Daily Buzz: 18 May 2026

Top News

China Cites Progress With US on Aircraft, Farm Products, Tariff Reduction

China's commerce ministry said China and US trade teams achieved preliminary agreement on Chinese purchase of US aircraft, mutual tariff reductions and trade involving agricultural products but gave no details. The update came after last week's summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Beijing. The ministry said both nations also agreed to establish separate trade and investment councils to address specifics in those areas. The US side, it said, will address long-standing Chinese concerns like US measures targeting Chinese dairy and aquatic products, and exports of media-grown bonsai to the US. China, for its part, will pursue solutions to US concerns regarding imports of beef and poultry. Trump said after the visit that China had agreed to purchase 200 Boeing jetliners, a detail China hasn't confirmed.

Putin to Visit China This Week

Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin a two-day visit to China on Tuesday, China's foreign ministry announced. His visit follows a visit by US President Donald Trump last week, one by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi two weeks ago and trips by a series of European leaders earlier this year. The visits by foreign dignitaries underscore China's status in global diplomacy.

Iran Poised to Unveil Toll System for Strait of Hormuz

Iran said it will soon unveil its plan for management of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including tolls and defined shipping lanes. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf declared that the world "stands at the cusp of a new order." The US and other countries want to see the strait reopened under international freedom of navigation rules of the past. US President Donald Trump renewed his rhetoric against Iran, warning the "clock is ticking" as talks to end the war remain in stalemate. In the war, a drone strike ignited a fire at an Abu Dhabi nuclear plant, with no impact on radiation levels, and Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three incoming drones on Sunday. Israel said it hit 100 targets linked to Iran ally Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

China Urges Withdrawal of US Typhoon Missiles From Japan

China urged the US and Japan to withdraw the Typhon intermediate-range missile system deployed in Japan as soon as possible, calling it a "substantive threat" to regional security, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Beijing said the system, which it claims was installed under the pretext of joint exercise and training, heightens the risks of an arms race and military confrontation in the Asian region. China's concerns about Japan's military are rooted in World War II, when Japan brutally occupied parts of the country.

Ukraine Retaliates With Big Drone Strikes in Russia

Ukraine unleashed its largest drone attack on Russia in a year, killing four people near Moscow. The attack by hundreds of drones followed intensive Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukraine last week that left at least 25 people dead.

Two Challengers Seeking to Oust UK Prime Minister Favor Rejoining EU

Two leading Labour Party contenders to replace UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in any leadership challenge -- Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting – signaled they want to see Britain rejoin the EU. In 2016, UK voters approved a referendum to leave the EU, which has triggered years of debate about the merits of the departure, especially as Britain is pivoting its focus now to the EU as US relations sour.

WHO Declares Ebola Emergency

The World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of the highly contagious Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern" but said it falls short of a pandemic warning. The declaration came after more than 80 deaths and 246 suspected cases. There is no vaccine for the disease.

Top Business

Shanghai Film Festival Embraces AI, Cannes More Hesitant

The Shanghai International Film Festival, which begins on June 12, is moving into artificial intelligence-driven filmmaking with the launch of its AI Backlot. The unit will initially bring together four creative teams of AI creators and professionals from film and TV industries to produce AI short films for presentation at the festival. Tony Ying, a film festival organizer, said AI is fundamentally reshaping how film and television content is made, Yicai reported.

At the current Cannes Film Festival in France, AI has dominated discussions on the sidelines, with some stars and filmmakers voicing concerns about computers taking over human creativity and undercutting human values. However, French director and screenwriter Xavier Gens told Reuters that his 2024 Netflix hit "Under Paris" about a giant shark in the Seine would have been made with half the visual-effects budget and finished up to eight months earlier by using AI. A Morgan Stanley report last year said generative AI could cut film and TV production costs by as much as 30 percent. Cannes organizers have not altogether banned films that use AI, but they do exclude films that draw most of their content from it.

BlackRock Mulls Hefty Investment in SpaceX IPO

US private equity firm BlackRock is considering investing U$5 billion to $10 billion in SpaceX's ‌initial public offering next month, ‌Information news outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter. SpaceX is aiming to raise of about US$75 billion from what may be the world's biggest-ever IPO. Reuters earlier reported that SpaceX is aiming to list its shares as early ‌as June 12 on New York's Nasdaq.

