Daily Buzz: 16 October 2025

Canton Fair Opens With Accent on Technology

The 138th Canton Fair, now formally known as the China Import and Export Fair, opened in the southern city of Guangzhou, with more than 32,000 companies participating and the accent on advanced technologies. It is the oldest and largest exhibition of its kind in China. This year's highlights include the debut of a zone dedicated to smart health care, bringing together 47 companies specializing in surgical robots, intelligent monitoring systems and wearable medical devices. A separate zone on robotics will return, with 46 exhibits ranging from the latest humanoid robots to robotic dogs. Intelligent transformation with feature 18 exhibition sections focusing on smart technologies and showcasing more than 350,000 products. A section dedicated to green technologies will feature energy storage systems and advances in hydrogen energy, with more than 1 million low-carbon products on exhibit. The fair will run through November 4.

US Ratchets Up Pressure on Hamas

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will consider allowing Israel to resume military action in Gaza if Hamas doesn't uphold its end of the current ceasefire deal. Israelis are angry that not all remains of 28 hostages who died during captivity have been returned and that Hamas has yet to agree to disarm. It has threatened to reduce or delay shipments of humanitarian aid into the territory. Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages to Israel along with some remains, but it claims uncertainty about the locations of all remains amid the rubble left by Israel bombing.

Himalayas Fireworks Spur Probe

Authorities in the city of Shigatse on China's Himalayan plateau said they are holding artist Cai Guoqiang's studio and Canadian-based event sponsor Arc'teryx legally responsible for a high-altitude fireworks show last month that caused environmental damage. The "Rising Dragon" display on September 19 set off 1,050 pots of fireworks in less than a minute, impacting 30 hectares of grassland, a report into the incident said. Officials involved in approving and supervising the event have been dismissed.

Trump Butts In Argentine Politics

President Donald Trump, in a somewhat blatant meddling in Argentine politics, said continuation of the US$20 billion bailout Washington is providing to ease Argentina's currency crisis is contingent on the party of right-wing populist President Javiar Milei being successful in midterm parliamentary elections later this month. If leftists retake power, Trump said, the US will not "waste our time" helping Argentina.

US Threatens Land Attack on Drug Traffickers

The US said it is considering land strikes against suspected drug cartels inside Venezuela, President Trump said, after American naval vessels carried out a fifth attack on boats allegedly transporting illegal drugs off Venezuela's coast, killing six.

BHP Plays Down China Impasse

Australia's BHP, the world's largest miner by market capitalization, moved to allay fears of a serious rift opening with China, its largest iron ore buyer, amid a stalemate in annual price negotiations. The company has declined to comment on reports that China has stopped shipments and is demanding to pay for the ore, at least partially, in yuan instead of the US dollar used in global commodity trading. In a speech at a business event on Wednesday, BHP President Geraldine Slattery said the current negotiations with China Mineral Resources Group, which negotiates on behalf of Chinese steelmakers, are part of an ordinary commercial process and don't impair the company's longstanding relations with China, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Iron ore is Australia's biggest single export, and BHP, along with fellow Australian miners Rio Tinto and Fortescue, and Brazil's Vale, supply 70 percent of China's purchases. The outcome of annual BHP-China talks normally sets a global benchmark price for the ore.

Washington Unfazed by Market Volatility

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a press conference that the US trade stance toward China won't be influenced by volatility in financial markets and told CNBC that Washington won't stand by and let "bureaucrats in China manage the manufacturing process for the rest of the world." He was referring Beijing's earlier announcement of tightened export controls on rare earth minerals critical in the product of goods like electric cars, smart phones, consumer electronics, military radar and wind turbines. Bessent suggested if Beijing backs off those controls, the US would alter its proposed retaliatory 100 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, due to come into effective November 1. US stock markets ended mixed on Wednesday in sometimes volatile trading. Gold pushed past the record level of US$4,200 an ounce amid uncertainty about trade tensions.

