Daily Buzz: 12 January 2026

Chinese Academic Warns Against US Intervention in Iran

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, warned of "significant impact" if the US military intervenes in Iran, the Global Times reported on Sunday. "If strikes were launched against Iran, Iran would certainly retaliate in the most intense manner," he said, adding that it would create serious regional tensions after a period of relative calm. US media said US President Donald Trump has been briefed on options for attacks in Iran, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran. Trump has been threatening to intervene amid protests in the country triggered by the soaring cost of living.

China's Xinhua news agency, citing Iran state media, said at least 109 members of Iran's security forces have been killed in clashes since the protests began 14 days ago, and noted that human-rights groups outside the country put the number of protesters killed at 200 or more, though this figure could not be independently verified.

On Sunday, Trump posted on his social media site: "Iran is looking at freedom perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help." Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei urged Iranian citizens to maintain unity and blamed the US for inciting the demonstrations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a Sunday televised interview, said his government is prepared to address the economic grievances driving the protests but warned that "rioters" will not be tolerated.

US Tells Americans to Leave Venezuela

The US urged any of its citizens living in Venezuela to leave the country immediately, amid reports of armed paramilitary groups setting up roadblocks to search for Americans a week after the US attacked Venezuela, captured its president Nicolas Maduro and took over the oil industry. The volatile situation in the country is among concerns raised by US oil executives who met President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday and were non-committal toward his claim that they will spend US$100 billion to rebuild Venezuela's oil industry, battered by years of decaying infrastructure and mismanagement. Exxon Mobil Chief Executive told Trump Venezuela is currently "uninvestable." Though Maduro is gone, the remainder of his regime remains intact in Caracas.

Separately, Trump turned his sights on Cuba, saying no more Venezuelan oil or money will go to the island and Havana needs to "make a deal with the US before it's too late." Caracas has long been a backbone of support for Cuba, which is under a longstanding embargo by Washington. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump's threat.

Japanese Prime Minister Mulls February Snap Election

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call a snap general election for February, the head of her party's coalition partner said on Sunday. The early vote would allow Takaichi, who comes from the right-wing of the Liberal Democratic Party, to take advantage of high public approval ratings. Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the Japan Innovation Party, said he met with Takaichi on Friday and her inclination to call an early election has shifted to a "new stage." Takaichi, a fiscal dove, has proposed a US$783 billion spending program to boost the economy. The next general election doesn't have to be held until October 2028.

US Strikes More ISIS Targets in Syria

The US carried out more air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria this weekend as part of an operation that started in mid-December following the deaths of two US soldiers there in an attack by Islamic State militants, CNN reported. A US official said the weekend attacked involved 90 precision munitions targeted at more than 35 sites. Hundreds of US troops remain in Syria since Washington launched its mission against ISIS about 10 years ago.

Top Business

Chinese AI Firms Confident of Closing Gap with US

Chinese companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence told the AGI-Next forum in Beijing's "Silicon Valley" this weekend that the nation lags the US in AI but can narrow the technological gap in coming years, despite Washington restrictions on export of advanced chipmaking tools. Lin Junyang, technical head of Alibaba's flagship Qwen large language model, said there is a 20 percent chance that a Chinese company will become the world's leading AI firm in the next 3-5 years, considering the gap in computing power and research culture between China and US. "US computer infrastructure is likely one to two orders of magnitude larger than ours," he said. "They're investing heavily in next-generation research while we are relatively strapped for cash, and delivery alone consumes the majority of our computer infrastructure."

Yao Shunyu, a former OpenAI researcher who has joined Tencent as its chief AI scientist, said the two nations have different advantages, with China strong in applications and innovative scenarios. "Currently, we have a significant advantage in electricity and infrastructure. The main bottlenecks are production capacity, including lithography machines," Yao said. China has developed a prototype of a lithography machine capable of producing cutting-edge semiconductor chips that rival those of the West, but production of working chips is some years away.

Tang Jie, founder of startup ZhipuAi, said "young Chinese AI entrepreneurs are willing to embrace high-risk ventures -- a positive development." Participants praised the future of AI and China's goal of becoming self-sufficient in technology.

