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AdvertisementRetailingBusinessWarm winter no match: China’s sportswear sector posts surprise growthPolicy support, Chinese New Year demand and Winter Olympics exposure lift China’s sportswear makers, with Li Ning and Anta leading gains
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPCao LiPublished: 6:00pm, 1 Mar 2026China’s major sportswear makers have shrugged off soft consumer spending and a warm winter, according to analysts.
Retail sales in China’s sportswear sector picked up in the first two months of 2026 and beat expectations, helped by fresh policy support and Chinese New Year demand, analysts said. Separately, Chinese households also tuned into the Winter Olympics, where domestic sportswear giants Li Ning and Anta had high visibility.
“We are turning more positive on the China sportswear industry for the first time in 12 months,” Jefferies equity analysts John Chou, Boya Zhen and Anne Ling said in a report.
AdvertisementJefferies forecasts sportswear retail sales to grow by more ..

Political commentator Candace Owens stirred controversy after suggesting that Charlie Kirk may have been “sacrificed,” linking her theory to research into Freemasonry. During her series, Owens said a Freemason Bible sent to her offered insight into the organization’s beliefs. Her remarks quickly spread online, sparking heated debate between supporters and critics over the claim. Controversy quickly followed after political commentator Candace Owens shared a striking theory about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Speaking during her online series, Owens suggested she believes Kirk may have been “sacrificed,” a claim that immediately stirred intense reactions across political and media circles.The remarks came as Owens discussed research she says she has been doing on Freemasonry. Her comments, delivered during an episode of her series, added a dramatic new angle to ongoing discussions about Kirk’s sudden passing. While critics have dismissed the theory as speculation, the..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsChinaDiplomacyHow can Beijing prepare for Trump’s ‘drunken boxing’ style before he meets Xi in China?As Trump loomed large in both Iran war and subsequent pause, analysts weigh the importance of rhetoric vs results in his talks with China
4-MIN READ4-MIN2 ListenShi JiangtaoPublished: 10:00pm, 9 Apr 2026Updated: 10:11pm, 9 Apr 2026A temporary but fragile ceasefire is in place after US President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of a wider Iran war.For Beijing, as it prepares for Trump’s high-stakes visit planned for next month, the key question is what the Iran crisis reveals about Trump’s governing style, and whether it has left him emboldened or simply more unpredictable and volatile.The episode is the latest example of what Chinese observers call Trump’s “split” style: abrupt swings between conciliatory talk of deals and de-escalation; and aggressive threats to “obliterate” Iran or push the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages”.

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