china

China had not updated its EREV standards for nine years. Now that they sell a million a year, they are going to catch up

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The EREV (extended range electric vehicles, for its acronym in English), are beginning to have a lot of prominence in China. So much so, that in the country they have changed the regulations, publishing a complete review of their technical standard. This new revision, QC/T1086-2026, replaces a 2017 regulatory framework and will come into force on November 1. And it is that with more than 1 million units sold Every year in the country, the Chinese market begins to assimilate this type of vehicle that, outside of this region, is still relatively unknown to us. Why does it matter? The previous standard, in force since 2017, described the requirements in a mostly qualitative way, since the manufacturer defined its own specifications and the regulatory framework barely provided specific figures. Nine years later, the market has changed a lot. And according to industry data collected by CarNewsChinasales of EREVs in China exceeded one million units in 2024 and reached 1.2 million in 2025. So with those figures, it is logical to think that the regulations had to be revised. What the change consists of. Until now, the rules were somewhat vague, so this regulation aims to take a closer look at some EREV specifications and standardize them. An example is how much energy the gasoline engine delivers in each millisecond. And to give us an idea, now in the smallest generators (up to 67 HP), the maximum margin of error that will be allowed when delivering energy will be just 1.5 kW. For the most powerful engines, the deviation may not exceed 3%. That is, the motor must deliver energy to the battery more precisely and efficiently. According to CarNewsChinathe thresholds have been set based on real production data from manufacturers and suppliers, with the aim that all major manufacturers on the market can meet them without difficulty, but that lower-performance designs are left out of the standard. EMC and noise. One of the most relevant new features of the standard is the introduction of specific electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and noise and vibration (NVH) tests. The first extended range cars were basically standby generators that started when the battery was depleted. Today’s systems now have integrated energy management components that work in constant coordination with the battery, electric motors and vehicle control systems. This greater integration requires more demanding standards in electromagnetic interference and acoustic comfort. In fact, more recent models like the Aito M9which HIMA launched last May with up to 890 HP, or the IM Motors LS8 EREV, with 430 km of electric range, already reflect these changes, and are examples that have served to develop this new regulation. Durability for long term use. The standard also introduces two durability tests: a test of 750 hours with alternating load and another of 100,000 start-stop cycles. Both were developed with real-world usage data and damage equivalence models, and are designed to simulate approximately 300,000 kilometers of real-world driving, including urban conditions with frequent starts. Who is driving the market. The ecosystem of manufacturers that has driven this revision in the regulations includes both established brands and newer manufacturers. Li Auto, Seres, Deepal and Leapmotor have expanded their EREV offerings, while premium models such as the Aito M9 have helped position the technology in high-priced segments. Zeekr, Geely’s electric brandhas gone even further with the Zeekr 9X and 8X, since the former exceeded 50,000 accumulated deliveries in a few months after its launch and is scheduled to be exported to the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe during 2026. Cover image | HIMA In Xataka | This Aston Martin DB9 was sold for $57,000, but the craziest thing is not its price: it is the two flamethrowers it hides

China manufactured more solar panels in one year than the planet can absorb. Now the market is devouring itself

