https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/30/23780115/aspartame-iarc-who-food-safety-carcinogen
Aspartame being a possible carcinogen doesn’t mean what you think.
It's not a "risk" it's a "hazard assement".
It's not a food safety agency it's just the World Health Organization's cancer research arm.
This certainly doesn't stir up mistrust. 
Well i am reacting to my experience with it and new developments.
Don't know how much big artificial sweetener is 
but apparently this hit someone's nerve to bring all the defenders to the yard. After all the decades of intense lobbying, bribery, and shady legal and buisness practices to ram it through approvals.
As for the China does it - China’s Sweetener Makers Advance on WHO Aspartame Speculation
China’s sweetener producers gained after a report said the World Health Organization is set to decide on the safety of aspartame, a manufactured sugar used in popular diet drinks, with an analyst saying substitute manufacturers may profit.
Shares in Baolingbao Biology Co. and Shandong Sanyuan Biotechnology Co., which make natural sweetener erythritol jumped by at least 10% each on Friday. Anhui Jinhe Industrial Co., a producer of additives including sucralose gained 9.8%, while Shandong Kaisheng New Materials Co., which uses a raw material used in its production, advanced 15%.
Someone's apple cart is definitely getting a reactionary response in the market.
oh, i'm all for replacing aspartame with sucralose, the superior sweetener that doesn't leave an aftertaste akin to licking lightbulbs. but we got two scare-mongering pieces of news regarding artificial sweeteners in a row, and the news that popped up didn't cover it with the proper nuance and could be easily interpreted as "sugar better", so I strongly suspect sugar lobbying is at play here (non-sugar sweeteners have gained incredible ground over sugar itself on processed food and especially beverages), and I'm surpised someone who is so suspicious about science communication isn't picking up this obvious a scent.