Daily Buzz: 17 September 2026

China Defense Chief Calls for Enhanced Security Dialogue

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun told a forum in Beijing that there needs to be greater security dialogue about emerging domains, including artificial intelligence and outer space – areas of growing China-US rivalry. "Countries should also strengthen risk assessment, experience-sharing and rule-making so that emerging technologies can better benefit all of humanity," he said, warning that a "zero-sum mindset" cannot resolve today's problems. Major nations should take the lead in shouldering responsibility for global security governance, he added.

Hong Kong Introduces First Five-Year Plan

Hong Kong unveiled its first five-year plan, synching with the Chinese mainland in long-term economic planning. Chief Executive John Lee outlined five major objectives of the new plan: breakthroughs in economic development, expansion of global competitiveness, accelerating the city's Northern Metropolis development, enhancing social well-being and making strides integrating into national development. The plans call for reinforcing the city's status as center for innovation and technology, and a hub for off-shore yuan business. Lee promised to set up a finance and technology fund, sized up to HK$40 billion (US$5 billion), to promote development of AI, robotics, semiconductors and smart devices. To improve livelihoods, the government said it will improve public services in healthcare, education, housing and elderly care.

Saudis Report Drone Attack on Mecca

Saudi Arabia said it shot down a drone on the outskirts of Mecca, Islam's holiest city, blaming Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for the attack. The Houthis denied responsibility. The rebels have been in a longstanding civil war against a Saudi-led coalition that backs the government in Yemen. A spokesman for the coalition said attacking the birthplace of Mohammed and other holy sites crosses a red line. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arable have recently escalated, after the Houthis said they would block Saudi oil transit through the Red Sea, a route used to circumvent the blocked Strait of Hormuz on the other side of the Arabia Peninsula.

Officials from the US met Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthi rebel leaders over the weekend in Oman, which led to Washington's decision not to intervene to help Saudi Arabia drive back the Houthi advance inside Yemen. The group assured US officials that America shipping is safe from attack, the Guardian reported.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, reaffirmed China's support for Tehran but called for a political settlement to the country's conflict with the US and warned that regional tensions must not further spill over into Yemen. He also urged the earliest possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to an official readout of the meeting.

US Congress Passes Legislation Allowing Hefty Tariffs on Buyers of Russia Oil

The US Congress passed bipartisan legislation imposing tougher sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, granting President Donald Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five top purchasers of Russia oil, which include China, India and Turkey. The legislation now goes to the president for signature. The passage was a tribute to Senate veteran Lindsey Graham, who championed the legislation but died suddenly in July.

Top Business

ByteDance Profit Reportedly Declines, but Revenue on the Rise

ByteDance's first-half net profit fell by single digits to US$20 billion as spending on AI increased, US technology website The Information reported, citing three people familiar with the company's finances. Revenue at the Chinese tech giant rose 30 percent to US$120 billion, boosted by TikTok's international advertising and e-commerce businesses. Overseas revenue comprised a record 30 percent of total revenue, though ByteDance's short-video platform Douyin remains the biggest driver of revenue. The report said ByteDance is expanding AI cloud services and developing in-house inference chips. Its Seedance video models are also described as among the global leaders in AI video generation. ByteDance, as a private unlisted company, isn't required to report financial results, though earlier this year it reported a 70 percent profit decline for 2025 and a 50 percent surge in overseas revenue, without giving figures.

Separately, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become Asia's richest person, with net worth surpassing US$105 billion, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 43-year-old entrepreneur overtook Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on the index. Zhang's wealth has risen about sevenfold since 2019, when the index began tracking his wealth.

Nubia NaviX Ultra AI Smartphone Has Splash Market Entry

Chinese smartphone maker Nubia's Nubia NaviX Ultra racked up first-day sales of 100 million yuan (US$15 million) when it hit the market on Wednesday. The Nubia NaviX Ultra, powered by ByteDance's Doubao's mobile assistant, marks a major milestone as AI agent smartphones scale up to mass production. Retail prices of the new phone range from 5,999 yuan to 7,499 yuan. The smartphone has four core AI-powered capabilities: comprehension, execution, memory and security. The device offers deep reasoning, complex instruction breakdown, autonomous task planning and long-chain operations, and runs on the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform.

OpenAI Mulls New Fundraising Round to Lift Value to US$1.2 Trillion

OpenAI has held discussions with large investors about a fresh capital raising to increase the maker of ChatGPT's valuation to US$1.2 trillion before it goes public, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. No decision has been reached, it said. Last week, OpenAI said it won't go public this year as earlier expected, citing the negative effects of the current debate over AI safety. The IPO is now expected early next year. The company was valued at about US$852 billion after a fundraising round in March.