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In early 2026, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz shook energy markets. Consumers, frightened by the volatility of fossil fuels, looked in all directions for alternatives. What they found was a disconcerting paradox: the planet had—has—a historic surplus of clean, cheap energy. There was no shortage of solar panels. There were plenty of them. And no one really knew what to do with them. Economist Adam Tooze summed it up bluntly in his column Financial Times: “Clean energy, on a scale that would have seemed utopian at the time of the Paris Agreement in 2015, is now within our reach. The price of solar panels has plummeted. And yet factories are paralyzed.” It’s not rhetoric. It’s a diagnosis. After a huge increase in investment since 2020, Chinese companies reached a production capacity of 1,000 gigawatts of solar panels per year. To get an idea: in 2023 global demand was only 451 GW, according to Energy News. Chinese production of solar cells that year—588 GW—already doubled international demand. And they continued building. The result was what economists call “involution”: a spiral of destructive competition where companies destroy each other with none winning. More than 40 Chinese manufacturers have gone bankrupt, been acquired or delisted. A third of the staff of the surviving big five were laid off. JinkoSolar, the world’s largest supplier, registered in 2025 a drop in revenue of 29%, a drop in gross profit of 86% and net losses of 4.45 billion yuan. In this way, in June of last year, more than 30 manufacturers They agreed to an OPEC-style pact to stabilize prices and curb supply. Six months later, the result was a disaster: far from stabilizing, production reached historic highs, installations tripled and losses continued to accumulate. “Since when are solar panels just another commodity? They are a technological miracle. They make us cultivators of the sun,” details Adam Tooze in his column. And in all that time, the price of a solar module fell to $0.10 per watt, according to EnkiAI —well below the $0.16/W production cost of the most advanced TOPCon modules. It is, strictly speaking, the largest climate technology sell-off in history. This is not a steel crisis. It’s something else When economists talk about Chinese overproduction, the debate usually revolves around steel, cement or electric cars. But Tooze makes a distinction worth hearing: Solar panels are no ordinary commodity. They are the result of half a century of research—from NASA spinoff programs in the 1970s to the big energy push of the Carter era—and, along with batteries, they are the master key to a sustainable future. Wasting that surplus is not just an economic problem. It is a civilizational irrationality. According to the OECD, China invested less than $18 billion in sector support over 15 years to build an industry capable of providing more clean energy than the world can easily absorb. That figure is less than the cost of building a medium-sized international airport in Europe, or what the US spent on a single Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier. The concentration of power in the supply chain is also unprecedented in the history of energy. China controls more than 80% of the entire global solar production chaindirect result of the plan Made in China 2025 with which Beijing decided to stop being the world’s cheap factory and become its technological supplier. By the end of 2025, its operational module capacity exceeded 900 GW, several times the total global demand. The five largest Chinese manufacturers concentrate more than 50% of the market. LONGi Green Energy alone shipped more than 45 GW in 2025 – more than the entire US domestic manufacturing capacity (73 GW). Never in the history of energy has a single nation so completely dominated a key technology for the decarbonization of the planet. Not even oil at its peak. And the climate paradox is painful: since the Paris Agreement of 2015, a scale of deployment like the current one would have seemed like science fiction. The goal was to stop global warming. The instruments to do so are manufactured and stacked in warehouses. What fails, Tooze points out, is coordination: what Keynes would call a global “chaos,” a catastrophe of collective planning. The global bet Chaos has its own correction mechanisms, even if they are painful. In China, the crisis has already forced the Government to act a few months ago, Beijing called for ‘concerted efforts’ to end price war. The proposed measures include capacity control, minimum guideline prices, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property protection “to promote the high-quality development of the photovoltaic industry.” In practice: the Chinese State orchestrating an orderly rescue of the sector that it itself encouraged to grow without limits. The consolidation had already started before. In August of last year, several players in the sector launched a plan for large manufacturers to jointly invest $7 billion in buying and closing the least efficient facilities, according to OilPrice.com. In practice, a cartel to stop the bleeding. Prices already reflect the shift. According to ABC SolutionsChinese modules have risen between 10% and 20% in 2026 due to the adjustment of overproduction and new logistics tariffs. Wood Mackenzie forecasts a further rise of 9%. The window for the big bargain is closing, although prices remain historically low. The critical variable for 2027 is how the surplus is resolved: through orderly consolidation or through new business disruptions. Meanwhile, Chinese foreign business continues to boom. As Tooze points out in the FTexports of Chinese solar technology to virtually every country except the United States are skyrocketing. And manufacturers have evolved: they now integrate batteries into systems to offer greater stability to the grid, pushing the product towards the complete solution instead of the isolated module. Storage batteries, which They have also reached historical lows in cost Pushed by the same dynamic of overproduction, they thus complete the package: panel plus storage, at a knockdown price. Domestic demand will also recover. China exceeded 1,230 GW of installed solar capacity … Read more

China just launched a rocket without telling anyone. It turns out that it is the most ambitious in its history