SiCarrier Unveils In-House Chip Tools

Shenzhen-based SiCarrier Technologies, a chip-equipment maker employing many former Huawei executives, unveiled its 90 gigahertz real-time oscilloscope and electronic design automation tools on Wednesday. The oscilloscope device is a core technology instrument under US export bans since 1996 and represents a breakthrough for China's semiconductor industry, helping close a Chinese gap in high-end measurement equipment. Chia is seeking to end reliance on foreign technology in semiconductors, a sector considered critical to national security and economic competitiveness.

Economy & Markets

China Consumer, Producer Prices Fall

China's consumer prices in September fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier, easing from a decline of 0.4 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Producer prices dropped 2.3 percent, narrowing from a 2.9 percent fall a month earlier. The biggest declines in consumer prices were in food and energy, while prices for gold and platinum jewelry rose. In the tourist sector, accommodation and air travel prices fell. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 1 percent last month, its highest in 19 months.

HK Exchange to Add Biotech Futures

Hong Kong's stock exchange will launch futures contracts on the Hang Seng Biotech Index next month amid rising interest among offshore investors in China biogen stocks listed in the city, the South China Morning Post reported. The futures, which will give investors a tool in hedging their bets in the sector, will cover 30 of the largest Chinese companies doing business in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The biotech sector "is one of the most exciting frontiers in capital markets today," said Gregory Yu, head of markets at the Hong Kong exchange.

China Central Bank Increases Liquidity

The People's Bank of China said it conducted a 600 billion yuan (US$85 billion) outright reverse repo operation, with a six-month maturity, on Wednesday to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system. The central bank introduced reverse repos a year ago to complement tools available for carrying out monetary policy. Reverse repurchase agreements essentially involve a central bank's fixed-term purchase of government securities from commercial banks, putting more money in circulation.

Corporate

Apple Seeks China Growth Boost

Li Lecheng, China's minister of industry and information technology, met Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook in Beijing on Wednesday, pledging a more favorable business environment for foreign companies. Cook reaffirmed Apple's commitment to invest more in China and noted that 90 percent of Apple's manufacturing in China runs on renewable energy. Apple's more than 100 local suppliers recently launched a 1 billion yuan (US$140 million) fund for renewable power infrastructure in China.

Meanwhile, Apple, which is developing a range of new home devices to be produced in Vietnam, has teamed up with China's largest electric carmaker BYD to handle final assembly, testing and packaging operations. The new products include indoor security cameras, a household command hub controlling appliances and a tabletop robot.

AI Data Center Operator in US$40 Billion deal

An investment partnership that includes BlackRock, Microsoft and Nvidia is buying US-based Aligned Data Centers, one of the world's biggest operators of big AI data centers, from Australia's Macquarie Asset Management in a deal valued at US$40 billion, Reuters reported. The partnership, formed last year, also includes Abu Dhabi fund MGX and Elon Musk's startup xAI. BlackRock chief Larry Find said the investment furthers the goal of delivering the infrastructure needed to power the future of artificial intelligence. It is the latest in a series of multibillion-dollar deals announced by technology giants.

IFlytek Unveils Major AI Upgrades

Chinese technology company iFlytek announced an upgrade of its AI interpretation technology in Shanghai, along with the release of a new AI translation earphones and an upgraded iFlytek dual-screen translator device. The new technology offers an expanded professional vocabulary database of more than 100,000 terms covering medical, financial and legal fields, and adds languages like Arabic and Spanish. IFlytek ranks first across eight core dimensions of AI translation, including speed, accuracy, commercial scale and research and development, serving more than a million users.

Chengtun Makes Offer for Canadian Miner

Mining Xiamen-based Chengtun Mining Group said it plans to pay US$190 million to fully acquire Canada's Loncor Gold and take over that company's Adumbi gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the deal, Shanghai-listed Chengtun is making an all-cash offer of C$1.38 (98 US cents) for each Loncor share traded on the Toronto and Frankfurt stock exchanges.

Samsung, China Telecom Foldable Phone

Samsung Electronics, in partnership with China Telecom, launched its newest ultra-premium, foldable smartphone, the Samsung W26. It integrates Galaxy AI capabilities powered by Samsung's One UI 8 interface, offering a 6.5-inch external display and an 8-inch internal foldable screen. The devices goes on sale Friday with a price of 16,999 yuan (US$2,361), the same day as Apple's iPhone Air sales begin in China.