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China's imports grew 22% in the first eight months of 2026, the fastest pace since 2021, and full-year import value is expected to hit a new record, Assistant Minister of Commerce Zhang Li said on March 18 at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office. Zhang said the Ministry of Commerce has promoted import expansion through a combination of policies and events, including eight consecutive editions of the import expo and a series of activities to share China's large market, broadening channels for global quality goods to enter the Chinese market.

China's general public budget spending rose 1.2% year on year to 181,451 billion yuan in the first eight months of 2026, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. Central government spending grew 6% year on year to 28,177 billion yuan, while local government spending edged up 0.3% to 153,274 billion yuan.

China's general public budget revenue reached 15.66 trillion yuan in the first eight months of 2026, up 5.7% year on year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance. Tax revenue rose 6.6% year on year to 12.91 trillion yuan, while non-tax revenue edged up 1.5% to 2.75 trillion yuan. Central government revenue grew 9.1% year on year to 7.01 trillion yuan, while local government revenue increased 3.1% to 8.65 trillion yuan.

China's stamp tax revenue reached 385.8 billion yuan in the first eight months of 2026, up 35.6% year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. Securities trading stamp tax surged 82% year on year to 216 billion yuan during the same period.

Datong Mayor Liu Junyi chaired the 85th executive meeting of the municipal government on Sep 17, urging deeper efforts to address coal mine safety risks and hidden dangers. The meeting called for drawing lessons from coal mine accidents, targeting persistent problems such as concealed working faces, falsified safety monitoring and mining beyond approved boundaries, while pushing for problem rectification and accountability. It also stressed scientific and orderly resumption of coal mine production and operation after meeting preconditions including full hazard clearance, personnel training and equipment maintenance, to promote safe and high-quality development of the coal industry.

Hunan province rolled out measures on Sept 18 to promote multi-user direct green power connections, allowing new wind, centralized solar and biomass power as direct supply sources, according to a notice from the provincial development and reform commission. New wind and centralized solar projects must be included in the provincial annual development plan, while biomass projects must be incorporated into renewable energy development plans. Existing distributed solar can participate through centralized aggregation, and power sources from different supply areas are permitted to launch such projects.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted 463.3 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos at a fixed rate of 1.40% on September 18, 2026, fully meeting primary dealers' demand, with bids and allotments both at 463.3 billion yuan. The central bank also carried out 100 billion yuan of 14-day reverse repos through a fixed-quantity, rate-based auction with multiple price allotments. With 4 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repos and 600 billion yuan of overnight reverse repos maturing the same day, the PBOC recorded a net drain of 40.7 billion yuan.

China's yuan central parity rate against the U.S. dollar was set at 6.7521 on September 18, 2026, up 59 basis points from the previous trading day's 6.7580. The onshore yuan closed at 6.7085 at 16:30 and settled at 6.7060 in overnight trading.

Cooling domestic demand is prompting Russian steelmakers to resume exporting rolled products to markets in the Middle East and North Africa, while risks to shipping in the Black Sea are causing them to redirect volumes to the Baltic Sea, Kommersant reported. In Jul and Aug, rolled product exports from Russia fell by half compared to the spring, a gap that will be difficult to recoup by year-end.

The top five sources in Jul were Indonesia, Russia, Australia, S Africa, and the U.S., accounting for a combined 89.60% of India's total coal imports, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. India imported the most coal from Indonesia at 11.64 Mt, up 49.48% YoY and 90.08% MoM.