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China has taken seriously that “first come, first served” thing. Although the 1967 Outer Space Treaty states that No State can claim sovereignty over the Moon, Mars or any other celestial body, what does apply is that the geostationary orbital positions and frequency bands work as “first come, first served”. What does this mean? Well, the country or company that first registers and coordinates a constellation or a position with certain frequencies gets priority of use. This context is necessary to understand why SpaceX or Amazon are so interested in mass launching satellites into low orbit, and also why China has been accelerating the pace for months with their rockets in an aggressive expansion maneuver. So aggressive that finish of surprise and secret launch of a Long March 12B rocket with a double objective: to continue feeding its satellite constellation and to demonstrate that its reusable rocket can compete against the Falcon 9 from SpaceX. China and the space sprint This past Monday, the operators of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in the Gobi Desert, had work. In the American early morning, a rocket Long March 12B It left for low orbit with a cargo of satellites that will feed the Qianfan megaconstellation. This is China’s response to SpaceX Starlink and it seems that the mission went well because the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation declared the flight a success. There is a double reading here. On the one hand, the Long March 12B is one of the responses to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. It is a reusable rocket that has a first stage intended to land by propulsion on a recovery platform on Earth. It can transport 20 tons to low Earth orbit and this was its first flight… although was not done no recovery attempt. The other reading is that China is in aggressive mode launching things into space. It has been a very busy few months with different missions both in low orbit and in its Tiangong space stationbut the interesting thing about this launch of the Long March 12B is that people found out through social networks. When a mission is going to be carried out, whether it is more or less media-related, a series of prior notices are made to both the international authorities that control the air and maritime space in case something goes wrong. However, This mission has been carried out in absolute secrecybeing an unusual practice in both government and private programs. In the end, it is one more demonstration of what we were talking about: China has stepped on the accelerator to claim a space that can only be claimed by getting there and occupying it, and that is vital within the framework of user service (satellite Internet, wow) and, above all, for strategic reasons and technological sovereignty. Because it may seem that companies and countries want to bring the Internet everywhere, but the strategy is different: Controlling constellations and their orbital resources means controlling critical infrastructure such as satellite Internet, Earth observation, and military communications. Geopolitical advantage by arriving first in a space that the rival might want to occupy with other types of satellites. Arriving first forces the others to play on their board. And most importantly: the space you are interested in occupying is finite and everyone wants their land as soon as possible. In the end, this “secret” flight marks number 647 of the Long March series and is one more example that China is deeply involved in a new space race in which it competes directly against the United States, but in which Europe is also working to have something to say. In Xataka | Europe has almost ready something that, until recently, seemed practically a dream: its first reusable spacecraft

Serbia is building the world’s first football stadium that is a garden. China is manufacturing it with surgeon precision

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It will not be ready for the World Cup that is about to begin nor will we be able to see it at that event because the hosts are Canada, Mexico and the United States, but it is the most striking soccer stadium that will open in 2026: it is the first garden soccer stadium in the world and it is being built in Belgrade. In fact, the latest news is that the Chinese company CSCEC has completed recently the first major steel lift of the structure of the future Serbian National Football Stadium, a colossal mass of 139,000 tons. Stadium construction works are large-scale projects per se, but this one takes the cake precisely because of its dual function: it is a sports venue and an urban garden at the same time, which marks a milestone in urban planning and poses an unusual engineering challenge: hanging entire gardens from a cable structure suspended in height. The first garden stadium in the world. This pioneering garden stadium in the world has a total area of ​​about 76,000 square meters and capacity for more than 52,000 spectators. And although it is located in Belgrade (in the Surčin neighborhood), it is built by two Chinese companies and design it the Spanish studio Fenwick Iribarren Architects. The stadium aims to be more than just a sports venue: the idea is for it to be a public space open all year round, with walking areas, cafes and leisure areas in the surrounding area. The Madrid architecture team has created a very particular façade: it is made up of four suspended rings connected by cables and that house garden areas, arranged on three floors that surround the premises. The normal thing for a stadium is for the structure to be supported from below, with columns, but the Serbian National Football Stadium works as if it were a suspension bridge with cables. It is composed of 44 compression ring beams where each joint must fit with almost zero precision, as CSCEC accountthe Chinese company that is building it. However, this structure has to withstand soil, irrigation and vegetation that will grow over the years. Render of the stadium. Fenwick Iribarren Architects Why is it important. For some time now, large sports stadiums have wanted to be more than just the place where these events take place on specific days: it is now common to see them as a venue for concerts. This project takes another twist: the gardens, terraces and commercial areas are designed to function as a permanent public space, integrating the stadium into the daily life of Belgrade. And it does so by incorporating vegetation in a city where liquid trees are already being tested. As explains the European Environment Agencyurban green infrastructure has been shown to reduce heat island, improve climate resilience and public health Regarding the sporting field, when it is completed (predictably at the end of 2026), it will be the only stadium in Serbia that meets the requirements of both FIFA for World Cups and UEFA for Euro Cups. Or what is the same: without this stadium Serbia would not be eligible to organize these tournaments. Render of the interior of the stadium.Fenwick Iribarren Architects Context. Serbia has been working on the construction of its National Stadium for more than a decade: work began in 2024, but the first concrete proposals came in 2013. At that time the Serbian Football Federation with the help of the British consultancy Mace They designed the project roadmap to meet UEFA requirements and standards. Serbia has decided to become a potential host of top-level tournaments in style and without skimping on expenses: the initial budget in 2013 was 250 million and when work begins in 2024 was already around the billion euros. In detail. Behind materializing this engineering challenge are two top-level Chinese companies common in large infrastructure: the main contractor is Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and the specialized subcontractor is China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), in charge of the design, manufacture and installation of the steel structure. To achieve that brutal precision of just 0.43 millimeters of deviation in 719 meters of beams, they used high-precision laser trackers, 3D digital simulation and a 1:10 scale physical mockup to detect errors before building. Yes, but. The first drawback of this megaproject has already been revealed: so far it has already cost four times more than budgeted. And having a garden stadium is eye-catching, but also more expensive to build and maintain. On the other hand, also there are objections on whether it will be possible to fill the stands of the future venue regularly, something essential to guarantee its profitability. In fact, the Institute for the Study of Urgent Public Procurement and Stadium Affairs of Śrem Kamenica has carried out an analysis which concludes that it will take 420 years to pay off. In Xataka | Real Madrid invested 1,000 million euros in the Bernabéu to host concerts: at the moment it has tennis In Xataka | China begins construction of the largest football stadium in the world: 100,000 people in a gigantic lotus flower Cover | Fenwick Iribarren Architects

