Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China sets up new central SOE to oversee the CNY1.2 trillion Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project;
Guangdong posts record import and export volumes in H1.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
China has founded a new central state-owned enterprise that will be responsible for building and operating the CNY1.2 trillion Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project in China's western Xizang Autonomous Region, according to Xinhua News Agency.
China Yajiang Group was established on Saturday at a ceremony held in Beijing, becoming China’s 99th central SOE. It is 22nd on the central SOE list on the website of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, right before China Energy Investment and after China Three Gorges, reflecting its important status in the energy sector.
The Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project, which was approved by the central government last December, has officially begun construction in Nyingchi, Xinhua reported. It will consist of five cascade hydropower stations and primarily deliver electricity for external consumption, while also addressing local demand in Xizang.
The project will take full advantage of the abundant water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo River and drive the development of surrounding new energy resources, creating a clean energy hub that integrates hydropower, wind, and solar power.
This is a major initiative in China's efforts toward green and low-carbon energy transformation and plays a crucial role in advancing the country's carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and addressing global climate change, Xinhua noted.
Upon completion, the project will greatly enhance local infrastructure in terms of electricity, water conservancy, and transportation, strengthening development connections between Xizang and other regions and bringing greater satisfaction, happiness, and security to people of all ethnic groups in Xizang.
Chinese A-share market jumped on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite rising 0.72 percent to reach another yearly high. The infrastructure sector gained the most across the board, with dozens of stocks including PowerChina, Xizang Tianlu, and Poly Union hitting daily trading limit.
As agreed between China and the European Union, President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will visit China on July 24, spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday. The spokesperson said that Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the two EU leaders will jointly chair the 25th China-EU Summit.
GBA express
Guangdong's import and export volumes for the first half of 2025 hit historic highs, setting new records for the period. Total trade reached CNY4.55 trillion, up 4 percent year-on-year, surpassing the national growth rate by 1.1 percentage points. Exports totaled CNY2.89 trillion, rising 1.1 percent year-on-year, while imports surged 9.5 percent to CNY1.66 trillion. Since the third quarter of 2023, Guangdong has maintained positive growth for eight consecutive quarters. During the period, Guangdong had 130,000 foreign trade enterprises engaged in actual import and export activities, an increase of over 9,000 from the previous year. Of these, around 110,000 were private enterprises, making up 84 percent of the total, with their trade volume exceeding 60 percent of the province's overall figures.
Hong Kong’s stock market benchmark has again climbed to its highest level in more than three years, buoyed by market optimism. The Hang Seng Index surged past the 25,000-point mark in morning trading on Monday, hitting 25,010 points -- a record high since February 2022, before ending at 24,994 points.
Xiaomi's HQ building in China's southern tech hub Shenzhen went into use on Friday, becoming the Chinese tech giant's fourth regional office after those in Beijing, Wuhan, and Nanjing. Its largest Mi Store, covering an area of over 1,591 sqm, also opened near the building.
Shenzhen-based UBTech Robotics said it has developed a humanoid robot called Walker S2 that can change its own batteries, creating a robot that can function 24/7 without human intervention. The company released a video showing the robot in an industrial setting, detaching a depleted power pack, popping it into a charger and installing a fresh one – all in three minutes.
Industry and company news
China's State Administration for Market Regulation recently summoned three major food delivery platform operators -- Ele.me, Meituan, and JD.Com -- urging them to participate in competition rationally. This was the second round of regulatory discussions with the three since May. The three have been engaged in a fierce price war that cost them an estimated CNY25 billion in consumer discounts and merchant subsidies in the second quarter alone, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The combined valuation of the 372 unicorn companies in China has exceeded USD1.2 trillion as of the end of last year, highlighting the vibrant vitality of the country's new quality productive forces. The integrated circuit sector led for the fourth straight year with 56 unicorns worth USD161.8 billion, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the GEI China Unicorn Enterprise Research Report 2025 released at the China Shenzhen Unicorn Enterprise Conference. Commercial aerospace was the fastest-growing field, with the number of firms surging 150 percent, while frontier tech companies accounted for 70 percent of the total.
Chinese robotics startup Unitree began pre-listing tutoring, with Citic Securities as its IPO adviser, a regulatory filing showed. Founder and CEO Wang Xingxing holds around 35 percent of the firm, it added.
The total length of China's operating high-speed rail tracks has expanded 10,000 km from 2021 to 2024. Total operational length of railway lines reached 162,000 km in the period, Minister of Transport Liu Wei said at a press conference on Monday.
From January to June, China’s national online retail sales expanded by 8.5 percent, with 15 categories of home appliances and digital products covered by the government’s trade-in programs rising 12.7 percent and online services consumption growing 14.6 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Monday.
Asia-Pacific highlights
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Ishiba's grip on power even as he vowed to remain party leader, citing a looming tariff deadline with the United States. The Japanese yen showed firmness on Monday despite the result. Japanese government bonds plunged last week, sending yields on 30-year debt to an all-time high, while the yen slid to multi-month lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro.
China has doubled cross-border passenger train services between Kunming in Yunnan Province, and the Laos capital Vientiane on the China-Laos Railway starting Friday, with departures now available from both Kunming Railway Station and Kunming South Station, according to China Railway Kunming Group.
South China's Guangxi has taken a noteworthy step by launching the AI "super league," which is set to run until November. Particularly intriguing is the introduction of a mechanism that allows for cross-border teams, a move expected to enhance China's international collaboration in AI, especially with ASEAN countries. The AI "super league" reportedly encompasses three events: an innovation competition focused on the application of AI in real-world industrial scenarios, a contest designed to tackle critical bottlenecks, and an event dedicated to discovering latent AI talent within the general public.
