The New Western Land-Sea Corridor recorded a first-half trade value of 517.23 billion yuan, a 13% year-on-year increase, marking the first time the half-year figure has exceeded 500 billion yuan. The corridor, with Chongqing as its operational center, operates under a '13+2' cooperation mechanism involving 12 western provinces, Hainan, Zhanjiang and Huaihua, using rail, sea and road routes to connect to global markets. Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng made separate inspection trips to Guangxi and Sichuan in late April and late June respectively.
The National Energy Administration has issued a plan to increase coalbed methane reserves and production in the eastern Ordos Basin region for 2026-2030. The plan promotes pipeline interconnection and access to major national trunk lines including the Shaanxi-Beijing, West-East Gas Pipeline, and Yulin-Jinan pipelines. It also encourages digital and intelligent station construction and underground gas storage facilities.
As the 100-day countdown to the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) began on July 27, ICBC, a full partner, released comprehensive financial solutions for the event. The bank has held 100 overseas roadshows in over 40 countries across six continents, leveraging its 410 overseas institutions in 69 countries. Services include multi-currency accounts, cross-border settlements, trade finance, and digital payment solutions for exhibitors, buyers, and individual customers. ICBC will also host the China-Europe Business Conference and a sub-forum of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum during the expo.
Competition for US dollar deposits among Chinese banks is intensifying. Hang Seng Bank (China) is offering a limited-time promotion in July 2026, with new customers earning up to 4% annualized on one-month deposits. East Asia Bank offers rates of 3.4% for three months and 3.55% for six months on deposits of US$50,000 or more. Nanjing Bank offers 3.42% on one-year deposits of US$200,000. Large state-owned banks offer around 2.8% for one-year deposits. The yuan has appreciated over 3% this year and over 5% in the past year.
The starting pitchers for the 2026 MyNavi All-Star Series first game were announced on 27 July. The Central League will send Yakult Swallows’ Yamano Taiichi, while the Pacific League will start Nippon-Ham Fighters’ Itoh Hiromi. The first game is on 28 July at Tokyo Dome. The second game on 29 July at Toyama Citizen Stadium will support Noto Peninsula earthquake reconstruction.
On the sixth day of the World Fencing Championships in Hong Kong on July 27, 2026, Japanese women's foil fencer Yuka Ueno (Air Water) advanced to the semifinals, guaranteeing her at least a bronze medal. This marks the first medal for Japan in the women's foil event at the world championships. Other Japanese fencers in the event were eliminated earlier: Komaki Kikuchi (Sega Sammy) in the third round, Seira Higashi (Kyodo Kaitec) in the second, and Sumire Tsuji (Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank) in the first. In the men's sabre, Mao Kokubo (Miki House) and Satsuto Tsubo (T. U. B. Associates) were both eliminated in the second round.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung marked his first U. S. visit since taking office by attending a San Francisco AI summit alongside executives from Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic and Broadcom. During the visit on July 24, 2026, major Korean semiconductor companies and U. artificial intelligence firms announced a series of cooperation plans totaling approximately US$950 billion. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won also participated.
China's daily crude oil imports rebounded to about 7.8 million barrels in July from a more than 10-year low of 6.2 million barrels in November 2015. Saudi Arabia's shipments more than doubled, UAE's surged tenfold, and Russia's rose 10%. The rebound followed a temporary US-Iran ceasefire last month, but renewed fighting has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea. Before the full outbreak of the US-Iran conflict on February 28, China's total imports were 12.6 million barrels per day, including 1 million via pipeline.
Hong Kong's advertising expenditure in the second quarter of 2026 reached HK$8.77 billion, up 5% year-on-year. Monthly growth was 5% in April, 2% in May and 9% in June, driven by the World Cup. Social media led ad spending, followed by TV, mobile, search engine marketing and outdoor advertising. Magazine ads rose 22%. The banking, credit card and investment services sector saw a 19% increase, with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank posting 15% and 52% growth respectively. Insurance jumped 56% from 13th to 8th place.
Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) held an expert meeting on February 27 to discuss online issues including fake advertisements, defamation, and youth protection. The meeting summarized demands for SNS operators to take preemptive measures such as warnings before harmful content spreads, while avoiding excessive restrictions. The meeting noted that individual post-event remedies are limited and called for a mechanism for authorities to grasp the situation. It named Google, Meta, X, and Dwango for passive information disclosure. The MIC will check operators based on the Information Distribution Platform Act and discuss legal revisions.
