Chinese authorities have announced a package of measures to “expand exchanges and cooperation” with Taiwan, which includes accelerating the resumption of regular direct passenger flights across the Taiwan Strait and easing certain trade restrictions, particularly regarding the admission of some Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products to the mainland market.
According to reports, Beijing intends to “accelerate the full resumption” of regular direct flights, including routes to and from the cities of Urumqi, Xi’an, Harbin, Kunming, and Lanzhou, as well as expand support measures for the sale of Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products on the mainland while complying with quarantine requirements.
A separate item in the announced initiatives mentions plans to deepen infrastructure “integration” with the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen and Matsu—specifically, support for projects on the shared use of resources (water, electricity, gas) and the promotion of the construction of sea bridges “when conditions permit.”
In Taipei, in response to these statements, officials emphasized that any decisions on official matters regarding cross-strait relations must be made through the Taiwanese government, not through party or informal channels, calling Beijing’s initiatives politically motivated.
The results of a public opinion poll conducted in March 2026 by the research company Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club information and analysis centre reveal a complex and contradictory pattern in Ukrainians’ attitudes towards China. Overall, 20.3% of respondents expressed a positive attitude, whilst 42.0% expressed a negative one. Compared to August 2025, positive assessments have risen (from 12.0%), but negative ones have also increased slightly (from 40.7%), indicating not a shift in the balance but a deepening of polarisation.
A more detailed breakdown of the responses shows that only 7.7% of those surveyed have a ‘completely positive’ attitude towards China, whilst 12.6% have a ‘mostly positive’ one. At the same time, the proportion of neutral assessments is significant — 34.3% — indicating a lack of a clear position among a significant proportion of respondents.
The negative segment is dominant and is predominantly moderate in nature: 33.1% chose the ‘mostly negative’ option, with a further 8.9% selecting ‘entirely negative’. This suggests that negative perceptions of China are not sharply radicalised, but remain persistent and widespread. The proportion of those who are undecided stands at 3.5%.
Comparative trends indicate a certain increase in interest in or reassessment of China, reflected in a rise in positive assessments. However, the parallel rise in negative sentiment suggests the absence of a single trend. Rather, it indicates the formation of more pronounced positions — both positive and critical.
“Ukrainians today quite clearly distinguish between a country’s economic weight and its perception in a political and social context. In the case of China, this is particularly evident: on the one hand, there is an awareness of its role in the global economy, and on the other, a reserved or negative attitude. This is precisely why we are seeing a simultaneous rise in both positive and negative assessments,” noted Oleksandr Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group.
The high proportion of neutral responses is also an important indicator. It may indicate a limited level of personal experience of interaction or a lack of awareness among some respondents. In such conditions, public opinion remains sensitive to changes in the information environment and the foreign policy context.
“The modern international economy is shaped not only by trade, but also by trust and the perception of partners. If a country is present in the market but is not associated with investment, technology or support, this affects its image in society. In the case of China, we see a clear example of such an asymmetry between economic presence and perception. Our people are guided by emotions and the picture presented by the media, rather than by concrete facts and statistics. It should be added that if Ukrainian citizens really did have such a negative attitude towards China, there would be a de facto self-imposed embargo on the purchase of Chinese technology, clothing and other goods, but this is not the case; China remains the number one trading partner, which would be difficult without a positive or neutral attitude towards the country. “Another issue is that China should also strengthen its presence in Ukraine in the fields of humanitarian aid, educational and scientific exchange, cultural diplomacy, and so on,” noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical centre.
Overall, the survey results indicate that China remains an important but ambiguous partner for Ukrainians. Positive assessments are on the rise, but they do not alter the overall balance, which is dominated by a cautiously negative perception. This points to the need for a deeper analysis of the factors shaping public opinion, as well as the potential for its further transformation depending on the development of economic and political relations.
According to a study conducted by the Experts Club information and analytical centre based on data from the State Customs Service, China is the leader in terms of total trade in goods with Ukraine, with a figure exceeding $21 billion. At the same time, imports from China significantly exceed exports of Ukrainian goods, resulting in a substantial trade deficit.
The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine press centre; the video can be viewed on the agency’s YouTube channel. The full version of the study can be found via this link on the Experts Club analytical centre’s website.
ACTIVE GROUP, CHINA, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SURVEYS, UKRAINE, URAKIN
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia is increasingly becoming a key industrial platform for China to enter the European market. This is no longer a matter of scattered investments, but rather a well-established system that integrates metallurgy, mining, transport infrastructure, and export channels.
