Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

• Polysilicon and coking coal prices surge in China on supply-side reform hopes;
• Chinese tech, auto companies move up ranks of Fortune 500 list.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

Prices of key Chinese bulk commodities such as polysilicon and coking coal, which are essential in solar panel and steel production, surged to new highs today amid investor expectations of government action to curb excessive competition, or “neijuan,” and accelerate the phase-out of outdated capacity.

Polysilicon futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange climbed 5.5 percent to CNY50,080 per ton, reaching the daily limit of 12 percent intraday and setting a new record since the contract’s launch last December. The contract has gained 53 percent so far this month.

Coking coal futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange jumped 11 percent to CNY1,135.5 per ton, the highest level in four months, bringing this month’s increase to about 38 percent. Coke futures rose 3.8 percent to CNY1,707.5 per ton, up 22 percent in July.

Since the beginning of the month, China has reinforced its policy stance on confronting excessive industrial raw material output, following years of weak demand that have weighed on prices and profits.

The photovoltaic industry is facing challenges both internally and externally, and the stability of the supply chain has been compromised, Cao Renxian, chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, said at a seminar today.

Cao, who is also the chairman of Chinese PV giant Sungrow Power Supply, suggested firmly rejecting bids below cost and resolutely curbing the chaotic phenomenon of vicious competition.

At a meeting on July 1, the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission emphasized the need to curb low-price, chaotic competition, improve product quality, and facilitate the orderly exit of outdated production capacity.

Echoing this directive, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on July 3 held a symposium for manufacturing enterprises, focusing on accelerating the high-quality development of the photovoltaics industry, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Later on July 18, Xie Shaofeng, chief engineer at the MIIT, said work plans targeting 10 major sectors -- including steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, and building materials -- will soon be released to support industrial restructuring and eliminate outdated capacity.

Driven by these policy signals, the market anticipates new supply-side structural reform measures that could boost commodity futures prices following sharp earlier declines, market analysts said.

• Vice-Premier He Lifeng will be in Sweden from Sunday to Tuesday to hold economic and trade talks with United States officials, as agreed upon by both sides, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday. The two sides will fully leverage their economic and trade consultation mechanism and continue consultations on issues of mutual concern in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, the ministry added.

GBA express

• Foreign trade of South China's Shenzhen reached CNY2.17 trillion in the first half of 2025, securing its position as the leading city on the Chinese mainland, according to Shenzhen Customs on Tuesday. Exports totaled CNY1.31 trillion, while imports amounted to CNY858.86 billion.
• Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Eddie Yue Wai-man said on Wednesday that it is important to implement the Stablecoins Ordinance in a robust and sustainable manner. Yue said that given the merits of stablecoins as an emerging payment instrument and their gradual integration into the mainstream financial system as regulation takes shape, it is necessary to guard against undue speculation caused by market and public opinions. In light of shared international regulatory concerns, more stringent requirements will be imposed in respect of anti-money laundering to minimize the risks of stablecoins being used as a money laundering tool, Yue said. Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance will come into effect on Aug 1.
• Hong Kong’s Ryan Choi Chun-yin etched his name in fencing history, capturing the city’s first-ever gold at the 2025 FIE Senior Fencing World Championships in the men’s foil final. Choi is now the third Hong Kong fencer to reach the World Championship podium, joining bronze medalists Cheung Ka-long and Vivian Kong.

Industry and company news

• Technology giants JD.com and Alibaba, and automakers BYD and Geely were among the Chinese companies that climbed corporate revenue rankings in the latest Fortune China 500 list. JD rose two rungs to 11th place; Alibaba, three to 18th; and Tencent, six to rank 32nd. PDD Holdings, Meituan and Xiaomi ranked in the top 100. Bilibili was the only Chinese Internet firm to debut on the list. In the auto industry, BYD rose to 27th from 40th place. Geely took 41st place, rising from 54th. Further down the list, Seres, the auto production partner of Huawei Technologies, rose to 169th place from 404th, and Li Auto climbed 13 places to rank at 171.
• Alibaba deepened its presence in the artificial intelligence race as it announced on Wednesday the launch of an open-source AI coder, the Qwen3-Coder, an AI model designed for high-performance software development. The company also said that its model matched the performance of leading US models, including Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's GPT-4, in certain areas.
• WeChat Pay has allied with HarmonyOS 5 to offer a more convenient payment experience for Huawei phones with the OS, with users now able to pick WeChat Pay to complete transactions when buying digital goods or services like membership subscriptions, in-game items, and e-books.
• Tesla may open its first Tesla Diner in China in Shanghai around the 2026 Chinese New Year, following the restaurant’s global debut in the US on Monday, with Chinese product prices potentially set at 70 percent of US prices, media reported today. The US EV maker has reserved a 3,000-sqm land plot next to its Shanghai plant for the restaurant.
• Zero-tariff items will increase to 74 percent from 21 percent of goods coming into Hainan Province when the duty-free port expands independent customs operation island-wide in December, the National Development and Reform Commission announced. The port also announced a pilot project that will enable overseas investors to access financial products offered by local financial institutions.

Asia-Pacific highlights

• Xpeng Motors’ Chairman He Xiaopeng announced today the Chinese EV startup’s first overseas smart factory in Indonesia has begun production. The first Indonesia-made X9 was delivered to a customer yesterday, marking a key step in Xpeng’s global localization strategy.
• A tripartite intent deal worth USD1.75 billion was inked on Tuesday, which states that Shanghai-based Volant Aerotech shall provide Thailand's Pan Pacific Co Ltd with 500 units of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), with China National Aero-technology International Engineering Corp being responsible for the low-altitude infrastructure support. This will mark the largest international single order to date in China's passenger eVTOL sector.
• China's General Administration of Customs on Tuesday issued a notice that allows corresponding wild aquatic products from New Zealand to export to China, with immediate effect. The announcement was made against the backdrop of the expanding trade ties between China and New Zealand.
• The Asian Development Bank lowered its 2025 growth forecast for the Asia-Pacific region to 4.7 percent from 4.9 percent and trimmed its projection for next year to 4.6 percent, citing US tariffs and trade uncertainties. Southeast Asia is forecast to have the slowest growth, now projected at 4.2 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2026.

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

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