U.S. and China Compete for Control of Africa’s Critical Minerals
The United States is intensifying its competition with China over control of Africa’s critical mineral supplies, including copper, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements, according to discussions at the 2026 African Mining Indaba currently taking place in Cape Town. Washington’s focus centers on the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Guinea, with the DRC supplying over 70 percent of the world’s cobalt and remaining one of the largest copper producers.
China currently dominates the extraction and processing of rare earth metals and other critical minerals like lithium and cobalt. Chinese companies control substantial mining operations across developing countries, including throughout Africa.
Against a backdrop of escalating trade and technology confrontation, both nations are attempting to achieve independence from each other in key industrial sectors. China is developing its semiconductor industry capabilities while the United States works to bypass China and diversify the global rare earth supply chain.
Africa has emerged as a crucial battleground in this great power competition, with the two nations employing different strategies. The American approach avoids directly managing mines in politically unstable regions, instead using a “money-for-shares” model that provides financing in exchange for portions of extracted minerals. China’s advantages include controlling the DRC’s largest mineral assets, faster project launches even in unstable regions, and aggressive infrastructure investment in mineral-producing countries. Chinese investment has built thousands of kilometers of roads and railways, dozens of port facilities, and major transportation arteries across Africa, improving market access for African mineral producers, reducing logistics costs, and promoting economic growth.
In essence, the United States attempts to secure portions of African-extracted raw materials through capital injection and transport them to U.S.-aligned regions for processing. However, China maintains its advantage in African extractive industries through economies of scale, infrastructure and production construction speed, and Chinese companies’ willingness to operate in high-risk environments.
Source: Sputnik News, February 10, 2026
https://sputniknews.cn/20260210/1069718226.html
China’s Breakthrough in Compact High-Power Microwave Weapons Technology
China has achieved a significant breakthrough with its TPG1000C high-power microwave weapon system, successfully miniaturizing the drive source while maintaining pulse emission capability for up to one minute. According to Chinese military expert Qiu Shiqing, this advancement will provide China with crucial means to secure “spectrum dominance” on complex electromagnetic battlefields, enabling the weapon to not only disrupt or destroy low-earth orbit satellites but also demonstrate tremendous combat potential against drone swarms and the United States’ full-spectrum warfare systems.
Developed by the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, the TPG1000C has become the world’s first high-power microwave weapon capable of continuously emitting pulses for one minute. This compact device measures only four meters in length and weighs five tons, capable of releasing up to 20 gigawatts of power over sixty seconds. It can be mounted on trucks, warships, aircraft, or even satellites, and can interfere with or damage low-earth orbit satellites, including Starlink satellites. The system can fire up to 3,000 high-energy pulses per session, significantly outperforming similar systems that previously operated for no more than three seconds.
The breakthrough centers on miniaturizing the drive source using a compact Tesla transformer capable of achieving 20GW maximum output power with minimal pulse fluctuation and a maximum repetition frequency of 50Hz. Qiu emphasizes this achievement is highly significant for China’s ability to establish spectrum dominance on the battlefield. High-power microwave weapons offer cost-effective, reusable advantages in electronic warfare and counter-drone operations. Experts believe these weapons possess enormous potential for future warfare, particularly in countering American full-spectrum warfare systems by disrupting battlefield perception, command, and communication capabilities.
Source: Sputnik News, February 10, 2026
https://sputniknews.cn/20260210/1069712975.html
Beijing Launches Campaign to Boost Birth Rates by Censoring Anti-Marriage Content Online
China’s cyberspace authority has initiated a month-long crackdown on online content that promotes anti-marriage and anti-childbearing attitudes, as Beijing intensifies efforts to address the country’s declining birth rate. The Cyberspace Administration of China announced the “Clear and Bright: 2026 Creating a Joyful and Harmonious Spring Festival Online Environment” campaign on February 12th, targeting what authorities consider harmful online content.
The campaign focuses on four major areas of concern. First, it aims to eliminate content that deliberately stirs negative emotions, including promoting views against marriage and childbearing, inciting gender conflicts, and amplifying fears about marriage and fertility anxiety. Authorities will also crack down on ostentatious displays of wealth disguised as Spring Festival shopping comparisons and fan club activities that pit celebrities against each other.
Second, the campaign targets low-quality content generated by artificial intelligence, including illogical or hollow material, classic works altered with vulgar or violent content, and fabricated family conflict narratives designed to attract traffic. Third, authorities will combat disinformation, including false rumors about Spring Festival travel, public safety incidents, fabricated government announcements, and conspiracy theories related to holiday events.
Finally, the initiative addresses illegal activities such as online gambling promotions disguised as sports betting analysis, sexually suggestive content posted under dating or social networking pretenses, and fortune-telling services that promote feudal superstitions under the guise of fate-changing services.
The cyberspace authority emphasized that platforms must establish dedicated teams to monitor and remove illegal content during the Spring Festival period. Violating websites, accounts, and multi-channel network agencies will face strict penalties, with typical cases to be publicly disclosed to demonstrate enforcement effectiveness.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), February 13, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202602130044.aspx
China Times: OpenAI Reveals Shocking Evidence on DeepSeek Stealing U.S. Technology
Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported that, U.S. AI leader OpenAI filed a memorandum with the U.S. House of Representatives, accusing Chinese AI vendor DeepSeek of using so-called “distillation techniques” to obtain the hard-earned model results of OpenAI and other U.S. AI developers, and then using these techniques to train its own AI models.
