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China's military moved army, naval, air force and rocket force units around Taiwan on Monday (Dec 29) for ⁠its "Justice Mission 2025" drills, aimed at testing combat readiness and delivering a "stern warning" against moves toward Taiwanese independence, Reuters reported. 

The Eastern Theatre Command announced the drills will involve live-fire exercises on Tuesday, in a statement containing a graphic demarcating five zones surrounding the island that will be under sea and air space ⁠restrictions for 10 hours from 8.30am.

This marks China's sixth major round of war games since 2022 after then-US House Speaker ⁠Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governed island, and follow a rise in Chinese rhetoric over Beijing's ‍territorial claims after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo, according to Reuters. 

China is likely to have loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles across its latest three silo fields and has no desire for arms control talks, according to a draft Pentagon report which highlighted Beijing’s growing military ambitions, Reuters reported. 

China is expanding and modernizing its weapons stockpile faster than any other nuclear-armed power, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a Chicago-based non-profit. Beijing has described reports of a military buildup as efforts to “smear and defame China and deliberately mislead the international community.”

Last month, US President Donald Trump said that he may be working on a plan to denuclearise with China and Russia. But the draft Pentagon report, which was seen by Reuters, said Beijing did not appear to be interested, according to Reuters. 

China on Wednesday launched the Kinetica-1, also known as the Lijian-1 Y11 carrier rocket with nine satellites onboard, including three international payloads for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Nepal. After delivering the nine satellites to their preset orbits, the launch mission was declared a complete success, The Global Times reports.  

According to the rocket developer CAS Space, most of the satellites, owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will support applications including urban planning, disaster prevention and mitigation, water resources, and meteorology, according to the report. 
 

Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal has underscored the need for reinforcing economic cooperation between Nepal and China and increasing investment accordingly.

In his address at a program on Nepal-China cooperation and investment organized on Tuesday, Finance Minister Khanal informed that the Nepal government had launched various schemes for economic reform, so Chinese investors could mobilize their capital with confidence.

Nepal and China can further enhance cooperation by identifying various sectors of investment so that it could help attract foreign investment, according to him.

On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song, talked on multidimensional relations between China and Nepal. 

China is interested in investing in industry, energy and construction of infrastructures in Nepal, he informed.

Boosting tourism collaboration between China and Nepal can help strengthen mutual exchanges in various other fields, including economy, trade and culture, bolstering bilateral ties and advancing people-to-people bonds, Nepali experts said.

According to the latest statistics released by the Nepal Tourism Board, or NTB, the Himalayan nation recorded over 1 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first 11 months of 2025. The country welcomed 1,060,269 foreign tourists from January to November, compared with 1,055,520 visitors in the corresponding period last year.

India retained the top spot among the source markets for foreign tourists during the period, followed by the United States, while China ranked third with 86,800 arrivals recorded during the 11 months.

The robust volume of Chinese tourists in Nepal came as 2025 was designated as "Visit Nepal Year in China". The year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two neighbors.

"It is very important to keep enhancing people-to-people friendship through tourism, art performances, educational cooperation," said Harish Chandra Shah, president of the Nepal China Cultural and Educational Council.

He said Nepal and China enjoy common cultural affinity, social linkages and familial relations, but they also have different, diverse cultures and traditions.

Shah said that efforts have been underway in the recent past to boost cooperation and exchanges between the two sides. Among such initiatives, a conference was held in Kathmandu in May this year to promote collaboration between China and Nepal in the fields of cultural tourism and road-rail transport. The event led to the signing of agreements on tea trade and cultural tourism exchange.

Suresh Man Maharjan, founder and CEO of Himalayan Legends, a tour operator based in Kathmandu, said Nepal has particular charm for Chinese tourists, due to the vast diversity of landscapes as well as a wide range of activities that the landlocked nation offers, including exploring its folk culture and arts, ancient civilization, learning about its exotic flora and fauna, taking part in hiking and trekking, and enjoying adventure sports such as paragliding and river rafting.

Immersive travel

He said apart from the traditional mode of tourism, a new mode of immersive travel has been fostering closer ties. Here, primary and middle school students are offered an opportunity to experience Nepali folk music, or enjoy homestays in Nepal's villages.

"The latter can help young students from China gain an idea of the authentic lifestyle of the local villagers who live at the foot of the Himalayan mountains so they can understand each other's culture and customs," said the Nepali travel expert.

"This new mode of experience-based tours will become increasingly popular in future as participants can actively pursue knowledge about Nepal rather than just go sightseeing."

