Foreign investment in Australian residential real estate totalled $4.7 billion in 2025-26, down from $4.9 billion a year earlier, according to new figures released by Treasury. Chinese buyers led with $900 million across 785 approvals, more than the next two biggest source countries combined. The number of approvals fell to 2979. The ban on foreign buyers purchasing established homes has been extended to 30 June 2029. Juwai IQI co-founder Daniel Ho said many Chinese buyers now wait for permanent residency before purchasing, and that the data does not capture overseas-born buyers who have become residents or citizens.
Chinese Olympian Yang Shuyu scored 20 points in her first home game for the Sydney Flames, helping them beat the Adelaide Lightning 95-68. The 24-year-old has more than five million followers on Douyin. She is one of four Chinese national team players in the WNBL this season. Opening-round attendance rose 40 per cent on last season. The league has also agreed a broadcast deal with Chinese media company YIDA covering every game of the 2026-27 season.
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has reportedly raised about $15 billion, one of the largest funding rounds in China, Bloomberg reports. The round came two days after the United States ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's technology from their systems over security concerns. Potential investors reportedly include battery maker CATL and Tencent. The company, based in Hangzhou, is reportedly ramping up spending on AI infrastructure and open models, and it plans a possible listing in China as early as next year. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Vanuatu's Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat says he has no plans to reduce China's police presence in the country. His comments contradict a joint statement issued by Vanuatu and Australia, which said China's policing program was time-limited and expected to shrink over time. Napuat said Vanuatu still needs policing help from Beijing and other partners, and that it has not decided to phase out any advisers.
Taiwan has deported a Chinese exchange student after he posted a video that appeared to pinch the Taiwanese president. Wang filmed President Lai Ching-te at National Taiwan University using forced perspective, then posted it on Douyin with political captions. Taiwan's National Immigration Agency said his entry permit was revoked for violating the principle of equality and dignity, and he is banned from entering for five years. Wang has deleted the video and apologised. A Kuomintang politician questioned whether the decision infringed free speech.
A Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket's upper stage, measuring 3.35 metres in diameter, re-entered Earth's atmosphere and landed in a Minnesota cornfield on September 15. The stage, which had deployed 10 satellites for China's Qianfan communications network, was intended to deorbit over the ocean, raising concerns about China's space debris management. This incident follows a previous Zhuque-2E upper stage breakup in June, which left debris in a busy low-Earth orbit. LandSpace, the rocket's manufacturer, has not commented on the event. The rocket's trajectory took it from China, over Antarctica, and then north over the Americas before re-entry.
SAIC, the newest brand from SAIC Motor, has revealed a large electric SUV called the Z9 in a Chinese government filing. Its design shares many features with the Porsche Cayenne. The Z9 will sit above the H5 SUV and Z7 range, offered with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. Unlike the Cayenne, it will seat six people across three rows. Battery capacities have not been disclosed. The SAIC brand is currently sold only in China, while Porsche sales there have fallen 33 per cent this year.
Vanuatu has said China's police presence in the country is expected to reduce over time, following its signing of the Nakamal Agreement with Australia. Vanuatu's deputy prime minister, Johnny Koanapo, met Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy in Canberra to discuss the deal. The two governments said in a joint statement that Australia is Vanuatu's longstanding primary policing partner, and that the agreement is legally binding with no expiry date. The agreement is expected to direct about $500 million into Vanuatu's priorities over a decade, including policing cooperation and climate projects.
China's economy grew 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter compared with a year earlier, official data released on Monday showed. The result beat expectations and was up from 4.3 per cent in the April-June period. Exports rose 21.3 per cent over the first nine months, but domestic consumer spending and investment remain weak. The property downturn and falling land sales revenue for local governments are also weighing on recovery.
A court in China has jailed the operator and principal of a kindergarten, along with four kitchen workers, over food that caused lead poisoning in more than 200 students. The Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court found that the operator and principal had instructed the kitchen staff to add toxic substances to food. Li Huifang, who ran the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, was sentenced to life in prison. Zhu Jinglin, the executive principal, received 15 years and a fine. The four kitchen workers were jailed for six to eight years.
Chinese aluminium windows and doors could face duties of up to 70.4 per cent in Australia, after a preliminary finding that some exporters sold goods below fair value and received government subsidies. The Australian Trade Remedies Commission reported dumping margins between 5.3 and 70.4 per cent, depending on the exporter. Local manufacturers' sales volumes reportedly fell about 19 per cent between July 2021 and June 2025, with the industry losing an estimated $422.6 million. The final recommendation goes to Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres by December 16, 2026.
An alleged Chinese spying network used fake LinkedIn personas to approach thousands of people worldwide between 2016 and 2025. At least seven Australians were contacted in 2020 under the name of a fictional consultancy, Data 31, which claimed to be run by retired Australian police officers. The Chinese Embassy in Canberra described the Australian Federal Police's claims as entirely groundless. Sydney businessman Alexander Csergo was found guilty of reckless foreign interference in March. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has warned publicly about the threat of Chinese espionage.
Two LinkedIn accounts linked to suspected Chinese spies approached dozens of Australians in government, policing and trade with paid consultancy offers, an ABC investigation has found. The Australian Federal Police allege China's Ministry of State Security ran the operation, which targeted more than 100 people between 2016 and 2025. The former Queensland premier Steven Miles was connected with one of the accounts in 2021, but the ABC has seen no messages between them. China's embassy rejected the allegations as groundless. The operation is linked to the case of businessman Alexander Csergo, the first person convicted of reckless foreign interference.
Resources Minister Madeleine King says nationalising Perth-based Northern Minerals is one option for the government. China-linked investors have not sold shares they were ordered to divest by July 2. King said the uncertainty is holding up the Browns Range project, which supplies heavy rare earths used in renewable energy and military technology. She said no decisions have been made. King said the government was taking the failure to divest very seriously and that the review of foreign investment laws will continue.
Commentators warn Brazil, the world's leading beef exporter, could take share from Australia in key export markets. Brazil sends beef to 130 countries, while Australia shipped 1.5 million tonnes to 83 countries in 2025, worth $19.6 billion. China's new 55 per cent tariff on Brazilian beef from 1 October has pushed surplus volumes into other markets. Rabobank analysts say Japan and South Korea could open to Brazilian beef later this year, a development Australian producers are watching closely.
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Australia's financial aid to Southeast Asia held steady in 2024, rising slightly to $1.1 billion, while many other major donors pulled back. A Lowy Institute report found overall development finance in the region fell almost 10 per cent to $37 billion that year. Japan made the largest cut, mainly because COVID-era loans ended, and China's funding also dropped by $1.6 billion. Research lead Rahul Nath warned that further cuts by traditional donors are forecast for 2025, threatening social protection programs. He said multilateral development banks are expected to play a much larger role in the region.
Darwin City Council will lead a trade delegation to Guangzhou in China and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in December. Lord mayor Peter Styles will lead the mission, which will cost about $18,000 in ratepayer funding. Council general manager Alice Percy said the trip could bring about $250,000 a year into the local economy. The council raised rates by 5.5 per cent earlier this year and postponed its pre-cyclone clean-up. A former lord mayor and local residents questioned whether the trip was a good use of money.
Coco Gauff says she received racist abuse on social media after her win over Sun Xinran at the China Open. The American challenged a point during the match due to a flickering advertising board, which was replayed after a video review. Gauff won the match 7-5, 6-1 and said she apologised to her opponent for the situation. The WTA has introduced an AI system to monitor online abuse against players.
