Beijing and Shanghai are accelerating the development of space-based data centers. Beijing's satellite town was officially lit on July 24, with 10 companies signing strategic agreements, as part of a 'south rockets, north satellites' layout that includes over 300 commercial space firms. Shanghai's 'Star Hub Plan' launched a three-satellite cluster using laser interlinks, with a phased expansion to 2,000 satellites. The initiatives aim to overcome technical challenges in space computing, including energy and heat dissipation, while exploring commercial applications.
On July 31, 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) held price compliance guidance in Yancheng, Jiangsu, for the photovoltaic industry, urging a shift from price competition to quality competition. The regulator called on solar companies to strengthen cost accounting, build price compliance systems, and resist vicious low-price competition. It promoted the General Rules for Cost Accounting Models of the Photovoltaic Industry, which took effect July 27, 2026. Representatives from four national agencies, including SAMR, and 27 solar companies attended.
In the first half of 2026, China's telecom business revenue totaled RMB 887.3 billion, down 2.1% year on year, while telecom business volume at constant 2025 prices rose 7.7%. Mobile phone users reached 1.844 billion, with 5G users at 1.288 billion, representing 69.9% of total users. The number of 5G base stations hit 5.102 million, accounting for 39.1% of all mobile base stations.
PingPong, a global payment platform, jointly led the launch of China's first Maker Tool industry alliance and published a white paper. The global DIY maker tool market is projected to reach $18.9 billion in 2025. The US accounts for over 70% of sales, while Europe demands higher compliance. Chinese firms face challenges in patents, branding, and industry coordination. The alliance aims to reduce overseas expansion costs through collaboration, channel sharing, and funding. PingPong also introduced a global fund management solution for Maker Tool enterprises, covering cross-border payments, financing, and currency management.
In late July 2026, New China Life Insurance joined a media tour of the Taizishen (Pseudostellaria heterophylla) industry in Niudachang Town, Shibing County, Guizhou Province, where the planting area has surpassed 100,000 mu. The company, together with China Investment Corporation and China Jiantou, invested in a 300-mu GAP-standardized planting base, providing technical guidance and subsidies to farmers. They also facilitated e-commerce and bank loans to support local specialty industries.
On July 31, Meituan and the Suzhou Public Security Bureau launched the official version of a “wait for light, stop timing” function for delivery riders, beginning road tests in Suzhou. The feature automatically calculates the time riders spend waiting at red lights and extends the delivery deadline accordingly. The pilot covers about 1,100 intersections in Suzhou’s Gusu District and Suzhou Industrial Park. Riders see a countdown and notification on their app, and after delivery, a popup shows cumulative wait time and the adjusted deadline. Beijing and Wuxi are also testing the function, with more than 20 other cities evaluating it.
In July, major US tech companies rolled out full-year capital expenditure plans totaling close to $800 billion, directing funds toward AI servers, data centers, proprietary chips and memory capacity. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index initially dropped 11% in one week, with nearly 70% of semiconductor names down over 20% from their highs, before a late-month earnings-driven rebound lifted the index 8.19% in a single session. Alphabet raised its annual capex to $195–205 billion, Microsoft kept its $190 billion plan and Meta lifted its range to $130–145 billion. Intel raised its full-year spending to $20 billion and Tesla reaffirmed more than $25 billion in capex. Memory chip makers and other semiconductor firms secured large cloud orders, driving sharp rallies; SanDisk surged nearly 26% in one day.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) fined seven food delivery platforms a total of 3.597 billion yuan for operating 'ghost kitchens' — unlicensed vendors using fake credentials. The penalty, announced in April 2026, is the largest under the Food Safety Law and involved over 67,000 cake-related ghost shops. To prevent recurrence, SAMR will promote electronic certificates that enable automated verification of merchant qualifications, shifting from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention and smart regulation.
China's electronic information manufacturing industry saw a 96.9% year-on-year surge in profit to 577.7 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, with revenue rising 18.5% to 9.41 trillion yuan. Fixed asset investment grew 6.5%, while export delivery value increased 7.8%. In June alone, revenue expanded 24.7% and export delivery value rose 12.9%.
In the first half of 2026, China's above-designated-size electronic information manufacturing sector saw value-added output rise 14.8% year on year, outpacing overall industry and high-tech manufacturing by 9.4 and 1.5 percentage points, respectively. June alone recorded a 15.7% increase. Among key products, integrated circuit output grew 23.1% to 279.8 billion units, industrial robot output rose 28.0% to 538,000 sets, and new energy vehicle output increased 6.0% to 7.4 million units.
