China Tension Score
building record · 49 days on fileLive 0–100 tension reading for China, built by our own engine from 19,188 world headlines in the last 30 days. Refreshed every 10 minutes; a fresh headline count twice a day.
Where China stands
#43 of 197 countries today, #5 of 44 in Asia-Pacific (region score 45). Tension is easing this week.
Same 0–100 scale and zones as the World Tension Index.
China news pulse
60 headlines in 30 days · newest firstEvery story the engine read that names China, its capital or its leaders. Links go to the original outlet; the badge is the engine’s own 0–100 tension weight. This list is what moves the number above.
What is driving China’s tension score
last 30 days- 730 headlines in 30 days — 3.8% of everything the engine read, in line with the previous 30 days (617).
- 14% of those were violent (attacks, strikes, casualties) and 34% scored as high-tension stories.
- Conflicts on the roster: none. China is not a party to any conflict our engine tracks right now.
- Region: Asia-Pacific reads 45 today; it carries 15% of this score.
Read it like this. Attention (how much the world is talking about China) is the biggest input at 30%. Violence and high-tension share tell you what kind of talk it is. A country can be loud and calm — an election, a summit — or quiet and dangerous. The mix is the point.
China tension month by month
average score, headline counts| Month | Avg score | Zone | Headlines | Violent | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 29.4 | Calm | 107 | 18 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 34.6 | Calm | 755 | 93 | 31 |
| September 2026 | 36.6 | Calm | 485 | 65 | 13 |
Record for China began on 18 September 2026. Nothing is revised after the fact.
How the China score is built
Five inputs, fixed weights. Attention 30% (share of world coverage), violence 25% and high-tension share 15% (what kind of coverage), roster conflicts 15%, and the Asia-Pacific region score 15%. A momentum nudge (+6 / −4) rewards a country whose coverage is accelerating or fading.
Same physics as the world score. The number rises 85% of the way to its new level at once and falls no faster than 3 points a day — fear arrives fast and leaves slowly.
No third-party index inside. Every count comes from the 41 public news feeds our engine reads itself; the full method is on the methodology page. Data is free under CC BY 4.0 via the API.
Questions people ask about China
Is China in a war right now?
Not on our roster. China is not a party to any tracked conflict; the engine flags new candidates automatically when coverage repeats.
Is tension in China rising or falling?
Easing: down 6 points in 7 days.
How does China compare with the rest of Asia-Pacific?
Below its region: China reads 29 against 45 for Asia-Pacific, ranking #5 of 44 there.
Keep exploring
Same region
Pakistan 36 · North Korea 33 · India 33 · Afghanistan 31 · South Korea 26 · Australia 26
The bigger picture
All countries on the map · Asia-Pacific · World Tension Index · active conflicts · escalation watchlist
China and world tension: the long view
evergreen · World Tension Meter teamThe other superpower. China’s contest with the United States over Taiwan, technology and trade is the largest structural tension in the world. Our engine reads its military drills, export controls and diplomacy as one continuous story.
The factory and the buyer. China makes a third of the world’s goods and buys more oil, iron ore and grain than anyone. A Chinese slowdown or a port shutdown moves our supply-chain and energy indexes without a shot fired.
Quiet on the surface. Chinese headlines are rarely violent but often high-tension: sanctions, chip bans, naval stand-offs. That is why its score can sit high with a low violent share.
What our engine watches in China
- Taiwan Strait and South China Sea incidents
- Export controls, tariffs and chip sanctions
- Economic data that moves commodity demand
- Diplomacy with Russia, Iran and the Gulf
Indexes to follow: Supply Chain Risk · Shipping Stress · Sanctions Pressure · Market Fear.