AI 'Godfather' Says Government Regulation Becoming More Likely

Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, considered one of the "godfathers" of AI technology, said concerns over AI safety are reaching a point where governments realize they must act to protect the public. He said reports of AI agents going rogue during testing and hacking other sites add impetus to government intervention. He compared the current situation to the outbreak of COVID, which galvanized government responses. The current contentious debate over AI risks began last week after an Anthropic researcher resigned and warned that frontier work on superintelligence could ultimately lead to machines exterminating the human race. In the realm of AI giants, Elon Musk and the heads of Anthropic and OpenAI have called for the pace of development to slow and regulatory oversight; the heads of Nvidia and Meta, along with US President Donald Trump, form an opposing camp.

Economy & Markets

US Fed Raises Rates, Drawing Rebuke From Trump

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, setting a range of 3.75 percent-4 percent in its first hike in three years and signaling one more increase likely this year. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, who took the post four months ago after being handpicked by President Trump to lower rates, joined in the unanimous decision, telling a press briefing later, "The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long." Higher prices have been triggered largely by energy prices resulting from the Iran war and by administration tariffs that make imports costlier. After the decision was announced, Trump again demanded that the Fed slash rates to 1 percent or less. Wall Street's major stock markets fell, and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond rose above 5 percent.

China's Biggest Airlines Report Modest Growth in Passengers Carried

Air China reported that it carried 9.6 percent more passengers in August, compared with a year earlier. Of that figure, numbers of passengers on domestic routes rose 10.3 percent, on international routes increased 8.8 percent and on regional routes declined 4.5 percent. Cargo transport rose 0.4 percent. China Southern Air reported it carried a 0.8 percent increase in passengers, with domestic routes up 0.6 percent, international routes up 10.8 percent and regional routes up 3.6 percent. Cargo increased 1.1 percent. China Eastern Air reported a 0.6 percent rise in passengers last month, with domestic route passengers slipping 0.05 percent, international routes up 3.9 percent and regional routes increasing 3.6 percent. Freight rose 10.3 percent.

Shanghai Joins Ranks of Top 5 Global Financial Hubs

Shanghai climbed a step up in the latest edition of the Global Financial Centers Index to become the fifth-ranked financial hub in the world. It now ranks below New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore, and ahead of Tokyo, Seoul, Shenzhen, Dubai and Zurich.

EU Proposes Canada Become 'Associate Member'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Wednesday that Canada become the bloc's first "associate member," a move aimed at shoring up their economies as both sides grapple with US trade tensions. Ottawa is currently in a trade war with Washington, instigated by the US, and seeking trade diversification.

Corporate

Horizon Robotics Chip Shipments Hit 15-Million Milestone

Beijing-based autonomous-driving chipmaker Horizon Robotics said cumulative shipments of its Journey-series chips have surpassed 15 million units, highlighting the rapid adoption of advanced driver-assistance technology in China. Founder and Chief Executive Yu Kai announced the milestone at an event in Shanghai, saying the 15 millionth chip will be installed in FAW-Volkswagen's new ID. Aura T6 model. More than 8 million vehicles are now equipped with Horizon Journey chips. The company said its SuperDrive system will enter mass production with a leading Chinese new-energy vehicle maker later this year.

Airbus Delivers First Tianjin A320neo

Airbus has delivered the first A320neo assembled at its second final assembly line in Tianjin, with China Eastern Airlines taking the first customer delivery. The new line expands Airbus's production capacity in China as the plane maker seeks to meet growing demand from Chinese and global airlines. Its original Tianjin facility, which began operations in 2008, has assembled and delivered more than 800 A320-family aircraft to date. Airbus now operates 10 final assembly lines worldwide, including two in Tianjin, two in Hamburg, two in Toulouse and two in the US. China is expected to account for more than 20 percent of global demand for new passenger aircraft over the next 20 years, requiring 8,830 aircraft out of a projected global total of 42,060, according to Airbus's latest market forecast.

GSK Buys Rights to Chinese Cancer Drug Under Development

UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to acquire a cancer drug from Chinese firm Chimagen Biosciences in a deal valued at up to US$750 million. The company said it is buying full global rights to a "potential best-in-class" T-cell engager targeting myeloma, a type of blood cancer. The new drug shows promise in reducing major side effects. It's expected to enter Phase 1 trials next year.

Trip.com Offers Out-of-This-World Trips

Trip.com, China's largest online travel 's platform, has begun selling tickets for Virgin Galactic's 2027 space tours, priced at 5.1 million yuan (US$760,000) each. Two buyers have already secured seats, Yicai reported. Passengers are required to spend four days in pre-flight training before finally launching into space for a 90-minute suborbital trip.

Huawei Introduces 3D Data Center Supporting Ascend Supernode Clusters

Huawei unveiled the world's first 3D data center supporting Ascend supernode clusters. It features zoned isolation and containment of failures, enabling partitioned heat dissipation, high energy efficiency and energy savings, and ultra-short routing. Huawei Vice Chairman Wang Tao said that 10-trillion parameter large models and rapidly growing token demand are placing higher requirements on AI infrastructure, and that Ascend supernode clusters with more than 100,000 cards will become standard configurations.