Top News

UN officially accuses Israel of genocide, 'Gaza is burning'

A United Nations commission of inquiry accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the first time the UN has officially used that term. The inquiry concluded that four of the five acts that define genocide under international law were violated, including systemically killing members of a group, inflicting serious bodily and mental harm, and preventing births. Israel rejected the findings as "distorted and false," and said they relied entirely on "Hamas falsehoods."

Israel launched its major ground offensive to occupy Gaza City, after hundreds of thousands of city residents were forced to leave and residential buildings were razed in aerial bombing. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said "Gaza is burning" and the military won't relent until the mission is completed and remaining hostages held by Hamas are released. The offensive began hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu papered over differences arising from Israel's attack last week on Hamas quarters in the capital of Qatar. Amid widespread global condemnation of the war and famine in Gaza, Netanyahu admitted that Israel may become a pariah state.

China successfully tests new rocket's propulsion system

China said it successful tested the first-stage of the liquid oxygen-kerosene propulsion system for the Tianlong-3 carrier rocket, which has been in development for three years by commercial aerospace company Space Pioneer. The rocket has a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 17-22 tons, able to launch 36 satellites on a single mission. The Tianlong-3 is part of Space Pioneer's efforts to develop low-cost, reusable launch vehicles for the growing commercial space market.

Top Business

Bristol Myers Squibb to sell controlling stake in Shanghai venture

US pharmaceutical multinational Bristol Myers Squibb has agreed to sell its 60 percent stake in 40-year-old Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals, the industry's first Sino-foreign venture established in China. The company didn't identify a price or the name of the buyer, but industry insiders said it may be Hillhouse Capital, which has been investing in Chinese pharma companies like BeiGene and Hengrui Pharmaceutials, according to industry website Fierce Pharma. The sale mostly relates to older medicines and consumer products sold in China and doesn't affect Bristol's core business. Bristol said it retains its commitment to the Chinese market, where it will continue to invest.

China retail investors divert money from banks to stock market, fueling rally

China's summer bull run on stock markets was fueled in part by investor savings, new figures indicate. The People's Bank of China said newly added household deposits in August slumped 84.5 percent from a year earlier to 110 billion yuan (US$15.4 billion), while new deposits with non-bank financial institutions like brokerage houses and investment funds surged by a similar percentage to 1.2 trillion yuan. The flow of funds reflected low bank interest rates and surging stock market prices. In July, household deposits plunged by 1.1 trillion yuan while non-bank deposits tripled to their highest level since 2015, when a stock market bubble burst.

China ranks in Top 10 most innovative countries for the first time in UN list

China bumped Germany to place in the Top 10 most innovative countries for the first time in the UN annual ranking of 139 economies. Its ascension comes as China invests heavily in research and development. Switzerland retained top spot, followed by Sweden and the US, with China ranking 10th.

Economy & Markets

Hesai shares rise in their Hong Kong debut

Shares of Shanghai-based Hesai Group, a leading world supplier of three-dimensional light detection and ranging sensors used in vehicle automation and robots, closed at HK$234 (US$30.07) on Tuesday, 10 percent above their offer price in their Hong Kong debut. The company, which is also listed on the Nasdaq in New York, raised about HK$4.2 billion from the sale of almost 20 million shares, with 90 percent allocated to international investors and the rest available to retail investors. The public portion was 169 percent oversubscribed.

BYD executives buy company's shares in show of confidence

Some 37 executives at China's BYD increased their shareholdings in the company to underscore their confidence in the world's largest electric carmaker, the South China Morning Post reported, after the stock fell 20 percent from a May record. The group spent an aggregate 52.3 million yuan (US$7.3 million) to purchase 488,200 of the Shenzhen-listed shares, comprising 0.3 of the company's outstanding stock, BYD said in a stock market filing. The shares were bought in the first week of September. BYD shares closed down 0.83 percent in Shenzhen on Tuesday, and rose 1.67 percent in Hong Kong.

