On December 31, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced quota restriction measures on beef imports from countries including Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and the United States, imposing an additional 55% tariff on beef imports exceeding the quota.
The Eastern Theater Command announced the start of military exercises involving the army, navy, air force, and rocket force. The next day, it issued navigational warnings for live-fire shooting areas, followed by the announcement of the completion of the exercises.
Entrusted by Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao and Wang Yang summoned 22 Politburo members for talks. At the democratic life meeting, Xi Jinping faced 11 rounds of stern criticism, with multiple members directly pressuring him on the spot to resign and take responsibility.
Just forty-five days after the closing ceremony of the National Games, Guo Yonghang was removed from his posts as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CCP and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, with the central authorities announcing he will be reassigned.
A report by Rhodium Group dated December 22, 2025 estimated that China's real GDP growth in 2025 was between 2.5% and 3%, roughly half the officially announced rate.
On December 17, 2025, China's National Health Commission (NHC) publicly solicited opinions on the Blood Donation Law (Draft Amendment for Public Comment), proposing to raise the upper age limit for blood donation from 55 to 65 and to shorten the minimum interval for whole blood donation from 6 months to 90 days.
The U.S. has sold $11 billion worth of key weapons to Taiwan, with another approximately $14 billion in arms sales approved but not yet completed.
Sources claim that Zhang Youxia is being held at the Central Guard Bureau base in Gu'an, Hebei and is on a hunger strike; the authorities only announced on January 24, 2026 that they had opened a case for review and investigation against him.
Former Air Force Commander Chang Dingqiu reportedly died of a sudden heart attack while undergoing detention and interrogation by the military discipline inspection commission, with no official announcement made.
Zhang Youxia was secretly placed under control and arrested in December, and the news was made public the following January.
According to estimates in the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' "2025 Report on the Fiscal Conditions of Provinces, Cities, and Counties," in 2024 the average fiscal self-sufficiency rate of the country's 2,774 county-level areas was about 38%, with the lowest county at only about 1%.
From late 2025 to early 2026, Xi Jinping promoted several generals in the Central Military Commission: Zhang Shengmin as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Shuguang as secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection, Wang Gang as commander of the Air Force, Yang Zhibin as commander of the Eastern Theater Command, and Han Shengyan as commander of the Central Theater Command, all promoted to full general.
In 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly mentioned the San Francisco Treaty, implying that Taiwan's status has remained undetermined since that treaty, and emphasized Japan's concern over Taiwan's security, provoking a strong reaction from Beijing.
Amid tensions with China in the South China Sea, the Philippines has opened bases close to Taiwan to U.S. military deployment, in response to the security situation in the Taiwan Strait.
At the Beijing Politburo meeting the day after the Hongfuyuan fire, CCDI Secretary Li Xi presented irrefutable evidence of Ma Xingrui's corruption, and he was placed under isolated investigation on the spot.
The fire at Wing Fook Yuen in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on November 26, 2025 killed more than 100 people; the exterior protective netting is suspected to have been produced by two Shandong companies, whose test reports cannot be found on the testing agency's official website, and outsiders question whether the materials were substandard.
A major fire broke out in Tai Po, Hong Kong. Hu Liren said that the plastic mesh involved did not meet fireproof standards, and pointed out that its materials were related to imported waste.
The 62nd Golden Horse Awards ceremony was held in Taipei, where Fan Bingbing won the Best Actress award for her lead role in the Malaysian film 'Mother Earth'.
On November 18, 2025, Masaaki Kanai, an official from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, communicated to the Chinese side in Beijing the intention to expel Xue Jian, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka. Liu Jinsong, then Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warned on the spot, "If you expel one, we will expel two," leading the Japanese side to ultimately shelve the plan.
On November 13, 2025, US Secretary of State Rubio announced that four far-left groups in Germany, Italy, and Greece would be designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and that they would be listed as Foreign Terrorist Organizations starting the following week.
After undergoing a series of legal procedures in a Thai prison, She Zhijiang was eventually extradited back to China to face charges.
Guo Yonghang, Party Secretary of Guangzhou, accompanied the top leader in Guangzhou to attend the opening ceremony of the 15th National Games, marking the third key 'escort' mission in his political career.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to infidelity to his employees and issued an apology, while also facing allegations of intelligence-related misconduct involving China and an independent board investigation.
On November 4, according to CCTV, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province announced the first-instance verdict in the Bai family criminal gang case: Bai Suocheng, Bai Yingcang, Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang, and Chen Guangyi were sentenced to death; Li Fushou and Li Zhide received death sentences with a reprieve; Guo Jianzheng, Pan Xian, and three others received life imprisonment; Li Longhua, Luo Wending, and six others received fixed-term sentences ranging from three to twenty years.
