Agatha Cantrill

ByteDance’s AI Ambitions Are Being Hampered by Compute Restraints and Copyright Concerns ByteDance’s new Seedance 2.0 AI video model seemed unstoppable—until heavy demand strained the company’s compute capacity and copyright complaints began piling up.

ByteDance’s new Seedance 2.0 AI video model seemed unstoppable—until heavy demand strained the company’s compute capacity and copyright complaints began piling up.

www.wired.com/story/made-i...

Arrests reported, cross removed as China crackdown on unofficial churches grows A church in east China was scaffolded and had its cross removed, AFP reporters saw Friday, with residents and rights groups saying multiple members had been arrested as a national crackdown on unoffic...

Yesterday we went to the small town of Yayang (雅阳), Zhejiang province, to confirm reports of a crackdown on a “house church” in the region.

We verified the locations of social media videos that showed wanted posters, police presence and the church before its cross was removed.

f24.my/BfA5

Every year as the night closes in on Christmas Day there is a small town in Hunan that is getting ready for a different celebration. Thousands of people descend on Mao's hometown to celebrate into his birthday.

Definitely a different Christmas than I am used to, but an interesting trip.

🇻🇪 🇺🇸 Donald Trump a annoncé samedi que les Etats-Unis avaient capturé et exfiltré le président vénézuélien Nicolas Maduro, après avoir lancé une "attaque de grande envergure" contre le pays sud-américain. De fortes explosions ont retenti à Caracas très tôt samedi ⤵️

From trade wars and the AI boom, to the energy transformation and rocket launches, reporting on China in 2025 has been non-stop.

Here's a bit of my coverage this year:

US President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping held their first face-to-face meeting in six years, seeking a truce to end a trade war that has roiled the world economy

u.afp.com/Sepi

As Trump and Xi meet in Korea this morning, the crew for Shenzhou-21 gave a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang are due to go to space at 23:44 (Beijing time) tomorrow night.

Solar will play a key part in China's new pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - with mega projects like the one in the Kubuqi desert.

Last month, we travelled to Inner Mongolia to see the massive solar expansion in the northern Chinese region.

www.france24.com/en/live-news...

'Humanity's fate cannot be left to an algorithm': UN chief on threat of military AI.

"Humans must always retain authority over life-and-death decisions," says UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, arguing that AI systems cannot be allowed to run free in the military field

China’s abandoned buildings draw urban explorers despite risks City-dwelling thrill-seekers are exploring dilapidated buildings and areas, often skirting the law. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Xu, a tech worker living in Shanghai, told me about the dangers of entering these places, as we walked around an abandoned hotel in the outskirts of the city.

Nov, a Shanghai native, said it was a way to rediscover his hometown
www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-as...

YouTube video by AFP News Agency China's abandoned buildings draw urban explorers despite risks | AFP

Recently I met several people who have taken up urban exploring as a hobby around China. The abandoned places they visit are often pretty modern - a strange side effect of China’s property woes.
youtu.be/5mW5MAt2fIc?...

This morning I was at a polling station in Seoul, as Koreans cast their votes in the snap presidential election.

In Seoul for the snap presidential election. Yesterday at a rally for PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo.

Chinese exporters "on hold" despite US tariff relief Chinese exporters in one of the world's busiest port cities spoke Thursday of murky horizons as they try to navigate the trade maelstrom unleashed by the ever-changing saga of US tariff policy.

A supply chain in limbo.

This week we went to Ningbo, one of the world's busiest ports.

Suppliers say their US customers are adopting a "wait and see" approach: cancelling orders and warehousing goods, awaiting the next development in tariff policy.

www.rfi.fr/en/internati...

Tobacco town thrives as China struggles to kick the habit Visitors mill around a bright red hilltop pagoda in southwestern China, gazing down at a sprawling cigarette factory whose deadly output has put an otherwise unremarkable city on the map.Named for a c...

Every third smoker in the world lives in China.

The government is keen to cut that number, but tobacco is also a big moneymaker for cities like Yuxi.

Cigarettes have put Yuxi on the map and local farmers told us the crop brings in a more stable income.
sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/tobacco...

Yesterday I reported on the Shenzhou 20 space launch, as the three-person crew blasted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.

Here is a snapshot of our coverage
Reporting for @afpnews.bsky.social / @afpfr.bsky.social

The PLA Eastern Theater Command announcing its drills around Taiwan with a bunch of references to Sun Wukong - the Monkey King - which was the central figure of last year's hit video game Black Myth
weibo.com/7483054836/5...

In today's press conference, Wang Yi accused the West of interference in the Philippines South China Sea tensions
"For every Philippine maritime operation, it is the forces outside of the region that write the script and the Western media that undertake the live broadcast."

"The one-China principle is the political foundation of Sino-Japanese relations. It has been 80 years since the return of Taiwan to China," Chinese FM Wang Yi said in today's press conference in Beijing

Wang claims some Japanese are "secretly colluding with the forces of Taiwan independence."

At today's (ongoing) press conference, Chinese FM Wang Yi responded to a question from Andalou on Palestine conflict:
"If major powers genuinely care about the people of Gaza, they should promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and increase humanitarian assistance."

Answering a question from Nigerian news agency - "The world must listen to African and heed its concerns"

Wang Yi warning of "law of the jungle" if every country only looks out for itself

"There are around 190 countries in the world. Imagine if every country emphasised their own priority and believed in strength and status, the world would fall back into the law of the jungle."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi touts the strength of Sino-Russian relations at this morning's press conference in Beijing.
"A mature, resilient, and stable China-Russia relationship will not change due to temporary events, nor will it be disrupted by third-party interference."

👏The White House barred U.S.-based Associated Press reporters from the Trump-Macron press conference, as part of a feud over the newswire’s refusal to call a body of water the “Gulf of America.” So the French press corps opted to give a Paris-based AP reporter the 1st question, @politico.eu writes

Bundestagswahl • Das sind die 18-Uhr-Prognosen von Infratest dimap (ARD) und Forschungsgruppe Wahlen (ZDF) • Alle Prognosen und Hochrechnungen des Wahlabends im Überblick: www.wahlrecht.de/news/2025/bu... #btw25 #btw2025 #Bundestagswahl2025

Xi’s Embrace of China Tech CEOs Spurs Hope of Big Economic Shift President Xi Jinping’s embrace of Chinese tech bosses in a rare public meeting is fueling hope Beijing is shifting its stance to give the private sector a freer hand as it fights a trade war with Dona...

President Xi Jinping’s embrace of Chinese tech bosses in a rare public meeting is fueling hope Beijing is shifting its stance to give the private sector a freer hand

Rape under wraps: how Tinder, Hinge and their corporate owner chose profits over safety Match Group has known for years about abusive users on its dozen dating apps, but leaves millions of people in the dark

"Even after a police report, it took nearly two months for Matthews to be arrested – the only thing that got him off the apps."

Match Group has known since 2016 about abusive users on its dozen dating apps, but leaves millions of people in the dark

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Michael Burry Trimmed Some China Tech Bets Before DeepSeek-Driven Rally Michael Burry rolled back on some of his investments in Chinese tech stocks just before DeepSeek’s breakthrough in artificial intelligence reignited a $1.3 trillion rally in the country’s shares.

Michael Burry rolled back on some of his investments in Chinese tech stocks just before DeepSeek’s breakthrough in AI reignited a $1.3 trillion rally in the country’s shares