Unsold property in China declines in August

Unsold properties across China in August declined for a sixth straight month, dropping 3.2 million square meters from July to 762 million square meters but were up 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Unsold residential properties fell by 3.1 million square meters in the month to 402.3 million square meters, but rose 5.4 percent from a year earlier. Investment in real estate development in the first eight months of this year plunged nearly 13 percent as a five-year property slump triggered by debt defaults persists.

Gold jewellery prices in China hit new high

Domestic gold jewelry prices in China breached 1,090 yuan (US$153) per gram for the first time on September 16, reflecting a sustained surge in international gold prices. Chow Sang Sang reported its 24-karat gold price at 1,091 yuan per gram, up 17 yuan from the previous day, while Chow Tai Fook and Luk Fook prices rose to 1,087 yuan per gram. Shares in gold-related firms, including Western Region Gold, Shanjin International Gold, and Chifeng Gold, also rose. The global price of gold has soared over 40 percent this year and surpassing 1980 inflation-adjusted peaks.

Corporate

Looking for a cheaper iPhone 17? Check out online platforms

Some Chinese e-commerce platforms have cut prices by up to 900 yuan (US$126) on preorders for the Apple iPhone 17, less than a week after the new phone was launched and despite high consumer demand, Yicai reported. Pinduoduo was pre-selling the 256 gigabyte iPhone 17 for 5,099 yuan, compared with a price of 5,999 yuan on Apple's official website. JD.com was offering lower prices using government programs that offer subsidies to consumers trading in old electronics for new but hasn't announced any direct discounts yet.

Property developers Kaisa, CIFI complete debt restructuring

Embattled Chinese property developer Kaisa Group said its offshore debt restructuring plan has been approved and is now undergoing implementation. The restructuring reduces debt by about US$8.6 billion. The Hong Kong-listed company said existing creditor claims have been swapped for notes and convertible bonds valued at a combined US$13.4 billion.

Separately, Chinese developer CIFI said it has received creditor approval to complete the restructuring of seven corporate bonds traded on the Shanghai stock exchange, with a combined value of about 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion). The company was placed under court jurisdiction after defaulting on debt.

China is McDonald's fastest-growing market

McDonald's China has become the company's fastest-growing market and its second-largest by store count, with over 7,100 outlets. About half of all new stores worldwide are opening in China, according to McDonald's China Chief Executive Phyllis Cheung. Since becoming locally controlled under Citic Capital and partners eight years ago, McDonald's China has tripled numbers of outlets, which now cover 280 cities and serve more than 1.3 billion customers a year. By year's end, McDonald's will complete its China coverage by opening outlets in Ningxia and Qinghai provinces.

Joyson Electronics receives US$2.1 billion in orders from carmakers

Ningbo-based Joyson Electronics, a maker of smart auto parts, said it received orders valued at 15 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion) from two world-leading automakers that it didn't identify, citing commercial confidentiality. The Shanghai-listed company said it will supply computing units, components integrating intelligent driving and cockpit electronics.

Unitree open-sources its new robotics framework

Unitree, a Chinese leader in humanoid robots, open-sourced its code for the UnifoLM-WMA-0, part of its series to unify applications across different robotic tasks and environments. The new framework enables robots to anticipate environmental changes within milliseconds and allows the world model-action architecture to foster a broader developer ecosystem.

ByteDance's Doubao exceeds DeepSeek in monthly users

ByteDance's AI assistant Doubao had over 157.4 million monthly active users in August, surpassing DeepSeek to become China's most active artificial intelligence app, according to data provider QuestMobile.

JD.com the lone private company in Top 10 of 500 Chinese companies

Chinese e-commerce and technology giant JD.com was the only private firm in the top 10 of the newly released Top 500 Chinese companies list for 2025, compiled by the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Enterprise Directors Association. The revenue of the 500 companies totaled 110.2 trillion yuan (US$D15.5 trillion) last year, equal to about half of the gross domestic product of the US. Some 267 of those companies had operating revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan, the report said.

Intel China leadership transition

Wang Rui, who is retiring this month as chairwoman and senior vice president of Intel China, will be succeeded by Wang Zhichong, vice chairman and general manager. The handover comes in Intel's 40th anniversary year in China. Wang Rui led China operations for three decades.