Top News
Trump demands resignation of Intel CEO, citing his ties with China
President Donald Trump called for Intel's new chief executive Lip-Bu Tan to resign immediately, saying he is "highly conflicted" by close ties to Chinese companies. Tan was appointed chief executive officer of the US chip heavyweight in March. A month later, Reuters reported that Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese-American, invested at least US$200 million in Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some linked to the Chinese military. It also reported a criminal case involving Cadence Design, a chip design software maker that Tan formerly led. Intel shares in New York closed down 3 percent on Trump's remarks but rose slightly in after-hours trading.
Israel outlines plan to fully occupy Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel intends to take military control over all of Gaza. He told US media outlet Fox News that Israel would take over Gaza, eliminate Hamas, establish a security perimeter around the enclave and then hand it over to friendly Arab nations to govern. The plan, yet to be approved by the cabinet but earlier reported by Israeli media, has drawn warnings that such action could risk the lives of more Palestinians and of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. The war in Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and restricted humanitarian aid, which the World Health Organization says has resulted in 12,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition.
Trump-Putin meeting is on, the outcome is less certain
A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been confirmed by both sides for next week, with the location yet to be announced. The big question everyone is asking is: Will anything come of it? The gulf between Kiev and Moscow is so wide that even Trump's attempts a brokering a ceasefire have proven futile to date. The White House claims that the Trump-Putin meeting could leading to a three-way summit of Trump, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an idea that drew stony silence from Moscow. Pro-Kremlin war blogger Yuri Podolyaka, in a post, said Putin had played a "masterful diplomatic game," managing to "spin Trump in a 'carousel of negotiations,'" Reuters reported.
Top Business
Trump's tariffs take effect with consequences yet to be seen
President Donald Trump's tariff regime to rewrite the global trading system came into effect, with dozens of countries now forced to pay tariffs on goods exported to the US generally ranging from 15 percent-50 percent. The US said trade agreements have been announced with 20 countries. However, only the one with the UK has formally been signed as work continues on the details of others. Debate continues on how much of the tariff costs will be passed on to US consumers, and many companies reporting earnings bitten by tariffs say it's impossible in the current environment to adopt business plans for the next one or two years.
Shanghai unveils artificial intelligence plan
Shanghai has unveiled a roadmap to develop the embodied artificial intelligence sector, aiming to build a 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion), globally competitive industry. According to the plan, the city will focus on breakthroughs in core technologies, such as embodied models and datasets. The initiative will also establish over four incubators to foster development of start-up companies and competitive products. Shanghai's approach underscores China's ambitions to take the lead in next-generation AI.
Toyota Motor reports profit decline as US tariffs bite
Toyota Motor, the world's largest carmaker by sales volume, reported net profit in its fiscal first quarter ended June 30 plunged 37 percent from a year earlier to 841 billion yen (US$6 billion) on losses related to US tariffs on auto imports and a stronger yen. The company lowered its full-year forecast for net profit by 14 percent to 2.6 trillion yen, citing the impact of 15 blanket tariffs contained in the newly agreed US-Japan trade deal. Toyota also announced it will build a new factory in Japan, with operations scheduled to start in the early 2030s.
DJI moves from the skies to the floor
Chinese drone maker DJI moved into the digital home-cleaning market with a robotic vacuum cleaner that can sweep and mop floors. The new product line, called the DJI Romo series, integrates sweeping and mopping capabilities, making DJI a strong rival to Chinese companies like listed firms like Ecovacs Robotics and Roborock. The robot will initially be sold only in China, with overseas marketing plans to be announced later this year, said DJI.
Economy & Markets
Shanghai Composite hits yearly high
The Shanghai Composite Index hit a new high for the year, rising 0.2 percent on Thursday to 3,640, but the tech-heavy ChiNext Index fell as some investors rotated out of stocks related to advanced technologies. Rare-earth magnet stocks surged in afternoon trading, with semiconductor shares also showing strength. Medical device stocks spiked before paring gains. On the downside, pharma stocks saw broad-based declines, in part on US threats to impose hefty worldwide tariffs on imports of drugs as early as next week.
S&P maintains China's credit rating
Standard & Poor's reaffirmed China's sovereign credit rating at "A+" and its outlook as "stable." In the first half of 2025, China's economy grew 5.3 percent, 0.3 percentage point higher than the whole of last year. The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for China's growth this year to 4.8 percent.
China extends gold purchases
China's central bank extended gold purchases into a ninth consecutive month in July, underscoring ongoing efforts to diversify reserves away from the US dollar. The People's Bank of China added 60,000 troy ounces of gold last month, bringing its total holdings to almost 74 million ounces. Since November, when the current round of buying began, China has purchased roughly 36 tons of gold. Central banks have been a major force behind this year's 30 percent rally in bullion prices, which peaked at over US$3,500 an ounce in April.
July exports surge past forecasts
China's exports in July jumped 7.2 percent from a year earlier, exceeding analysts' forecasts.
Imports rose 4.1 percent, their highest in a year. For the first seven months of the year, exports rose 6.1 percent. Southeast Asia retained its position as China's largest trading partner, followed by the EU and US. China's exports to the US fell 22 percent last month, while shipments to Southeast Asia surged 17 percent.
Chinese customs also reported that rare earth exports from China, the world's biggest producer, slumped 23 percent in July to nearly 6,000 tons after hitting a record in June. In a deal that month, Beijing agreed to relax export controls over minerals and industrial magnets crucial to carmaking and electronics industries in exchange for eased US controls over chip exports to China.
Corporate
Huawei releases open-source Ascend chip software system
Chinese tech giant Huawei announced the full open-source release of its Ascend chip software ecosystem known. Its Compute Architecture for Neural Networks software serves as a bridge between high-level AI training frameworks and Ascend chips, allowing users to access the computing power without dealing with chip-level complexities. The move is a clear challenge to Nvidia's dominant Compute Unified Device Architecture platform.
SAIC-Audi to begin sales of new electric-car luxury brand
The Shanghai-based venture between SAIC and Audi said it will begin pre-sales next week for its new luxury electric-car brand, the Audi E5 Sportback. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 automotive digital chip in the cockpit and the Doubao AI assistant from ByteDance's Volcano Engine.
EF Education First holds writing competition for young people
EF Education First, an international language-training company, and Oxford University Press announced in Shanghai that they will hold a youth creative-writing competition, open to global entrants aged 7 to 18.
Weimob opens new headquarters in Shanghai
HK-listed Weimob Group, a software services provider, officially opened its new headquarters in Shanghai's Baoshan District. The new building integrates office space with research and development and exhibition facilities. Sun Taoyong, company chairman and chief executive, said Weimob is focused on providing Chinese companies with cloud services.