Daily Buzz: 2 November 2026

China Unveils Details of Its First Human Mission to the Moon

Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China's Manned Space Program and principal designer of the lunar exploration project, told a conference on Saturday that China's first manned lunar mission will carry three astronauts. with two of them landing on the moon. The mission will use a lunar orbit rendezvous mode, completed through a "two launches, one landing" approach with two Long March 10 rockets. On the lunar surface, the two astronauts will operate a Tansuo rover to conduct scientific experiments and collect samples. The mission is expected sometime before 2030.

US Election Campaign Ends in Recriminations

Today is the last day of campaigning in US midterm elections on Tuesday that will choose all members of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. The election will determine if President Trump's Republicans retain control of both chambers, with polls generally showing Democrats on the ascendancy. Trump is not on the ballot but he has repeatedly told supporters in a flurry of campaign rallies to pretend that he is. The high cost of living, triggered largely by Trump's war on Iran, has become a major election issue. The hotly contested election, filled with volleys of bitter candidate accusations, is ending in a spate of controversies in key battleground states such as Michigan and Alaska. On Friday, a federal judge ordered Trump's Justice Department to stop harassing state election officials who reject its directives on ballot processing. The US Constitution gives states, not the federal government, authority over elections.

Poland's President, Prime Minister Tangle Over Judicial Independence

Poland's right-wing president and centrist prime minister squared off in a battle over the independence of the judiciary that sparked two days of demonstrations. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government would press ahead with efforts to restore the independence of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal after judges elected by the current parliamentary majority announced the suspension of the tribunal's president and deputy. President Karol Nawrocki aborted a trip to a sporting event in Senegal mid-trip to return to Warsaw to escort the suspended court president into the court building. Earlier this year, Nawrocki refused to accept oaths of office for new judges.

Bulgaria's Female President Headed for Election Victory

Exit polls in Bulgaria's presidential runoff election on Sunday signal that incumbent President Iliana Yotova will emerge as winner, becoming the nation's first elected female head of state. She was appointed to the post last January, after Rumen Radev stepped down to run in April parliamentary elections and became Bulgaria's prime minister. Yotova campaigned on a pledge to keep Bulgaria on its European path.

French Police Arrest Over 400 in Halloween Weekend Protests

French police arrested 422 protesters as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Germany and France on Halloween to demonstrate against the high cost of living, underfunded schools and other grievances. The police said the demonstrations were largely smooth, but accused of violent clashes that took place. The protests were led by young people – many wearing Halloween masks – who are disheartened by their futures and feel they have no voice in government policymaking. Inflation has accelerated across the world as soaring oil prices triggered by the Middle East conflict burrow into economies. Protests also occurred in Portugal and Albania.

In India, authorities cordoned off parts of New Delhi on Sunday as thousands of protesters converged to demand the resignation of the country's election chief over a controversial revision of voters lists that favors the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

African Ebola Death Toll Climbs Past 5,000, Fatality Rate 49 Percent

More than 5,000 people have died from the continuing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with some 10,300 confirmed cases. The outbreak, which started in May, is the second-deadliest in the history of epidemics caused by the virus, with a fatality rate of 49 percent. Cases have also been confirmed in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. There is no treatment or vaccine currently available for the viral variation responsible for the outbreak. The World Health Organization office in Africa said a "continued scale-up of key control measures, greater access to affected areas and community outreach" is vital in stopping the epidemic.

Top Business

BYD Sales and Exports Rise, but Growth Slowing

Leading Chinese automaker BYD retained its top spot among domestic competitors in the new energy vehicle market, with October sales rising 11 percent from a year earlier to its highest monthly total this year of 490,168. Of the October total, 305,743 vehicles were all electric, rising 51 percent from a year earlier. By contrast, plug-in hybrid fell 17 percent. Sales on the Chinese mainland fell 11 percent on the year, and exports doubled to 170,194 from a year earlier but fell 5.8 percent from September – a concern for a Chinese carmaker relying on exports to offset a sluggish domestic market.