China and Nepal have enjoyed good connectivity, said experts in the travel industry. Himalaya Airlines, a China-Nepal joint venture based in Kathmandu, has been operating direct flights between Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city, and Lhasa, the capital city of China's Xizang autonomous region, and between Kathmandu and Southwest China's Chongqing.

Earlier this year, the carrier started the first-ever direct commercial flights between Lhasa and Pokhara, Nepal's second-largest city and a popular tourist attraction.

Prakash Pun, a tourism promoter in Hong Kong for Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said that tourism can help bridge the gap or narrow differences between people and cultures.

"It will lead to more frequent commercial activities and diplomatic exchanges between the two sides," he said. Source: China Daily

Japan is threatening China militarily which is “completely unacceptable”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart, after Japan said that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft, Reuters reported. 

Japan has denounced the encounter as a dangerous act, though China has blamed Japan for sending aircraft to repeatedly approach and disrupt the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.

Relations have soured in the past month since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned that Japan could respond to any Chinese military action against Taiwan if it also threatened Japan’s security, according to Reuters. 

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said it was “shocking” for Japan’s leader to openly send a wrong signal concerning Taiwan, according to an official statement on Sunday, the latest remarks in a row that has shaken relations for more than two weeks, AFP reported.

Wang, the most senior Chinese official to have commented publicly on the issue, said Japan was crossing a red line that must not be touched, according to the statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.

He accused Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of attempting to intervene militarily over Taiwan. Wang was referring to comments on November 7 in which she told a questioner in parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo, according to AFP.

China is recalibrating its Nepal policy in the aftermath of the GenZ protests that caught Beijing off guard. The demonstrations and widespread arson—unprecedented in scale—forced several countries, including China, to urgently evacuate their officials and citizens from Nepal.

Since the protests, Nepal-China relations have noticeably slowed. While other major countries such as India, the US, Japan, and members of the European Union have already resumed full engagement with the new government at multiple levels, interaction between Nepal and China has remained limited.

In the early days of the unrest, Beijing was particularly concerned about its security interests in Nepal. The fall of the KP Sharma Oli-led government was a troubling development for China. Until the Sept 8–9 protests, bilateral ties were progressing steadily. Just beforehand, China had invited Oli to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, where Nepal is a dialogue partner. Oli met President Xi Jinping on the sidelines, took part in China’s Victory Day parade, and earlier had signed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework agreement during an official visit, an outcome that had energized Beijing’s engagement with Kathmandu. China was also preparing a five-year cooperation plan with Nepal and expanding support in agriculture, health, and other sectors. Its engagement with Nepali political parties, including the Nepali Congress, was also deepening.

The GenZ movement, however, appears to have triggered new anxieties in Beijing. Media reports alleging the involvement of Tibetan Original Blood (TOB) raised concerns about external influence. Some left-leaning political leaders further fueled this by suggesting geopolitical motives behind the protests. Additional reports that the government was considering appointing youth leaders allegedly close to the Dalai Lama heightened Beijing’s unease.

Compounding these tensions, the Sushila Karki-led transitional government decided to recall Nepal’s Ambassador to China, Krishna Prasad Oli, who is close to the dismissed prime minister Oli. It did not, however, recall the Ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma. China’s displeasure was evident: notably, the Chinese premier did not send a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Karki, an unprecedented break from diplomatic tradition.

Amid this uncertainty, China moved quickly to protect what it views as its security interests. Ambassador Chen Song raised concerns with top Nepali officials, including Prime Minister Karki and senior officials at the Foreign Ministry. They assured Beijing that the new government remains fully committed to the One-China policy, as previous governments had been.

Chinese officials were encouraged by support from Nepali political leaders, the public, and sections of the media who echoed China’s concerns. In a recent meeting with journalists, Ambassador Chen Song said: “The current government’s commitment to the One-China principle is not less than that of the previous government.”

With these assurances, Beijing’s immediate worries appear to have eased, though several Chinese delegations have since arrived in Nepal to assess the situation firsthand.

Regarding the GenZ movement and upcoming elections, Ambassador Chen has conveyed to Nepali leaders that China will not interfere in domestic political affairs and respects decisions made by the Nepali people. At the same time, Beijing has pledged support for Nepal’s reconstruction and electoral processes.