Samsung Chief Apologizes Over Strike Threat

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong apologized to the public for tensions arising from a labor dispute that is teetering on a strike. He urged good faith in negotiations, which the nation's labor ministry has stepped in to mediate. Workers are demanding that 15 percent of operating profit be allocated to bonuses and caps on excess profit incentives be removed. Samsung Electronics is one of the world's biggest chip makers, and any production halt could affect some global supplies. South Korea's Kospi stock index plunged 6 percent on Friday.

China Criticizes EU Subsidy Probe

China's Ministry of Commerce criticized an EU decision invoking its foreign subsidies regulations to probe Beijing-based nuclear technology company Nuctech and said the firm won't assist the investigation. It called the probe ""unjustified extraterritorial jurisdiction." The EU opened the investigation last December, citing concerns that subsidies the company may have received give it an unfair competitive advantage in Europe.

Economy & Markets

Warnings Mount Over Crunch Point in Global Oil Supplies

Global oil inventories are falling at a record pace as nations tap stockpiles to compensate for supply disruptions in the Middle East and will reach critical levels soon if the Strait of Hormuz isn't reopened, the International Energy Agency warned. Inventories were near a decade high at just over 8 billion barrels at the end of February but are forecast to drop to 7.6 billion by the end of this month and to a critically low 6.8 by September if the strait remains closed. The agency said only about 800 million barrels are actually available, with the rest needed to keep pipelines and tanks filled at minimum levels so the supply chain operates efficiently. "Like blood pressure in the human body, the issue is circulation," said Natasha Kaneva, JPMorgan's head of global commodities strategy. "The system does not fail because oil disappears; it fails because the circulation network no longer has enough working volume."

Separately, the Trump administration is allowing its temporary waiver of sales of Russian crude oil at sea to expire, despite no end in sight to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. The March waiver and its April renewal were intended to ease supply shortages, particularly to Asian countries like India that depend on Gulf energy imports. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures resumed trading in New York on Sunday night priced at US$110.52 a barrel.

China's New Loans Contract Amid Weak Consumer Demand

New yuan loans in China in April contracted for the first time in nine months, reflecting weak household demand for credit. Loans fell by 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), according to Reuters' calculations based on data released by the People's Bank of China. "Like last month, weak household loan demand was the main culprit," Capital Economics said in a note. "Part of this weakness is the result of the continued slowdown in mortgage demand" since the start of the property slump. Household loans, including mortgages, contracted by 786.9 billion yuan in April after a 491 billion yuan rise in March, while corporate loans tumbled to 390 billion yuan from 2.66 trillion yuan.

Indian Rupee Slumps as Oil Costs Rise

The Indian rupee fell to a record low beyond 95.8 against the US dollar after India's trade deficit widened sharply in April, making the currency Asia's worst performer this year as higher oil and commodity prices related to the Iran war drain the nation's foreign-exchange reserves. India reported its trade deficit expanded to US$28.4 billion in April from US$20.6 billion in March. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week called on residents to postpone gold purchases and international travel, told farmers to use less imported fertilizer and urged motorists to use less gasoline and diesel.

Corporate

Unitree's New Mecha Robot Draws Flurry of Orders

China's Unitree Robotics said it has received a spurt of orders after releasing the world's first production-ready manned mecha. The term "mecha" comes from sci-fi giant robots piloted by humans. Unitree's new GD01 futuristic robot can switch between bipedal and quadrupedal modes. The company said the model is designed as a civilian transport device. It weighs approximately 500 kilograms with a person inside and can maintain stability even when toppling a brick wall. Unitree Chief Executive Wang Xingxing told Xinhua news agency, "Humanoid robot technology and products are still at the dawn of their development. There are many challenges ahead, requiring industry-wide cooperation and continuous investment." China's robotics firms lead the world in manufacturing humanoid robots. Last year, Unitree shipments of robots exceeded 5,500 units, comprising more than 60 percent of the global market.

Aeolus Tyre to Build Factory in Egypt

Aeolus Tyre, a leading Chinese supplier of commercial vehicle tires, said it will invest 2.7 billion yuan (US$394 million) to build a plant in Egypt as part of global expansion plans. The factory in

in Alexandria will have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million truck or bus tires. Construction is expected to take about 20 months. Aeolus export revenue of 3.4 billion yuan last year comprised almost half of total sales. The company is based in the Henan Province city of Jiaozuo.