A turning point was the acquisition by the Chinese company HBIS of the steel plant in Smederevo in 2016 for approximately €46 million, followed by investments in modernization. The second major flagship project was Zijin Mining’s expansion in Serbia’s copper sector—in Bora and at the Čukaru-Peki deposit, where total investment commitments exceeded €3 billion. This allowed Serbia to take a more prominent place in the European steel and copper supply chain.
Analysts emphasize that Chinese capital in Serbia controls several links in the industrial chain at once: copper mining, processing and smelting, steel production, and the export of products to European markets. Against this backdrop, Serbia is increasingly acting not merely as a recipient of foreign investment, but as a functional extension of China’s industrial base within the European economic space.
This is also reflected in trade. By 2025, China had become Serbia’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $7 billion. At the same time, a significant portion of exports from Serbia to China is provided by Chinese companies operating in the country, primarily in the copper and metallurgical sectors.
Infrastructure plays a distinct role. Analysts link the new model to projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including the Belgrade–Budapest railway, bridges, highways, and logistics hubs. In this system, Serbia serves as a transit hub between Piraeus, the Balkans, and Central Europe, reducing transportation costs and speeding up deliveries to the EU.
In addition to metals, China’s presence is expanding in the manufacturing sector as well. Consider the Linglong tire plant in Zrenjanin, valued at around €900 million, as well as projects by Hisense in Valjevo and the Minth Group in the automotive components sector. These manufacturers leverage Serbia’s lower costs and its trade preferences for supplying the EU market.
The country’s trade architecture has been an additional factor. Serbia combines preferential access to the EU market with a free trade agreement with China, which entered into force in 2024. As a result, the country has become a rare hub where Chinese capital can operate simultaneously under both European and non-European trade regimes.
At the same time, this model faces new constraints. The importance of the energy transition and the CBAM mechanism is growing, which could increase costs for Serbia’s energy-intensive export sectors. This is pushing Chinese investors toward the next phase—investments in renewable energy, storage, and grid infrastructure—to maintain the competitiveness of assets in Serbia on the European market.
Thus, Serbia is increasingly establishing itself as an industrial and logistics hub between China and Europe. However, the further development of this role will depend on Belgrade’s ability to simultaneously retain Chinese capital and adapt to the EU’s stricter regulatory requirements.
The combined profits of China’s large industrial companies in January–February 2026 rose by 15.2% compared to the same period last year—to 1.02 trillion yuan ($147.6 billion), according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Industrial enterprises with annual revenue exceeding 20 million yuan are considered large.
The growth was the strongest for this period since 2018, notes Trading Economics.
Profits of state-owned companies increased by 5.3% over the first two months of this year, while those of private companies jumped by 37.2%.
Significant profit growth in January-February was recorded in the computer and communications equipment manufacturing segment (3-fold) and ferrous metal production (2.5-fold), as well as in the chemical industry (+35.9%).
By the end of 2025, the profits of large industrial enterprises increased by 0.6%.
China’s foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, increased by $28.7 billion (+0.85%) in February compared to the previous month and amounted to $3.428 trillion, according to a statement by the People’s Bank of China.
The reserves reached their highest level since November 2015.
The US dollar rose 0.51% against a basket of major world currencies last month. The yuan rose 1.35% against the US currency.
Gold reserves in China rose for the sixteenth consecutive month in February, to 74.22 million ounces from 74.19 million ounces in January. In value terms, gold reserves rose to $387.59 billion from $369.58 billion at the end of January.
China has announced plans to invest 300 billion yuan ($44 billion) in state-owned banks this year to protect against systemic risks and increase funding for technology companies.
These measures were outlined in the annual government work report presented at the opening of the National People’s Congress (NPC) session.
It states that Beijing will continue to replenish the capital of financial institutions and prudently dispose of non-performing assets in this sector. The authorities also plan to regulate competition between financial companies and promote consolidation among small and medium-sized local financial institutions.
The government announced the creation of an additional fund of 100 billion yuan to stimulate domestic demand through measures such as subsidizing interest rates on loans, financing guarantees, and risk compensation.
Beijing has also promised to continue to combat “risks arising in the real estate sector, local government debt, and small and medium-sized local financial institutions.”
According to Western media reports, the country’s authorities are likely to replenish the capital of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China this year. They were not included in a similar program last year, when the capital of four other major banks was increased by $69 billion.