Western scientists have been debating the origin of Kamo’oalewa for years. China went looking for him

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If everything goes according to schedule, the Chinese Tianwen-2 mission will be about to arrive at Kamo’oalewa, the co-orbital object on Earth to which it is heading to discern once and for all whether it is an asteroid or a lunar fragment. Actually this It is not the only coorbital on our planet. There are other objects that take exactly the same time as us to go around the Sun, so they can be said to be our traveling companions. However. z Kamo’oalewa has been one of the best characterized since it was discovered in 2016. Since then, European and American scientists have been striving to find out its origin, leaving the balance more tilted on some occasions towards the lunar fragment and on others towards the asteroid. But it is clear that to have a definitive answer we need to analyze samples of its surface. In order to obtain them, China jumped to the rescue. A mission to answer once and for all. The Tianwen-2 mission was launched in May 2025 bound for Kamo’oalewa. In the next few days it should reach the satellite, to start taking samples next month. The samples will later make the return journey and land on our planet in 2027 so that scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences can investigate them. Then we will finally know where our traveling companion comes from. Two hypotheses, many changes of opinion. Kamo’oalewa was first observed in April 2016, thanks to the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii. That same year, a team of European scientists made his first characterization. Thanks to them we had very specific information about this object. For example, its orbit was calculated and its thermal inertia was analyzed. That is, the speed with which its surface responds to changes in temperature. After that characterization, further investigations were carried out at the Arizona Planetary Science Institute. From those analyzes two hypotheses emerged for its origin: it could be an asteroid that escaped from the asteroid belt or a fragment of the Moon that jumped from there due to a large impact. This last hypothesis arose from spectroscopic observations made with the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT). The spectra indicated that this object is very rich in silicates, like the lunar samples collected on the Apollo missions. In addition, there was a reddish band that seemed to correspond to the spectrum of lunar soil that has received many impacts from micrometeorites and solar wind. The first hypothesis returns. This same year, a team of European scientists has carried out a new study in which the probabilities of both hypotheses are analyzed. Clearly, the asteroid option wins over the lunar fragment option. China to the rescue China to the rescue. As Tianwen-2 approaches Kamo’oalewa, Chinese scientists have begun to make their own characterizations from a distance. For example, a study was recently published in which they compared the spectrum they measured in Arizona with that of a chondrite bombarded by laser. The chondrites They are rocky asteroids that have impacted the Earth in the form of meteorites. Laser bombardment mimics the effects of several million years of impacts. When analyzing the spectrum of this manipulated chondrite, they saw a reddish band very similar to that of Kamo’oalewa. Therefore, it is possible that it is an asteroid rich in silicates. There doesn’t have to be just them. on the moon. Specifically, they believe that it may be from the Flora family, coming from the asteroid belt. The hypothesis that is winning. Currently the asteroid hypothesis wins, although there will be no clear answer until the Tianwen-2 samples reach Earth. After many debates by scientists from Europe and the United States, the answer will be brought by a Chinese ship. This, once again, shows us how important it is to work as a team to answer the big questions of the Universe. Image | 中国新闻社 In Xataka | There is a silent race to take over the Moon’s waves: dozens of companies have claimed part of its spectrum

