The appointment of China's new defence attache to Niger signals a larger move by Beijing to fortify security in Africa, experts say China's first ever defence attache to Niger, Colonel-Major Chen Xuming,

China will boost its defence spending by 7.2% this year, maintaining a steady growth rate as Beijing faces headwinds from three years of sluggish economic expansion amid mounting geopolitical challenges from Taiwan to Ukraine.

A new record for maintaining plasma burning inside a fusion reactor has been set in France, beating China's previous benchmark by 25%.

China has the largest navy in the world by hull count with over 370 vessels, including two aircraft carriers in service. Last November, France sent its only aircraft carrier, which is nuclear-powered, for a five-month mission to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

The shock entrance of DeepSeek in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence has put the world on notice as to China's innovation prowess, a high-ranking Beijing official said Thursday.

As Chinese leaders meet in Beijing, they are striking a confident posture despite serious challenges to the economy and growing pressure from the United States.

Analysis - Global power dynamics in Africa are shifting, with China eclipsing the influence of the US and France. China has become Africa's single largest trading partner.

China has set an economic growth target of around five percent for 2025, broadly in line with analysts' expectations. Beijing has struggled to sustain its recovery from the pandemic, with a property sector crisis, flagging consumption and high youth unemployment weighing on growth.

France's only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines on Sunday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in some disputed waters in the South China Sea. The show of firepower however, only made themselves look like marionettes controlled by Washington via Manila from behind the curtain.

Both French diplomatic officials and President Emmanuel Macron have repeatedly accused Russia of engaging in hybrid warfare against France through cyberattacks. "Russia is attacking us on information, cyber," Macron said last month, claiming that Moscow was seeking to "destabilize our democracies."