The huge, amphibious plane China will use to modernise its military
Developed as part of China's military modernisation, the AG600 is designed for marine rescues and battling forest fires, with a range of 4,500km and the ability to land in 2m waves.
The AG600 can carry 50 people for maritime search-and-rescue or scoop 12 metric tonnes of water in 20 seconds for firefighting.
The state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China sees the approval as a milestone towards a more advanced aviation sector and stronger independent building capabilities.
Following successful test flights, including a 12-tonne water drop, the AG600 is expected to significantly improve forest fire rescue efficiency, according to emergency management officials.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Chinese consumer complaints show widespread padding of car sales
July 28 (Reuters) - A tactic used by Chinese automakers and dealers to inflate car sales has grown increasingly common in recent years in response to a bruising price war in the world's largest auto market, a Reuters analysis of consumer complaints has found. Earlier this month, Reuters reported EV brands Neta and Zeekr had arranged for cars to be insured before buyers purchased them, a scheme that effectively inflates sales numbers and gives the appearance the companies were hitting periodic targets. But the controversial tactic was not limited to the two companies and was employed elsewhere in the industry, according to a Reuters review of 97 separate consumer complaints published on three widely used Chinese websites. In more than a dozen cases, buyers said they were informed by dealerships that the practice was specifically designed to meet sales targets. The allegations cover some of China's largest domestic and foreign brands by sales volume, including homegrown champion BYD and Toyota, Volkswagen and Buick. The three foreign brands operate their China businesses in partnerships with state-owned giants GAC and SAIC Motor Group. While the earliest complaints date back to 2021, the majority were published this year and last as a price war squeezed an industry crucial to China's export-driven economy. Reuters reviewed complaints posted on a third-party site used for consumer dispute resolutions, and two other similar sites. The platforms require owners to verify their identity and submit proof of their allegations. In most of the cases reviewed, the automakers responded publicly, saying they sought to resolve problems. Reuters was not able to independently verify the complaints or their resolutions. It is not clear what portion of China's car sales were inflated by the insurance scheme. SAIC, which is a China joint venture partner for Volkswagen and Buick-owner General Motors, said it is committed to providing users with high-quality and standardised sales services but did not elaborate. The practice effectively disguises how much inventory automakers actually held, said Yale Zhang, managing director at consultancy Automotive Foresight. "That could lead to a misjudgment of monthly demand within the industry and result in increased production scheduling," Zhang said. Between 2021 and 2025, 48 separate buyers said on that they purchased new cars only to later discover they were already insured by the dealer. Many of the buyers said they felt deceived by the dealerships, especially when they realised the insurance on their cars was registered in other names. Likewise, there were 26 separate complaints published between 2021 and 2025 on the 315 auto consumer complaint platform, run by the state-owned China Internet Information Center. Another 23 were posted between 2022 and 2025 on Black Cat, a widely used consumer complaint platform run by tech firm Sina. In 14 complaints on the three platforms, buyers of BYD-, Neta-, Toyota-, Buick- and Chevrolet-branded cars said they were told by dealers the practice was aimed at booking sales early to meet targets. One complaint, filed in December against a SAIC GM dealer on alleged the automaker required 60 cars to be insured without buyers to meet sales targets. Another complaint on filed in April alleged a BYD store in Shaanxi told a buyer it had 12 cars insured in a batch to inflate sales last July. Buyers of Li Auto, Changan, FAW-Volkswagen and Geely also reported cars being insured pre-purchase. A Volkswagen Group China spokesperson said it refused to boost sales figures through insurance and that complaints would be investigated. Separately, Reuters identified 29 official media reports from 2020 to 2025 that detailed complaints against dealers of major brands, including BYD and Changan and foreign brands Volkswagen, GM, Toyota, Nissan and Honda, run by their joint ventures with state-owned Chinese automakers. The media outlets, across 15 provinces and cities, are controlled and owned by the regional governments. In nine cases, dealers representing FAW Hongqi, SAIC Roewe, SAIC VW, Dongfeng Nissan, GAC Toyota, GAC Honda and SAIC GM told official media that insuring unsold vehicles was for booking purchases early to meet sales targets. A Honda spokesperson said that GAC Honda prohibits dealers from taking out compulsory insurance before selling new cars and that any dealers found doing so would be dealt with severely. FAW Hongqi said it does not use insurance plans to pre-confirm sales and any such activity was not official company action. GM China said it does not require wholesale vehicles to be insured pre-purchase and that it counts deliveries, not insurance, in its sales reports. BYD, GAC Toyota, Geely, Changan, Nissan and Li Auto did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters also identified five articles published by Chinese courts between March 2023 and March 2025 about consumers taking dealers to court for concealing pre-purchase car insurance. In three of those, the court ruled for the buyers who demanded compensation. Verdicts for the other two were not publicised. Vehicles booked as sold before reaching buyers are called "zero-mileage used cars" in China. The practice emerged out of the cut-throat competition as the market deals with a years-long price war caused by chronic overcapacity. More than 100 car brands are competing intensely to survive consolidation, deepening pressure to bolster sales and take market share. Analysts and investors that track the industry use two sets of data. Wholesale figures reported by automakers to the industry association show sales from automakers to dealers, while retail data compiled from mandatory traffic insurance registrations show the number of sales to users. Accusations of selling cars with existing insurance policies date back to 2016 when a Cadillac buyer told a regional radio programme he found the car was insured before his purchase. The practice appears to have picked up after the price war started in early 2023, when several brands led by Li Auto started posting weekly sales rankings on social media based on insurance registrations. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has criticised such postings as unreliable and this month blamed them for intensifying "vicious" competition.