First it was a suspicious cake. Now China has discovered that thousands of restaurants on its delivery apps… do not exist

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One of the most famous stories of the internet era it happened in 2013when American journalists discovered that a supposed restaurant called “The Shed at Dulwich” became one of the best rated of London despite the fact that, for much of its existence, it did not even serve real food. The case demonstrated how a compelling digital presence can be more powerful than an authentic physical business. The cake that uncovered the cake. It all started with something seemingly trivial. A customer from Beijing ordered a birthday cake through a delivery application and received a decorated product with inedible flowers. The claim seemed like just another incident among millions of daily orders, but the subsequent investigation ended up uncovering one of the largest food fraud schemes in Chinese digital commerce. The business he had purchased from claimed to have nearly 380 stores spread across the country. Actually, I didn’t have not a single physical store. The licenses were fake and the company existed only within the applications. What started as an isolated complaint ended up opening the door to a national review that revealed a much deeper problem: “ghost kitchens,” thousands of restaurants that seemed real to consumers. They just didn’t exist.. Food delivery drivers start their workday for Kangaroo delivery service in Beijing The operation. Apparently, the BBC told this week that the so-called “ghost kitchens” were operating by taking advantage of the control gaps of the delivery platforms. These businesses advertised themselves as conventional restaurants, often using rented licenses, falsified documentation, or non-existent addresses. When a customer placed an order, the supposed restaurant I didn’t cook anything. In many cases the order was automatically transferred to intermediary platforms that organized auctions between different suppliers. The order ended up in the hands of whoever agreed to prepare it. for the lowest price possible. The consumer believed they were buying from a specific brand when, in reality, the food could come from any unknown kitchen, without knowing who made it or under what sanitary conditions. The figures of a monster. The national investigation carried out by the Chinese authorities revealed the magnitude of the phenomenon. Inspectors identified more of 67,000 ghost restaurants distributed among the main delivery applications in the country. In addition, they discovered a chain of illegal orders that only in the cake sector had been managed around of 3.6 million orders. The authorities they concluded that delivery platforms, middlemen and numerous sellers had built a parallel supply chain based on opacity and in mass subcontracting. What seemed like a set of isolated frauds turned out to be an industrialized system that operated on a large scale and moved millions of transactions. The price war behind the fraud. They remembered in Nikkei that the origin of the problem lies in the fierce competition in the home delivery sector in China. With almost 630 million users Using these services, platforms compete to attract customers through constant discounts, aggressive promotions and an ever-increasing range of establishments. In that context, the pressure to reduce costs It ended up generating a race to the bottom. An example cited by the investigations showed how a cake sold to the customer for $35 ended up being awarded to a supplier willing to manufacture it. for just 11 dollars. Between intermediaries, commissions and platforms, much of the money disappeared before reaching the chef who actually prepared the product. The consequence was a model that rewarded volume and price above quality, traceability and food safety. The platforms, in the garlic. The investigation was not limited to the sellers. The authorities they concluded that many platforms had deliberately relaxed their controls to accelerate their growth. According to regulators, companies they did not properly verify the licenses of the establishments and allowed the presence of unauthorized sellers because a broader offer helped to attract more users. Some employees they came to recognize that applying strict controls could cause merchants to migrate to rival applications. The result was a situation in which commercial incentives ended up trumping legal and health obligations. Historical fines. Beijing’s response has been one of the most forceful seen in years within the Chinese digital economy. The authorities imposed sanctions worth 3.6 billion yuanabout 500 million dollars, to large companies such as Taobao, JD.com, Meituan, Pinduoduo, Douyin and other platforms involved. Some businesses were temporarily suspended from recruiting new vendors and forced to eliminate detected ghost restaurants. Sector analysts have described the operation as one of the tougher regulatory sanctions imposed on internet companies since the entry into force of the current food legislation. The new digital surveillance. From now on, platforms must verify periodically that the licenses are valid, that the physical addresses exist and that the businesses actually correspond to the advertised establishments. Restaurants without in-person service will have to state it clearly to users. At the same time, some cities have begun to implement transparent kitchens equipped with cameras that allow you to follow the preparation of food live. They are also being deployed artificial intelligence systems capable of detecting fake photographs, supervising kitchens and analyzing possible irregularities. Even delivery drivers have been incorporated into the surveillance system through reward programs for those who report suspicious establishments. The end of uncontrolled expansion. Beyond food safety, the campaign reflects a broader shift in Chinese regulatory strategy. For years, platforms grew by prioritizing the number of users, sellers and orders. Now Beijing wants to replace this accelerated expansion with a model more controlled and predictable. The appearance of tens of thousands of non-existent restaurants showed the extent to which competition had distorted the market. What began with a simple cake purchased online ended up revealing an ecosystem where millions of consumers believed they were choosing between thousands of different restaurants when, in many cases, behind the screen there was no establishment, no dining room and, sometimes, not even a real company. Image | TurnOnTheNight, Tracy Hunter, SKWTAM8 In Xataka | Just Eat knows that we Spaniards are hooked on Delivery. This is how … Read more

