The Latest Top Headlines on China - Caixin Global

China to Add Petrochemicals, Chemicals to National Carbon Market

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:34:25 GMT

In 2025, 3,378 key emitting entities were subject to quota management under the national market. Photo: VCG

China will expand its national carbon market to include the petrochemical and chemical industries, bringing about 80% of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions under regulatory control.

Li Gao, vice minister of ecology and environment, announced the planned expansion at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

The addition of the two sectors would broaden coverage of the world’s largest emissions trading program, extending carbon pricing deeper into heavy industry and helping Chinese exporters prepare for emerging international trade barriers tied to carbon intensity.

China Cuts 670 Rural Banks as Financial Sector Overhaul Accelerates

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:16:30 GMT

Rural small and midsize lenders accounted for most of the decline, with their ranks shrinking 18.6%. Photo: VCG

China’s top financial regulator reported a sharp decline in the number of legal-entity financial institutions in 2025, led by the elimination of 670 rural small and midsize banks as authorities pressed ahead with a broad sector overhaul.

The consolidation underscores Beijing’s escalating effort to contain risks in the country’s fragile regional banking system through mergers and acquisitions, creating larger and better-capitalized institutions to help withstand economic pressure.

China’s New Bank Loans Shrink in July as Borrowing Demand Stays Weak

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:05:52 GMT

In the first seven months of 2026, new yuan loans totaled 10.38 trillion yuan, down nearly 20% from a year earlier. Photo: IC

China’s new bank loans unexpectedly contracted in July, underscoring weak borrowing demand even as a surge in government bond issuance supported broader credit growth.

Financial institutions recorded a net decline of 340 billion yuan ($50.4 billion) in new yuan loans last month, far below expectations for a 126 billion yuan increase in a Caixin poll of economists. Both households and businesses reduced debt, with household loans shrinking by about 460 billion yuan and corporate loans falling roughly 130 billion yuan.

China’s Five-Year Deposit Rates Edge Up as Smaller Lenders Compete for Deposits

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 16:45:01 GMT

Banks’ efforts to rein in funding costs have pushed average rates on time deposits and large-denomination certificates of deposits lower in recent years. Photo: VCG

Average interest rates on Chinese banks’ five-year deposits and certificates of deposit edged up in July, slightly defying a broader downward trend as smaller lenders raised rates to compete for deposits against major state-owned banks.

The divergence underscores intense competition for deposits across China’s banking sector. Smaller rural and privately owned lenders are facing growing pressure from a siphon effect after the country’s biggest banks resumed offering long-term certificates of deposits, worsening deposit outflows at a time when the financial system is pushing to lower funding costs.

The Week Ahead (Aug. 17-23): U.S. Imposes Tariffs on Canadian Goods

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:58:18 GMT

Aug. 17: Jiang Zemin centenary

Aug. 17 marks the 100th anniversary of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin’s birth. Jiang, who was born in Yangzhou in Jiangsu province in 1926, died in Shanghai on Nov. 30, 2022, at the age of 96.

Aug. 17-23: Ecuador president visits China

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa will pay a state visit to China from Aug. 16 to 23, his first such visit to the country. President Xi Jinping will hold talks with him, while Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji will also meet him. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Ecuador comprehensive strategic partnership.

Crypto Investor Harry Yeh Dies in Mysterious Plunge From Paraguay High-Rise

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:16:43 GMT

Harry Yeh. Photo: Yeh’s social media account

Harry Chun Tak Yeh, a veteran cryptocurrency investor and founder of Quantum Fintech Group, died after falling naked from a luxury high-rise apartment in Paraguay’s capital early Aug. 7, local media reported.

Police are investigating the 40-year-old early Bitcoin adopter’s death as a potential accident, suicide or homicide.

The fatal plunge follows the collapse of his heavily promoted crypto projects — which wiped out retail investors — and coincides with a global surge in violent extortions targeting digital asset holders.

