Stories from Beijing · China

China's National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has released a notification regarding responsibility personnel for 2026. China's National Flood Control Office has organized consultations predicting a new round of heavy rainfall from April 26th to 29th in eastern Southwest China, Jianghan, Jiangnan, and South China. The designation includes personnel responsible for major rivers, large and medium-sized reservoirs, key flood control cities, and sections along the eastern and middle routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. This proactive measure aims to enhance the country's capacity to manage potential flooding events. The designation is part of ongoing efforts in water management and disaster preparedness.

China's Supreme People's Procuratorate reported that national courts have adjudicated 1,471 intellectual property cases involving punitive damages since 2021. Senior prosecutor Liu Taizong noted these cases include major infringements in chip manufacturing, design, and new energy sectors. Courts are specifically applying punitive measures to cases involving malicious trademark infringement against well-known brands. The report notes that some defendants reached settlements to stop infringement only to resume similar infringing activities later. One specific case involved a technology company and an individual named Zhou regarding trademark rights violations.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court ordered a defendant to pay 20 million yuan in punitive damages for malicious intellectual property infringement. A court has ordered a compensation payment of 200,000 yuan following a case involving the fraudulent use of Guojiao 1573 packaging for ordinary white liquor.

The United States has implemented trade restrictions on Chinese garlic to protect domestic agricultural products. The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act explicitly includes a ban on the sale of Chinese garlic in US military stores. Chinese netizens have noted the high market share China holds due to low costs and superior pricing. This move follows long-standing US trade limitations on the product.

A new robotic dog model has been released featuring 13 degrees of freedom in its joints. It is designed to navigate complex terrains including shrubs, sand, gravel, and slopes. The robot includes night lighting capabilities and is being utilized by international clients for security patrols in properties and factories. It supports night lighting and 11 different languages for interaction. Customs officials in Wu Hu report that the customs tariff system for robotics has expanded to include 13 distinct categories. This includes the addition of collaborative robots in 2023 and intelligent bionic robots in 2016. The expansion reflects increasing complexity in the classification of robotic hardware for import and export. Customs classification for robotics in China has expanded to 13 distinct categories. China is currently the world's largest producer of robots.

China's Ministry of Natural Resources has approved over 4,200 marine spatial planning projects.

The first offline exhibition themed around advanced manufacturing concluded on April 19. The Beijing International Film Festival concluded with a focus on high-tech exhibitions at the Binghu International Convention Center. The China Advanced Manufacturing Expo has organized 13 specialized technology matchmaking sessions. Chinese banks are innovating service models to address financing challenges for private technology companies, particularly those with high investment and long development cycles. Guangzhou Bank provided a three-year medium-to-long-term loan to a 5G chip enterprise, while Changsha Bank uses intellectual property pledges to match funding needs. These policies aim to support the high-quality development of the private economy.

China is developing 366 artificial intelligence demonstration application scenarios to accelerate new intelligent productive forces. China is targeting the implementation of AI across 366 specific application scenarios as part of its industrial policy. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to accelerate innovation in the software and information technology services sectors. Vice Minister Ke Jixin stated that the initiative will focus on artificial intelligence and software integration. The plan includes implementing the industrial internet innovation development project and improving the cloud service system.

A lending platform is allegedly operating an illegal lending scheme by charging interest rates as high as 3,476% annually. Consumers have used the Black Cat complaint platform to report these fraudulent schemes. These schemes often exploit social connections to facilitate criminal activities. Fraudulent lending schemes are increasingly utilizing major traffic platforms to target users through social connections. These scams involve unauthorized lending via second-hand trading platforms that lack proper lending licenses. Expert Liu Xingliang notes that these operations differ from traditional predatory lending by exploiting social relationships to facilitate illegal activities. These schemes transform borrowers into unwitting participants in spreading the scam to their own contacts.

China has released new maps detailing the location of mineral resources on the ocean floor.