China Calls Out Trump Over US Oil Tanker Seizures

China blasted the administration of President Donald Trump on Monday over its seizure of another oil tanker as the United States continues its military blockade of the Bolivarian Republic.

The U.S. has been ramping up its military presence in the Caribbean in recent months, leading to the "blockade" of oil tankers that Trump declared late last week, in order to pressure the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to return assets "stolen" when the South American country nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s.

Trump administration officials insist Venezuela is at the center of a "narco-terrorist" network, a claim Maduro denies. Adding to regional tensions are U.S. strikes on vessels that have killed close to 100 people. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials have claimed, without providing evidence, that the victims were engaged in so-called "narco-terrorism."

Read more

World Map Shows Countries With China Loan Money

China, the world’s second-largest economy, is also now the largest creditor, a role that has enabled Beijing to match, and in many cases outcompete, its American rival in the race for diplomatic clout and strategic resources.

During its lending spree, which peaked in the 2010s, China racked up more than $1 trillion in obligations under its flagship infrastructure program the Belt and Road Initiative and made headlines over big-ticket projects in low-income countries.

Critics have described the loans, some of which led to financial distress due to high repayment demands, as “debt-trap diplomacy” and a means for Chinese state entities to gain influence over critical infrastructure. Chinese officials have rejected the debt-trap narrative, insisting that overseas lending is based on mutually beneficial, market-driven principles.

Read more

China Issues Nuclear Warning to Japan

China's Foreign Ministry has fired a warning shot after a senior Japanese official suggested Tokyo should reconsider its nearly eight-decade ban on nuclear weapons in light of the worsening regional security environment.

The remark comes amid tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Takaichi's November 7 remarks that a military blockade around China-claimed Taiwan would constitute a "survival threatening situation" for Japan, a rare exception under that country's pacifist constitution that could allow for a military intervention alongside allied U.S. forces.

China has responded with a sustained public relations campaign portraying Japan as a revanchist power—citing the country's recent increases in defense spending and plans to deploy missiles on a remote island near Beijing-claimed Taiwan. Tokyo's Defense Ministry this year described China’s military buildup and expansive moves in the region as Japan's greatest security challenge.

Read more

US submarines are outnumbered in the Pacific. South Korea has a plan to help

South Korea wants to join the undersea naval elite – and has received the blessing of US President Donald Trump to do just that. Having Seoul become the seventh country in the world operating nuclear-powered submarines – joining the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and India – could be a win-win.

South Korea could more effectively counter North Korean or Chinese moves in the waters around the Korean Peninsula; and that would free up the US Navy’s nuclear-powered attack subs to concentrate on patrols in hot spots like the South China Sea and the waters around Taiwan. On both sides of the Pacific, building the vessels could mean thousands of high-paying manufacturing jobs, helping the US and South Korean economies.

“For South Korea, this would be a game-changer countering North Korea’s undersea threat,” said Yu Jihoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses and former South Korean submarine officer.

Read more

Japan to restart the world’s biggest nuclear power plant, 15 years after Fukushima disaster

Japanese authorities have approved a decision to restart the world’s biggest nuclear power plant, which has sat dormant for more than a decade following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, in a pivotal moment as the country looks to looks to shift its energy supply away from fossil fuels.

Despite nerves from many local residents, the Niigata prefectural assembly, home to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, approved a bill on Monday that clears the way for utility company Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to restart one of the plant’s seven reactors.

The company plans to bring the No. 6 reactor back online around January 20, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.

Read more

China’s Dark Factories: AI and Robots Take Over Manufacturing

China is entering a new era of industrial automation with the rise of “dark factories”—fully robotic manufacturing plants that require no human workers or lighting. Driven by artificial intelligence ( AI), robotics, and advanced sensors, these facilities mark a major shift in China’s global manufacturing leadership.

Dark factories are automated production sites where machines handle all tasks, including assembly, inspection, and logistics. Without human presence, they eliminate the need for lighting, heating, or break times, cutting costs and boosting efficiency. While still rare globally, China is advancing rapidly in this area, signaling a future where automation dominates production.

