November 15, 2025 – China Headlines

Story gist: The crew of China’s Shenzhou 20 mission returned safely to Earth after completing the country’s first in-orbit crew transfer. The operation involved the astronauts docking and switching with another team at the Tiangong space station.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like People’s Daily frame the event as a triumphant milestone, emphasizing the historic first ‘transfer’ and safe return in celebratory tones without mentioning surprises. Right-leaning sources such as Guancha.cn highlight the unexpected decision, focusing on its revelation of China’s robust emergency capabilities with an analytical edge. Center perspectives are absent, leaving out neutral, fact-only reporting that might downplay nationalistic undertones.

Story gist: Chinese President Xi Jinping met Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn in China. The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral relations.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like Communist Party News Network frame the meeting as a straightforward diplomatic event, emphasizing official ties without qualifiers. Center outlets such as RFI highlight the ‘historic’ nature of the king’s visit to China and China’s pledges for enhanced relations, adding a sense of significance. Right-leaning perspectives are absent, leaving out potential emphases on geopolitical implications or scrutiny of China’s influence in Southeast Asia.

Story gist: Wuhu City’s Meteorological Observatory issued a Level III yellow warning for heavy fog. The alert was released by the China Meteorological Administration.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets provided no coverage, omitting any environmental or public safety angles that might emphasize climate impacts. Center outlets framed the story neutrally as an official weather forecast from the China Meteorological Administration, focusing on factual alert details without added context. Right-leaning outlets also lacked coverage, absenting perspectives on government response or economic disruptions from the fog warning.

Story gist: China’s ambassador to Japan lodged stern representations and a strong protest against Japanese politician Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on China. The comments linked Taiwan contingencies to Japanese security, prompting Chinese diplomatic response.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like Xinhua emphasize China’s urging Japan to cease excuses for military expansion, framing the protest as a justified rebuke to Japanese aggression. Center outlets like BBC neutrally describe the diplomatic friction, quoting Takaichi’s ‘Taiwan incident equals Japan incident’ statement and speculating on Beijing’s countermeasures without strong bias. Right-leaning perspectives are absent, potentially missing pro-Japan defenses portraying China’s reaction as overreach.

Story gist: China’s Ministry of Finance stated persistence in expanding domestic demand to support building a strong domestic market. Related discussions include connecting domestic and international openness, and researching urbanization indicators to integrate 300 million people into cities.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like People’s Daily frame the story with emphasis on interconnected domestic and international openness as a strategic push for market strength, using reflective tone in special features. Center outlets like Sina Finance focus on practical policy details, such as expert proposals for urbanization metrics to address population integration challenges. Right-leaning perspectives are absent, leaving out potential critiques on market liberalization or economic risks.