Among competitors reporting October figures on Sunday, startup Leapmotor said it delivered 106,127 vehicles, up 51 percent from a year earlier, and Xiaomi Auto said deliveries topped 50,000, its highest monthly total this year. Xpeng said it delivered 50,237 vehicles, up 20 percent, with exports rising 166 percent to a record 13,000 units. Nio said it delivered 34,246 vehicles in October. Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, a smart driving group initiated by Huawei and including Aito, Luxeed, Stelato, Maextro and SAIC brands, said it delivered 33,537 vehicles in October but gave no comparative figures. Geely's Zeekr said deliveries in the latest month rose 52 percent to 32,483, Li Auto reported a monthly decline of 8.8 percent to 29,025 vehicles, and Changan Auto's Deepal brand tumbled 11 percent.

Meta Reportedly Builds Humanoid Robot With China's Fourier

Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, has developed a humanoid robot prototype with Shanghai-based robotics company Fourier and is working on a second version, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the project. The prototype, internally named Max, reportedly weighs about 48 kilograms and was built in about three months. Meta told the publication that the collaboration with Fourier focuses on internal research and experimentation, with no plans to sell the units. The project brings together the US technology company's AI ambitions and Fourier's robot-development capabilities.

Changan Automobile Turns to Loss From Profit

Chongqing-based Changan Automobile turned to a third-quarter loss of 758 million yuan (US$114 million) from a year-earlier profit on a 14 percent decline in revenue from a year earlier to 36.3 billion yuan. The carmaker cited lower domestic sales, rising raw materials costs and foreign-exchange losses as foreign earnings were converted on the stronger yuan. For the first nine months of the year, profit fell 98 percent to 59 million yuan on revenue of 101.9 billion yuan. Overseas markets were a bright spot, with wholesale volume of 727,000 vehicles in the first three quarters, up 56 percent from a year earlier. The company is aiming to produce up to 3.5 million vehicles by 2030. Changan has joint ventures with Ford Motor Co and Mazda, and also sells vehicles under its own brands, including Avatr, Deepal and Kaicene.

DeepSeek Releases Experimental AI Coding Agent

Chinese AI developer DeepSeek has released an open-source coding-agent prototype designed to handle software-development requests with less human supervision. Called dsh-superagent, it works within a single GitHub repository and can receive requests through GitHub or the Feishu workplace messaging platform, carry out coding tasks and submit proposed changes for review. It acts when authorized users request work or predefined team rules permit it. DeepSeek cautioned that the release is research code rather than an official, production-ready product, and that some capabilities described in its accompanying technical details remain development goals.

Economy & Markets

China's Factory Activity Slips Into Contraction

China's factory activity in October, measured by the purchasing managers' index, slipped into contraction from expansion a month earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported over the weekend. The official purchasing managers' index fell to 49.3 from 50.1 in September. The 50-threshold divides contraction from growth. Among subindexes, the production index fell to 49.8 percent, new orders to 49.4 percent and new export orders came in at 48.7 percent. High-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing remained in expansion territory, but consumer goods, energy-intensive industries and construction weakened. The separate index for non-manufacturing business activity edged down to 49.7 from 50.2 a month earlier, and the composite index of the two stood at 49.7.

Binance Resumes Withdrawals, FBI Traces Cyber Heist to North Korea

Binance, the largest digital assets trading platform, resumed cryptocurrency withdrawals in phases on Sunday after a hack that stole US$6.3 billion in tokens from its hot wallets. Net outflows initially spiked at US$3.64 billion but later stabilized. The company reported US$4.65 billion withdrawn and US$1.01 billion deposited during the first nine and half hours after withdrawals reopened. Binance said it set aside more than US$6.34 billion in company funds, with coverage drawing on its Secure Asset Fund for Users, corporate resources and part of its futures insurance fund to cover client losses. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation said it has determined that North Korean hackers were behind the largest-ever crypto heist. Cyber security firms have been trying to track and freeze the stolen tokens.

