This is not new news any more but I did not see this mentioned anywhere on FT. 12306 now has an English version and accepts international credit cards (VISA, MASTERCARD, JCB and Diners). You can also register with an email (no Chinese phone number required). I have not tried this myself yet to see how well it works.
You can book paper tickets, etickets and change bookings.
https://www.12306.cn/en/index.html