China’s military builds massive wartime command centre

Good morning and welcome back to the end of what has been a very busy week. Here’s what we’re covering today:

• Details of a massive new military complex under construction near Beijing

• Canadian foreign minister’s warning for the US

• A refreshed news quiz

• Experts give advice on how to find “the one”

Satellite images obtained by the Financial Times that are being examined by US intelligence show that China is building a massive new military complex in western Beijing to protect the country’s leadership, in the event of a conflict — including potential nuclear war.

The roughly 1,500-acre construction site is 30km south-west of Beijing and has deep underground tunnelling and heavily reinforced concrete that military experts say will house large, hardened bunkers.

If the US military assessment is correct the site would be the world’s largest military command centre — and at least 10 times the size of the Pentagon. According to the analysis, major construction began at the site, dubbed the “Beijing Military City”, in mid-2024 and comes as the People’s Liberation Army develops new weapons and projects ahead of the force’s 2027 centenary. Read what happened when FT journalists visited the site.

And here’s what you should be aware of today and over the weekend:

• Economic data: The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis updates the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, a measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve. Canada releases GDP data for November 2024.

• Results: Exxon, Chevron and Philips 66 are among the companies reporting results today. For a full list sign up to our Week Ahead newsletter.

• Brexit: Today marks five years since the UK officially left the European Union after 2016’s bitter referendum. Here’s how the country is adjusting to life outside the bloc.

• Marco Rubio: The new US secretary of state begins his first official trip tomorrow when he travels to Central America, including Panama and El Salvador.

• Trump tariff threat: The US president has promised to slap 25 per cent tariffs on goods imports from Mexico and Canada starting tomorrow. In an FT interview Canada’s foreign minister warned America would be forced to import oil from Venezuela if tariffs were introduced on Canadian oil.

• Grammy Awards: Taylor Swift will be one of the stars presenting a prize at Sunday’s ceremony in downtown Los Angeles.

Five more top stories

1. Without citing evidence Donald Trump blamed his Democratic predecessors and diversity, equity and inclusion policies for a collision between a commercial jet and military helicopter that killed 67 people just outside Washington. Federal crash investigators said it was too early to say what caused the collision. Here’s the latest on the investigation.

2. The Trump administration’s embrace of cryptocurrencies is helping fuel a speculative mania that could cause “havoc” when prices collapse, the hedge fund Elliott Management has warned. In an investor newsletter, Elliott also said supporting digital assets that could marginalise the dollar was “profoundly dangerous”. The fund, which manages assets worth $70bn, said “it has never seen a market like this”.

3. OpenAI is in talks with investors, including SoftBank, to raise $40bn, which would push the ChatGPT-maker’s valuation to $300bn. In October the company raised $6.6bn at a valuation of $157bn, which made it the most highly valued private start-up in the world. The latest funding round suggests investors have not been put off by this week’s news from DeepSeek.

4. Apple’s quarterly profits and revenue crept past Wall Street forecasts, despite a steep fall in iPhone sales in China. The December quarter was the first since Apple rolled out Apple Intelligence, its suite of artificial intelligence features that include a partnership with OpenAI. Here’s more on the results.

5. Former Barclays boss Jes Staley discussed confidential deals and clients with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a court filing by the UK financial watchdog. Emails Staley sent to Epstein were cited by the Financial Conduct Authority at a pre-trial review yesterday. Read more details of the email traffic between Staley and Epstein.

The Big Read

Late-night trading sessions have fuelled a growing interest in setting up round-the-clock mainstream operations. The New York Stock Exchange is now looking to offer much longer trading windows, widening to 22 hours a day. But the development is raising thorny questions about how equity markets work.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Trump’s good start: A series of early moves has breathed new life into the business community, writes Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute.

• Family inheritance: Trillions of pounds will be handed down in coming decades as part of the Great Wealth Transfer — but some parents are opting out.

• China lab leak theory: The CIA’s judgment on Covid has reignited the search for an answer to the origins of the virus that caused a global pandemic.

• Immigration: The US and UK have been underestimating population growth but with diverging implications, writes John Burn-Murdoch.

Quiz of the day

How much was wiped off Nvidia’s market value during Monday’s tech sell-off? Test your knowledge of this week’s news in our updated quiz.

Take a break from the news . . . 

HTSI spoke to relationship experts and dating coaches about modern romance. Here are 15 tips they shared on how to find “the one”. If you have already found your life-long love and want to tell other FirstFT readers about it email me at firstft@ft.com and your words may appear in print. Have a good weekend, Gordon