Tech Brief (Aug. 14): DeepSeek Launches V4-Pro and Raises API Prices by as Much as 1,100%

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:40:26 GMT

DeepSeek launches V4-Pro and raises API prices by as much as 1,100%

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek on Thursday released the official version of its flagship DeepSeek-V4-Pro model and sharply raised prices for its application programming interface, with some rates increasing by as much as 1,100%. DeepSeek introduced peak and off-peak pricing. During peak hours — 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Beijing time — API prices for DeepSeek-V4-Pro rose to 0.3 yuan ($0.04) per million tokens for cached input, 9 yuan for uncached input and 27 yuan for output. Previously, the model was priced at flat rates of 0.025 yuan, 3 yuan and 6 yuan, respectively. Off-peak prices are set at half the peak rates. On performance, the official release of DeepSeek-V4-Pro emphasizes stronger agent capabilities. DeepSeek says the model outperforms X.AI Co. Ltd.’s GLM-5.2 in several agent benchmarks and beats Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 in selected tests, though it trails Kimi K3 and Claude Fable 5 in most evaluations. On third-party evaluation platform Artificial Analysis, DeepSeek-V4-Pro scored 53, tying GLM-5.2 and ranking behind models including Opus 5, Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol, Grok 4.6, Kimi K3, Qwen3.8-Max, Meta’s Muse Spark 1.2 and GPT-5.6 Terra.

In Depth: How a Windswept City in North China Became an AI Powerhouse

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:59:56 GMT

An Alibaba Cloud data center campus in Ulanqab. Photo: Caixin

Under the blazing August sun, stepping outdoors in Ulanqab offers an immediate blast of intense heat. Yet, crossing the threshold into the city’s vast server rooms reveals a completely different world: a climate-controlled sanctuary defined by constant temperature, precise humidity and a steady, mechanical chill in the air.

Maintaining this artificial environment requires a colossal amount of electricity. According to data from the Ulanqab municipal bureau of statistics, the city’s electricity consumption from internet data services — primarily big data centers — surged 85.2% year-on-year to 4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in the first half of 2026.

Seven Missing After Gas Outburst at Central China Coal Mine

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:44:10 GMT

The gas outburst incident occurred early Friday at the Yangmeishan coal mine in Lianyuan, Hunan province.

Seven workers were missing after a gas outburst at a coal mine in central China Friday, little more than a month after local officials inspected the site and called for tighter safety controls.

The accident occurred at 5:08 a.m. at the Yangmeishan coal mine in Lianyuan, Hunan province. Of the 52 workers underground at the time, 44 made it out safely, while one was receiving emergency treatment, according to Xinhua News Agency. Rescue efforts are ongoing and authorities are investigating the cause.

Commentary: Electricity Takes Center Stage in the Global AI Race

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 06:52:08 GMT

Server stacks inside a data center. Photo: VCG

In the technology industry, a new adage is taking hold: the end of artificial intelligence (AI) is computing power, and the end of computing power is electricity. As AI rapidly evolves, electricity has shifted from a backstage utility to the front line of great-power competition. The nation that can secure power most economically, rapidly and reliably will hold the decisive edge in the global AI race.

Commentary: The Phantom Menace of Chinese Overcapacity

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:12:37 GMT

Workers inspect the paint job on cars at a Volkswagen plant in Emden, Germany, on Feb. 24. Photo: VCG

In July 2026, Volkswagen AG announced it might need to eliminate another 50,000 jobs, on top of an already agreed-upon 50,000 cuts across its core brands. As the world’s second-largest automaker, Volkswagen faces a brutal transition. The company cited rising European costs and new U.S. tariffs, but the true existential threat is the rise of globally competitive Chinese technology. Chinese automakers, particularly in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) industry, are building better cars at lower costs.

In Depth: How Gamed AI Answers Can Lead Investors Astray

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 04:47:20 GMT

Generative engine optimization has emerged as a way to shape what chatbots say about companies.

When China Central Television used its annual consumer-rights program in March to show how artificial intelligence (AI) could be manipulated to present pure fiction as fact, the state broadcaster showed an industry insider conjuring a product out of thin air.

Using special optimization software, he invented a fitness-tracking wristband with made-up tech specs such as “black-hole battery life” and “quantum entanglement sensing.” He then used the software to generate more than 10 fake articles about the imaginary product, which were published across the web.

