In 2025 China continued to flourish. Despite the tariffs, it hit a record trade surplus of over $1 trillion, Chinese companies like DeepSeek took on the US tech giants and the country leveraged its soft power on social media sites like RedNote. With economic, technological and diplomatic might, will China try to take on America as the foremost global superpower in 2026? Or does its ruling party have another plan in mind?

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Guest: Cindy Yu, columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: AP, @TheHumnitarian-gph / YouTube, CNBC, CGTN, Bloomberg, @ChemOutsourcingOfficial, @ChinaUncensored / YouTube, NBC, BBC, @CBC News, @TinaSourcing / YouTube, RedNote / Anzu Baibai.

Photo: Getty Images.

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Will 2026 be the year of China?

The Story

Will 2026 be the year of China?