Anti-Xi forces began a large-scale gathering last November, followed by reports of Zhang Youxia's arrest, which triggered strong shock and backlash within the military.
In November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae said in the Diet that a Taiwan incident could constitute a “existential crisis” for Japan; China then issued a travel advisory for trips to Japan and suspended imports of Japanese seafood, causing Sino-Japanese relations to deteriorate sharply.
On November 1, 2025, the White House claimed that the US-China agreement would effectively lift relevant rare earth export controls through general licenses; but the suspension list China subsequently released did not include the measure implemented that April placing yttrium under export licensing management.
China and the United States reached a one-year trade truce arrangement after talks in Busan, suspending some tariffs and related measures.
Chongqing police announced that they have opened a case against Shen Bayang on suspicion of the crime of splitting the country, and stated in the notice that a Taiwan civil defense organization is an organization that splits the country.
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 15th Central Committee in Ningbo deliberated on the 15th Five-Year Plan, where new energy vehicles were removed from the core position of strategic emerging industries, signaling the downgrading of the automotive industry into an object of governance.
On October 25, 2025, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission announced that Jiang Duntao, former Vice Mayor of Chongqing and former Party Secretary of Zibo, was under investigation on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law; the notice stated that during his tenure in Zibo he forcefully pushed projects and took on massive new debt.
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee was held from October 20 to 23, 2025. When it concluded, it was decided to add Zhang Shengmin as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
In October 2025, the Fourth Plenary Session expelled nine generals from the Party, eight of them full generals.
Under pressure from Zhang Youxia and CCP elders, Xi Jinping officially signed a power-transfer document at the Fourth Plenary Session, agreeing to step down in the Hua Guofeng model, marking the end of the Xi Jinping era.
On October 18, 2025, the Kuomintang held its chairperson election. Cheng Li-wun was elected with 65,122 votes, a vote share of 50.15%, and officially took office on November 1.
Officials announced that 9 people, including He Weidong, were expelled from the Party and the military.
On October 17, 2025, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it had opened cases for review and investigation against nine senior generals, including He Weidong, Miao Hua, and Wang Houbin, and imposed the punishment of expulsion from the Party and the military.
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission He Weidong has been expelled from the Party and from the military.
He Weidong, the military brother-in-arms and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) close to the leader, has been arrested, and elite generals of the 31st Group Army in Fujian have been purged in batches.
Mutadi, a suspect involved in the October 7 Gaza massacre, was arrested by the FBI after sneaking into the United States and living there for more than a year.
Zhang Wanying appeared in court for the third time for a bail review. During the hearing, prosecutors publicly disclosed state security background and the flight-support chain involving Miao Fatai and others. Federal District Judge Murillo refused to overturn the detention order.
Police in Beihai, Guangxi, took away Pastor Kim Myeong-il on suspicion of the crime of illegally using the information network. Kim Myeong-il said that a total of 18 people were taken away, some of whom were released on bail pending trial, while 8 remain detained.
On October 9, 2025, the Ministry of Commerce of China announced the strictest rare earth export control measures to date, and Trump immediately announced an additional 100% tariff on China; after a ceasefire was reached in early November, China suspended the measure.
Led by Florida Senator Scott, a resolution targeting multiple crimes by the Chinese Communist Party was officially introduced on October 19, 2025, and after several months, it recently passed the Senate unanimously.
According to an interview with Miles Yu, the American Institute in Taiwan recently stated that Taiwan's status remains undetermined, saying that the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration, and the Treaty of San Francisco did not transfer Taiwan's sovereignty to the Chinese Communist Party or the Republic of China.
According to reports from outside the Great Firewall, after the Fourth Plenary Session in October 2025, Xi Jinping withdrew from relevant decision-making and coordination bodies.
According to accounts coming out of Beijing, Ma Xingrui was taken into custody around October 2025, after which he was dealt with and stripped of his Party membership and administrative posts.
An AITO M9 caught fire rapidly after striking a traffic pole in Shenmu, Yulin, Shaanxi, and the driver in the car died at the scene.
Before departing for South Korea, Trump received an intelligence briefing from U.S. intelligence agencies regarding the electronic surveillance of Huang Le and the discovery of Jensen Huang's name.
The People's Bank of China has officially unveiled its master console, centralizing eight major authorities—including currency issuance, wallet management, risk control, and smart contracts—under the central bank. It has also connected thirty commercial banks directly to the system, building a super-console capable of reaching into individual wallets.