Beijing's 'new humanities' signal a bid to recast traditional disciplines as a strategic resource in the AI era. MoE (Ministry of Education) is retooling ethics, culture and critical thinking into interdisciplinary programs integrating big data and AI. The aim is to anchor technological development in PRC values and strengthen discourse power (话语权) in global governance.
The 'China Agricultural Outlook Report (2026–35)', the annual ten-year projection from MARA (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), opens on a confident supply story. Grain output reached 715 million tonnes in 2025, the second year above 700 million tonnes, and is forecast to reach 753 million tonnes by 2035. The record harvest has not eased the mood. Capacity is rising. Confidence is not.
Japanese anime characters promoted PRC snack brands, buyers queued for photos with the Monkey King, and a child-sized robot clad in a raw meat outfit drew crowds in the meat pavilion. Two patterns ran through it: Meat and agri-food point to supply-chain needs; dairy sits closer to nutrition and premium consumption; snacks, drinks and packaged foods point to consumer pull."
Open-source gave the PRC its most striking AI victories. Seven of the world's top ten open-source models are now PRC-built. Now Beijing wants to govern the ecosystem that made that possible. Yet open-source works because it is open: distributed, international, and lightly governed. The architecture Beijing is building pushes in the opposite direction.