Top News
China pledges up to 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking on a video link to a climate summit hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said China plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions between 7-10 percent from peak levels by 2035 and rebuked countries that are moving in the opposite direction. He said his nation will increase installed capacity of wind and solar power sixfold from 2020 levels, elevating the share of non-fossil fuels in the nation's domestic energy use to over 30 percent. "The green and low-carbon transition is the trend of the times," Xi said, a day after US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly that climate change is the "greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world."
Meanwhile, The US Department of Energy said it will cancel more than US$13 billion in funds earmarked by the previous Biden administration for wind and solar power and electric vehicles.
Super typhoon Ragasa smashes into southern China
Super Typhoon Ragasa, the most powerful tropical cyclone of the year, made landfall on the Chinese mainland in the southern Chinese city of Yangjiang, with sustained winds of up to 144 kilometers an hour, after lashing Hong Kong and leaving a trail of destruction in the Philippines and China's Taiwan. The system was downgraded from what was the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane to a severe tropical storm as it moved its way inland, where nearly two million people were evacuated before its arrival. The typhoon killed at least eight people in the Philippines and 17 in Taiwan, and injured 90 in Hong Kong.
China relinquishes developing-country status at WTO
In a sign of its emergence as a world economic power, China will forego the benefits of developing-country status in future World Trade Organization agreements, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced while attending the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Developing-country status gives nations an advantage in issues such as using tariffs and subsidies to protect nascent industries. Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang explained that the decision is a show of support for the multilateral trading system, which he said is facing severe challenges from protectionism and unilateralism.
Hospitals left in Gaza can't cope with a tsunami of human suffering
The few hospitals and health clinics remaining in Gaza said they are overwhelmed by a flood of patients as Israel continues its ground assault in the north and residents are fleeing south, the Guardian reported. "We are seeing more people every day with blast and bullet injuries, with old, dirty and infected wounds," said Dr Martin Griffiths, a trauma surgeon from London. "We haven't got enough of anything to treat them." An estimated 320,000 people have fled Gaza City as Israel tanks moved in and aerial bombardment continues. Griffiths told the newspaper that it's a "tsunami" of human suffering.
NASA said it plans to send astronauts on 10-day orbit of the moon in February
US space agency NASA plans to send four astronauts in orbit around the moon in February as the second step in the Artemis II program that aims to land humans on the lunar surface for the first time in 50 years. The 10-day February mission would allow the astronauts – three men and one woman -- to test systems ahead of a possible lunar landing in 2027. The ultimate goal of Artemis II is to establish a long-term base on the moon.
Top Business
Alibaba announces increased AI funding, new language model, Nvidia software deal
Alibaba Group said it plans to scale up investment in artificial intelligence beyond the 380 billion yuan (US$53 billion) it announced earlier this year, roll out its most powerful language model yet and collaborate with US chip giant Nvidia in a software deal related to tools used in training humanoid robots. No figures were given on the increased investment or software deal. The latest blitz of Alibaba's initiatives fed the global investor exuberance for artificial intelligence, sending the company's shares up 9.2 percent to a four-year high in Hong Kong and 8.2 percent in New York on Wednesday.
Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu, speaking at developer event in the company's home base of Hangzhou, said he expects global companies to plow US$4 trillion into artificial intelligence in the next five years and Alibaba needs to keep pace. He predicted that the current field of global supercomputing platforms will narrow to five or six in the future. Wu also unveiled plans to roll out Qwen3-Max, the company's largest and most power AI language model to date. The Qwen3-Max contains more than 1 trillion parameters that determine how an artificial intelligence system processes information. That number is sixfold larger than the original version of ChatGPT released three years ago.
BYD says it has other supply sources if Nvidia chips unavailable
China's biggest electric carmaker BYD said it has a back-up plan if its supplies of Nvidia chips become unavailable but hasn't received any directive from Chinese officials to stop using the chips. Stella Li, executive vice president of the company, told CNBC that the company has been developing a lot of its own technology and also has access to other suppliers. Nvidia chips have been receiving a lukewarm welcome in China since the US lifted its ban on sales to China amid easing trade tensions.
