Top News
China, India in talks to restore direct flights
China and India are in discussions on resuming direct flights after more than five years, China's Foreign Ministry confirmed. Flights between the world's two most populous nations were suspended during the Covid pandemic. An Air India official said restoration of the flights may be announced later this month at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend. Diplomatic relations between the two nations soured in 2020 over border disputes but have warmed noticeably this year as the two members of the BRICS group of developing nations find common ground in opposing US tariffs.
Nvidia chips finding lukewarm response in China
Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chip, designed specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US export controls, is encountering tepid demand in China, China Daily reported. One manager of an unidentified information technology company told the newspaper that the reluctance comes after the Cyberspace Administration of China summoned Nvidia to answer concerns about tracking and remote-control shutdown devices embedded in in its chips, which the US company denied. Pan Helin, an expert affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was quoted as saying that any "backdoor" risks from Nvidia chips will be a "self-dug" grave for the world's biggest chipmaker.
Separately, Reuters reported that US authorities are embedding secret location-tracking devices in some overseas shipments of advanced chips to ensure they aren't illegally diverted to China. It said trackers have been implanted in servers from manufacturers like Dell and Super Micro, which use chips from Nvidia and AMD.
Trump says Putin "won't mess with me"
US President Donald Trump said his Friday summit with Vladimir Putin has a 75 percent chance of success, predicting the Kremlin is ready to make a deal on the war in Ukraine. However, Trump repeated earlier statements that any peace deal would involve a willingness to "divvy up" territory - a red flag to Ukraine, which opposes ceding territory occupied by Russia. Trump said he won't let Putin get the better of him, stating "I am president, and he's not going to mess around with me. I'll know within the first...five minutes whether we're going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting. If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly." He also said a second meeting involving him, Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr is possible.
Israel far-right politician approves controversial settlement in West Bank
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved plans to build more than 3,000 homes in a controversial settlement project that will cut off the occupied West Bank from east Jerusalem, a decision that he said will thwart possible creation of a Palestinian. The project has been frozen for years amid international controversy. Settlements in occupied lands are considered illegal under internation law, despite Israeli objections. There are currently about 700,000 Israeli settlers living in about 160 settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem – land the Palestinians claim rights to for a future independent state. "This is Zionism at its best – building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the land of Israel," Smotrich declared.
Top Business
Foxconn, contract iPhone maker, posts higher profit
Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract maker of Apple iPhones, said second-quarter net profit rose 27 percent from a year earlier to NT44.4 billion (US$1.5 billion), beating analysts' forecasts, while revenue remained flat at NT1.35 trillion. The company, whose global manufacturing facilities include plants in the Chinese mainland, said it expects significant earnings growth in the third quarter, with AI server revenue expected to show a 170 percent surge from a year earlier, but it warned of uncertainties due to US tariffs.
Geely posts first-half drop in profit amid strong competition
Geely Automobile, China's second-larger maker of electric vehicles, reported first-half net profit fell 14 percent from a year earlier to 9.3 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) on fierce competition in a domestic market fraught with price wars. Revenue gained 27 percent to 150 billion yuan as sales increased almost 50 percent to 1.4 million vehicles. The Hangzhou-based company raised its forecast for annual sales to 3 million units, saying it is expanding exports. Zeekr, a premium electric-vehicle maker owned by Geely, said it narrowed its second-quarter loss to 394 million yuan from almost 3 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenue slipped about 1 percent to 27 billion yuan.
Lenovo posts record quarterly earnings
Lenovo, the Chinese multinational technology company that makes computers and other consumer electronics, said second-quarter net income rose 44 percent from a year earlier to US$359 million on a 24 percent increase in revenue to a quarterly record of US$17.9 billion. Its personal computer business, fueled by artificial intelligence, expanded to almost 24 percent of the global market, Lenovo said, and smartphone and tablet businesses delivered high double-digit sales. The company, which is listed in Hong Kong and New York, declared an interim dividend of 8.5 HK cents per share.
US may take stake in Intel
Intel shares rose 7 percent in New York after Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is in talks with the chipmaker to take a stake in the struggling company. Last week President Donald Trump called on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign because of close times to China; several days later Tan was invited to the White House, where Trump praised his business acumen. The company has spent billions developing what it calls the 18A system to turn out Panther Lake chips, yet only a small percentage of chips printed under the system have been good enough to sell to customers. Intel's main rivals are TSMC and Samsung.
