China’s military builds massive new wartime command centre

Good morning and joyful Friday. In right this moment’s publication:

China’s army is constructing a large complicated in western Beijing that US intelligence believes will function a wartime command centre far bigger than the Pentagon, in accordance with present and former American officers.

Satellite tv for pc photographs obtained by the FT which can be being examined by US intelligence present a roughly 1,500-acre building web site 30km south-west of Beijing with deep holes that army specialists assess will home giant, hardened bunkers to guard Chinese language army leaders throughout any battle — together with probably a nuclear conflict.

A number of present and former US officers stated the intelligence group is carefully monitoring the location, which might be the world’s largest army command centre — and 10 occasions the dimensions of the Pentagon.

One China researcher accustomed to the photographs stated: “This fortress solely serves one objective, which is to behave as a doomsday bunker for China’s more and more subtle and succesful army.”

Read the full story and view a satellite image of the site.

Right here’s what else we’re protecting tabs on right this moment and over the weekend:

• Financial knowledge: Australia publishes December producer worth index inflation fee knowledge and Japan releases the newest labour power survey.

• Outcomes: Samsung Electronics, Tokyo Gasoline, ExxonMobil, Fujitsu, Hitachi and Komatsu report earnings.

• Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Three Israeli hostages are on account of be launched on Saturday in alternate for dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

5 extra high tales

1. OpenAI is focusing on a $300bn valuation in a large new SoftBank-led funding spherical. SoftBank is ready to take a position between $15bn and $25bn into the ChatGPT-maker, an funding that would be the centrepiece of a wider funding spherical which might result in the unreal intelligence firm elevating as a lot as $40bn. The unprecedented dimension of the newest spherical suggests investor willingness to again the highest US AI start-ups has not been undermined by China’s DeepSeek.

• Extra AI information: Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend “hundreds of billions” on AI to propel Meta to a dominant place, even after DeepSeek’s revelations shook markets this week.

2. India’s authorities is below stress to flip round a slowing financial system because it prepares to current probably the most consequential budgets since Prime Minister Narendra Modi got here to energy greater than a decade in the past. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will unveil the primary full price range of Modi’s third time period on Saturday — here’s what to expect.

• Have questions concerning the price range? Ship them to us and we’ll reply them in a particular weekend version of the publication. Hit reply or e mail firstft@ft.com

• Extra India information: The billionaire Ambani household has won the bidding battle for a stake within the first of eight English cricket groups being put up for public sale by the game’s governing physique.

3. Rescuers don’t consider there are any survivors among the many 67 passengers and crew aboard a industrial jet and army helicopter that collided on Wednesday evening outdoors Washington earlier than plunging into the Potomac River. Here’s what we know about the crash.

• Trump’s response: With out citing proof, Donald Trump blamed Democrats and variety, fairness and inclusion insurance policies for the deadly collision.

4. The US financial system grew at an annualised fee of two.3 per cent within the fourth quarter, a weaker than expected finish to a 12 months dominated by the resilience of American customers. Yesterday’s GDP determine comes after Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell stated there was no hurry to chop rates of interest.

• European financial system: The European Central Financial institution reduce rates of interest by a quarter-point to 2.75 per cent, a call that got here hours after new figures confirmed the Eurozone financial system unexpectedly stagnated within the fourth quarter.

5. The Trump administration’s embrace of cryptocurrencies helps gasoline a speculative mania that would trigger “havoc” when costs collapse, hedge fund Elliott has warned. The $70bn-in-assets agency took intention on the US authorities’s obvious enthusiasm for belongings which have soared in worth however have “no substance”, according to an investor letter seen by the FT.

The Large Learn

Simply final 12 months, Mistral was hailed as a possible international chief in AI expertise. However this week, China’s DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley by releasing a cutting-edge open-source mannequin with what it claims is a tiny fraction of OpenAI or Meta’s assets and computing energy — beating the French start-up at its personal recreation. Has Europe’s great hope for AI missed its second?

We’re additionally studying and listening to . . . 

Chart of the day

Donald Trump this week ordered work on probably the most formidable missile protect in US historical past to start. Dubbed the “Iron Dome for America”, the missile protect shall be constructed to destroy hypersonic missiles and stop nuclear annihilation. Nevertheless nuclear specialists additionally warned the initiative might provoke China and Russia to embark on an accelerated arms race so as to retain nuclear parity. Here’s how it will work.

FT information quiz 

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