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China installed 290,367 industrial robots in 2022—52% of the world’s total. This far surpasses the U.S. and Japan combined, underscoring China’s commitment to automation.

Read more

China’s new era of dark factories

Don’t get scared when you hear “dark factories”. In 2025, “dark factories” are less about fear and more about the future. And at the heart of this revolution stands a jaw-dropping marvel: Xiaomi’s fully autonomous factory, producing one smartphone every single second — yes, you read that right. In 2023, Xiaomi unveiled a sprawling 81,000 square metre autonomous production facility — about the size of 11 soccer fields — that operates 24/7, without a single human on the floor. 

No lights. No breaks. No shifts. This “dark factory” uses the company’s in-house Hyper Intelligent Manufacturing Platform (HyperIMP), an AI-powered ecosystem where machines don’t just follow orders — they think, adapt, and optimise. Also Read - A New Climate Mandate Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has been quoted as saying that the huge facility, located in the Changping district on the northeast outskirts of Beijing, follows a lab-level smart factory built in 2019 that produced around 1 million phones per year, which handled the entire production of the Xiaomi Mix Fold. 

The new facility is described by Jun as a truly automated mass-production factory. It features 11 production lines, able to produce the company’s flagship MIX Fold 4 and the MIX Flip phones at a constant rate of one every few seconds. The term ‘dark factory’ originates from the fact that these facilities do not require traditional lighting since no humans are on the factory floor. Instead, advanced machines, AI systems, and robotics manage every aspect of production, including assembly, inspection, and logistics. This setup eliminates human error, reduces labour costs, and allows continuous operation without breaks or fatigue.

Read more

Dark Factories: The Future of Manufacturing Without Lights

In the shadowy corners of modern industry, a revolution is brewing—one where factories hum with activity around the clock, yet no human sets foot inside. Welcome to the era of dark factories, where robots, AI, and automation take centre stage, flipping the switch on traditional manufacturing. As we at RoboHorizon peer into the horizon of robotics and technology, this concept isn’t just a sci-fi dream; it’s a rapidly emerging reality, especially in powerhouse nations like China, and gaining traction in Europe and the Americas.

Imagine a production line that never sleeps, never errs, and never demands overtime pay. Dark factories, also known as “lights-out” facilities, operate entirely without human intervention, relying on sophisticated robotics and intelligent systems to handle everything from assembly to quality control. But what drives this shift, and what does it mean for the future?

For decades, manufacturing has relied on human labour, but rising costs, workforce shortages, and the relentless push for efficiency are transforming the industrial landscape. In China, companies like ZEEKR are leading the charge. Founded in 2021, ZEEKR’s flagship factory in northeastern China produces up to 300,000 luxury electric vehicles (EVs) annually—over 800 cars a day—thanks to hundreds of robots working in perpetual motion. This “dark factory” model enables hyper-automation, dramatically slashing production times and costs.

Read more

What are China's 'dark factories'? Will America's auto industry follow suit?

Automation is changing the automotive industry as we know it. The automotive sector is "the number one adopter of industrial robots" according to a 2024 piece about the rise of robotics from IBM.

The modern automotive assembly line is evolving. New developments in Chinese vehicle manufacturing could be horrific for workers in the American auto industry as automation takes center stage. Are fully-automated car factories the future of American automotive production?

"Dark factories" or "lights-out factories" are factories that rely so heavily on robotics and artificial intelligence systems that they hardly need any human interaction or input to function, says technology company Siemens. These factories can perform assembly tasks that were typically done by human workers prior to the advent of these advanced robotics systems.

Read more

Western Executives Shaken After Visiting China

Torbjørn Færøvik: New Delhi - fra hageby til gasskammer

Edwin het han, og vi må anta at han gråt da han ble født. Men med årene smilte han fra øre til øre, og som arkitekt av den klassiske skolen ble han en suksess. I 1912 ble han til og med forespurt om å tegne en splitter ny by, New Delhi, og han takket ja med én gang.

