Daily Buzz: 17 July 2026

China Launches Global AI Governance Body

China and 28 other countries signed an agreement in Shanghai to establish a new intergovernmental body to promote governance and cooperation in the development of artificial intelligence. The new World AI Cooperation Organization, to be located in the city, is aimed at broader AI access for less developed countries who don't have much AI capacity of their own yet. Founding members include Russia, Belarus, ⁠Serbia, Cuba, Brazil and Venezuela, along with 10 African countries and 12 Asian nations. The platform highlights a broad industry expansion toward setting rules for development. The signing ceremony came on the eve of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which opens today in Shanghai.

US, Iran Attacks Continue, Tehran Threatens Closure of Red Sea Transit

In the sixth day of strikes against Iran, the US military said it hit an Iranian supertanker deep within the Persian Gulf, its first such attack since it reimposed a naval blockade on the nation's shipping to cut off its oil revenues. Tehran said it retaliated with strikes targeting US bases in Kuwait and Jordan. The US said its Marines also boarded a vessel in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz to conduct what it called "verification." Iran said the control of traffic through the strait is its "red line" in the conflict and also warned it will instruct its Houthi allies in Yemen to close shipping transit to the Red Sea, another vital trade route, if the US makes good on its renewed threat to start bombing Iranian bridges and power plants. Global benchmark Brent crude future prices hovered around US$85 a barrel.

Ukraine Defense Minister Sacked Amid Tensions Over War Strategy

President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in a government reshuffle that triggered protest rallies in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. Fedorov was a major advocate of Ukraine's successful drone weapons program. His removal is reportedly related to an ongoing clash over war strategy with Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

On the war front, Ukraine is taking a cue from the Middle East war in using vital waterway access as a military tool. Ukraine has been attacking Russian vessels in the sea of Azov, which connects via a narrow inlet to the Black Sea, and in turn to the Mediterranean. The drone attacks forced Moscow to temporarily suspend shipping there this week, limiting one of its major global trade routes. Kiev said it hit 116 Russian vessels in nine days. In turn, Russia's defense ministry said it struck military and industrial sites in Kiev, along with the port in Odessa and a maritime vessel.

Gaza Reconstruction Plan Stalls at the Get-Go

A grandiose Gaza recovery plan envisioned by the US-led "Board of Peace" has shrunk to a small pilot project in the south of the strip, the Guardian reported. An original plan to pour billions of dollars into the war-ravaged enclave was an adjunct to a ceasefire brokered last October to end years of fighting. The ceasefire has been broken multiple times by Israeli attacks, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza remain homeless and in need of humanitarian aid. At the height of reconstruction talk, US President Donald Trump suggested the creation of a Mediterranean riviera along the Gaza coast.

Top Business

TSMC Shoots Past Forecasts with US$22 Billion Record Profit

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker and a major global beneficiary of the AI boom, reported second-quarter net profit rose 77.4 percent from a year earlier to T$706.6 billion (US$22 billion), breezing past much lower forecasts with a record quarterly profit. It was the company's 10th consecutive quarter of growth. The company earlier reported a 36 percent increase in quarterly revenue to T$1.27 trillion. TSMC, a supplier to the likes of Nvidia, Apple and Broadcom, has been riding the surging demand for AI chips used in data centers, electric cars and consumer electronics. Its cutting-edge 2-nanometer production technology makes AI processors faster and more efficient. Technologies 2-nanometers and smaller accounted for 77 percent of wafer revenue.

TSMC is Asia's most valuable listed company with market capitalization nearly double that of South Korean rival Samsung Electronics. On an earnings call with analysts, the company said it expects 2026 revenue to rise 40 percent from last year's record earnings and is increasing its 2026 capital expenditure budget up to US$64 billion from an earlier estimate of US$56 billion. The company also said it spend an additional $100 billion building "four or more" fabs in Arizona, taking the company's total investment plans in the US to US$265 billion.

Shanghai Hospital Performs First Implant of China Brain-Computer Interface Device

Shanghai's Huashan Hospital performed the world's first commercial brain-computer interface implant surgery using a domestically developed device this week. The device, made by Shanghai-based NeuX Medical Technology, successfully collected brain signals that will enable hand motor functions in the patient, who suffered spinal cord injuries in a car accident, impairing use of hands. The patient is in stable condition. Chinese regulators approved use of the device in March. The nation is forging a high profile in the emerging science of brain-computer inface technology.

