China

Xinhua | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Political Scandal or Corruption

Taiwan's legislature held the first plenary meeting to review an impeachment motion against leader Lai Ching-te on January 21, 2026. Lai was invited to attend and provide explanations but did not appear. The impeachment motion, submitted by lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party, had been approved on December 26, 2025.

This meeting was the first of four scheduled sessions for Lai to respond in person, with the remaining meetings planned for January 22 and May 13 and 14. Lai declined the invitation in a letter, stating that the legislature had no authority to question him. The KMT caucus criticized Lai for his absence, interpreting it as a sign of guilt and cowardice.

During the meeting, lawmakers placed satirical cardboard cutouts of Lai to express their dissatisfaction. KMT lawmaker Fu Kun-chi accused Lai of lacking courage and criticized the Democratic Progressive Party for allegedly harming Taiwan's interests in areas such as tariff negotiations with the United States and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s overseas expansion. The legislature is expected to vote on the impeachment on May 19, 2026.

Peoples Daily | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | UndeterminedTaxes

In 2025, China's manufacturing sector accelerated its shift toward intelligent and green development, solidifying its role as a key stabilizer of the national economy. The sector's sales revenue growth exceeded the national average by 1.7 percentage points, reaching 29.7 percent of the country’s total sales revenue, a 0.5-percentage-point increase from 2024.

Procurement of automated and digital equipment by manufacturing enterprises rose by 11.3 percent and 10 percent respectively, illustrating progress in intelligent transformation and digital upgrading. The intelligent equipment manufacturing industry's sales revenue jumped 28.1 percent, supported by output increases in industrial robots (17.4 percent) and special operation robots (42.1 percent).

The share of high-energy-consuming manufacturing enterprises' sales revenue declined by 1.1 percentage points, indicating ongoing industrial structure optimization. Spending on environmental governance services by manufacturing enterprises also increased steadily. Moreover, procurement of digital technologies surged 10.4 percent in value, an acceleration of 3.5 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Going forward, China's tax authorities plan to implement preferential tax and fee policies to support the sector's transformation and upgrading. They will continue optimizing tax and fee services to promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry.

Xinhua | English | News | Jan. 23, 2026 | Regulation

China's Ministry of Finance issued a notice on January 21, 2026, to curb excessively low bidding in government procurement, effective February 1, 2026. The measure aims to reduce involution-style competition and promote a healthy market environment where quality is rewarded with fair pricing.

The notice requires procuring entities to set reasonable price ceilings and configure appropriate procurement packages to support competitive bidding. Financial authorities will oversee bid evaluations, and if evaluation committees fail to properly review abnormally low bids, corrective actions will be taken, including legal accountability for responsible experts.

Procurement entities are also mandated to ensure performance acceptance procedures comply with legal standards, with thorough reviews of all technical and commercial contract requirements during inspections and complaint handling.