Economy & Markets
Wholesale prices in US rise more than expected
US producer prices in July posted their biggest monthly gain in three years, denting some expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month. The Labor Department reported that wholesale inflation rose 0.9 percent from June, or 3.3 percent from a year earlier. The figure was higher than expected. July consumer prices remained tame, suggesting that importers, for the time being at least, aren't passing on the cost of US tariffs.
China stocks break winning streak
China's benchmark stock indexes broke an eight-day rally on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite briefly rose above 3,700 points before closing down 0.46 percent, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.87 percent and the ChiNext lost 1.08 percent. More than 4,600 stocks declined, led by defense-related stocks. Brain-computer interface shares were higher.
China promotes data industry
China is accelerating efforts to expand its data industry, a senior official said at a State Council press conference on Thursday. In June 2025, the country had 4.6 million 5G base stations and 226 million gigabit broadband users, with total computing power ranking second globally. By the end of last year, there were 400,000 data companies, with an industry value of almost 6 trillion yuan (US$836 billion) – a 117 percent increase since 2020. National Data Bureau head Liu Liehong said new measures are in the pipeline to support the industry, including rules on data property rights and plans to create new industrial clusters.
Regulator proposes rules to end false self-driving claims
China regulators are seeking comment on draft rules that will tighten oversight of claims made by carmakers about autonomous driving features. The rules address concerns that some automakers are hyping their driver-assisted features, creating a false sense of security among drivers. The State Administration for Market Regulation is proposed that misleading promotions be banned. There are no passenger vehicles on the market authorized to operate fully self-driving.
Japan's economy expands despite tariff tensions
Japan's economy in the second quarter expanded a stronger-than-expected 1.2 percent from a year earlier and grew 0.3 percent from the first three months, despite an environment of volatile US tariffs on imports of its goods. The nation reached a trade deal with the US in July that imposes a blanket 15 percent tariff.
Brazil soybean growers cash in on US-China trade tensions
China is increasing imports from Brazil, squeezing traditional US suppliers. Reuters reported the Chinese importers have booked September cargoes for 8 million tons and secured 4 million tons for October. Last year, Chinese oilseed importers bought around 7 million tons from the US during the two months. US farmers, generally strong supporters of President Donald Trump, have complained that Trump's trade war against China is hurting them badly.
Corporate
Road King Infrastructure defaults on debt
Hong Kong-based Road King Infrastructure, which makes the majority of its revenue from residential developments in the Chinese mainland, became the first property developer in the city to default on debt payments since the beginning of the China real estate crisis in 2021. The Hong Kong-listed company suspended US$22.6 million in interest payments and deferred distributions of US$56.5 million. The company has failed to secure creditor support for a debt-restructuring plan. It reported US1.5 billion in offshore debt.
Google showcases success of China developers
Google showcased the global success of Chinese developers at the Google I/O Connect China event in Shanghai. Stanley Chen, Google president for Greater China and Korea, said China's "going global" developers have become indispensable on the global stage. Players such as Alibaba, NetEase and Xiaomi are using Google's tools to expand overseas. Google Play's annual awards recognized 13 apps and games from 12 Chinese teams.
More AI glasses debut in China
China's RayNeo and Alibaba's Ant have teamed up to launch the RayNeo X3 Pro AI glasses, the world's first full-color smart payment glasses, which enable users to "just look and pay" without needing a voice assistant or entering an amount on Ant's Alipay. Separately, HTC released its AI VIVE Eagle glasses on Thursday, supporting Chinese language voice control, translation, music and photography, and smartphone maker Vivo announced plans to launch its Vision Pro product next week.
Domestic chips replace foreign ones at dam site
Beijing-based Loongson Technology said its industrial control chips have replaced processors from Germany's Siemens and France's Schneider Electric at Xiluodu Dam, China's third-largest and the world's fourth-largest hydroelectric project, because of security concerns. The South China Morning Post said the switch reflects concern about vulnerabilities in industrial control systems.
Digiwin proposes new industrial software
Shanghai-based software maker Digiwin said it is creating a "soft AI infrastructure" for industrial use that will meet security standards. The Shenzhen-listed company, founded in 1982, has more than 50,000 clients in sectors such as equipment manufacturing, automotive parts and electronics.