China Unveils New Computing Architecture

Chinese researchers have developed a novel computing architecture that significantly boosts computing power by enabling hardware-based, so-called "Fourier transform processing." The breakthrough, led by a team from Peking University, delivers nearly a fourfold increase in performance. The findings were published this month in "Nature Electronics," citing potential applications spanning artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, autonomous driving, brain-computer interfaces and communications systems. The architecture allows different types of computation to be processed in their most suitable physical domains, improving efficiency and reducing energy use.

Britain Threatens to Ban Grok, Indonesia Already Has

The UK government threatened fines and a possible ban on Elon Musk's X social media site after revelations that an AI Grok chatbot tool on the site was being used to produced altered, sexual images of children and women. Government ministers said the tool should be removed. Musk accused them of wanting to "suppress free speech." Indonesia has blocked the Grok chatbot, citing the risk of pornographic content. UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the Guardian after a White House meeting that US Vice President JD Vance agreed with him that such images are unacceptable on social media platforms. The Grok tool allows users to "undress" images and reformat them, with extreme users instructing the chatbot to show bruising and blood, and women being tied up.

China Carmakers Accelerate Price Cuts

China's auto market has entered a new round of intense competition, with more than 20 carmakers rolling out aggressive promotional campaigns. Since January 1, over 75 vehicle models have launched price reductions through a wide range of incentives, including direct cash subsidies, fixed "one-price" offers, interest-free auto loans of up to five years, and combined trade-in and government-backed subsidies. Some manufacturers are also introducing upgraded models with added features but unchanged prices. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said the latest price competition falls short of a full-scale price war but he expects pressure on prices to persist this year amid abundant supply and uneven growth in demand.

Economy & Markets

China Launches Rare Earth Price Index

China's first comprehensive rare earth price index was launched on January 9, marking a step toward greater pricing transparency in the strategic materials market. The index, released by the Baotou Rare Earth Products Exchange, is based on transaction data from its own trading platform, combined with verified commercial trade data. It covers major rare earth that include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium, which are widely used in high-tech manufacturing and clean energy applications. The launch comes as rare earth prices continue to edge higher. On Friday, the Baogang Group and China Northern Rare Earth Group both announced plans to raise first-quarter prices for rare earth concentrates by 2.4 percent, the sixth consecutive increase since the third quarter of 2024.

US Dumps Plan to Bar Chinese Drones

The US government said it has dropped a plan to impose restrictions on Chinese drones. That follows a decision by the US Federal Communications Commission last month to bar imports of new models of foreign-made drones and their critical components, citing national security concerns. The ban was mostly aimed at Chinese drone makers DJI and Autel, principal suppliers of drones to the US market. Analysts said the U-turn may be related to US President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to China in April.

Memory Chip Supplies to Significantly Lag Demand

The business chief officer of Micron Technology told CNBC at the CES trade show in Las Vegas that the insatiable appetite for chips from AI companies like Nvidia, Google and Advanced Micro Devices this year will dry up supplies of RAM memory chips used across computer-device industries. ″We have seen a very sharp, significant surge in demand for memory, and it has far outpaced our ability to supply global demand," said Sumit Sadana. Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are the three principal makers of the chips used in short-term data storage. Prices for memory chips have been soaring, with rises of about 50 percent forecast for the first quarter.

Corporate

Aerofugia Secures 300 Orders for Low-Flying Aircraft

Aerofugia, a Chinese developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, said it has received orders for 300 of its flagship AE200 model from AVIC International Leasing and Suyin Financial Leasing. The AE200 is a six-seater aircraft with a range of 200 kilometers, design for urban commercial passenger transport, tourism and emergency rescues. Chinese government policy is encouraging development of what it calls the "low altitude" sector.

Disney Boss Meets China Officials

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger met with Chinese officials in Beijing, seeking strengthen the company's foothold in a country where it operates a popular Disneyland resort. Xinhua reported that Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang encouraged Disney to invest further in China. Iger expressed confidence in China's development and said the company plans to expand investment in China.

Unmanned 1-Ton-Cargo Drone Completes Maiden Flight

Xi'an Aisheng Technology completed a successful maiden flight of its unmanned transport drone Tianma-1000 on Sunday, Xinhua reported. The aircraft has the capacity to carry a maximum payload of 1 ton and a range of up to 1,800 kilometers. It was developed for logistics transport and emergency rescue missions. Aisheng is an affiliate of China North Industries Group.