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Photo: VCG The Xinhua News Agency, on its official WeChat account, published a piece on Sunday introducing OpenClaw — along with a risk warning. The move by the state-run news agency came as the buzzword "raising crayfish" gained Chinese netizens' attention on Sunday, with related topics being some of the most discussed on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, the Global Times learned. Commenting on the move, ratsxp, an X user with more than 17,000 followers, wrote that "China's enthusiasm for technology, and even its belief in it, runs deeper than anywhere else in the world." "Raising crayfish" refers to the OpenClaw autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agent, due to its logo resembling a crayfish. The agent integrates multi-channel communication capabilities with large-language models (LLMs) to build customized AI assistants equipped with persistent memory and proactive task execution. It can also be deployed locally in private en ...

By Fion Khan / Staff writer US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to visit China with US President Donald Trump later this month after appearing to show little interest in previous invitations from Beijing, the South China Morning Post reported today. Rubio, the first sitting US secretary of state to be sanctioned by China, had been invited to visit but had not been "receptive" until recently, the Hong Kong-based newspaper said, citing anonymous sources. Rubio's attendance could smooth over some of the issues surrounding Trump's visit to China, the report said, adding that frustration has been mounting in Beijing because of the lack of preparation for the trip. China imposed sanctions on Rubio in 2020 when he was still a senator — once in retaliation for US san...

Social media platforms are buzzing with reports from citizens in China who have found themselves locked out of their own money. The trigger for these financial freezes is surprisingly simple: typing words like "Dogecoin" or "USDT" into the memo field of a standard bank transfer. According to these reports, once an account is flagged and frozen, the path to recovering the funds is nearly non-existent. A report from Techub.info highlighted a startling example of this strict monitoring. Two customers of China Construction Bank—the world's third-largest financial institution—recently saw their accounts frozen after a transfer of 250 yuan, or roughly $36. Their mistake was including the phrase "Dogecoin this week" in the transaction note. The bank's risk management system immediately flagged the small transfer under its virtual currency control program. Related: JPMorgan predicts massive shift by mid-year The news is spreading rapid...

BEIJING (AP) — China adopted a sweeping law Thursday to promote what it calls "ethnic unity," a measure that critics say would further erode the rights of some minority groups as authorities cement a push toward assimilation. The law, approved by the country's ceremonial legislature , is designed to foster "a stronger sense of community among all ethnic groups in the Chinese nation," said Lou Qinjian, a delegate to the National People's Congress who introduced the proposal to the whole body. The proposed law lays out the need to promote ethnic unity by all government bodies and private enterpri ses, including local governments and state-affiliated groups like the All-China Women's Federation. "The people of each ethnic group, all organizations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organization, every company, must forge a common consciousness of the Chinese nation according to...

Chairman of Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China Zhao Leji today congratulated Hafiz Uddin Ahmad on assuming office as the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad of Bangladesh. In a message, he said China and Bangladesh enjoy a long-standing friendship and reaffirmed that China is ready to work with Bangladesh to advance friendly exchanges and cooperation between the National People's Congress of China and the Parliament. Zhao Leji also said China wants to promote the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries to a higher level.

BEIJING (AP) — China is moving to approve a sweeping law to promote what it calls "ethnic unity," a measure that critics say would further erode the rights of some minority groups as authorities cement a push toward assimilation. The law, expected to be approved by the country's ceremonial legislature Thursday, is designed to foster "a stronger sense of community among all ethnic groups in the Chinese nation," said Lou Qinjian, a delegate to the National People's Congress who introduced the proposal to the whole body. The proposed law lays out the need to promote ethnic unity by all government bodies and private enterprises, including local governments and state-affiliated groups like the All-China Women's Federation. "The people of each ethnic group, all organizations and groups of the country, armed forces, every Party and social organization, every company, must forge a common consciousness of the...

Published Wed, Mar 11, 2026 · 01:40 PM [HONG KONG] China Cosco Shipping suspended its services at Panama's Balboa port, a local media report said, after Beijing warned of a "heavy price" for the Central American country's forced takeover of the facility from Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings. The state-owned shipping giant announced its decision to halt all of its departures and arrivals at the port in a notice to customers dated Mar 10, according to the report in La Prensa. While all confirmed bookings will be cancelled, cargo that has already arrived will be processed as normal, the outlet said. China previously asked its shipping companies to consider rer outing cargo through ports outside of Panama if it did not result in a significant extra cost, Bloomberg News reported in February. Beijing also instructed state firms to halt talks over new projects in the country. Cosco did not immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment. The Balboa po...

Last Updated:March 11, 2026, 11:53 IST Beijing is reportedly securing Iranian crude at $8-$12 per barrel below Brent benchmarks, saving billions of dollars annually while strengthening its energy security. As tensions in West Asia disrupt global energy flows and raise fears over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, intelligence sources say China has quietly emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the crisis—securing discounted Iranian oil, gathering valuable military data, and expanding its strategic reach in the region. Top Indian intelligence sources told CNN-News18 that Beijing's deep ties with Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked maritime networks have allowed it to maintain a steady flow of crude even as geopolitical tensions roil global markets. China today buys roughly 80-90 per cent of Iran's oil exports, amounting to abou t 1.3-1.6 million barrels per day, according to the sources. During periods in early 2026, imports are estima...

HONG KONG--China's exports jumped nearly 22% in the first two months of the year from a year earlier, powered by a surge in shipments of computer chips, autos and electronics. The export figures released by China's customs agency on Tuesday were much better than economists had forecast. They far exceeded the 6.6% annual pace of growth recorded in December. Shipments to the U.S. fell 11% in January and February, narrowing from a 30% drop in December. Exports to the European Union increased almost 28% while those to Latin America climbed 16%. Exports to the rest of Asia, including Japan and India, also were sharply higher. China's exports have been a bright spot for its economy despite tensions with the U.S. Chinese exports climbed 5.5% for 2025 as its trade surplus surged to a record of nearly $1.2 trillion. Higher shipments to other regions have helped offset weaker exports to the U.S. after U.S. President Donal...

China's first domestically developed large-scale offshore fracturing vessel, Haiyang Shiyou 696, sails in waters off Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang Province. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV's website China's first domestically designed and built integrated large-scale offshore fracturing vessel, Haiyang Shiyou 696, was delivered in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday, marking a breakthrough in the country's offshore oil and gas fracturing technology, state broadcaster CCTV News reported. The vessel, the world's largest of its kind, is designed to support large-scale offshore fracturing operations across China's seas, including batch fracturing of multiple wells as well as operations for gas wells and ultra-deep formations, the developer China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) said in a statement. The latest development is expected to enhance the country's offshore energy development and help safeguard national energy securi...