The 2026 World Robot Conference will be held in Beijing from August 19 to 23, featuring over 300 exhibitors (up 36% from 2025) and more than 150 new product launches. Over 10,000 contestants from 20+ countries will compete in the robot competition finals. Key exhibitors include Unitree, Yinhe General, UBTech, and others showcasing advanced robots. The event will have four halls, a new consumer robot street, and a procurement day on August 20.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a meeting to discuss 10 draft industry standards for solid-state lithium batteries, covering the full industry chain and three major technical routes: sulfide, oxide, and polymer. The China Electronics Standardization Institute is overseeing the drafting. The standards are divided into four core electrolyte material standards, three cell and general standards, and three testing and safety standards. They complement the national standard GB/T 43568-2026, which defines semi-solid batteries as having 5% to 20% liquid electrolyte, and all-solid-state batteries as having less than 5% and passing a 120°C vacuum test with weight loss under 0.5%. The push for standards aims to curb disorderly expansion and marketing hype in the sector.
The total assets under management of China's public mutual fund index-enhanced products exceeded RMB 320 billion by the end of the second quarter of 2026. Among 460 such funds, the average excess return year-to-date was 1.64%, with 127 funds (27.39%) underperforming their benchmarks. Sci-Tech index-enhanced funds lagged the most, as extreme market concentration and crowded quantitative strategies weighed on performance. One fund underperformed by over 20%, and nine by over 10%.
China's bulk asset transaction volume reached 121.2 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, up 76.2% from a year earlier, with first-tier cities accounting for 65.3% of the total. Domestic buyers dominated, contributing 97% of purchases, while foreign investors made up just 3%. The recovery was selective, driven by discounts on high-quality, cash-flow-generating assets, as buyers focused on rental yields and long-term returns rather than price appreciation.
In late July 2026, core land parcels in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou were auctioned intensively. On July 28 alone, three cities' prime plots fetched over RMB 30 billion, led by Shanghai's Yangpu Badatou site at RMB 16.12 billion after 219 bidding rounds. The auctions underscore developers' focus on top-tier cities amid shrinking investment maps and high premiums.
AI technology and policy support are transforming the virtual power plant industry, with 2026 marking the first year of large-scale deployment. Trading revenue now accounts for nearly 60% at leading companies. From January to July 2026, 49 virtual power plant procurement projects were awarded, with project scales rising to the billion-yuan level. The industry targets regulation capacity of 20 million kW by 2027 and 50 million kW by 2030. Companies are shifting to sustainable software-plus-revenue-sharing models, and private enterprises are entering the market, driving a shift from scale expansion to quality competition.
ABC has filed a formal complaint with the U. S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opposing the requirement for eight of its broadcast television stations to submit early license renewal applications. ABC argues the demand is punitive and unprecedented, stemming from an April 2026 investigation under Republican Chairman Brendan Carr. More than 150,000 public comments have been filed, and bipartisan former FCC officials have opposed the action. The FCC has not yet responded.
China's population aged 60 and above reached 320 million by end-2025, with over 60% of healthy retirees aged 60-69 traveling more than three times annually. Hainan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Jilin have rolled out measures to develop health and tourism living industries. The 2026 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference revealed a severe supply-demand mismatch in migratory living, warning against blind investment in large-scale health real estate projects leading to low occupancy and unfinished developments.
Since July, Typhoons Maysak, Bavi, and Krosa have sequentially struck China. The insurance industry activated fast-track claims channels. China Pacific Insurance, PICC Property and Casualty, and Ping An Property & Casualty have paid out over 10 million yuan.
The billions in dividends from listed brokerages are being paid out gradually. Thirty listed brokerages have completed distribution of 2025 cash dividends before July 31, 2026, while another ten have announced profit distribution plans without a set implementation date. Data shows that 40 listed brokerages declared cumulative dividends exceeding 70 billion yuan (RMB) for 2025, a record high. Meanwhile, several brokerages are pursuing share buyback plans or canceling previously repurchased shares to boost earnings per share.
In the first half of 2026, China's output of ten nonferrous metals rose 3.3% year-on-year to 41.513 million tonnes, while profits of industrial enterprises above designated size in the sector jumped 94% to RMB418.39 billion. AI computing infrastructure expansion spurred sharp gains in tin, tantalum and indium, with tin up 40%, tantalum soaring 158% and indium climbing 60%. Copper demand from AI and data centres kept copper prices elevated; global data centre copper consumption is forecast to reach 1.3 million tonnes by 2028. Industry surveys indicate AI servers use three times the tin of conventional units. Leading Chinese tin producers are building closed-loop recycling to boost secondary supply.
