China's industrial sector surges 18.7% as diplomacy intensifies
Plus: Memory chipmaker CXMT debuts at record valuations, a new long-endurance drone takes flight, and scientists create textiles from fungus.
TL;DR
- Xi pledged closer BRICS ties with Brazil's Lula, signaling China's push to strengthen Global South partnerships.
- CXMT memory chipmaker surged 466% on debut, becoming mainland China's most valuable listed company at 3.3 trillion yuan.
- China's major industrial firms reported 18.7% profit growth in H1 2026, driven by AI-related manufacturing and electronics.
- Slovakia's president Pellegrini began a three-day state visit to Beijing at Xi's invitation.
Politics and diplomacy
Xi courts Brazil as Slovakia's leader arrives
Beijing deepens ties with Global South powers while welcoming a Central European president.
President Xi Jinping spent more than an hour on a phone call with Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on July 27, pledging to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Xi emphasized building a China-Brazil community with a shared future and urged both sides to promote high-quality development of BRICS, signaling Beijing's commitment to expanding its influence among Global South economies and seeking to speed up negotiations for a Mercosur-China free-trade agreement (via CGTN).
Slovakia's president arrives. Peter Pellegrini of Slovakia touched down in Beijing on July 27 for a three-day state visit at Xi's invitation, his first since taking office. The visit is aimed at deepening traditional friendship, political trust, and Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries (via Xinhua).
Beijing escalates Diaoyu messaging. A new five-part CGTN documentary, "Diaoyu Dao: Small Islands, Big Stakes," premiered on July 28, laying out China's historical claims to the disputed East China Sea islets and countering Japan's narrative with archives, maps, and on-the-ground reporting (via South China Morning Post).
Business and economy
Industrial profits jump 18.7% as AI drives growth
Earnings surge on strong electronics and semiconductor output, though June showed a moderation.
China's major industrial firms posted combined profits of 3.95 trillion yuan in the first half of 2026, a surge of 18.7% year-on-year that underscores the economy's reliance on new growth drivers even as some sectors cool. Electronics led the charge with profits up 96.9%, while computer manufacturing jumped nearly 690% and integrated circuits soared more than 2,500% as demand for AI infrastructure and chips remained robust. State-owned enterprises saw profits climb 17.9% to 1.30 trillion yuan, with joint-stock companies performing even stronger at 24.7% growth (via Xinhua).
Technology and industry
Memory-chip giant CXMT debuts at record valuations
China's fourth-largest DRAM maker tops 3.3 trillion yuan in market cap on first day.
ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Hefei-based DRAM chipmaker, surged 466% on its Shanghai debut, vaulting past Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to become mainland China's most valuable listed company. The stock's market capitalization hit 3.3 trillion yuan ($487 billion) on July 27 after the company raised 57.92 billion yuan through Asia's largest IPO so far this year, priced at 8.66 yuan per share. CXMT manufactures dynamic random-access memory chips powering AI data centers, mobile phones, and PCs, and the spectacular debut caps an AI-fueled chip rally despite global tech volatility (via TechXplore).
TP200 versatile drone completes maiden flight. China's first multi-functional long-endurance UAV, the TP200 developed by Yi-Tong UAV System Co., completed its inaugural test flight in Yantai, Shandong Province on July 26. The aircraft boasts over 24 hours of endurance and modular design for flexible payloads, supporting applications from maritime patrol and coastal monitoring to forest fire prevention and emergency relief to remote areas (via CGTN).
Society
Scientists grow textiles from fungus; Great Green Wall turns to bamboo
Environmental innovation marches on as researchers pursue sustainable materials and sand-fixing.
Chinese researchers at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology engineered "living textiles" from fungal threads, creating fabrics that can self-clean and regenerate. Scientists embedded a pigment-producing yeast to add color and a melanin-producing fungus to provide ultraviolet protection, demonstrating programmable textile properties after fabrication. The breakthrough could reshape sustainable fashion by replacing petrochemical fiber production with bioengineered alternatives (via South China Morning Post).
Bamboo joins the Great Green Wall. Beijing is turning to fast-growing bamboo to reinforce the Three-North Shelterbelt Programme, the vast desert-fighting initiative launched in the 1970s. Scientists argue bamboo addresses shortcomings of earlier sand-fixing methods including short lifespan and ecological risks, offering a more resilient approach to combating desertification in China's arid northwest and northeast regions (via South China Morning Post).
Flash flood in Gansu kills 10, injures 23. A sudden torrential downpour triggered a flash flood in Weiyuan County's scenic area in Dingxi City on Sunday afternoon, killing 10 and leaving 23 injured as of 6 p.m., part of China's mounting seasonal weather risks (via Xinhua).