China is taking away all its scrap paying up to five times more

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The scene seems like something out of an industrial espionage thriller, but it takes place in broad daylight. As anticipated Financial TimesChinese buyers are making appointments in the parking lots of stores like Home Depot in the United States to discreetly purchase lots of scrap metal valued at more than $20,000. This is the front line of a silent war for global resources. According to this same media, Asian intermediaries are sweeping up American scrapyards and paying up to five times the usual price, snatching the material from local recyclers. The director of a recycling company in Texas sums it up bluntly: “it’s a secret war that no one talks about.” Why so much interest in residual remains? The answer lies in the metal that makes them up. As explained The Conversation, Tungsten – whose name means “heavy stone” in Swedish – has the highest melting point of all known metals, reaching 3,422 °C. Furthermore, its extreme hardness and resistance to thermal shocks make it an absolutely irreplaceable material for manufacturing everything from aerospace technology to armor-piercing military ammunition. Market strangulation. China currently controls almost 79% of global tungsten production. As detailed in an analysis by expert John Connortension erupted in February 2025, when Beijing tightened its export controls in retaliation for US tariffs, cutting its shipments to the West by a drastic 40%. The economic impact of this decision was devastating. The restriction caused a strangulation of the market and a brutal increase in prices, which shot up 557% to reach $2,250 per metric ton. The great paradox is that, while the global shortage of virgin tungsten is caused by Beijing’s quotas, it is China itself that hoards recycled American scrap—such as worn-out industrial drill bits—to take it back to Asia through third countries such as Canada or Dubai. Industry analysts warn of imminent danger: If China officially reopens its doors to direct imports of scrap metal, the result will be a disaster for supply in the rest of the world. The global board. Today, almost absolute control of these supply chains gives China immense commercial and geopolitical power. This dominant position allows Beijing to use critical technologies and materials—so-called “bottlenecks”—as a lever of international influence that it can pull at will. Faced with this drain on resources, the debate has reached the highest levels. The report of Financial Times collect voices within the recycling industry and the US Congress demanding an immediate ban on the export of tungsten scrap to China to protect national security. However, the United States faces a temporary impasse: the country currently lacks the processing capacity necessary to convert all that exported scrap into useful finished products for its industry. In search of extraction. As Connor explainsthe solution inevitably involves diplomacy and investment abroad. The expert points out that Kazakhstan, which has the largest reserves of tungsten outside China (estimated at about two million tons), has become the center of the US strategy, attracting government-backed investments to develop local mines. But the race is head to head and Beijing has not sat idly by. In fact, China has already moved ahead in the Central Asia region, having started commercial production at the gigantic Boguty mine in Kazakh territory. At the same time, new Western actors are trying to close the gap. The financial portal Trading View informs that companies such as the Canadian mining company Allied Critical Metals are committed to revitalizing historic European projects, such as Borralha in northern Portugal. The company has a clear objective: to start the production of tungsten concentrate before the end of 2026 to meet the urgent demand in the West. Industrial ingenuity versus dumping. The middle The Conversation provides a historical parallel extremely interesting: during World War II, faced with the critical shortage of molybdenum caused by attacks by German submarines on maritime convoys, engineers from the British company Vickers managed to innovate by recycling the metal directly from mining drill bits. Today, that same logic applies to tungsten, which has a very high recycling rate of 42% globally. In Western markets this figure shoots up to an impressive 70%, driven precisely by the need to compensate for Chinese dominance over the primary mineral. In addition to technical innovation, state protection strategies gain prominence. In March South Korean Sangdong mine opened; Once at full capacity, this facility could produce more than 80% of the world’s non-Chinese tungsten. The most notable thing about this project is that the Seoul government has established a guaranteed minimum price for the mineral, thus protecting the operation from possible practices of dumping. Flooding the market to artificially depress prices is a tactic China has used successfully in the past to bankrupt Western investors in the critical minerals sector. An imminent warning for the West. The clock is ticking and the consequences of inaction could be fatal. An imminent and dangerous reality stalks the West: the Third Gulf War has consumed munitions at a staggering rate and depleted US stockpiles of tungsten-dependent missiles such as the Patriot and THAAD systems. taking them to historic lows. Without a stable and massive supply to quickly replenish these arsenals, the US military risks a true military disaster should a larger conflict break out, such as a direct confrontation over Taiwan. As a final reflection, andThese restrictive tactics from Beijing should be read as a stern warning. The current tungsten crisis should force Western governments to wake up once and for all and “de-risk” (de-risk) urgently their supply chains. Only by building an independent industrial network can the Western world avoid making its security and economy dependent on the monopoly of a single country. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The US is withdrawing soldiers from Europe. His plan to reassure her is to leave something much more disturbing in front of Russia.