However, China does not appear optimistic about achieving tangible progress under the interim government, particularly on BRI-related initiatives. Although China continues to work on BRI projects from its side, meaningful progress remains unlikely. Many of the 10 selected projects are seen as unproductive, shaped largely by the political interests of major parties. Still, China’s growing engagement in Nepal’s health and education sectors is expected to continue.

The GenZ protests have also affected tourism cooperation. China had declared 2025 as Nepal Visit Year, but Chinese tourist numbers have sharply declined. Before the protests, the two countries were deepening collaboration on tourism promotion, but the political upheaval has significantly disrupted momentum, and officials expect a further drop in Chinese arrivals in the coming months.

For now, China’s approach appears to be maintaining a working relationship with the Karki administration, prioritising the protection of its core interests while keeping expectations low on broader bilateral progress.

Nepal’s landlocked position between India and China, two of the world’s fastest-growing economies, presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, Nepal’s dependence on external gateways for international trade increases shipping costs, extends delivery times, and exposes exporters to monopolistic practices by shipping lines and intermediaries at transit or transshipment ports. These inefficiencies, coupled with risks of fraud in the supply chain, have reduced Nepal’s competitiveness in the global market.

Logistics costs in Nepal are estimated to account for about 25–30 percent of the total value of products, factoring in documentation time, bank and customs procedures, and transit delays. This high cost base hinders exports and slows industrial growth.

Yet, Nepal also holds distinct advantages. Its strategic location at the crossroads of South and East Asia, the potential to expand its manufacturing base, and a strong private sector active in freight forwarding for exports all position the country for growth. However, import handling, customs brokerage, warehousing, and distribution services remain underdeveloped.

In the absence of an integrated Industrial and Logistics Master Plan (ILMP), Nepal has been unable to fully leverage these strengths. The ILMP seeks to bridge this gap by integrating trade facilitation, industrial development, and logistics modernization into a unified national strategy. It recognizes logistics as the fourth pillar of competitiveness—alongside policy, infrastructure, and skills—and envisions transforming logistics into a sector that drives industrial diversification, export growth, and regional integration.

Why industrial–logistics synergy matters

For a landlocked economy like Nepal, efficient logistics are crucial for reducing trade costs, improving reliability, and connecting businesses to regional and global value chains. Fragmented logistics systems impose high transaction costs, cause unpredictable delivery schedules, and undermine confidence in international trade.

Integrating industrial and logistics planning means ensuring that dry ports, ICDs, logistics parks, cold chains, and customs points are physically and operationally linked to industrial zones, SEZs, and trade corridors. It also requires aligning industrial investment policies with those promoting logistics service providers (LSPs), enabling both sectors to grow in tandem and attract greater foreign direct investment (FDI).

Nepal’s logistics and industrial ecosystem

Over the past decade, Nepal’s logistics landscape has evolved significantly. The country now has dry ports and inland container depots (ICDs) in Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Biratnagar, Chobhar, and Tatopani, among others. The private sector, especially members of the Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA), has played a key role in linking customs operations, transportation, and storage along major supply chains.

Despite these gains, challenges persist: limited multimodal connectivity, long border wait times, a complex policy environment, inadequate infrastructure for cold chain and e-commerce logistics, and limited adoption of digital systems for supply chain management and risk mitigation.

The ILMP aims to address these issues by ensuring that logistics are treated not as an afterthought but as a core component of industrial policy, fostering closer coordination between production hubs and logistics nodes.

Regional context: Corridors for connectivity

Nepal’s unique location between India and China makes it an ideal candidate to evolve from a landlocked to a land-linked nation, a vital transit bridge in South and East Asia. The South Corridor (India–Nepal) remains Nepal’s primary trade route through Indian ports, while the North Corridor (China–Nepal) and the East–West domestic corridor present new opportunities for balanced industrial growth and regional integration.

However, high costs, lengthy procedures, and repetitive documentation requirements across borders continue to constrain trade. Strengthening regional connectivity therefore requires proactive diplomatic and technical negotiations with transit countries—supported by a robust logistics master plan that builds confidence among neighbors to use Nepal’s territory as a transit or transshipment route.

Responding to global megatrends

Global supply chains are being reshaped by three major forces: digitalization, decarbonization, and resilience. To stay competitive, Nepal must embrace these trends by developing digital trade systems, promoting green logistics infrastructure, and building resilient, shock-absorbing supply chains that can adapt to global disruptions.

Vision for the future

Nepal’s vision should be to transform itself from a landlocked country into a land-linked, competitive, and sustainable industrial and logistics hub connecting South and East Asia. This vision centers on empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs), integrating into global supply chains, and boosting national competitiveness.

