China

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on October 9 published a policy document titled "Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces" aimed at raising industrial technology and productivity, explicitly setting out a plan to build a "national blockchain network" to link the real economy, including manufacturing, with the digital economy. The national blockchain network is to be developed alongside a nationwide integrated computing resource network and is positioned as one of the efforts to advance the building of national data infrastructure. The policy also covers applying research results to business, the digitalization of manufacturing, and the use of artificial intelligence, and includes a plan to clarify who holds rights over data and to put in place mechanisms for transactions, profit sharing, and the protection of rights. In China, blockchain infrastructure supporting trade and finance is already being developed, and seven departments including the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce on August 10 indicated in a plan to expand services trade that they would further advance the development of a "National Blockchain Network Shanghai Hub." The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on March 2 also announced cooperation with institutions responsible for data administration in Shanghai and others on the digitalization of goods trade and finance. Meanwhile, eight institutions including the People's Bank of China on February 6 published a notice tightening regulation of crypto assets, strictly prohibiting businesses that exchange crypto assets on the mainland and the issuance of tokens to raise funds.

Tesla delivered 95,366 China-made electric vehicles in September, a 5% increase from 90,812 vehicles a year earlier that extended its year-over-year growth streak to 11 consecutive months. The Shanghai factory shipped Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to China, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Canada during the month, according to Reuters, citing the China Passenger Car Association. Third-quarter deliveries from Shanghai rose 13.7%, even as Tesla's worldwide deliveries fell 2.1% from the record-setting quarter last year. To support demand in China, Tesla is offering promotions through October, with selected Model Y versions qualifying for a 7,000-yuan reduction on final payments and every Model 3 variant receiving 5,000 yuan off. The gains come amid intensifying competition in China, where Tesla's retail sales fell 12.4% year-over-year in August to 50,047 units, its weakest August since 2022, leaving it ranked fifth behind market leader BYD with 233,943 units.

China's passenger vehicle retail sales totaled roughly 1.7M in September, a 24% decline from a year ago, according to preliminary data released by the China Passenger Car Association on Saturday. Year-to-date retail sales fell 21% year on year to about 13.4M, though the broader passenger vehicle market expanded from August, with retail sales climbing roughly 10% from a month ago on the strength of new energy vehicles. Retail sales of passenger NEVs stood at about 1.1M in September, down roughly 12% year on year but accounting for about 67% of total passenger vehicle retail sales for the month. Year-to-date retail NEV sales totaled about 7.8M, down 12% year on year, while wholesale passenger NEV sales reached about 11.4M year to date, up 10% from a year ago, as the CPCA said higher oil prices stayed elevated longer than expected and fueled exports. The local market also faced tough comparisons from a year earlier, when sales climbed on a rush to buy new vehicles before some Chinese regions reined in trade-in subsidies. BYD, Geely Auto, Chery, Leapmotor and Tesla were among the top 10 manufacturers in the passenger NEV wholesale market last month, while XPeng, Li Auto and Nio ranked outside the top ten.

The European Union and China reached a preliminary agreement on Friday to cut Chinese hybrid vehicle exports to the bloc by more than half, offering relief to European automakers ahead of next week's Paris Motor Show. The deal could ease competitive pressure on Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault, which are struggling with declining sales and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers, though details remain limited and Germany's VDA automotive association described it only as an initial positive signal. Chinese brands captured nearly 12% of Europe's new-car market in August, according to Dataforce, and EU imports of Chinese cars and light commercial vehicles surged almost 75% to nearly 770,000 units during January-August, with hybrids currently avoiding the additional EU tariffs imposed on Chinese-made battery-electric cars. European manufacturers face mounting financial pressure, as Mercedes-Benz reported an 8% decline in third-quarter car sales while Volkswagen recently lowered its profit outlook following a similar warning from BMW. The Paris Motor Show, running October 12-18, will highlight efforts to defend European market share through affordable electric vehicles and new partnerships, with Renault's Dacia brand showcasing its second-generation Spring electric car priced below €18,000 in France, Volkswagen presenting its ID. Tiguan alongside a strategy involving four smaller electric vehicles manufactured in Spain, and Stellantis displaying more than 60 vehicles across eight brands including a Citroën electric concept developed using technology from Chinese partner Leapmotor, while Chinese competitors BYD, XPeng and Zeekr will also showcase expanded lineups.