China has launched an underwater creature into the sea that defies naval engineering

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Year 1953, the US Navy launches USS Albacorean experimental submarine whose “water drop” shape seemed so strange that it broke with decades of naval design. Many officers doubted the concept, but it ended up being just as effective underwater. that ended up influencing in practically all modern submarines built since. More than seventy years later, another image of a submarine with an unconventional silhouette once again raises the question of whether we are seeing the beginning of a new revolution. The creature that breaks the rules. The satellite images captured in a Shanghai shipyard have revealed something extraordinary: a large Chinese submarine that looks like dispense with the sail or tower command, the structure that for more than a century has been considered an almost mandatory piece in underwater engineering. The appearance of this design has attracted attention because it challenges one of the most established conventions of modern naval warfare. It is not a small experimental prototype, but rather a platform for about 120 meters in lengthlonger than many nuclear attack submarines currently in service, suggesting that China is exploring concepts much more ambitious than a simple technology demonstration. Designed to perform underwater. The main advantage of removing the candle is purely hydrodynamic. When that large structure that protrudes from the hull disappears, the submarine reduces resistance As it advances, it improves its fluidity in the water and can optimize speed, maneuverability and acoustic discretion. The less noise a vessel generates, the more difficult it is to detect it using sonar, a fundamental aspect of modern underwater warfare. Added to this is the possible incorporation of an X-shaped tailassociated with greater navigation agility and safety, as well as the probable use of an encapsulated propeller pumpjet typea technology intended for reduce further the noise during submerged operations. Images of the new submarine at the JN Shipyard in Shanghai on June 1, 2026. The importance of what is missing. Precisely because the sail has been a universal feature on modern submarines, its absence raises numerous questions. Traditionally this structure houses periscopes, sensors, antennas communications, electronic masts and ventilation systems. It also provides an elevated position for surface navigation, improves the crew’s situational awareness and can even be used in certain logistics missions or operations under the polar ice. Giving it up means accept limitations important operational functions, so Chinese engineers must consider that the benefits obtained compensate for these sacrifices or that there are technological solutions capable of replacing part of their functions. Images of the new submarine at the JN Shipyard in Shanghai on June 1, 2026. Eight years of silent experimentation. Because as they remembered TWZ analysts, The appearance of this submarine has not arisen from nowhere. The same shipyard already built in 2018 a much smaller vessel that also lacked a sail and likely served as a test bed to validate design concepts. That prototype practically disappeared from the public spotlight for years, but it now seems clear that it was part of a broader research program. The progression from a model measuring just 45 meters to a platform that rivals nuclear submarines in size shows that China has spent years perfecting this idea before taking the next step. Images of the new submarine at the JN Shipyard in Shanghai on June 1, 2026. The link with the submarines of the future. The initiative also fits with other signals recently observed in the Chinese shipbuilding industry. In 2024, the CSSC state corporation presented a concept of a large unmanned underwater vehicle whose silhouette was remarkably reminiscent of these low-profile designs. That project contemplated missions as diverse as attacks against ships, laying mines, supporting special forces or even acting as a mother ship for other underwater drones. Although the new submarine detected seems too large to be completely autonomous, the similarity between both concepts suggests that China could be developing a family of platforms based on the same design philosophy. An army in full transformation. We have been counting it. The appearance of this submarine coincides with a profound modernization of the Chinese submarine force. Beijing is incorporating increasingly advanced models, developing new submarines nuclear weapons and even experimenting with hybrid designs capable of combine different shapes of propulsion. US officials have recognized on several occasions that the quality of Chinese submarines is progressively approaching that of the most modern Western models. In parallel, the People’s Liberation Army Navy continues to expand to a higher pace that of any other navy in the world, driven by the need to project power in the Pacific, the South China Sea and other strategic regions. More questions than answers. Of course, the official name of the submarine, its internal systems or the exact mission for which it was conceived are still unknown. However, satellite images have left an impression hard to ignoreA: China appears to be testing an idea that for decades was relegated to theoretical studies, experimental prototypes and laboratory concepts. If he project prosperscould mark the beginning of a new generation of submarines where the traditional command tower ceases to be an unquestionable necessity and becomes another option within the evolution of underwater warfare. Image | X, Vantor In Xataka | The US has always been the largest nuclear power on the planet. China has already surpassed it in something: submarines In Xataka | The US Navy warns Congress: China is erecting the largest nuclear barrier in its history under the sea