Strategic priorities include: developing industrial-logistics corridors; strengthening private sector participation; accelerating digitalization; ensuring environmental sustainability, and building human capital to drive logistics innovation

The way forward

Freight forwarders and logistics service providers identify five key strategies outlined in the ILMP to realize this transformation: integrated planning, infrastructure modernization, policy coherence, governance and skills development, and regional integration

The Industrial and Logistics Master Plan (ILMP) is more than a blueprint for infrastructure; it is a roadmap for Nepal’s transformation. By positioning logistics as a catalyst for competitiveness, openness, and resilience, the ILMP represents a shared vision between policymakers and freight forwarders to turn Nepal’s geography from a constraint into an advantage. It marks a strategic shift from being landlocked to becoming land-linked, unlocking Nepal’s potential as a dynamic connector between the world’s fastest-growing regions.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Wednesday that 45-year-old Shao Jiayi has been appointed as the new head coach of China's men's national football team, Xinhua reported.

Born in 1980, Shao represented China at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan and played for several seasons in the German Bundesliga. After retiring, he once served as assistant coach of the national team and worked with various Chinese youth national teams as team leader and assistant coach.

Shao took charge of Chinese Super League (CSL) side Qingdao West Coast in July 2024. This season, the team currently sits ninth in the CSL with nine wins, ten draws and ten losses, according to Xinhua. 

Taiwan must be allowed full and equal participation when China hosts Apec in 2026, the US State Department said on Nov 5, after Taipei complained that Beijing had "added a lot of conditions" to its attendance, Reuters reported.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) is one of the only international bodies Chinese-claimed Taiwan is a member of, and next November's summit in Shenzhen will come as relations between Taipei and Beijing have plummeted amid a stepped-up Chinese military pressure campaign against the island.

China's foreign ministry said this week that Taiwan's participation in Apec activities must comply with the "one China" principle, which Beijing views as meaning both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one country, something Taipei's government rejects, according to Reuters.

Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Nov 5 that China has “added a lot of conditions” to its attendance at 2026’s Apec summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen and gone back on a commitment to allow “equal” participation, Reuters reported.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) is one of the only international bodies Chinese-claimed Taiwan is a member of, and next November’s summit will come as relations between Taipei and Beijing have plummeted amid a stepped-up Chinese military pressure campaign against the island.

Taiwan says it had been promised by China in 2024 the right to “equal participation” and that the safety of its people attending would be guaranteed, according to Reuters.

A Chinese court has sentenced five top members of an infamous Myanmar mafia to death as Beijing continues its crackdown on scam operations in South East Asia, BBC reported.

In all 21 Bai family members and associates were convicted of fraud, homicide, injury and other crimes, said a state media report published on the court website.

The family is among a handful of mafias that rose to power in the 2000s and transformed the impoverished backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative hub of casinos and red-light districts, according to BBC.

Beijing has said it will loosen a chip export ban it imposed after Dutch authorities took over Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chipmaker based in the Netherlands, BBC reported.

In September, the Netherlands invoked a Cold War-era law to take control of Nexperia, stating "serious governance shortcomings" which could impact the availability of chips - which are critical for making cars - in an emergency.

China said in response that it would not re-export Nexperia chips completed in its Chinese factories to Europe. Last month, the likes of Volvo Cars and Volkswagen warned it could lead to temporary shutdowns at their plants, according to BBC.

China's state-owned COFCO bought three U.S. soybean cargoes, two trade sources said, the country's first purchases from this year's U.S. harvest, shortly before a summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, Reuters reported.

As the two nations battle over trade tariffs, the lack of Chinese buying has cost U.S. farmers billions of dollars in lost sales, after they largely supported Trump in his campaigns for president.

Although COFCO's deal for December-January shipment of about 180,000 metric tons of soybeans was China's first such buy in months, traders do not expect a significant resumption in demand for U.S. cargoes after recent large South American purchases, according to Reuters .

COFCO did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

China’s exports to the United States fell 27% in September from the year before, even though growth in its global exports hit a six-month high, Associated Press reported.

Customs figures released Monday showed that China’s worldwide exports were 8.3% higher than a year earlier, at $328.5 billion, surpassing economists’ estimates. That was markedly better than the 4.4% year-on-year increase in August.

Imports grew 7.4% last month, significantly better than a 1.3% increase by year in August, although a weaker domestic economy and a real estate sector downturn continue to weigh on demand and consumption, according to Associated Press.