Economic Discontent

China’s crying horse trend a tale of economic misery

February 3, 2026February 2, 2026 by China Factor Staff

Cuddly toy’s inverted smile has become a downtrodden symbol of a nation mired in problems

LandSpace recovers Zhuque-3 booster, then loses it to post-landing fire
Zhipu’s GLM-5.3-Flash runs on ~100,000 Chinese chips — and confirms the ‘Ox’ mystery model
‘Toothless’ ASEAN is losing its faith in the US
Trade tensions with Beijing reach a ‘breaking ‘point’
China and the US draw up the final frontier battle lines