With 3,500 tons and 15 meters in diameter, China already has the largest tunnel boring machine in the world for high-speed trains

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China has just introduced Jiaoping No.1, the world’s largest earth pressure balance (EPB) TBM designed specifically for high-speed railway tunnels. According to counted recently reported by the state broadcaster CGTN, it is a 3,500-ton colossus with an excavation diameter of 14.57 meters, capable of also using artificial intelligence to monitor, adjust and correct breakdowns while drilling underground, all under extreme underground conditions. We tell you everything. What exactly is it. An earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine is a type of machine that excavates the ground while supporting it at the same time. The rotating head (cutting head) tears off material from the front, which accumulates in a closed chamber just behind. This accumulated earth acts as a “plug” and compensates for the natural pressure of the soil and water, preventing the excavation face from collapsing or the surface land from sinking. For soft soils or urban areas, it is a widely used method and we have seen it other times, like in Madrid with ‘Mayrit’ for transform L11. Why size matters. The larger the tunnel, the more complex and heavier the equipment needed to excavate it, and the more difficult it is to keep such a large excavation face stable. The latest one presented in China is almost 15 meters in diameter and specializes in high-speed lines, so it exceeds a considerable technical ceiling. It is a diameter comparable to that of the largest Chinese underwater tunnel boring machines, like the Dinghaiwhich has an identical maximum excavation diameter (14.57 meters) for the Jintang underwater tunnel. What AI does. According to the media, Jiaoping No.1 incorporates AI to monitor drilling in real time, adjust parameters and detect failures autonomously. And it is something that we see more and more in machinery of this caliber, since in recent projects such as the yangtze river tunnel between Chongming and Taicang, the Linghang TBM employs, according to Interesting Engineeringan intelligent control system capable of automatically regulating pressure, anticipating ground conditions using data and self-guiding during progress. Independence of the West. As has happened in many other sectors, China has gone from depending almost completely on foreign technology to dominating the world market in just a few years. Until a decade ago, German and Japanese manufacturers controlled the vast majority of this market. The turning point came in 2017, when China presented its first domestically manufactured 15-meter class TBM. Today the situation is very different. And according to data from People’s Daily, Chinese-made tunnel boring machines They hold close to 70% of the global market. Behind these teams are usually large state groups such as China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG), the largest manufacturer in the country, or China Railway Construction Heavy Industry. What is all this for? The ultimate goal of these machines is to allow high-speed trains to cross rivers, seas and mountains at 350 km/h inside tunnels, something that a decade ago was a much greater challenge. Projects like the Yangtze Undersea Tunnel seek to drastically cut travel times between large cities and boost the economy of entire regions. And a tunnel boring machine like the Jiaoping No.1 makes its way however it wants. Cover image | Modern China In Xataka | Spain and Morocco have been dreaming of a tunnel under the Strait for 40 years. The great enemy of the project is called Umbral de Camarinal

China is very clear about how to win the technology race over the rest of the world: with tons of public money

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China has insisted on be the first world power. This declaration of intentions can be as empty as every January 1st when I say that this year I will begin to wake up at six in the morning to go out for a run, or the opposite can happen: they put all the means at their disposal to achieve it. In the case of the Asian giant, what is happening is the second. The Five-Year Plan is the roadmap that the Government sets every five years and that indicates the direction they should follow both public institutions and private companies to achieve the country’s objective. And with a defined objective, there is only one pending issue: the question of financing. And, in the case of China, that translates into a government impulse that other countries do not have. A competition at two speeds OECD stands for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It is made up of 38 States, including North Americans, some South Americans, many Europeans, Australia and Japan.

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