The morning coverage focused on Beijing's demand for investigation into the Washington DC aircraft collision that claimed two Chinese nationals, marking a shift from previous days' DeepSeek narrative. State media maintained coordinated Spring Festival coverage through Xi's writings on family values, while attempting to incorporate the DC crash into broader diplomatic messaging.
By midday, attention turned to strategic concerns, with multiple outlets analyzing US military preparedness in the Red Sea and its implications for Taiwan Strait scenarios. The afternoon brought fresh challenges for DeepSeek, as service outages complicated its market position following previous days' allegations of data theft.
Economic themes emerged through coverage of Biden's tech export controls and Trump's proposed tariffs, with state media emphasizing China's preparedness while downplaying potential impacts. Hong Kong media highlighted attempts to boost local economy through panda diplomacy.