Intelligence · Country
China
Where it stands
Xi Jinping leads the Communist Party, the state and the military. At its fifth plenum on October 26-29, the party's Central Committee adopted a resolution on strict party self-governance, confirmed the expulsion of 33 members, among them former military commission vice chairman Zhang Youxia, and elevated military commission vice chairman Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo. The next party congress is set for the second half of 2027.
A truce reached in late 2025 has paused the escalating tariff fight with the United States. Xi made a state visit to Washington in late September, after President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing in May. The White House said the two sides recommended lower tariffs on $30 billion of goods in each direction, set up a dialogue on what they called 'super intelligence' and are working on US concerns about rare earth shortages. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the truce, under which China paused its rare earth export controls, now runs to January 10, 2027. The White House said both leaders intend to attend the APEC and G20 summits their countries host.
Official data put third-quarter growth at 4.5% year on year, while property investment fell 20.6% in the first nine months. In mid-October China announced a week of live-fire drills off its own coast, none near Taiwan, days after President Lai Ching-te's National Day speech, and did not link the two. On October 31 its coast guard said it had patrolled waters east of Taiwan; Taipei said Beijing has no jurisdiction there.
Sources:Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China(Primary source)Dimsum Daily(Outlet not rated yet)The White House(Primary source)The White House(Primary source)Supply Chain Dive(Outlet not rated yet)National Bureau of Statistics of China(Primary source)Reuters (via ThePrint)(Outlet not rated yet)Focus Taiwan (CNA)(Outlet not rated yet)
Latest developments
Wang Yi tells Philippine counterpart that ties face 'malicious interference'
In a phone call with Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said a few Philippine politicians had repeatedly attacked China, Xinhua reported, and the two agreed to reject provocations meant to disrupt their diplomatic dealings. The call came after China's ambassador in Manila, Jing Quan, suggested in October that China could prevail by force while saying it preferred peace, remarks the Philippine foreign ministry called a thinly veiled threat.
Xinhua(Outlet not rated yet)Xinhua(Outlet not rated yet)Focus Taiwan (CNA)(Outlet not rated yet)
Taiwan says it is seeking a formal invitation to the APEC summit China is hosting
Premier Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan, an APEC member under the name Chinese Taipei, was seeking a formal invitation to the November 18-19 leaders' meeting in Shenzhen and would not rush any decision. He urged China to follow APEC practice and send a special envoy to deliver invitations in person. The Liberty Times had reported, citing unnamed government sources, that Beijing sent an email instead of a formal invitation.
Focus Taiwan (CNA)(Outlet not rated yet)
China's factory activity contracts in October, official survey shows
The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.3 in October from 50.1 in September, below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The non-manufacturing index slipped to 49.7 from 50.2, and the manufacturing new export orders index stood at 48.7, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
National Bureau of Statistics of China(Primary source)
China's coast guard says it patrolled waters east of Taiwan; Taipei rejects the claim
China's coast guard said a flotilla led by the vessel Hushi carried out law enforcement patrols in waters off eastern Taiwan. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration said Beijing has no jurisdiction there, that its ships shadowed the two Chinese vessels, and that China was using law enforcement as a pretext to harass Taiwan. Earlier in October the US State Department called Chinese maritime activity off Taiwan's east coast deeply destabilising, Reuters reported.
Focus Taiwan (CNA)(Outlet not rated yet)Reuters (via Internazionale)(Outlet not rated yet)
China says it opposes reported US moves against Chinese telecom firms and testing labs
Asked about a Reuters report that a US telecoms regulator would vote in November to bar Chinese carriers from direct access to US phone numbers, having already decided to stop Chinese labs from testing US electronics such as smartphones, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China firmly opposes the moves and would do what is necessary to protect its interests.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China(Primary source)
Party plenum confirms 33 expulsions and elevates general Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo
The Central Committee's fifth plenum, held October 26-29, adopted a resolution on strict party self-governance, confirmed the expulsion of 33 people including Zhang Youxia and former Politburo member Ma Xingrui, and elected military commission vice chairman Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo. It set the 21st Party Congress for the second half of 2027. Attendance was 279 full and alternate members, against 376 named in 2022, The Guardian reported.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China(Primary source)Dimsum Daily(Outlet not rated yet)Taipei Times (The Guardian)(Outlet not rated yet)
China's economy grew 4.5% in the third quarter, official data show
The National Bureau of Statistics said GDP rose 4.5% from a year earlier in July-September and 4.6% over the first nine months. In those nine months retail sales grew 1.1%, fixed-asset investment fell 7.2% and investment in real estate development fell 20.6%.
National Bureau of Statistics of China(Primary source)
China proposes export curbs on AI, life sciences and solar technologies
The commerce and science ministries published a draft revision of China's catalogue of technologies banned or restricted from export, covering artificial intelligence, life sciences and photovoltaics. A summary by law firm Hogan Lovells Cadwalader counts 40 technologies, 14 proposed for a ban and 26 for licensing. The draft would also count a transfer of ownership or control of Chinese technology to a foreign entity as an export. Comments are due by November 15.
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader (via Now.Solar)(Outlet not rated yet)Digital Policy Alert(Outlet not rated yet)
China's monthly goods trade tops 5 trillion yuan for the first time
Customs data showed September goods trade rose 27.5% from a year earlier to 5.16 trillion yuan, the first month above 5 trillion yuan. Exports rose 29.6% to 3.03 trillion yuan and imports 24.6% to 2.13 trillion yuan, CGTN reported. Trade in the first three quarters grew 18.8% to 39.94 trillion yuan.
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Taiwan monitors a week of Chinese coastal live-fire drills after Lai's National Day speech
Defence Minister Wellington Koo said Taiwan was tracking Chinese live-fire drills in five zones off China's coast, from the South China Sea to the Bohai Sea, scheduled for October 12-17 and none near Taiwan. They followed President Lai Ching-te's October 10 National Day speech, which Beijing condemned, though China did not link the two. China has not held full-scale war games around Taiwan since late December 2025.
Reuters (via ThePrint)(Outlet not rated yet)Focus Taiwan (CNA)(Outlet not rated yet)
Xi and Trump hold White House talks during Xi's state visit to Washington
Xi met Trump at the White House during a September 23-25 state visit. The White House said the sides recommended lower tariffs on $30 billion of non-sensitive goods each way, that China would import at least 10 million tonnes of US coal in each of 2027 and 2028, that a dialogue on 'super intelligence' was set up, and that the two were working on US concerns about rare earth shortages. AP reported no major breakthroughs on trade or AI safety.
The White House(Primary source)Associated Press (via The Irish News)(Outlet not rated yet)Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China(Primary source)
US says trade truce with China extended to January 10, 2027
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the truce reached in late 2025, under which the US lowered some tariffs and China paused rare earth export controls, would run two months past its November 10 expiry, to January 10, 2027. He announced it on the day Xi arrived in Washington, after meeting Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York on September 20. China's commerce ministry confirmed the extension on September 28, Bower Group Asia reported.
Supply Chain Dive(Outlet not rated yet)The Express Tribune(Outlet not rated yet)Bower Group Asia(Outlet not rated yet)The White House(Primary source)
Politburo expels former top general Zhang Youxia from the Communist Party
The Politburo announced that Zhang Youxia, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and former commission member Liu Zhenli had been expelled from the party after investigations and would face military prosecution. The notice accused them of disloyalty, forming cliques and accepting large sums of money. A Politburo meeting the same day set the party's fifth plenum for October 26-29.
Jamestown Foundation(Outlet not rated yet)CGTN(Outlet not rated yet)