China

（经济观察）破万亿美元后再蓄新动能 中国—东盟经贸迎新局

China Daily | Local Language | News | Jan. 19, 2026 | UndeterminedTrade Issues and Numbers

In 2025, China’s total imports and exports with ASEAN exceeded one trillion US dollars, marking a new high in bilateral trade despite a complex and changing external environment. Experts attribute this growth to strong intrinsic drivers in China–ASEAN economic and trade cooperation, which are fostering a new round of development.

China’s largest land port to Vietnam and other ASEAN countries, Youyiguan Port in Guangxi, illustrates the busy trade activity. Researchers highlight that despite interference from major external powers, China exports mostly irreplaceable products to ASEAN, contributing to continued trade growth and improving trade imbalances. Industrial upgrading and Chinese investments in ASEAN’s local production are expected to optimize the structure of exports from ASEAN to China and push the trade balance closer.

The highly complementary economies and geographic proximity of China and ASEAN underpin deepening cooperation. The China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0 aims to enhance supply chain interconnection and harmonize standards, with a particular focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up 90% of economic cooperation participants. The upgrade includes specific provisions for SMEs, allowing them to benefit significantly from the new trade policies.

After surpassing one trillion dollars, bilateral trade is anticipated to grow further, supported by the eastward shift of the global economic center and Southeast Asia’s economic expansion, infrastructure development, and growing consumer markets, which complement China’s production capacity. Artificial intelligence (AI) is identified as a critical factor for deepening cooperation through digital infrastructure integration, intelligent manufacturing, and modern agriculture, also facilitating joint AI governance and standards.

Experts foresee AI-related trade expanding into new sectors such as computing power, data, robots, and innovative pharmaceuticals, which could generate substantial additional trade volumes. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has already delivered significant benefits, and combined with the Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade, will reinforce institutional frameworks supporting this cooperation.

Despite external trade challenges, the solid demand foundation, interdependent supply chains, and continual institutional upgrades serve as stabilizers for China–ASEAN trade relations. In 2026, China and ASEAN will celebrate the fifth anniversary of their comprehensive strategic partnership, entering a new phase of qualitative enhancement in economic and trade cooperation that is expected to foster regional and global growth.

Global Times | English | News | Jan. 19, 2026 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia has called on Cambodian authorities to enhance protection for Chinese nationals after several cases of Chinese citizens going missing or losing contact in the country. Chinese Ambassador Wang Wenbin emphasized the seriousness of these incidents during meetings with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn.

The embassy highlighted that many of the serious cases involving Chinese nationals are linked to online scams. Wang noted that these frequent incidents harm the traditional friendship between China and Cambodia and obstruct the deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation. He urged Cambodian authorities to take effective actions against crimes such as illegal detention, violent assaults, and online fraud targeting Chinese citizens, improve rescue operations, and ensure their safety.

In response, Cambodian officials assured that the government would implement strong measures to combat online scams and other crimes against Chinese nationals to ensure their security within Cambodia.

Times of News | English | News | Jan. 19, 2026 | Privacy

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease and desist letter to Elon Musk’s company xAI on January 16, 2026, demanding an immediate halt to the generation and distribution of non-consensual sexual images produced by its generative AI chatbot, Grok. Bonta emphasized the expectation that xAI comply without delay.

The action follows a global backlash against Grok, which has allowed users to create and publish sexualized images of women and minors. This has led to investigations and regulatory responses in multiple countries. Authorities in Japan, Canada, and Britain have opened probes into Grok, while Malaysia and Indonesia have temporarily blocked access to the tool due to concerns over explicit image creation.

In response to the backlash and investigations, xAI announced restrictions on image-editing features for all Grok users in late January 2026. As of the date of the letter, xAI had not commented publicly on the cease and desist notice.