Trump's announcement of 25% steel tariffs without exemptions dominated morning coverage, following previous days' trade tensions. State media maintained parallel coverage of Xi's second Northeast visit within 20 days, while promoting Spring Festival spending narratives.
Afternoon reports centered on China's military capabilities, with claims about a stratospheric airship's F-35 detection range, alongside South China Sea exercise announcements. The Paris AI summit emerged as a focal point, with state media highlighting DeepSeek's technological achievements despite US chip controls.
Evening coverage revealed an Alibaba-Apple partnership for China-specific AI features, while state outlets emphasized divergent US-China-EU positions at the Paris summit. Third-tier cities emerged as primary Spring Festival box office drivers, indicating shifting consumption patterns.