Top News
Trump hints at meeting with North Korea's Kim
At a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the White House, President Donald Trump hinted he may meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at some "appropriate" time in the future. Lee asked Trump to help establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and even suggested the president might built a Trump Tower in the North. Trump and Kim held a summit in Singapore in 2018 during the president's first term, and a year later met at Korea's Demilitarized Zone, where Trump briefly made an historical step across the line into North Korea.
China accuses US of illegal definition of 'freedom of navigation'
The China Institute for Marine Affairs concluded in a report released on Monday that US "freedom of navigation" principles lack basis in international law and that the US habitually seeks to restrict the rights of other nations while expanding its own prerogatives through "gunboat diplomacy." The US, according to the report, has invented legal concepts such as "international waters," which it uses to undermine the jurisdiction of other countries in areas such as the Taiwan Straits.
Five Gaza journalists working for foreign media killed in Israeli attack
At least 20 people, including five journalists working for foreign media, were killed in an Israeli strike on a hospital in southern Gaza. The journalists provided reports and video for Reuters, Associated Press, the US network NBC, Qatar's Al-Jazeera and UK-based Middle East Eye. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a "tragic mishap" and said military authorities are "conducting a thorough investigation." Foreign media are not allowed into Gaza, so they rely on local journalists. Nearly 200 journalists in Gaza have been killed since the start of the war in October 2023, amid accusations that Israel intentionally targets them.
Top Business
PDD reports drop in quarterly revenue amid competition
PDD Holdings, a Chinese online retailing giant that owns the Temu discount e-commerce platform, reported second-quarter net profit fell 4 percent from a year earlier to 30.7 billion yuan (US$3.4 billion) on a 7 percent increase in revenue to 103 billion yuan. The company, in a statement, cited intense competition in the marketplace and said it is continuing to invest in incentives for merchants. It warned that its focus on long-term value creation may weigh on short-term profitability. Its financial statement didn't break down Temu earnings. Temu has been hit by US and European removal of duty-free access of the small-goods parcels that formed the core of its marketing strategy. PDD's Nasdaq-listed shares closed up 0.9 percent on higher-than-expected revenue, but were down 0.3 percent in after-hours trading in New York.
Hotpot chain Haidilao reports first-half fall in revenue, profit
Haidilao International, China's largest hotpot chain, reported a drop in both revenue and profit for the first half of 2025. Revenue fell 3.7 percent from a year earlier to 20.7 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion), with net profit down 14 percent at 1.75 billion yuan. The Beijing-based restaurant chain cited intense market competition and shifts in consumer dining trends for the declines. The Hong Kong-listed company operates hundreds of restaurants on the mainland and 123 eateries in 14 countries across four continents. In a statement, the company acknowledged a need for management improvements.
Shanghai Disney to add ticket tiers
Shanghai Disney Resort will expand its multi-tier ticket pricing in mid-October, adding new bands within the current range of 475 yuan-799-yuan (US$66-$112). The move will offer more affordability and help smooth out attendance across peak and off-peak periods. A rolling 30-day calendar will continue to allow guests to plan trips in advance. Discounts will remain for children three years and older, seniors and the disabled, with free entry for toddlers.
SpaceX launch halted for a second day
SpaceX's second attempt to launch its 10th test flight of the Starship and its super heavy rocket booster this morning, Asia time, was halted with 40 seconds to go on the countdown clock due to bad weather conditions. A first launch scheduled a day earlier was aborted due to "an issue with ground systems." Today's test was designed to deploy eight satellite "simulators" from the Starship spacecraft. The company owned by Elon Musk has suffered a series of explosive mishaps with earlier launches this year. SpaceX is part of private enterprise now involved in NASA space exploration.
China's satellite push accelerates
China has sharply accelerated its satellite Internet rollout, with state-backed GW Constellation launching five groups of low-Earth orbit satellites between July 27 and August 17. Launch intervals have shortened from months to days, boosting the constellation from 34 to 72 satellites. Analysts say China is entering an intensive deployment phase in its bid to rival SpaceX's Starlink.
Economy & Markets
Trump fires a Fed governor
President Donald Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in an unprecedented move that escalates his attacks on the central bank after it failed to lower interest rates. The Trump administration claims that Cook, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2022, committed mortgage fraud by allegedly naming two different properties as her primary residence. The law allows a president to fire a Fed official "for cause," but does not specify what "cause" means and has never been legally tested.
Shanghai further relaxes controls over home purchases
Shanghai eased home-buying rules to allow residents to buy an unlimited number of homes in the suburbs. Non-residents who work in Shanghai and have been paying into the pension system for three years are now allowed to buy new homes, relaxing rules that restricted them to existing stock only. It also raised personal housing provident fund loan quotas and adjusted the pricing mechanism for commercial housing loan interest rates. The measure are part of a nationwide campaign to end a five-year property slump, though Shanghai real estate has generally weathered the crisis better than the rest of China. Government incentives have included lower interest rates and down payments, and fewer restrictions on multiple home purchases.
Singapore inflation cools in July
Singapore inflation eased to a slower-than-expected 0.6 percent in July from 0.8 percent in June. Core inflation, which excludes private transport and accommodation, came in at 0.5 percent. The price for electricity and gas led the slowdown with a 5.6 percent decline from a year earlier.
Corporate
Huawei restructures cloud units to sharpen focus on AI
Huawei's cloud business is undergoing a major restructuring that will merge several business units and prioritize the development of artificial intelligence technology.
SAIC, Huawei start pre-orders for new electric vehicle
Technology giant Huawei and Shanghai-based carmaker SAIC opened pre-orders for their first co-developed electric vehicle, the SAIC H5. It features Huawei's newest assisted-driving system. The pre-sale price for the H5 is 169,800 yuan (US$23,740), with official launch set for September 23. The new vehicle received 25,000 pre-orders within the first hour.
Alibaba unveils new speech-recognition model for businesses
Alibaba's workplace messaging app DingTalk and its AI Tongyi Lab launched a next-generation speech recognition model called Fun-ASR. The large language system can handle professional terminology from over 10 industries, including Internet, technology, home decoration, animal husband, according to a report in Sina Tech.
Amazon starts program to help sellers in central China
Amazon has initiated a program in the central China provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Henan and Jiangxi to help businesses go live on the US e-commerce marketing platform. It will help more than 1,000 factories and brand owners speed up overseas expansion, with revenue likely to exceed US$470 billion in the next three years.
Zhipu Technology launches mobile voice agent
Beijing-based artificial intelligence startup Zhipu Huazhang Technology launched a mobile agent called AutoGLM 2.0 that allows users, by voice command, to operate dozens of apps of other platforms, including flight bookings, takeaway orders and video posting.
Siemens launches new MRI platform in China
Siemens Healthineers unveiled a new magnetic resonance imaging platform at its Chinese research and development facility. The German healthcare company's new MRI system incorporates advanced technologies and a complete software development environment, allowing for seamless integration of AI algorithms from third-party developers.