HOT TOPICS
China targets excessive competition in tech and green sectors
The State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice aimed at preventing excessive competition in key sectors and fields, including the platform economy, solar power, lithium batteries, and new-energy vehicles. The regulator will strictly identify and penalize platform companies that use search rankings and algorithmic controls to force or covertly force merchants on their platforms to sell goods below cost.
Memory chip prices retreat
Memory chip prices have dropped significantly after consecutive prior increases, with the price of 16G memory falling to around 700 yuan ($101) from 900 yuan, and 32G products from some brands tumbling by up to 30%, according to merchants at the Huaqiang electronics market in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Upstream distributors showed a stronger willingness to ship products, but market transactions have not improved.
Kweichow Moutai raises flagship liquor prices
Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd. announced that it will increase the price of its flagship Feitian 53% vol 500 milliliter liquor starting March 31, 2026. The contract sales price will rise to 1,269 yuan a bottle, while the direct retail price will increase to 1,539 yuan a bottle.
Domestic pig prices plunge to 15-year low
Domestic pig prices accelerated their decline to 9.3 yuan a kilogram, a nearly 15-year low, extending their drop this year to roughly 24% as of Monday. Live pig futures contracts struck record lows since their listing, reflecting a pessimistic market outlook for the second quarter. The National Development and Reform Commission and the agriculture ministry initiated central and local pork reserve purchases in early March.
Rocket successfully completes maiden flight
CAS Space Monday successfully launched the Kinetica-2 rocket. Even without recovering the rocket, the cost of a single launch is largely equivalent to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 reusable missions, and is expected to drop to half of the Falcon 9’s cost once recovery is achieved in the future. Various reusable commercial liquid-fuel rockets have entered an intensive maiden flight and testing phase since late last year.
Tesla unveils tera-scale supercomputing project
Tesla Inc. officially launched the TERAFAB project, which is expected to produce more than 1 terawatt of computing power annually to manufacture chips for its humanoid robots. CEO Elon Musk projected that the potential annual output of the humanoid robot industry could reach 1 billion to 10 billion units.
Middle East conflict impacts oil and shipping
Iran’s parliament passed a plan to manage the Strait of Hormuz, confirming the control role of its armed forces and explicitly banning ships from the U.S., Israel, and other nations imposing unilateral sanctions on Iran from passing through the strait. This follows equivalent navigation agreements established between Iran and Thailand, Malaysia, and Pakistan.
U.S. considers troop operation in Iran
The U.S. government is deliberating a highly complex military plan to send troops directly into Iran to extract around 450 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, local media reported. U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously stated on social media that he would destroy all Iranian power plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island if an agreement is not reached with a new regime, has not yet made a final decision.
NEWS SUMMARY
Domestic
The Ministry of Commerce expects to introduce an updated departure tax refund policy to make shopping more convenient and affordable for international travelers.
Companies
Zhongji Innolight Co. Ltd. recorded a net profit of 10.8 billion yuan in 2025, surging 108.8% year-on-year.
COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd. reported a 2025 decline in both revenue and net profit due to the impact of the U.S.-China trade war.
Air China Ltd. resumed operations on its North Korea route.
Ant Fund’s net profit exceeded 1 billion yuan, surpassing most mutual fund management companies.
Bank of China Ltd. estimated its interest income is expected to return to growth after posting a 2025 net profit increase of 4.3% year-on-year.
ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co. Ltd. posted a significant net profit increase to over 3 billion yuan amid growing performance divergence among mutual funds.
New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. achieved a total investment yield of 6.6% in 2025.
Postal Savings Bank of China Co. Ltd. saw its treasury business income grow 23.5% in 2025 and will continue to ramp up bond allocation.
TAL Education Group launched its first tutoring character named Lobster.
SF Holding Co. Ltd. reported a 2025 net profit of 11.1 billion yuan, up 9.3% year-on-year.
Moore Threads signed a product sales agreement with an unnamed client totaling 660 million yuan.
Seres Group Co. Ltd. plans to repurchase 1 billion yuan to 2 billion yuan of company shares.
China Railway Group Ltd. recorded a 2025 net profit of 22.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year drop of 17.9%.
Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. resumed trading Tuesday with delisting and other risk warnings applied.
International
Group of Seven nations held an interdepartmental meeting and plan to coordinate a stabilization of the energy markets if necessary.
Kuwait’s power and desalination facilities were attacked, marking a further spillover of the Middle East conflict into infrastructure.
The World Data Organization was established Monday in Beijing.
Iran confirmed the death of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy commander in an attack, for which Israel claimed responsibility, citing his direct role in blockading the strait.
Spain announced the closure of its airspace to U.S. and Israeli aircraft involved in the conflict with Iran.
China’s foreign ministry urged Japan to reflect on its mistakes and show dialogue sincerity after Tokyo expressed a willingness to resolve bilateral diplomatic tensions.
China will take countermeasures against Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya.
The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds climbed to 2.39%, its highest level since February 1999.
Indonesia stated it will scale back its free student meal program as the Middle East conflict continues.
China’s external net assets rose to $4.1 trillion by the end of 2025, reaching the second-highest globally.
Australia will halve its fuel tax to cope with surging energy prices.