Economy & Markets
Fed chairman says stock valuations are fairly high, cooling some market rallies
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech that stock valuations are looking somewhat pricey, sending some markets in the US, Europe and Asia lower. Powell was weighing in on the continuing debate about whether strong bull markets this year, largely fueled by AI and other advanced technology stocks, are getting too frothy. He said, "We do look at overall financial conditions, and we ask ourselves whether our policies are affecting financial conditions. By many measures, equity prices are fairly highly valued." The tech-heavy Nasdaq in New York slipped 0.3 percent on Wednesday and the Stoxx600 index in Europe was down 0.2 percent. Australia and South Korean stocks fell, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up on continued appetite for technology shares.
China's sales of new energy vehicles retains momentum
China's retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 697,000 in the first three weeks of September, up 10 percent from a year earlier, according to China Passenger Car Association. Sales were also 11 percent higher than the same period in August. Cumulative retail sales so far this year total 8.27 million, a 24 percent rise from the same period in 2024. Wholesale figures were even stronger, with manufacturers delivering 724,000 units to dealers in the same period, up 19 percent from August and 10 percent from a year earlier.
China moves to boost services exports
China's commerce ministry has issued new measures to promote exports of services, with a focus on international data services. The plan supports the building of international data and cloud computing centers in Shanghai, the southern province of Hainan and other regions. Authorities said they will draft an "important data catalogue" and provide clearer guidelines on data classification. Other steps include easing visa rules for foreign investors and high-level talent, improving tax rebate procedures and expanding export credit insurance.
Swedish economist named first woman to head New Zealand central bank
New Zealand appointed the first woman to head the nation's central bank in its 90-year history. Anna Breman is a Swedish economist whose term as first deputy of the Sweden's central bank ends in November. She has also worked for commercial lender Swedbank, the Swedish Ministry of Finance and the World Bank. She begins her term in New Zealand on December 1, replacing Adrian Orr, who resigned abruptly in March in a dispute with the government over policy and leadership.
Corporate
Xiaomi takes aim at Europe with new smartphone series
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi unveiled two 15T series smartphones at an event in Munich, aiming to appeal to European consumers on cost and narrow market dominance by Samsung and Apple. The Xiaomi 15T and Xiaomi 15T Pro, priced at 649 euros (US$766) and 799 euros, respectively, come with a triple-camera system, 6.8-inch display and big battery power. Xiaomi is the third-largest seller of smartphones in Europe behind Samsung and Apple.
Zijin Gold delays Hong Kong IPO process by a day
Zijin Gold International, an arm of Chinese gold and copper group Zijin Mining, delayed the closing of its US$3.2 billion initial public offering to noon today in Hong Kong because of super typhoon Ragasa that hit the city on Wednesday. It's the second largest IPO in Hong Kong this year. The company's shares will begin trading on September 30, a day later than earlier announced.
Leading Chinese online flea market to close
Zhuanzhuan, a leading Chinese online market for second-hand goods, said it will close its Free Marketplace site at the end of the month because of problems resolving user transaction disputes and a low profit margin. It will continue to operate a business that inspects and verifies used items. Beijing-based Zhuanzhuan was founded in 2015 as a unit of classified-ad marketplace 58.com and has received financial support from tech giants Tencent and Xiaomi. Currently, Alibaba-backed Goofish (Xianyu) still operates a used-goods site for consumers, charging sellers a commission fee.
SMIC testing advanced chipmaking equipment
China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp is running trials on the country's first domestically produced advanced chip-making equipment to challenge Western rivals in the production of artificial-intelligence processors, the Financial Times has reported. The equipment to produce 28-nanometer, deep-ultraviolet lithography machines was developed by Shanghai-based startup Yuliangsheng. Global leader in the technology is the Netherlands' ASML which has developed more advanced ultraviolet lithography technologies.
Spider-Man exhibition highlights growing card game market in China
A pop-up exhibition for Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man card set opens at a video game museum in Shanghai. Magic: The Gathering is a popular trading card game globally. The exhibition, which features the new Spider-Man-themed set released globally in September, underscores the huge market potential for trading card games in China.
AI competition aimed at deepfake fraud
A global AI algorithm competition focused on combating deepfake technology concluded in Shanghai. The event, hosted by New York-listed FinVolution, centered on "visual deepfake detection" to address the growing threat of AI-generated fraud. As deepfake technology becomes increasingly realistic, instances of face-swapping, identity theft and fraud pose a serious threat to personal privacy and financial security. The competition highlighted the need for robust defenses as Chinese companies move into overseas markets, said Chen Lei, FinVolution's vice president. The competition brought together 426 teams and 652 contestants from around the world.