China in July 2026: the most important developments in economy
China's economy in July 2026 was dominated by artificial intelligence. On July 17 President Xi Jinping said China would provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries, and on July 18 China launched the World AI Cooperation Organization in Shanghai, with 29 countries joining. Alibaba and Moonshot released new models, and Moonshot's Kimi K3 rattled US chip and technology shares. Beijing weighed tighter export controls on AI models and chips, while Washington announced scrutiny of Chinese models and China accused the US of AI hegemonism.
The month's largest market event was the debut of memory chipmaker CXMT in Shanghai on July 27. Shares rose more than 500% on the first day, making it the biggest IPO in mainland China and the country's most valuable listed company. The company had sought between $8.6 billion and $10 billion. US lawmakers then called for a national security probe of it.
The wider economy sent mixed signals. Growth in the first half was 4.7%, the weakest in three years and below the official target, with refinery runs at pandemic-era lows and new loans below forecasts. Exports reached a record $412 billion in June, and car exports topped 1 million units in one month for the first time. The government vowed to reach its annual growth target. Foreign carmakers reported losses of ground: BMW's first-half sales fell 30%, Volkswagen's second-quarter deliveries fell 8.6%, Audi and Mercedes-Benz cut forecasts, Mercedes wrote off over 700 million euros, and Porsche planned to cut 5,000 more jobs.
Trade disputes ran alongside. The EU fined AliExpress a record 550 million euros on July 20. On July 24 China added 14 EU entities to its export control list, and it banned rare earth exports to 14 European companies. President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on the EU, China and 58 other partners, while China and the US continued reciprocal tariff reductions. China demanded compensation from Britain over the nationalisation of British Steel and fined Trip.com 5.179 billion yuan for abusing its market dominance.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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