Hong Kong's merchandise exports rose 53.4% year-on-year in June to 641.1 billion HKD, while imports increased 45.4% to 693.0 billion HKD, resulting in a trade deficit of 52.0 billion HKD, equivalent to 7.5% of imports. For the first half of the year, exports grew 39.1% and imports rose 40.6%, with a deficit of 294.6 billion HKD or 7.9% of imports. Exports to Asia jumped 54.4%, with strong gains to Singapore (83%), Taiwan (79.9%), mainland China (59.2%), Vietnam (55.9%), and Thailand (52.3%). Shipments to the US surged 114.3% and to Mexico 94.2%.
Japanese opposition lawmakers are intensifying scrutiny of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi over her alleged ties to a crypto asset named SANAE TOKEN. Lawmaker Mizuoka said the issue remains unresolved in the lower house and called for further questioning in the upper house. The prime minister has denied any knowledge of the token, but her first secretary, Takeshi Kimura, reportedly agreed to promote it on an X account before learning it was a crypto asset. The Financial Services Agency has received three complaints related to the token. Opposition members argue the prime minister bears the burden of proving no connection.
Sekiwake Aonishiki, after winning the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament for the third time in three tournaments, held a press conference on July 27 in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture. He spoke about his feelings following his demotion from Ozeki, expressing regret and a strong desire to prove he is more than that. Aonishiki also discussed injuries to his left ankle and both big toes, and credited his stablemaster Anagawa for support, vowing to continue following his guidance and aim for the highest rank.
The local fiscal self-sufficiency rate, defined as the ratio of local general public budget revenue to expenditure, is a key indicator of how well local revenue covers spending. A rate below 100% signals a revenue-expenditure gap, a recurring phenomenon that arises from the institutional design of central transfer payments and local government debt issuance. The higher the rate, the better the coverage; the lower the rate, the larger the shortfall.
Kyoto University will launch a new popular science book series "Kyoto U × Blue Ribbon Books" in April 2026, with three initial titles covering cutting-edge research, and a new interdisciplinary magazine "Kyoto U Magazine" in March 2026, themed "failure". The initiatives aim to promote science dialogue across disciplines. The university's Integrated Research Promotion Headquarters, established in January 2025, will support these efforts. In July 2026, Kyoto University was designated as an "International Outstanding Research University", eligible for substantial national grants.
Seirei Christopher defeated Tokoha Daigaku Kikugawa 4-2 in the final of the 108th National High School Baseball Championship Shizuoka Prefectural Tournament on July 27, winning their second consecutive title after the 2025 summer. The team scored four runs in the first inning on a home run by Koganezawa with the bases loaded. Tokoha's pitcher Fukuda recovered to strike out five batters but his team could only score two runs in the ninth inning. Seirei's pitcher Takabe threw a complete game with 10 strikeouts and a personal-best fastball of 150 km/h, securing a second straight Summer Koshien appearance. Coach Tanaka Kōtaka won the Shizuoka tournament in his first year.
The Japan Football Association announced on July 27, 2026 the 22-player women's national team roster for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which open in September. The squad includes three goalkeepers, six defenders, eight midfielders, and five forwards, drawn from clubs across Japan such as INAC Kobe, Hiroshima, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa, and others.
On July 20, three loans using the deposit institution bond repo rate (DR) as the pricing benchmark were issued in the Hainan Free Trade Port. The loans were granted by the Hainan branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Haikou branch of China Merchants Bank, and the Haikou branch of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, targeting different enterprise types, account types, and interest rate models. DR is a market-based rate derived from interbank pledged repo transactions, reflecting liquidity conditions in the banking system. Using DR as a loan pricing benchmark aligns loan rates more directly with market funding costs rather than solely following the Loan Prime Rate (LPR).
The Fukuoka High Court on July 27, 2026, ordered the Japanese state and Kumamoto Prefecture to pay about 23 million yen in damages to the family of Hiroki Miyata, who was posthumously acquitted in a retrial of a 1985 murder. The court found that prefectural police conducted an illegal investigation aimed at extracting a confession, overturning a lower court ruling that had only held the state liable.
Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Apple will report quarterly earnings in July 2026. The three major cloud firms—Microsoft, Amazon and Google Cloud—maintain massive capital expenditure: Microsoft plans $190 billion for full-year 2026, Amazon nearly $200 billion, and Meta $125-145 billion. Azure revenue growth guidance is 39%-40%, AWS 28%. Backlog orders exceed $600 billion for Microsoft, $360 billion for Amazon, and $514 billion for Google Cloud. S&P 500 Q2 earnings grew about 24.7% year-on-year. Apple CEO Tim Cook will host his final earnings call as CEO, succeeded by John Ternus.
China has officially implemented the agricultural plant essentially derived variety (EDV) system to strengthen intellectual property protection in the seed industry. The system further defines the scope of plant variety rights and enhances protection for original innovative varieties, aiming to encourage innovation in seed breeding. This marks a significant step in China's efforts to improve the legal framework for seed industry IP.
The United States on Friday imposed new tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the EU, China, the UK and Canada, replacing an expiring temporary 10% duty. The move, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, cites forced labour: countries that have adopted or pledged to ban the practice face 10%, while others face 12.5%. The tariffs cover 99.4% of American imports. The action follows a Supreme Court ruling in February that struck down prior tariffs as unlawful. Separately, the military conflict between the US and Iran has entered its sixth month, pushing oil prices back above $100 a barrel, with global stock markets continuing to feel the impact of Middle East tensions.
Major US companies including CSX, Alphabet, and Booz Allen Hamilton are signaling a shift toward renewed hiring after a prolonged slowdown. The change reflects a reassessment of AI's capabilities and cost, as well as rising demand for services. Booz Allen, which cut thousands of jobs last year, now plans to accelerate recruitment. US jobless claims hit their lowest since 1969, underscoring a tightening labor market.
President Trump's latest round of global tariffs took effect July 24 under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, imposing 10% to 12.5% duties on imports from about 60 economies deemed insufficiently enforcing bans on forced-labor products. Two importers, Burlap & Barrel Inc. and Collective Horology LLC, have filed a lawsuit at the U. S. Court of International Trade in Manhattan, arguing the tariffs unlawfully replace previous measures struck down by the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, assert that the administration is again claiming unilateral tariff power.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has deepened its economic control under US sanctions, with its affiliate Khatam al-Anbiya dominating telecommunications, holding a third of the petrochemical market, and commanding 15% to 20% of the financial sector. Sanctions forced foreign capital to exit, enabling the IRGC to expand into infrastructure, oil, gas, and pension funds.
A heat dome is causing extreme heat across central and southern U. S. , with temperatures reaching 49 degrees Celsius in the Southwest and triggering severe thunderstorms, flash floods, and hail. The heat wave core is expected to shift south early next week. As of mid-July, large areas of ten states, including Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Texas, are experiencing extreme to exceptional drought.
Kamigata rakugo performer Geisho Tenshi will appear at the 'Third Relaxed Yose @ Namba - Rakugo Extra Edition' on September 16 at the Namba Building in Osaka's Naniwa Ward. The event supports young Kamigata rakugo artists. Advance tickets are 1,500 yen and door tickets are 1,800 yen. Tenshi, who has created over 60 original rakugo pieces, focuses on depicting female characters' emotions.
In the first half of 2026, China saw 31,617 new foreign-invested enterprises, up 5.3% year-on-year. Actual used foreign direct investment amounted to RMB 4021.4 billion, with the decline narrowing by 10.2 percentage points and positive growth in May and June. High-tech industries attracted 33.2% more FDI, accounting for a record 42.4% of total. Modern services contributed 57% of FDI. Nearly 4,800 foreign firms expanded investments. The stock of foreign capital in China reached nearly $4 trillion by end-2025.
The Baozuo Tunnel, the longest on the Sichuan section of the Xining-Chengdu Railway, has been completed. The 11,795-meter single-tube double-track tunnel, with a design speed of 200 km/h and a maximum altitude of nearly 3,700 meters, lies in a highly fractured geological zone where 98.5% of the rock is classified as Grade IV or above. During construction, over 120,000 square meters of ecological restoration were carried out. So far, 11 of the 14 tunnels on the section have been completed, with overall project progress exceeding 55%.
In the first half of 2026, China's total export value exceeded $2.1 trillion, a new record. The growth rate was 17.6% for the period, with June recording a 27.0% year-on-year increase. Data from various indicators suggest that the Chinese economy's dependence on exports has reached its highest level in nearly three decades.