Daily Buzz: 28 September 2026

China Outlines Progress From US Summit Talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump agreed at last week's summit in Washington to build a constructive, stable China-US relationship based on respect, fairness and reciprocity, according to an official statement released on Saturday by the foreign ministry in Beijing. It said the two leaders affirmed US$30 billion reductions in reciprocal tariffs, concurred that Iran should not develop nuclear weapons or levy transit fees on vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and agreed to establish a bilateral dialogue to exchange views on AI-related risks and benefits, with a hotline to be set up for AI incidents that pose security threats. Xi and Trump also commended tangible results in joint efforts on countering illegal narcotics related to new psychoactive substances and precursor chemicals.

The US said it will release details of the summit meeting today. But US Treasury Scott Bessent earlier said the trade truce signed last year – and due to expire in November – will be extended two months to provide time to iron out unresolved issues and possibly produce a larger trade deal. Xi and Trump will meet twice more this year – next month at the APEC summit China is hosting and in December at the Group of 20 summit hosted by the US.

China, Russia Urge End to Naval Blockade of Cuba

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, addressing the UN General Assembly on Saturday, said the sovereignty of countries in the Middle East should be respected and urged an end to the blockade of Cuba, without mentioning the US as the perpetrator. "Major countries should have special responsibilities for safeguarding international peace and security," Han said, "and they should take the lead in upholding rule of law and doing what's right." Speaking hours later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on the US to lift its "siege"' of Cuba that restricts trade with the island and to remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors ⁠of terrorism. The US blockade of the island, particularly on oil imports, has severely crippled Cuba's energy grid.

Trump Rejects Latest Iran Proposal for Opening Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week if certain conditions are met. Those conditions were largely contained in a ceasefire and preliminary peace framework both nations signed in June but subsequently collapsed. "I'm rejecting their deal," Trump said on Saturday, adding that the US already has "total control" of the strait and "massive amounts of oil" are passing through. His rejection came as no surprise, a day after he threatened again to "annihilate" Iran in a speech to the UN. Iran responded by saying it's ready for a "doomsday" war with the US.

Separately, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched this weekend ‌by Iran-backed Houthi militants toward Saudi Arabia. The drones were aimed toward the Saudi capital Riyadh and the city of Khamis Mushait. The Houthis have declared a naval blockade against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and launched strikes on Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and vessels. Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose when trading resumed after the weekend break, priced at US$105.87 a barrel.

UK Foils Suspected Terrorist Attack at Air Base

British counter-terrorism police thwarted a possible vehicle bomb attack at a Royal Air Force base used by the US as a staging ground for some missions against Iran. Possible links to Iran are being investigated, Sky News reported. Five men were arrested on explosive charges after three "suspicious vehicles" were reported travelling toward RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, and residents in a nearby village were evacuated. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the situation "deeply concerning."

Latest Panda 'Diplomats' Arrive at Atlanta Zoo

Two giant pandas, a male named Ping Ping and a female named Fu Shuang, arrived in Atlanta on a FedEx flight from the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu – gifted by Chinese President Xi Jinping on his visit to the US last week. They are the third pair of pandas to be loaned to US zoos in the past two years. The pandas, both born in 2020, will undergo quarantine upon arrival at Zoo Atlanta, and veterinarians from China will remain at the zoo to help them adjust to their new surroundings. The zoo is no stranger to hosting pandas. In 2024, it returned four pandas to China when a 25-year agreement between the zoo and China expired. Loaning the rare animals, China's national icons, to foreign zoos has become known as "panda diplomacy."

Top Business

Kinwong Electronic to Disclose IPO Allocations Today

Shenzhen-based printed circuit board maker Kinwong Electronic will announced subscription allocations today for its Hong Kong initial public offering, seeking to raise up to HK$5.1 billion (US$650 million). The company said it has taken orders for 73 million shares priced at a maximum HK$69.88 each. The shares are expected to start trading on Tuesday. Kinwong said it will use proceeds from the sale to expand and upgrade production capacity for higher-value products demanded by AI. Kinwong is among four Chinese firms seeking to raise up to a combined HK$14.35 billion through separate Hong Kong listings, alongside RoboTechnik Intelligent Technology, Red Avenue New Materials and Direct Drive Tech.

OpenAI Pauses AI Model Training Amid New Reports of Rogue Misbehavior

OpenAI said it has paused training of its latest AI models amid reports of more AI agents going rogue. The US company said it is investigating reports of its agents evading filters and acting beyond what was asked of them. AI evaluator Transluce said agents that appeared to come from OpenAI tried unsuccessfully to hack into a US Department of Education website. In another case, agents using freely available information from the US Securities and Exchange Commission posted it elsewhere on the internet when it wasn't instructed to do so. Agents also made more than 16,000 attempts to access a UN Trade and Development data platform. The Australian government revealed last week that an OpenAI agent hacked its national health service when gathering information. OpenAI said in a statement that it will resume training "only when we are confident that we have additional safeguards" in place.

China Telecoms End Installment Phone-Purchase Contracts

China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom, the nation's three biggest telecom carriers, have suspended new enrollments in installment phone-purchase programs, affecting China Mobile's HeBao Credit Purchase, China Telecom's Orange Installment and China Unicom's Wo Installment. The programs offered phones at no upfront cost, but monthly bills included loan repayments. Some users weren't aware they signed credit agreements and faced potential damage to their credit ratings if missed payments led to defaults. The suspension comes just days before a new government rule comes into effect effectively banning misleading advertising and illegal bundling in product marketing.

