Japan's Nissan looks to export China-made electric cars in global expansion push
Japanese carmaker
Nissan Motor is looking to expand in the global market with made-in-China electric vehicles (EVs) featuring smart driving technologies, highlighting its commitment to the Chinese market, a company executive said on Wednesday.
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'The Chinese market is leading a lot of technology investment, so of course we want to stay and compete,' Stephen Ma, chairperson of Nissan's management committee for China, said during an interview at the Shanghai Auto Show on Wednesday. China and the US are two of Nissan's largest markets, he added.
The company displayed two new vehicles at the event: an electric sedan called the N7, from its Chinese joint venture Dongfeng Nissan, and the Frontier Pro, a plug-in hybrid electric pickup truck from Zhengzhou Nissan.
The new models are part of a broader effort to roll out 10 '
new-energy vehicles ' (NEVs) – referring primarily to pure electric and hybrid cars – by the summer of 2027. Nissan increased its target from eight, which it had previously planned to release by the end of the 2026 financial year.
The Nissan N7 electric car displayed during the Shanghai Auto Show. Photo: AFP
The N7 and Frontier Pro are both designed and manufactured in China, and Nissan plans to export them to global markets in what would be a first for the company's Chinese brands.
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HKFP
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US President Trump says deal with Chinese leader Xi ‘extremely hard' as steel tariffs double
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Asia Times
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Asia Times
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Trial by fire: Chinese laser weapon reputedly in Russian service
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While Russia deployed countermeasures, such as blast walls, decoys, air defense systems and improvised defenses, including placing tires on bomber wings to confuse image-matching systems, these have yielded mixed results at best. Building hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) may not have been an option for Russia, given the size of its bomber aircraft, and that doing so could spark a nuclear miscalculation between the US and Russia. While Russia has suspended its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 3), it still complies with its terms in practice by keeping its bombers out in the open, allowing for US satellite and inspection-based verification. While US airbases in the Pacific lack hardening, the US hardening its airbases could be interpreted by Russia or China as preparation for nuclear war or a more aggressive nuclear posture, with negative implications for strategic stability. Lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine War could inform China's doctrine in deploying laser weapons during a Taiwan Strait conflict. Highlighting the possibility of drone swarms being used against China, US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said in a July 2024 Washington Post interview that he intends to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned 'hellscape' to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. 'I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities,' he said. 'So that I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything.' According to USNI News in January 2025, the US Department of Defense's (DOD) Replicator initiative is advancing toward its August 2025 milestone, aiming to deploy lethal swarms of unmanned vehicles linked by integrated software. The report states that the first tranche of the Replicator initiative, initially launched in 2023, focuses on surface and subsurface drones and loitering munitions to deter a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. It says that the second tranche, announced in 2024, prioritizes counter-drone capabilities. As to how the US could use Replicator drone swarms to defeat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Stacie Pettyjohn and other writers mention in a June 2024 Center for a New American Security (CNAS) report that swarms of low-cost, long-range suicide drones can overwhelm Chinese naval forces and disrupt amphibious landings. Pettyjohn and others say that these autonomous systems when paired with advanced surveillance drones, would rapidly close kill chains by identifying targets and guiding precision strikes. They add that pre-positioned drones in Taiwan could accelerate early response, while layered counter-drone defenses would blunt China's swarms. A January 2025 Defense News report stated that while the Replicator initiative has received bipartisan support, concerns persist over funding, scalability, and long-term viability. The report states that industry leaders argue that without increased investment, Replicator will fall short of its goal to field thousands of autonomous systems rapidly. While Defense News notes that congressional aides expect modifications rather than cancellation, the program's trajectory hinges on changes in leadership at the US DOD. It mentions that analysts warn that without sustained momentum, Replicator may struggle to deliver the transformative impact envisioned at its launch. China is taking the threat seriously. Defense One reported in May 2025 that aside from the Shen Nung 3000/5000 anti-drone laser, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) has developed the LW-30 and LW-60, which offer vehicle-mounted interception with AI-driven automation. Additionally, Defense One reports that China has developed a breakthrough cooling system, which enables continuous laser operation by eliminating heat buildup—a longstanding challenge to the effectiveness of laser weapons. The report states that these advancements underscore China's commitment to reducing its reliance on costly missile interceptors while enhancing precision and operational efficiency. By testing its lasers in foreign wars, China is quietly mastering the weapons it may one day unleash in the Taiwan Strait.