Weekly Must-Read: China’s Drive to Shore Up Social Security Funds Brings a Payroll Shock

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT

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Cover Story: China’s Drive to Shore Up Social Security Funds Brings a Payroll Shock

JD.com Posts First Quarterly Revenue Decline as Subsidy Pullback Hits Electronics Sales

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:49:49 GMT

JD.com Inc. released its earnings report for the second quarter of 2026, posting a revenue of 346.4 billion yuan for the quarter, down 2.9% year-on-year. This marks the company's first negative growth since its listing. Photo: VCG

JD.com Inc. reported its first quarterly revenue decline, as reduced government subsidies weighed on sales of electronics and home appliances, its core business.

Second-quarter revenue fell 2.9% to 346.4 billion yuan, marking the company's first negative growth since its listing. The contraction sent its US-listed shares down roughly 6.6% in early trading, even as JD.com reversed a four-quarter streak of declining profitability by posting a 14.5% increase in net income to 7.1 billion yuan.

China NEVs Top 60% of New-Car Sales as Exports Offset Domestic Slump

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:21:03 GMT

Prospective buyers check out new-energy vehicles at the 2026 Shanghai International Low Carbon and Smart Mobility Exhibition in Shanghai on July 3, 2026. Photo: VCG

New-energy vehicles accounted for more than 60% of China’s new car sales for the first time in July, as a surge in exports offset a double-digit decline in domestic demand.

The milestone underscores the extent to which Chinese automakers are leaning on overseas markets as growth at home weakens. But that outward push is also encountering rising obstacles, from a less favorable political climate in parts of Europe to signs of overcapacity emerging in Southeast Asia.

WeRide Targets Break-Even by 2029 With Driver-Assistance Sales, Asset-Light Overseas Push

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:00:22 GMT

A WeRide vehicle equipped with the company’s driver-assistance system. Photo: VCG

Autonomous driving technology company WeRide Inc. said it is targeting full-year break-even in 2029, betting that rapid growth in driver-assistance system sales and an asset-light overseas expansion strategy will accelerate revenue.

The target would mark an important milestone for the capital-intensive autonomous driving sector, which has struggled to demonstrate commercial viability amid high research costs, regulatory barriers and heavy operating expenses.

China’s C919 Completes First Scheduled International Commercial Flight

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:53:56 GMT

An Air China C919 aircraft prepares for flight CA723 from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar at Beijing Capital International Airport on Aug. 12, 2026. Photo: VCG

China’s homegrown C919 passenger jet completed its first scheduled international commercial flight on Aug. 12, landing in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital.

The inaugural overseas service marks a milestone for Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd. (COMAC) as it works to expand the narrow-body jet’s presence abroad and build an international operating record.

MSCI Adds Zhipu, Semiconductor Firms to China Index, Drops Solar Names

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 16:17:21 GMT

The changes are part of MSCI’s August quarterly index review and will become effective after the close of trading on Aug. 31. Photo: VCG

MSCI Inc. is adding 33 companies to its MSCI China Index, including a cluster of semiconductor-related firms and AI developer Zhipu AI, while deleting 32 stocks including China Vanke Co. Ltd.

The latest reshuffle reflects a broader reordering of valuations in China’s capital market, with investor interest shifting toward AI and semiconductor supply chains and away from pressured clean-energy names and some autonomous-driving plays.

Audits Flag Trading Irregularities and Rising Risks at Local State Firms

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:17:11 GMT

The 2025 budget execution reports underscore growing operational strains at regional state firms. Photo: VCG

Recent audits in 15 Chinese provincial-level regions have revealed extensive financial mismanagement, unauthorized trading and rising investment risks at local state-owned enterprises.

The 2025 budget execution reports underscore growing operational strains at regional state firms. Several provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, identified operational and financing risks at these companies as major concerns, alongside local government debt and risks in the financial sector.

Business Brief (Aug. 13): China’s C919 Jet Begins Regular International Flights

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:56 GMT

C919’s International Flights

The C919, China’s homegrown passenger jet, began flying Air China’s Beijing-Ulaanbaatar route Wednesday, marking the aircraft’s official entry into regular international commercial operations.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency expects the C919’s certification process to take three to six years, with approval possible as early as 2028, which could allow the aircraft to enter the European market and compete globally.