Eswin Computing to Seek US$300 Million in Hong Kong IPO

Beijing-based Eswin Computing Technology is seeking to raise about US$300 million in an initial public offering in Hong Kong to fund research and development in human-computer interface and multimedia processing. Joint sponsors are CITIC Securities and CSC International. The company is a designer of RISC-V architecture chips and core software for smart devices and AI applications Parent company Eswin Group was founded by Wang Dongsheng, widely recognized as the "father" of China's LCD industry and founder of flat panel display giant BOE Technology.

Economy & Markets

China AI Models Comprise Majority of Traffic on Two Gateways

Chinese artificial intelligence models have surged from niche alternatives to account for the majority of AI traffic through the gateways of two major developer platforms. On OpenRouter, models from companies including DeepSeek, Z.ai and Alibaba represented 57 percent to 67 percent of tokens processed in the week beginning September 14, up from just 6 percent to 13 percent in February. On Vercel, their share climbed to 55 percent in August from 11 percent in in January. The rapid adoption reflects the strategic bet by Chinese developers to open-weight systems and undercut US rivals on price while closing the performance gap in high-demand tasks such as coding. The most advanced US models still lead most benchmarks, but the margin no longer justifies the cost for a growing share of commercial users. Companies in what OpenRouter defines as the "global south" -- 82 countries across Central and South America, Africa and Asia -- have become the heaviest users of Chinese models.

Global Investors Eye Return to China Commercial Property

International investors who see early signs of a recovery in Chinese mainland office and retail property markets are expected to resume buying soon, the South China Morning Post reported, citing real estate firm JLL. Global investors are waiting for the economy to mop up more oversupply and for the sector to show prospects for generating sufficient income, said Stuart Crow, JLL chief executive for the Asia-Pacific region. Commercial property transactions in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing in the first half of this year were on the rise in prime locations. A slump in the Chinese property market began in 2021 when a liquidity squeeze hit developers, causing some to default on debt.

EU Advises London to Raise Tariffs on China-Made Cars

The EU has told British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that Britain needs to raise tariffs on Chinese cars if it wants to and align more closely with EU trade policy, the Financial Times reported. The bloc told London its best solution would be to rejoin the EU's customs union, which it left after the country voted to leave the EU in 2016. The EU is concerned that Chinese exporters may try to avoid EU tariffs by routing goods to the continent through Britain.

The EU's "made in Europe" policy aims to curb reliance on Chinese components by prioritizing European-made goods – a worry for the British auto industry that feeds parts into EU supply chains and sells cars across the bloc.

Hong Kong to Begin Accepting China Bonds as Collateral

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said its derivative subsidiaries HKFE Clearing Corp and SEHK Options Clearing House will begin accepting China government bonds and offshore bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance as eligible non-cash collateral to cover margin requirements, beginning in November. The expansion of eligible collateral will provide market participants with broader collateral choices and more efficient use of capital, and expand Hong Kong's fixed-income and yuan markets.

Corporate

Two Funds Complete US$1 Billion Investment in Luckin

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment and Beijing private equity firm Centurium Capital have completed a minority investment of about US$1 billion in Luckin Coffee, China's largest café chain. The transaction is a secondary share transfer rather than a new share issue, meaning the funds don't directly enter the company's accounts. Market speculation suggests the capital could be used for acquiring premium coffee brands or facilitating Luckin's return to a US listing. Luckin was delisted from the Nasdaq in New York in 2020 for accounting fraud. Its subsequent recovery led to revenue last year of 49 billion yuan (US$7.3 billion) and an operating margin of 10.3 percent – with its 36,310 outlets four times larger than Starbucks' footprint in China.

Gucci Sells 'Made in China' Sneakers for US$1,000 a Pair

Italian luxury brand Gucci has begun selling a new sneaker model bearing a "made in China" label, with the shoes priced at around US$1,000 a pair The labels have been confirmed on Gucci's official website and at its Paris boutique in France. The footwear includes the Drip sneaker, the first athletic shoe unveiled by new creative director Demna. By contrast, most other footwear products with country-of-origin labels on Gucci's website are marked "made in Italy." Gucci has made clear that the decision should not be interpreted as simple cost-cutting or a shift in its overall production strategy.

Volkswagen, Audi Recall 2.7 Million Cars

Volkswagen and Audi are recalling about 2.9 million vehicles worldwide over a steering-system defect that could potentially result in a loss of steering control. The recall covers VW Golf, Golf Variant, Tiguan, Touran and Caddy models produced between September 2013 and July 2024, as well as Audi Q3 vehicles manufactured between October 2017 and May 2024, according to Euronews.

Phone Maker Transsion Begins Pre-IPO Roadshow

Shenzhen-based Transsion, the biggest phone seller in Africa, plans to begin a road show this week to rev up interest in its pending IPO in Hong Kong, which will seek to raise up to US$500 million, International Financing Review reported. The company has received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for a sale of shares not to exceed 132 million. The phone maker listed on Shanghai's STAR Market in 2019, with its shares dropping nearly 19 percent this year. Transsion hold about a 62 percent share of the African mobile phone market.

Kingland Technology to Offload Stake in Zhongke Dingshi

China's Kingland Technology announced it plans to sell its 77.7 percent stake in Zhongke Dingshi Environmental Engineering along with related creditor's rights through a public online auction, with an initial starting price of 50 million yuan (US$7.4 million). If the transaction completes at the starting price, the company expects to record a disposal loss of approximately 55.2 million yuan, and Kingland Technology will no longer hold any equity or creditor's rights in Zhongke Dingshi.