Telegraph
19 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Beijing keeps up rare earths pressure on Trump
China is restricting the export of critical minerals to the US as it seeks to maintain pressure on the White House ahead of trade talks this week. Despite Donald Trump striking a deal with Beijing to resume rare earths imports last month, new figures show that China has restored trade at a far slower pace than with Europe and the rest of Asia. China exported 3,188 tonnes of rare earth magnets worldwide in June, representing a 158pc jump from May. Of that total, 353 tonnes went to the US, an almost sevenfold increase from the previous month's low of 46 tonnes. But the average monthly shipment to the US in the first three months of this year was 622 tonnes, suggesting trade is barely back to half the typical level. The June tonnage was also still 52pc below the amount shipped to the US in the same month last year, representing the largest year-on-year decline of any of China's major magnet customers. Germany, the largest buyer, received 764 tonnes, up almost threefold from May and down just 25pc year-on-year. Poland, France, Hungary and South Korea also received large boosts to shipments, and had lower year-on-year declines than the US. 'While China's relationship with the US seems to be warming, Beijing will continue to keep a tight grip on critical mineral exports,' said Leah Fahy of Capital Economics. China dominates the production and processing of rare earths, and controls most of the world's supply of rare-earth magnets used in military weapons, renewable energy generation and electric vehicles. When Mr Trump threatened China with wide-ranging tariffs of up to 145pc earlier this year, Beijing responded by halting rare earths exports. This led to the President quickly caving in amid criticism from American manufacturers. He said on June 11 that he would slash tariffs to restore full access to rare earths. Meanwhile, Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng will meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday for two days of trade talks in Stockholm. Mr Bessent has described the two superpowers' trading relationship as 'in a good place', with reports emerging late on Sunday that they have agreed to extend their truce on tariffs by another 90 days. It had been expected to expire on August 12. Ahead of the talks, Mr Bessent has said he wants to address China's purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. Mr Trump has threatened 100pc tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil. If this levy were imposed on China, by far the biggest buyer, it could reignite the trans-Pacific trade war, and risk jeopardising rare-earth trade once again. Ms Lahy said China's rare-earth powers might diminish over time. 'There's only so many times China can go back and forth, using it as a way to get things out of the US, without annoying the US even more,' she said. 'And even if China starts supplying as many rare earths as it did before, the genie is out of the bottle. The West knows that China can limit its exports of these goods whenever, so they're going to look to diversify their supply chains.' Mr Bessent also wants to confront Mr He in Stockholm about what he said was 'overcapacity' at Chinese factories. The US Treasury has criticised Beijing for lavishing subsidies on its manufacturing industry. By skewing the Chinese economy towards production and exports ahead of consumption, this helps fuel China's hefty trade surplus with the US – which Mr Trump loathes. Beijing is taking steps to address this.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
UK's Cranswick's revenue rises on healthy demand for premium meat
July 28 (Reuters) - British meat producer Cranswick (CWK.L), opens new tab reported 7.9% growth in first-quarter like-for-like revenue on Monday, supported by resilient consumer demand for premium ranges as well as new business wins. The company, which supplies fresh pork, sausages, and bacon to supermarkets across Britain and exports to China, said premium meats continued to outperform as consumer appetite for natural protein, that derived from unprocessed sources like meat, is increasing. Cranswick has been expanding its operations across the pig production chain with recent acquisitions including sausage manufacturer Blakemans and UK pig genetics firm JSR Genetics . The company reported a 9.7% growth in reported revenue, partly helped by Blakemans' integration. The East Yorkshire based company has been ramping up capital spending to boost capacity, across its sites and said it has committed an additional 14 million pounds ($18.78 million) to expand output and product range at its Lincoln pet food facility. For the full year ending March 28, Cranswick expects to report adjusted pre-tax profit in line with market expectations of between 206.5 million pounds and 213.6 million pounds, according to a company compiled poll. ($1 = 0.7457 pounds)
