NEWS / the week of August 7-14, 2026
Current news about China and the Chinese people
NOTE: The news reports below are not in chronological order. There is often a time lag in their reaching the US and in gaining our attention. These reports reflect the opinions of a variety of news sources.
Social Concerns
In Taiwan, Chinese-born spouses face questions of loyalty and, some say, discrimination / August 12, 2026
That’s because Li is a “mainland spouse” — born in China and a citizen of Taiwan through marriage. She’s part of a community of some 369,000 people on the island who are subject to rapidly changing policies — and some say discrimination — as tensions rise with China and Taiwan’s government questions the spouses’ allegiances.
Former Premier Zhu Rongji dies at 97 / August 12, 2026
Zhu, often called China’s “economic czar,” served as premier 1998–2003. He drove major market reforms, overhauled state-owned enterprises (leading to millions of layoffs), modernized the tax/financial system, and led negotiations for China’s WTO entry, helping fuel decades of rapid growth. State media announced he died of illness in Beijing.
Weather & Challenges
Typhoon Dolphin and flooding / August 14, 2026
Typhoon Dolphin (strongest of the year for China) made landfall in Zhejiang, caused widespread disruption (including in Shanghai), then moved inland. It brought extreme rain to Hubei, Henan, and parts of Beijing, with flooding, road closures, tourist site shutdowns (e.g., Three Gorges Dam area), and construction suspensions. Later reports noted levee breaches in Henan (e.g., Zhoukou on the Jialu River), evacuations (hundreds to thousands in affected areas), and emergency responses; no major casualty figures highlighted in Western coverage of the latest phase.
International Trade & Economics
Pony.ai and Uber expand robotaxi plans in Europe / August 14, 2026
Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai announced plans with Uber to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe (building on an existing service in Zagreb, Croatia, and expanding to four more cities), plus exploration in the Middle East. Pony.ai supplies Level 4 tech and operational experience; Uber provides the platform.
Chinese chipmaker SMIC raised prices amid strong AI-related demand / August 13, 2026
Trump White House says it’s losing billions a year in revenue as countries dodge tariffs / August 13, 2026
DeepSeek launched its V4 Pro model / August 14, 2026
China rejected New Zealand intelligence claims of interference as false / August 13, 2026
Philippine President Marcos expressed optimism on joint oil/gas exploration with China / August 14, 2026
despite maritime tensions.
Microsoft is reportedly scaling back some China exposure / August 13, 2026
while keeping AI-related ties open.
Mudslide in eastern China killed one person / August 14, 2026
amid ongoing heavy rain.
EV production shifts to new markets / August 12, 2026
Chinese automakers are increasingly shifting from exporting vehicles to building them in Africa, betting that rapid urbanization, a growing middle class and supportive government policies will make the continent one of the industry’s last major growth markets.