China's stock market has missed the global artificial intelligence rally in 2026, with the CSI 300 index down nearly 6% this year while South Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's Weighted Index gained more than 65%, according to Yardeni Research. Yardeni attributed the underperformance to three factors: a Chinese economy weighed down by weak consumption, deflation, youth unemployment and a property downturn now in its fifth year; major Chinese equity benchmarks' lack of the AI hardware manufacturers that drive regional markets, since South Korea and Taiwan benefit from Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and TSMC while China's strengths lie mainly in AI models and applications with domestic hardware companies trading outside major benchmarks; and regulatory uncertainty following Beijing's technology crackdowns, including its intervention in Alibaba affiliate Ant Group's planned listing. The firm also cited US-China tensions and potential American restrictions on advanced chip exports and investment, and noted the MSCI China index's forward price-to-earnings ratio has declined to 10.2 from 11.7 in mid-May. The weakness persists even after onshore-listed companies reported nearly 26% profit growth in the second quarter, their strongest quarterly increase in five years. Yardeni further warned that China's dependence on AI-related exports poses another risk, with Nomura estimating semiconductors, computers and related products account for roughly half of China's export growth, meaning a slowdown in global AI spending could hurt China's economy even though its broader stock market has missed the rally elsewhere in Asia.

Akeso, Inc. announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase III clinical study evaluating cadonilimab, its first-in-class PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody, as monotherapy in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant perioperative treatment of resectable microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair-deficient colon cancer. The trial, designated COMPASSION-40/AK104-313, marks a significant new indication for cadonilimab beyond gastric, lung, and cervical cancers, and is the 13th Phase III or registrational study of the therapy conducted globally. Colorectal cancer is among the malignancies with the highest incidence and mortality worldwide, and patients with MSI-H/dMMR colon cancer derive limited benefit from conventional perioperative chemotherapy, with pathological response rates of only approximately 7%. No immunotherapy has yet been approved anywhere for the perioperative treatment of localized MSI-H/dMMR colon cancer. Supporting evidence comes from a prior Phase II study of cadonilimab monotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment in MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer, where data presented at the 2024 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress showed a pathological complete response rate of 84.6% and a major pathological response rate of 100% among patients who proceeded to surgery, with a manageable safety profile.

Changan Automobile confirmed to Red Star Capital Bureau that on October 9 it received a survey questionnaire from CATARC regarding brake pedal assembly materials, with the questionnaire focusing on the application of non-metallic materials in pedal assemblies. CATARC is a central state-owned enterprise directly under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, entrusted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to conduct research on automotive standards and regulations. Industry insiders believe this survey may have been influenced by the incident involving the fracture of the brake pedal bracket on the Maextro V800, and could promote revisions to industry standards such as Performance Requirements and Bench Test Methods for Automotive Pedal Devices, with the questionnaire serving as preparatory work. Industry insiders pointed out that current national and industry standards lack quantitative load thresholds, material restrictions, or test methods for brake pedals and their brackets, leaving a standards gap for non-metallic brake pedal assemblies, and automakers may use non-metallic materials as long as they can demonstrate performance equivalent to metal materials. After the incident, executives from automakers including Voyah, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile, Yangwang, and GAC Honda posted photos of their own brake pedals and emphasized the use of high-strength metal materials, while an industry insider close to JAC Motors said that brake pedal brackets on many models have long used non-metallic composite materials as part of lightweight design following the development of new energy vehicles.

The all-solid-state battery concept has once again been heatedly speculated by the market. The A-share battery sector rose against the trend amid a sluggish broader market. On October 9, CATL rose 3.84 percent, with turnover of 16.028 billion yuan and net main capital inflow of nearly 2.61 billion yuan. Tinci Materials, Farasis Energy, Great Power Energy and other stocks also moved higher during the same period. According to a review by China Times reporters, the solid-state battery progress of multiple battery and battery material companies is mostly still in the research and development or pilot stage, and large-scale mass production is still far off. At present, no company has put forward a mass-production timeline for all-solid-state batteries. Great Power Energy said there is currently no mass-production timeline, and it depends on upstream raw material prices. The raw materials are mainly solid electrolytes, and no production line has been built yet; it is only at the pilot stage. Tinci Materials said its solid-state battery electrolyte follows the sulfide route and is in the pilot stage, with one pilot production line put into use in the third quarter. Some industry insiders expect that mass production of all-solid-state batteries should occur no earlier than 2028 to 2030, and the current stage is equivalent to technical verification. On the policy front, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the New Battery Industry, the first national-level special plan in China's battery field. It proposes that by 2030, all-solid-state batteries will initially achieve large-scale application, long-life lithium batteries will reach a cycle life of 15,000 times, and 19 tasks will be deployed around five major directions including full-chain innovation.

Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaythong Kommasith explained the shift in national mining development policy at the tenth session of the National Assembly. The draft of the new Prime Ministerial Decree on Improving Policies and Strengthening Management of Mineral Resource Development in the New Phase proposes four policy directions, including establishing ten criteria for selecting investors, requiring one hundred percent open and transparent bidding for projects, clearly planning to stop raw ore exports, and shifting management toward digitalization while implementing ESG standards. Among these, approvals for new rare earth projects will be halted absolutely. For already approved projects, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will formulate a plan to reduce raw ore exports by the end of 2026 and submit it to the government for approval. For minor metals such as cobalt, tungsten, and nickel, raw ore exports will be fully stopped before 2030. Several industry analysts told Jiemian News that the new Lao policy will have limited impact on China's overall mineral supply and demand landscape. Li Congming, a rare earth industry analyst at Shanghai Ganglian, pointed out that China has a relatively high self-sufficiency rate for rare earth raw materials, and the scale of imports from Laos is not large compared with Myanmar and the United States. However, since 2025, as US import volumes have dropped sharply, the share of Lao ore has increased. Data from Antaike show that in 2025, China's imports of intermediate rare earth smelting products from Laos rose 57.8 percent year on year, with Lao ore accounting for 25 percent, surpassing the 19 percent share from the United States. Chen Qiqi, an antimony industry analyst at Shanghai Ganglian, said Laos accounts for only about 2 percent of China's total antimony raw material imports, and the figure was 2.81 percent from January to August this year. The disappearance of that import volume would actually reduce downward pressure on domestic prices in the short term, making its symbolic significance greater than its practical impact. Bai Qiong, a nickel industry analyst at Shanghai Ganglian, said Laos has cobalt reserves exceeding 100,000 tonnes and nickel resources of a certain scale, but its output accounts for an extremely low share globally. Tungsten industry analyst Lü Yannan said China's imports of tungsten concentrate from Laos account for less than 1 percent of total domestic tungsten raw material imports, so the impact is basically negligible. The new policy is the result of continued tightening of mining regulation in Laos in recent years. In May 2026, Directive No. 11 of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party explicitly banned raw ore exports for the first time. In July, the Standing Committee of the special session of the tenth National Assembly proposed setting a two-to-three-year deadline to stop raw ore exports. The new Prime Ministerial Decree issued in October turns those principles into a concrete ban plan by mineral type and timeline.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on the 9th issued development guidelines for high-tech industries including artificial intelligence. The guidelines explicitly state that if unplanned investment leads to major losses, those responsible will be held strictly accountable. While the move aims to accelerate industrial development amid the technology hegemony race with the United States, it also seeks to rein in an overheating initial public offering market. Amid growing international criticism over overproduction, the guidelines also call for correcting excessive domestic competition.

China's Ministry of Commerce said on the 9th that two days of talks in Beijing between Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic were "practical and constructive." It announced that the two sides reached an "understanding" on hybrid vehicle trade that is consistent with World Trade Organization rules. China and the EU agreed to continue discussions on review procedures and pricing matters related to the EU's investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, and made clear they will keep exploring tariff reductions for specific items within the framework of WTO rules, as well as continue dialogue on market access for medical devices. The EU's trade deficit with China has reached more than 1 billion euros per day. China and the EU have been at odds since 2024 over exports of cheap Chinese EVs; in the year from October 2025 to September 2026, EU imports of plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 86 percent while prices fell 20 percent, and China's share of PHEV import value in 2025 was about 30 percent, but more than half of imports are now made in China. The third round of regular consultations will be held in March 2027, and a ministerial-level video meeting is also scheduled for next January.

