#china-aviation

#china-aviation

South Korea has launched a nationwide energy-saving campaign, enforcing an odd-even vehicle restriction system for public-sector cars based on licence plate numbers. Authorities urge voluntary compliance from private vehicle owners.

Selina Chadha, group director of consumer markets at the CAA, stated, 'Our primary duty is to protect consumers and at the heart of today's proposals is doing the right thing for passengers using Heathrow airport, while supporting sustainable growth, investment, and efficiency.'

Effective March 30, JetBlue raised checked bag fees by $4 to $9, depending on travel dates. The new prices apply to all bookings made on or after that date.

The meeting made clear, based on the requirements set out in the 2021 joint notice issued by ten government agencies, that stablecoins are considered a form of virtual currency. At present, they cannot adequately meet requirements for customer identification, anti-money-laundering compliance, or related regulatory standards. They also carry significant risks of being used for money laundering, fraudulent fundraising, and illegal cross-border capital transfers.

Guangdong's complete industrial ecosystem and first-class business environment have made Shein's fast growth possible. He boasted that Shein currently supports over 600,000 jobs in the Chinese province, and pledged to invest over 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to fortify its local supply chain.

China's approach to AI is architecturally different. Where Western tech companies have largely pursued AI as a product category - chatbots, copilots, and standalone tools that can be sold to enterprises - China has treated AI as infrastructure: a utility layer woven into the fabric of commerce, logistics, government services, and daily life.

Boeing entered 2021 still reeling from the 737 MAX grounding, then faced COVID-19 decimating air travel demand, supply chain failures, a door plug blowout in early 2024, and a machinists' strike that produced just 57 commercial deliveries in Q4 2024. The company burned through cash, piled on debt, and suspended its dividend.

Researchers in China have reportedly tested a new, gravity-defying wind turbine system that they say could generate power from the airspace above cities. The turbine is called the S2000 Stratosphere Airborne Wind Energy System, or SAWES. Held up by what is essentially a helium blimp, the machine reportedly generated 385 kilowatts of electricity from 2,000 meters (more than 6,500 feet) above the city of Yibin in China's province of Sichuan, according to a recent Euronews report.

For most, this stuff feels like some far-off future envisioned by tech bros and Wall Street guys, not something they'll ever really have to deal with day-to-day. But amid the last few months of news, including the headlines at CES 2026 and even some key features of the Volvo EX60's recent debut, it's clear that artificial intelligence is pretty much the name of the game right now.

The US has increasingly shut out Chinese smartphone makers in recent years with outright bans and punitive tariffs, not to mention Apple's dominance. But the truth is, some of the best smartphones you can't officially buy in the US are simply some of the best smartphones. If you want cutting-edge photography, interesting innovations, and top-tier hardware that won't break the bank, you can find them in China.

Chinese authorities have signalled they'll likely probe Meta's planned acquisition of made-in-China AI platform Manus. Meta announced the acquisition on December 29, 2025, and said Manus will become part of its consumer and business products. On Thursday, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said Beijing intends to investigate the acquisition to ensure it won't infringe China's export controls or foreign investment laws.

The long-awaited government move to scrap the cap at Dublin Airport has little immediate impact on leisure travellers but will incense environmental groups, some locals and even farming bodies whose members resent being told to cut their emissions.

A Eurowings spokesperson told Business Insider that its owner, the Lufthansa Group, decided not to fly over Iranian or Iraqi airspace as a precautionary measure. They added that the refueling stop was "due to a longer flight distance and stronger headwinds on the alternative route at the time." "In the event of such refueling, we inform our passengers accordingly before departure in Dubai," they said.

"exciting new AI tools available to DOT rule writers to help us do our job better and faster."

Last week, news broke that Meta is buying Chinese AI startup Manus for around $2 billion. The company is known for its AI agent that can handle everything from job interviews to stock analysis. Meta plans to integrate Manus' AI agent into its own products. Now, the Financial Times reports that China's Ministry of Commerce has decided to review the purchase to determine whether the deal violates the country's export control rules for technology.

On Tuesday, the Texas airline said it will begin rolling out free, high-speed WiFi on more than 1,400 mainline narrowbody and dual-class regional aircraft. By early spring, nearly every American flight - including new Boeing 787s serving long-haul international routes - will offer the service. American said this will make it the airline with free WiFi on more planes than any other carrier in the world.

A "guidance document" released by the EU on Monday gives instructions for Chinese EV manufacturers on making price offers for battery EVs, including minimum import prices and other details. The EU had imposed tariffs of up to 35.3% on Chinese EV imports in 2024 following an anti-subsidy investigation. The EU said that minimum import prices must be set at a level "appropriate to remove the injurious effects of the subsidization." Chinese EV manufacturers' plans for investments within the EU will also be considered, it said.

The country's top internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), requires that any company launching an AI tool with "public opinion properties or social mobilization capabilities" first file it in a public database: the algorithm registry. In a submission, developers must show how their products avoid 31 categories of risk, from age and gender discrimination to psychological harm to "violating core socialist values."

There's only one number that tells you whether this company thrives or continues as is: 737 MAX deliveries per month. Boeing has over 4,000 MAX jets in backlog. Airlines like United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Southwest (NYSE:LUV) are waiting. Each plane sells for roughly $55 million after discounts. The math is brutal: Boeing is targeting 38 deliveries monthly but actually delivering 20-25. That gap represents $715 million in missing revenue every single month, or $8.5 billion annually.

Open source - that might be the clearest signal of how China wants artificial intelligence to reshape its economy. Hisham Alrayes, the group CEO of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, said China is prioritizing open models and broad deployment to spread AI's gains across the economy, instead of funneling them to a few tech giants. Speaking at a Davos panel on China's "AI+ Economy" strategy on Wednesday, Alrayes said the country's approach reflects a fundamentally different economic philosophy.

Nvidia's shifting China plans over the past several months turned mostly on two things. The U.S. government worried the chips would help China gain on America in the race for AI supremacy. Then, China told the world it could quickly build its own powerful chips that would match the performance of Nvidia chips. The Chinese effort to catch Nvidia even had a name: the "Manhattan Project." It was meant to mirror the U.S. effort to build the atomic bomb in World War II.