Calcutta hadde lenge vært hovedstad i Britisk India, men tidlig på 1900-tallet mente britene at de trengte en ny. «Gamle» Delhi viste seg å være uegnet, for byen var forfallen og kaotisk, og gatene var så altfor trange. Dermed ble 42 år gamle Edwin Lutyens  - en ekte sønn av London - kalt til dåd.

Resultatet ble en flunkende ny hovedstad som også ble omtalt som «The Garden City». For her var det alléer, hager og grønne lunger, og luften var ren og klar. Men i dag? Innbyggerne får knapt nok puste, og tusener dør av lungesykdommer hvert eneste år. 

Nå er vi i desember, og forurensningen er verre enn noensinne.

The US Is Selling H200 AI Chips to China – So Why Isn’t China Buying?

In a major policy shift on December 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Nvidia (the world’s leading designer of AI accelerators) is allowed to export advanced H200 chips to “approved customers” in China. However, more intriguing is the fact that China – despite lagging in the area of high-end chip design for at least two generations – has responded by limiting domestic buyers’ access to these advanced AI processors.

To understand China’s refusal, one must look beyond the silicon to the software. Nvidia’s dominance is secured not just by chip performance but by CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), a proprietary software platform that has become the global standard for AI development. If Chinese AI developers were allowed to purchase the H200 chips, they would inevitably build their next generation of models on CUDA, creating a self-reinforcing cycle in which Chinese developers optimize for American standards.

Read more

Wu Huiyuan: The Island, the Man, and the Long Goodbye

The wind off the South China Sea sweeps across the beach of Donghai Island, Guangdong province, carrying its familiar briny scent. On an empty stretch of sand, Chen Liang stands beside an old house half-buried in sand — a side effect of land reclamation. He wears his late father’s dark-gray suit — too tight at the shoulders — and holds a leather suitcase and a black umbrella. After adjusting his Mamiya 7 camera and setting the self-timer, he walks to a mark in the sand, straightens his jacket, and waits for the shutter. The resulting photograph, part of his series “Returning Home,” shows a man who appears to “return in glory,” though the landscape around him has been reshaped beyond recognition.

For a decade, Chen has photographed Donghai Island, shooting thousands of rolls of film and spending more than 400,000 yuan ($57,000) — enough, he notes, “to buy a decent apartment here.” His work has won awards and been widely exhibited.

At home, the response has been different. “In my mother’s eyes, I was the family’s greatest failure,” he says. No house, no children, no stable job — only “useless pictures.” He is now 41. In 2013, he returned to the island thinking he would stay. Today, he is preparing to leave again.

Read more

China’s Hainan Free Trade Port heralds new era of openness

An iPhone that costs about $100 less might not sound like a trade policy story, but in China’s Hainan Island, it is.

As global trade faces rising tariffs and growing protectionism, China is moving in the opposite direction by opening one of its doors wider. That door is Hainan, a tropical island now being positioned as China’s most ambitious experiment in free trade and economic openness.

On December 18, the country launched island-wide special customs operations in Hainan, transforming the entire island into a high-standard free trade zone, encompassing not a single port or industrial park, but the whole island. Expanded zero-tariff policies and new value-added rules are reshaping costs for international companies and delivering real savings to consumers.

China already has 22 free trade zones (FTZs), but Hainan represents a fundamentally different level of openness. Most FTZs are limited to specific urban areas and focus on upgrading local industries. Hainan has transformed an entire island into a unified free trade port, with its own customs, tax and regulatory system.