Rising global AI computing demand is driving electricity needs for data centers, fueling a new growth cycle for gas turbines and boosting orders. Chinese supply chain companies are seizing export opportunities amid tight overseas capacity and long delivery lead times. Feiwo Technology signed a memorandum of understanding with GEV and a five-year strategic supply agreement with Baker Hughes, progressing from product certification to batch shipments. Xizi Clean Energy, a licensee of US N/E Company, is expanding its gas turbine heat recovery boiler business globally. Haomao Technology offers casting and machining services for gas turbine components, capitalizing on the trend.
The 12th round of China's national volume-based drug procurement opened on July 31 in Shanghai, covering 65 commonly used clinical varieties across hypertension, diabetes, oncology, transplant anti-rejection, and anti-infection areas, making it the largest batch since the program began. A total of 495 companies submitted 859 product bids. The round introduced a 'zero-volume award' mechanism to curb extreme low pricing, and extended the contract period to three years. Over 45,000 medical institutions submitted procurement demand volumes.
The 2026 CDEC summit in Shanghai focused on artificial intelligence, with major game companies attending. In the first half of 2026, China's domestic game market revenue reached RMB 188.45 billion, up 12.17% year-on-year. Overseas revenue from self-developed games totaled USD 12.372 billion, a 30.22% increase. AI adoption in game R&D hit 86.36%, with AI-assisted content generation and system design in trial.
China's cloud computing market grew to RMB 1,069.2 billion in 2025, up 29% year-on-year, while the global market reached $823 billion. The shift from digital transformation to AI-driven intelligent upgrade defined the industry. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) share contracted, while Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) surged 67% and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) rose 36%. Public cloud, AI cloud, and overseas expansion were key growth drivers. Asia Pacific revenue rose 33%.
The China Insurance Association, under the National Financial Regulatory Administration, has completed preliminary drug selection for its commercial insurance drug list, which is pending release. The list differs from the NHSA's commercial insurance innovative drug list and is for pure commercial health insurance. In 2026, the NHSA will expand its innovative drug list for the first time, requiring drugs with strong insurance suitability. Submissions for the NHSA list in 2026 are less than half of 2025. The first NHSA list faced challenges in Huiminbao products, including incomplete discount channels. Alzheimer's drugs lecanemab and donanemab entered national medical insurance in 2026 and are in multiple Huiminbao products. The China Insurance Association is also developing a drug guarantee list to standardize commercial insurance drug lists.
Shanghai’s cultural tourism market recorded 313 million visitor trips in the first half of 2026, up 17.6% year-on-year, with total spending reaching RMB 543.3 billion, an increase of 8.75%. Inbound visitors surged to 5.31 million, up 27.82%, driven by strong growth from Russia, South Korea, and the US. The cruise sector handled 744,000 passenger entries, accounting for 74.2% of the national total. Silver tourism spending grew more than sevenfold, reaching RMB 55.7 million.
China's National Medical Products Administration issued eight optimization measures on July 29 for cosmetic registration and filing, effective immediately. The measures encourage international new products to debut in China first by allowing a declarative statement in lieu of overseas market approval proof. China, the world's largest cosmetic market, saw total transaction value reach RMB 1.104245 trillion in 2025, up 2.83% year-on-year, and RMB 611.41 billion in the first half of 2026, up 4.35%. The cosmetic concept index rose 8.78% in July, with Pian Zai Huang and Aimeike surging 26.1% and 23.62% respectively.
Public fund quantitative product assets under management reached RMB 322.17 billion by end-June 2026, up 12.19% quarter-on-quarter, with active quant funds growing over 31% to about RMB 180 billion. However, July saw over 90% of index-enhanced products post negative returns, nearly 40% report negative excess returns, and over 70% of active quant products also recorded negative monthly returns. Excess returns for some products narrowed sharply, eroding first-half gains.
China's fund-of-funds industry continued to shrink in the first half of 2026, with total assets under management falling 12.56% from end-2025 to RMB 3.52 trillion, according to a new report. Investment in the period dropped 21.84% year-on-year to RMB 260.9 billion. Government-guided funds showed recovery, with IRR rising to 7.33% and DPI to 0.79. Institutional breakthroughs included indefinite-duration fund structures in Guangdong and Xi'an, and 57% of new guided funds now allow sub-funds with terms exceeding 10 years.