Delta Air Lines shares fell about 5% in premarket trading after the carrier reported September-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.72 per share, missing the $1.82 consensus estimate, and lowered its full-year profit outlook to about $5.35 per share. Adjusted revenue rose 16% to $17.59 billion but came in slightly below expectations, with Delta citing elevated fuel costs that surged 62% to $4.14 billion in the quarter; the airline absorbed more than $500 million in additional fuel costs versus its early July guidance and expects $6 billion in higher fuel expenses for the full year. Tesla shares gained about 3.6% after China Passenger Car Association data showed deliveries of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from its Shanghai factory rose 5% year-over-year to 95,366 units in September, extending its streak of annual sales gains to 11 consecutive months, while third-quarter shipments of Shanghai-built vehicles grew 13.7% even as global deliveries declined 2.1%. Apple shares fell about 2.6% in premarket trading on reports it cut component orders for some iPhone 18 Pro models after weaker-than-expected demand, and telecom stocks dropped sharply after SpaceX agreed to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum license, with AT&T down 8%, Verizon Communications down 7.8%, and T-Mobile US down 7.6%, while SpaceX shares rose 4.3%. Ambarella shares rose 5.3% following reports that Qualcomm may be working with advisers on a possible deal to acquire the chip designer, speculation circulated via a Betaville alert that follows prior reports Ambarella is in advanced talks with potential buyers including NXP Semiconductors. Wall Street regained some momentum on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 0.4%, the Dow up 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.5%.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission published a draft rule on the 9th easing the requirements for launching equity mutual funds. Under the draft, the minimum amount that must be raised to launch an equity mutual fund would be lowered from the current 200 million yuan to 50 million yuan, or 7.47 million dollars. The easing would also apply to funds of funds that invest in other mutual funds, while requirements for bond-investing mutual funds would remain unchanged. In a statement, the CSRC said the rule revision is aimed at supporting the development of equity mutual funds and channeling more long-term capital into the stock market. The measure comes as China's main stock indexes approach their lowest levels in more than a year, with the CSI 300 index of major stocks closing on the 9th near a one-year low as selling in artificial intelligence supply chain-related shares intensified further.

MINISO Group reported that total GMV for its MINISO Chinese mainland business grew 25% to 30% year over year in the three months ended September 30, 2026, accelerating from the first half of 2026 on the back of high-single-digit same-store sales growth. During the National Day holidays from October 1 to October 7, 2026, MINISO Chinese mainland kept up its momentum with total GMV growth of 20% to 25% year over year, powered by low-single-digit SSSG. The company's flagship proprietary IP, YOYO, generated GMV of over RMB1 billion in the first nine months of 2026, entering the global IP One Billion Club, and has expanded into 53 countries and regions since its first product launch in June 2025. In overseas markets, MINISO USA posted GMV growth of around 20% year over year in 26Q3 and rebounded to over 30% GMV growth with positive SSSG in September 2026, helped by new product arrivals. Founder, Chairman and CEO Guofu Ye said YOYO has validated MINISO's strategic capability as a world-leading IP operation platform and that the company will empower more Chinese original IPs to scale up globally.

China's Ministry of Finance announced on the 9th that it has allocated 550 billion yuan, or 82 billion dollars, in unused government debt quota to support local government finances and expand infrastructure investment in pursuit of its growth target. Of that total, 300 billion yuan will go toward supporting the day-to-day operations of county-level governments, while the remainder will be directed to infrastructure projects, particularly those already under construction and those in economically strong regions. Policymakers have also tapped unused government debt quota as a year-end fiscal stimulus measure over the past two years, but this year's amount exceeds the totals for 2024 and 2025. In a separate statement, the ministry said it would implement a more proactive fiscal policy "vigorously and effectively" to support the expansion of domestic demand.

The People's Bank of China issued a statement rejecting accusations that China deliberately weakens the yuan to gain a trade advantage, after the European Union called on Beijing to let the currency strengthen in order to reduce a record-high trade surplus. The statement said China has no need or desire to weaken its currency to gain a competitive trade edge, and has never pursued devaluation to compete with other countries. It added that blaming another country's currency for a loss of competitiveness, which leads to weaker fiscal and monetary discipline and complex structural problems, amounts to shirking responsibility for necessary adjustment. The episode comes as Maros Sefcovic, the EU's trade chief, visits Beijing to discuss ways to narrow the bloc's trade deficit with China. In 2025, China posted a record trade surplus of nearly 1.2 trillion dollars, equal to roughly 6% of gross domestic product. The European Union, meanwhile, is concerned about its trade imbalance with China, which stood at 360.6 billion euros, or 404 billion dollars, in 2025, up 15% from a year earlier. The worry is that this could lead to a new China Shock 2.0, after another wave of Chinese exports floods into markets and rattles the industries and economies of trading partners. Earlier, in June, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde urged world leaders to discuss the yuan being undervalued, which she cited as one factor behind imbalances and a risk to the global economy.