Overview

• At the Central Urban Work Conference in Beijing, President Xi Jinping questioned the nationwide push into artificial intelligence, computing power and new‐energy vehicles, asking if every province needs to pursue the same sectors.
• Premier Li Qiang’s cabinet pledged to clamp down on irrational competition in the electric vehicle industry, regulate price‐cutting tactics and require automakers to pay suppliers within 60 days.
• China’s producer price index fell by 3.6% in June, marking the steepest drop in nearly two years and heightening concerns over deflationary pressures on domestic manufacturers.
• Industry figures show that Chinese auto plants operated at only 49.5% of capacity in 2023, highlighting the severe overcapacity that Beijing aims to address.
• New guidelines call for performance metrics to factor in debt levels, technological readiness and long‐term viability instead of focusing solely on GDP growth and project counts.