CXMT IPO Reportedly Stirring Strong Investor Demand

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) began taking subscriptions for its 57.9 billion yuan (US$8.6 billion) initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR market, the Chinese mainland's largest IPO in four years. The Hefei-based maker of dynamic random-access memory chips is reportedly drawing strong demand from investors. The IPO was given a boost by recent reports that Apple is interested in buying CXMT chips amid a global shortage caused by booming AI demand. Chinese investment banks are poised to earn about 296 million yuan in underwriting fees.

AstraZeneca Doubles Down on China Drug Deals

AstraZeneca will pay US$600 million upfront for global rights outside China to Dizal Pharmaceutical's lung cancer drug Zegfrovy in a deal that could ultimately be worth up to US$1.5 billion for the China drug company. Unlike many China licensing deals involving experimental drugs, Zegfrovy had already been approved in both the US and China. The agreement follows an announcement last week that the Swedish-British pharma giant signed a deal valued at up to US$1.9 billion with Sino Biopharmaceutical for rights to a drug aimed at treating chronic respiratory diseases.

Economy & Markets

China Overtakes US in Global Preference Poll

China is now viewed more positively than the US for the first time in many countries around the world, according to a new survey by the US Pew Research Center. Chinese President Xi Jinping scored higher that US President Donald Trump when respondents were asked whom they trust more. Asian countries showed the biggest margins favoring China, followed by Europe and Latin America. Only six countries – Poland, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan and Israel – rated the US higher than China. The survey polled more than 42,000 people in 36 countries and regions between February and May.

DeepSeek Founder's Ranking Among Billionaires

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng is the world's wealthiest entrepreneur in the sector of pure AI large language models, with a net worth of US$36 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires list. He ranked 63rd overall among the world's wealthiest. DeepSeek powered to the global stage last year with large language models that rival foreign models in efficiency but cost much less to develop and operate.

South Korea Raises Interest Rate Amid Inflation

The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate a quarter point to 2.75 percent, its first increase in three-and-a-half years, as central banks around the world contend with inflation risks fanned by rising costs related to the Middle East conflict. South Korea is a major buyer of Persian Gulf oil, with tanker traffic crippled by an ongoing battle over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The Korean central bank predicted that inflation will remain high for "a considerable time."

Corporate

XPeng Targets Mass Production of Humanoid Robots

Chinese electric-car maker XPeng plans to manufacture more than 1,000 humanoid robots a month by the end of this year and launch them globally in 2027. The company will initially deploy its Iron robots as sales assistants. China's autonomous-driving companies are expanding their technology into robotics as car sales on the Chinese mainland slow.

Sinochem-Controlled Syngenta May Delay Hong Kong IPO

Swiss-based agricultural chemicals and seeds company Syngenta, which is controlled by China's Sinochem, may push its planned US$5 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong IPO back to 2027 to await better market conditions, Bloomberg News reported. Agricultural supply chains have been roiled by the Middle East war, with closure of the Strait of Hormuz hindering supply-chains of agricultural commodities like fertilizer. Liquefied natural gas produced by Gulf refiners is a feedstock of fertilizers, now in shorter supply and affecting crop production.

Tianma Micro, Visionox Flag Losses as Smartphone Sales Slump

Tianma Microelectronics and Visionox Technology, two leading Chinese suppliers of small panels, warned of first-half losses as surging memory chip prices dent smartphone sales. Shenzhen-based Tianma said it expects a loss of up to 750 million yuan (US$110.8 million), turning from profit of 105.9 million yuan a year earlier. Suzhou-based Visionox predicted its year-earlier loss may widen to up to 2 billion yuan. China's smartphone shipments in the second quarter fell 4 percent to 66 million units, the fifth straight quarter of decline, as component costs drove up prices.

Separately, Chinese handset vendor OnePlus, which markets under the Oppo brand, said it is retreating from US and European markets amid the deepening memory chip shortage, the South China Post reported. Oppo's other smartphone unit Realme said it will no longer launch new products in China, concentrating instead on overseas markets. OnePlus and Realme shipments in the second quarter tumbled a combined 17.5 percent.

Citic's Hong Kong Arm Forecasts Profit Gain

Financial services firm Citic Ltd, the Hong Kon-listed arm of the Chinese investment giant, forecasts a first-half profit gain of no less than 6 percent from year-earlier profit of 1.2 billion yuan (US$177 million) but gave no further information in a filing with the stock exchange.