DeepSeek, a rising star in Chinese AI, has stunned the world since launching its R1 model last year, but it has also been embroiled in allegations of technology theft. Foreign media reports indicate that OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has warned that DeepSeek is targeting several U.S. AI companies, including OpenAI, attempting to replicate their model outputs and use them as the training basis for its own systems.
In its memo, OpenAI stated that they observed accounts associated with DeepSeek employees attempting to bypass OpenAI’s access restrictions through third-party routers and various obfuscation methods, and to massively scrape model outputs using programmatic code for distillation purposes.
OpenAI points out that large-scale language models developed in mainland China are “actively taking shortcuts” in knowledge training, rather than relying on their own research and development. The company emphasizes that once it discovers users attempting to build competitive models through distillation, it will proactively remove the relevant violating accounts to protect its technology and usage policies.
Source: China Times, February 13, 2026
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20260213002208-260410?chdtv
Chinese Smartphone Market Sluggish in January, Except for iPhone
Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, according to market research firm Counterpoint, all major Chinese mobile phone manufacturers, from Huawei to Xiaomi, have experienced sales declines, with the overall market down 23 percent.
However, data shows that Apple’s iPhone was the only smartphone to see sales growth in the Chinese market in January. The iPhone 17 series helped Apple achieve an eight percent sales increase, raising its market share to about one-fifth, tying with Huawei for first place. Counterpoint points out that Apple’s competitors in China benefited from massive government subsidy programs for low-priced devices last year, but face greater challenges this year amid weak consumer confidence.
Researchers said Apple was the only major brand to achieve year-over-year growth, with its market share reaching a five-year high. Its base model of the iPhone 17 is now also eligible for government subsidies, improving its value proposition and driving a nine percent month-over-month increase in sales in January. The discounts or price reductions for the iPhone 17 series so far have been minimal, leaving room for future adjustments or profit margin optimization.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, February 12, 2026
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/finance/china/story20260212-8451673
CNA: Taiwanese Investment in China Continues to Shrink Significantly
Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that, official Taiwanese government statistics show that Taiwan’s investment in China continues to shrink, with direct investment in China to decrease by 59 percent year-over-year by 2025. And approved investment from mainland China in Taiwan decreased by 65.4 percent year-over-year.
The official report points out that China’s economy grew by five percent last year, but the growth momentum was significantly divergent, with the housing market downturn worsening, foreign direct investment (FDI) continuing to slow, and the shadow of deflation lingering.
The report also indicated that the surge in social protests in mainland China in the second half of 2025 is attributed primarily to slowing economic growth, increasing youth unemployment, insufficient funds for maintaining stability due to local government financial difficulties, and the potential threat to grassroots governance stability from the return and stranding of large numbers of unemployed migrant workers to their hometowns.
Source: CNA, February 11, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202602110334.aspx
Chinese “Medical Ship” Touring Latin America Suspected to Have Military Objectives
A large Chinese vessel, the “Silk Road Ark,” is touring Latin America and the Caribbean under the banner of a “medical mission,” but its presence has sparked significant concern among local authorities and experts. In Brazil, officials reported that the crew provided medical services without proper authorization, and attempts by Brazilian regulators to inspect the ship were reportedly denied. Critics in host countries have questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the vessel’s activities, raising concerns that its mission may extend beyond purely humanitarian aid.
Observers suggest it may be linked to the Chinese navy rather than functioning solely as a civilian medical vessel. Features such as advanced communications systems, as well as the ship’s size and capabilities, fuel suspicions about possible intelligence-gathering or other dual-use purposes. As a result, some analysts interpret the voyage as part of a broader pattern of Chinese strategic and military projection carried out under the guise of soft-power diplomacy.
From a geopolitical standpoint, the ship’s tour takes place amid intensifying competition between China and the United States for influence in the Western Hemisphere. China’s expanding footprint in the region — including reported military activities near the Caribbean — contrasts with renewed U.S. efforts to strengthen partnerships and reaffirm strategic interests in Latin America.
Source: Epoch Times, February 3, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/2/3/n14689964.htm
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Launches Interstellar Navigation School
The University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences officially inaugurated its Interstellar Navigation School on January 27. Academician Zhu Junqiang, the school’s dean, said he hopes that through sustained effort the institution will develop into three centers of excellence: a leading hub for foundational aerospace research within the Chinese Academy of Sciences to support major national missions; a center for cultivating high-level innovative talent, preparing individuals willing to explore the unknown and capable of assuming significant responsibilities; and an open platform for international academic exchange, contributing China’s perspectives and expertise to the global community through substantive research achievements.
The coming 10 to 20 years are widely viewed as a pivotal period for breakthroughs in interstellar navigation. Advances in fundamental research and key technologies are expected to reshape the landscape of deep-space exploration, strengthen national core competitiveness, and help propel humanity’s space ambitions further into the cosmos.
Source: Xinhua, January 27, 2026
https://www.news.cn/20260127/9aea5bd2de7342cba77c08ee80bb9b96/c.html