The Bridge

China has unveiled its first mandatory national safety standards for autonomous vehicles, setting stricter requirements for the deployment of Level 3 and Level 4 self-driving technology. The new regulations, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, will take effect on July 1, 2027, and require automakers to establish comprehensive safety systems covering vehicle design, manufacturing, testing and post-deployment operations. Under the standards, companies

China's leadership has outlined its economic priorities for the remainder of 2026, pledging stronger policy support to sustain growth, expand domestic demand and accelerate technological innovation. The roadmap was agreed during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chaired by President Xi Jinping, which reviewed the country's economic performance and set key objectives for the months ahead. Leaders reaffirmed plans to implement

China has unveiled a 2026-2030 plan to modernize its national supply and marketing cooperative system as part of efforts to strengthen agricultural services, improve food security and advance rural development. The plan outlines 18 key priorities, including expanding the distribution of agricultural supplies and improving support services for farmers. By 2030, China aims to build or upgrade more than 100 national strategic fertilizer depots and around 1,000 county-level distr

Twenty-nine countries on Thursday signed an agreement in Shanghai on establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The WAICO will be an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai, according to the agreement. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, signed the agreement on behalf of the Chinese government. Chinese F

China's top political advisor, Wang Huning, has called on members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to strengthen their advisory role and fully utilize the consultative body in supporting the country's development. Wang, who is Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks on Tuesday while chairing a meeting of the

Since its founding 105 years ago, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has kept standing at the forefront of China's transformation, leading the country through construction to become one of the world's foremost economic powers. Now with more than 101 million members, the CPC is steering the country on a new journey toward modernization by building on decades of development. What has enabled the CPC to remain vibrant and resilient for more than a century? How has it mobilized t

China aims to basically establish a clean, low-carbon, secure and efficient new energy system by 2030, according to a plan recently issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration. The plan, which covers the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), sets out targets for strengthening energy security, advancing the green transition, boosting technological self-reliance and improving market mechanisms, among others. By 2030, China's

China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday that it has decided to add 10 U.S. entities to its export control list, citing the need to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations, including non-proliferation. The entities are Aveox, Red Cat Holdings, Teal Drones, IMSAR, Jaia Robotics, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Oshkosh Defense, L3Harris Maritime Services, MP Materials Corp., and USA Rare Earth. The ministry said the move was

China has unveiled a new white paper outlining its vision for a more balanced and inclusive system of global governance. Issued by the State Council Information Office, the document, titled “More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China’s Principles, Proposals and Actions,” presents Beijing’s approach to addressing global challenges and strengthening international cooperation. The paper highlights China’s support for multilateralism and its call for a global governance fra

China's State Council has issued a plan on implementing the employment-first strategy during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), clarifying the objectives, key tasks and policy measures for promoting high-quality and full employment. The plan sets the goals for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, including maintaining overall employment stability, ensuring more adequate employment opportunities, and creating a fairer employment environment, while further optimizing employ

China's new regulations implementing the Mineral Resources Law took effect on Monday. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) described them as a comprehensive and systematic legal framework for safeguarding mineral resources, and said they are significant in strengthening the country's capacity in this area, pledging more systematic measures going forward. Chinese experts noted that the strengthened legal framework is primarily aimed at improving the overall governance syste

China has targeted illegal practices in cosmetic surgery, pregnancy and childbirth services, online health education and pharmaceutical procurement as part of an annual campaign to improve governance in the healthcare sector, authorities said. The priorities were outlined in a circular recently issued by the National Health Commission and 13 other government departments in the last week, marking the launch of an annual campaign aimed at cracking down on irregularities in the

China's market regulator said Wednesday it completed a nationwide inspection of online food delivery services covering 14 major platforms — including Meituan, Taobao and JD.com — finding an overall noncompliance rate of 2.3%, media reports said. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said the campaign involved 1,307 food samples collected from 875 food delivery businesses across 24 major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Inspections targeted po

With China's national college entrance exam, also known as gaokao, set to kick off this weekend, around 12.9 million candidates will potentially have access to more academic options, following the introduction of a raft of new majors. Multiple Chinese universities have rolled out new undergraduate programs such as embodied intelligence, low-altitude economy and management, and marine intelligence and unmanned technologies, in seeking to meet the country's emerging strategic a

China's industrial subsidy policy is strictly within World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday. Mao made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on a report released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development related to industrial subsidies. Mao said that Chinese firms make their way to the top not on subsidies, but through market competition, tireless innovation, global presen

The State Council, China's cabinet, has issued a plan to accelerate agricultural and rural modernization during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period. The plan seeks to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas to drive Chinese modernization, and has identified key tasks and policy measures for this purpose during the period. According to the plan, by 2030, the nation's food security will be continuously enhanced; the quality, efficiency and competitive

China and the EU are equal and mutually beneficial trading partners, and it is hoped that the EU will abide by WTO rules, uphold free trade and fair competition, and firmly oppose protectionism and unilateralism, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Saturday, in response to questions regarding a meeting held on Friday by the European Commission to discuss its relationship with China. The communication channels between China and the EU remain smoot

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment plans to eradicate black and odorous water bodies at the doorsteps of rural residents by 2027, Pei Xiaofei, a spokesman with the national government body said in a news conference on Friday. As part of its efforts to improve rural living environments, the ministry has identified and registered more than 16,000 heavily polluted water bodies across the country as part of a special rectification program. By the end of last year, 98.7 perce

China's industrial profits grew at a faster pace in the first four months of 2026, buoyed by effective macro policies and the performance of new growth drivers, including equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing. China's major industrial firms, those with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.93 million U.S. dollars), saw their combined profits rise 18.2 percent year on year in the January-April period, 2.7 percentage points faster th

As China and the United States race to expand their artificial intelligence capabilities, economists said the two countries need closer cooperation on global governance and safety standards to better manage the technology's potential risks. Although the US continues to lead in frontier AI research, large-scale models and computing power, economists said that China is rapidly catching up and has developed strengths in integrating AI into manufacturing, consumer services and ot