OPEC+ Keeps Production Targets Unchanged

OPEC+ oil-producing countries kept December production targets steady at an online meeting on Sunday, confirming expectations that no further policy adjustments will occur until next year. The cartel has been struggling with export disruptions arising from the Iran war. Benchmark Brent crude futures resumed trading in New York after the weekend break priced at about US$112 a barrel.

Lab-Grown Diamonds Drive Jewelry Exports

Chinese exports of precious-metal jewelry in the first nine months of 2026 rose 18 percent from a year earlier to US$10.2 billion, according to customs data. Lab-grown diamond jewelry is emerging as a key growth driver as high prices for precious metals prompt more consumers to seek more affordable alternatives. Some are opting for jewelry with lower gold or silver content, while others are switching from silver to copper products. China produces about 60 percent of the world's man-made diamonds.

China Land Premium Rates Hit 2026 Low

China's average premium rate for residential land auctions across 300 cities fell to 1.4 percent in October, the lowest level this year, as major developers turned more cautious. The country's 100 largest property developers spent 646.5 billion yuan (US$97.2 billion) on land purchases in the first 10 months, down 17.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Index Academy. China Resources Land led developers in land acquisition spending with 71 billion yuan, followed by Poly Developments with 69.6 billion yuan and China Overseas Land with 44.4 billion yuan.

China Getting Its 30th 1 Trillion GDP City

Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, a construction-machinery manufacturing hub and home to equipment maker Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, is on track to become China's 30th city with annual economic growth exceeding 1 trillion yuan (US$150 billion). The city's gross domestic product in the first three quarters of the year expanded 5.1 percent year on year to 759 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026. The city narrowly missed the milestone in 2025, with GDP of 995.7 billion yuan. It is benefiting from its push to become a regional economic and industrial hub.

Corporate

Yonghui Superstores Narrows Loss in Third Quarter

Fuzhou-based Yonghui Superstores, a major Chinese supermarket and hypermarket chain known for its focus on fresh food, narrowed its third-quarter loss from a year earlier to 82.7 million yuan (US$12.4 million). Operating revenue fell 8.3 percent to 11.4 billion yuan. For the first nine months of the year, revenue tumbled 17 percent to 35.2 billion yuan, but the company turned to profit of 170.5 million yuan from a year-earlier loss of 710 million yuan. The company replaced 60 percent of its suppliers in the last quarter and cut fresh produce suppliers to fewer than 400. Private-label brands accounted for 11 percent of sales. At the end of September, the company operated 383 stores.

ZX Moto Rides Wave of Popularity With New Factory Plans

Chinese motorcycle maker ZXMoto, which shot to global attention earlier this year with surprise victories in international races, has won approval to build a new plant in the southwestern city of Chongqing. The facility will have annual production capacity of 500,000 bikes, local media reported. The factory is expected to cost 750 million yuan (US$112.5 million). In late October, company founder Zhang Xue set a new Guinness World Record at his hometown in Hunan Province when he rode a modified MX450 across open water for nearly 41 kilometers.

Xiaomi to Invest 1.7 Billion Yuan in Sunwoda Battery Unit

Sunwoda, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer of lithium-ion battery modules, said a subsidiary of carmaker Xiaomi plans to take a 5.3 percent stake in its electric-vehicle battery unit with an investment of 1.7 billion yuan (US$256 million). Under the deal, Xiaomi will become the third-largest shareholder. The planned investment comes less than two months after Li Auto announced it would invest 2.6 billion yuan for an 8.8 percent stake in the unit. Shenzhen-listed Sunwoda also announced it's scrapping plans for a listing in Hong Kong, citing poor market conditions and changes in its development plans.