Primary takeaways
Senior officials from the Shanghai Stock Exchange committed to expanding the role of the bourse’s Science and Technology Innovation Board as a testing ground for capital markets reform.
At the same time, there was a focus today on foreign affairs. Linking the new model of Chinese diplomacy to international development, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin signalled an expansion of the Global Development Initiative, a financing programme launched by President Xi to align with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Other important commentary
Geopolitics
- Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu hosted a press conference reasserting the central government’s intention to ensure Hong Kong fully enacts its National Security Law. He also discussed the South China Sea disputes, where he called for negotiations to determine a formal code of conduct.
Consumer
- He Rong, vice-president of China’s Supreme People’s Court, made a series of statements around the protection of intellectual property rights. Measures announced included an expanded crackdown on counterfeit goods, an increased focus on countering monopolistic practices and a renewed focus on tackling “illegal behaviour” on e-commerce platforms.
- Analysts have issued a report discussing how President Xi’s commitment at the Congress to the dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy will disrupt demand for luxury goods into the near future.
TMT
- China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced new figures for the growth of the country’s AI industry to demonstrate the progress it has made to becoming a global leader in the technology by 2030. These figures state the value of the AI industry to the Chinese economy at over RMB400 billion (USD55 billion) and the number of AI-related enterprises at more than 3,000.