Read more

Russia and China’s Nuclear Bomber Cooperation Is Evolving

The Russian and Chinese militaries have expanded their joint air patrols since 2019, with bombers—including those capable of carrying nuclear weapons—flying beyond East Asia into the broader Pacific and near Alaska, according to a Newsweek map.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China's Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek that the military maneuvers were part of annual cooperation to demonstrate the two sides' determination and capability to jointly address regional security challenges. Regarding the most recent, 10th joint air patrol conducted on December 9 near Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry previously said it was part of the Russia-China military cooperation plan for the year and denied that it was directed against third countries.
Why It Matters

Russia and China—the world's largest and third-largest nuclear powers in terms of warhead numbers—have forged a so-called "partnership without limits," with Moscow and Beijing closely cooperating in military matters, including joint patrols and war games, as part of efforts to counter the United States and its European and Asian allies.

Read more

China Looks On As Ally Fights Border War

The ongoing border skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia continues, with a December 7 exchange of fire breaking the fragile ceasefire signed in Kuala Lumpur less than five months before. China, a diplomatic heavyweight and major source of weapons for both countries, seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach as the conflict rages on its doorstep.

Cambodia is widely viewed as a client state of Beijing. Phnom Penh is heavily dependent on Chinese investment, receiving $12 billion in Chinese funding between 2013 and 2022.

Cambodia also leans heavily on China for arms sales, and the modernization of Ream Naval Base, which officially opened earlier this year, was carried out with Beijing's assistance—raising concerns in Washington that the People's Liberation Army Navy might enjoy privileged access to the deep-water port and further strengthen its posture in the region.

Read more

The 12 Zodiac Signs That Climbed Mountains and Crossed Seas to Reach Ancient China

When archaeologists back in 2017 discovered that semicircle-enclosed crab and ram-horn motifs had appeared on bronze mirrors during the Wu Kingdom period (222–280), they regarded it as proof that Western astronomical zodiac signs had at one point crossed the seas and reached China.

Based on birth month in the tropical year, the 12 astronomical signs bore no relation to the traditional Chinese zodiac animals. All the same, images of these imported star signs would find their way into Chinese culture and traditional works of art.

Pictorial evidence of the signs did not mean that the names and connotations associated with them had been appearing in Chinese districts. The system of astronomy — originating from the ancient Mesopotamian region and maturing in ancient Greece — had reached India through Alexander the Great’s eastern campaigns. Later, as Buddhism began to spread in China in 2 BC, elements of Indian culture entered China, with these cosmic symbols in tow.

Read more

Torbjørn Færøvik: China Is Rising — but Not for the First Time in History

 “China is winning on all fronts,” goes the refrain as the year draws to a close. The country has not only won the trade war with the United States; it is also on its way to becoming a high-tech superpower.

These claims are largely true, and many people ask: How has a country that was so poor fifty years ago managed to rise so abruptly? The answer is, of course, complex, but much of the explanation lies in the fact that China’s ancient creative capacity never completely disappeared. It merely lay dormant—until Mao’s successors roused it into action.

In our Europe-centred historical tradition, we are prone to overlook the fact that China was for centuries an economic and political great power. The red thread running through Marco Polo’s travel account from the second half of the thirteenth century is the prosperity he witnessed. “The Chinese surpass all other nations in refinement and in knowledge of many things,” he wrote.

Torbjørn Færøvik: Kina reiser seg, men ikke for første gang i historien

Kina seirer på alle fronter, lyder omkvedet idet året ebber ut. Landet har ikke bare vunnet handelskrigen med USA, men er også i ferd med å bli en høyteknologisk supermakt.

Påstandene stemmer langt på vei, og mange spør: Hvordan har et land som var så fattig for femti år siden, klart å reise seg så brått? Svaret er naturligvis komplisert, men mye av forklaringen er at Kinas eldgamle skaperevne aldri helt forsvant. Den ble bare liggende i dvale – inntil Maos etterfølgere vekket den til dåd.

I vår Europa-sentrerte historietradisjon har vi lett for å overse at Kina i århundrer var en økonomisk og politisk stormakt. Den røde tråden i Marco Polos reiseberetning fra 1200-tallets andre halvdel er velstanden han så. «Kineserne er alle andre nasjoner overlegne i dannelse og kunnskap om mange ting», skrev han.