiling that was designed to muffle sound conformed with regulations. The candles, which give off a stream of upwards-shooting sparks, were the same type that is commonly available for parties, officials said. Forty...

Events

2 w. ago North Korean palace visit by Kim’s daughter renews succession debate

An appearance by the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a sacred palace has renewed scrutiny on whether she is being groomed for succession in the secretive regime. Kim Ju-ae, believed to be around 13 years old, made her first recorded visit on Thursday to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the holiest site in the country dedicated to its hereditary rule, sparking speculation she could receive an official title at a coming party congress. While some observers see her prominent...

Politics

2 w. ago As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

Beneath the “China threat” thesis, often heard in Western policy circles, is the assumption that China will become expansionist as it grows more powerful. But history gives us little reason to treat that as inevitable. At moments of peak strength, China has not consistently converted power into the kind of overseas colonialism, expansionism or conquest that marked the ascent of Western great powers. There are three often-cited reasons to suggest China’s rise might lead to expansionism. First,...

Politics

2 w. ago Opinion | As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist

Opinion | As history makes clear, a powerful China is not expansionist  South China Morning Post

Politics

2 w. ago Why China is holding military drills around Taiwan — and the history behind it

Why China is holding military drills around Taiwan — and the history behind it  Plainview Herald

Events

3 w. ago China needs ‘original’ knowledge system on border history to counter West, scholar says

China should establish an “original” knowledge system regarding the history of its border regions to mitigate security risks from “hostile forces in the West”, according to a senior scholar at a prominent state-run think tank. Fan Enshi of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) also warned about the threat of “de-Sinicisation” in US-led historical perspectives, calling for a shift from “fragmented research” towards systematic domestic theories that could better project Chinese influence...

Politics

3 w. ago China racks up the highest electricity bill in world's history — $560bn to power the "most

China racks up the highest electricity bill in world's history — $560bn to power the "most-advanced" AI ever built  ecoportal.net

Economics

3 w. ago Fringe view of China’s history sparks official rebuke after going viral online

A wave of online discussion blaming China’s last imperial dynasty for national historical sufferings has prompted official criticism after touching on sensitive questions, and ignited debate over historical narrative, nationalism and social governance. What began as a fringe literary interpretation of an 18th-century classical novel has evolved in recent weeks to become a viral internet topic, known as the “1644 historical perspective”. The main claim – which has exposed sharp divisions online –...

Politics

3 w. ago Largest bilateral gold trade in history? China buys nearly $1 billion in bullion from Russia in November alone

Largest bilateral gold trade in history? China buys nearly $1 billion in bullion from Russia in November alone  KITCO

Economics

3 w. ago China’s military newspaper PLA Daily accuses Japan of showing ‘no respect for history’

China’s official military newspaper has accused Japan of distorting the record of its wartime aggression, denouncing the island nation’s lack of “respect for history” and warning that such actions risk repeating past tragedies. In a commentary on Monday, PLA Daily said Japanese right-wing forces were systematically whitewashing the country’s wartime atrocities as the international community was commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the global victory against...

Events

3 w. ago China’s PLA Daily accuses Japan of showing ‘no respect for history’

China’s PLA Daily accuses Japan of showing ‘no respect for history’  South China Morning Post

Politics

4 w. ago The Tiananmen Square general China wants to erase from history

The Tiananmen Square general China wants to erase from history  The Telegraph

Politics