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NEWS IN CHINA 

• China Signals Willingness to Expand Trade Cooperation with Canada: According to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce, China has expressed readiness to broaden its economic engagement with Canada while working to reduce bilateral trade frictions. The comments came in response to recent remarks by Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, who indicated interest in further discussions with Chinese officials on lowering tariffs affecting Canadian agricultural and seafood exports, including peas and seafood products. The spokesperson, He Yadong, highlighted that both countries have been progressing on commitments outlined in a January agreement that established a structured roadmap for economic and trade cooperation. Since its signing, officials from both sides have maintained ongoing communication to advance implementation measures and address outstanding concerns through dialogue. Beijing reiterated its preference for resolving trade issues through equal consultation and mutual respect, emphasizing its support for stable and sustainable bilateral economic relations. The January roadmap also strengthened the China-Canada Joint Economic and Trade Commission mechanism and set the foundation for expanding cooperation across multiple sectors, including multilateral and regional platforms.
  
  
• Li Hongzhong Reviews Preparations for County and Township People’s Congress Elections: Li Hongzhong, a senior official of the Communist Party of China and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, conducted an inspection in Beijing on July 2 to review preparations for upcoming county and township people’s congress elections. He examined election organization work in Daxing District, including electoral district planning and the allocation of deputy quotas. Li also inspected grassroots service centers and villages to assess voter registration efforts and the mobilization of public participation in the electoral process. He stressed that the elections are a foundational element of China’s people’s congress system and play a key role in ensuring citizens’ political rights. He called for strict adherence to Party leadership and legal procedures throughout the process to maintain a proper direction and ensure orderly implementation. Li emphasized the need for local authorities to follow relevant election laws, improve organizational planning, strengthen training for election staff, and address emerging challenges in a timely manner. He further noted that the election process should integrate democratic practices at all levels, contributing to the development of whole-process people’s democracy.
  
  
• China Introduces Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law: China's Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law took effect on July 1, with regions including Inner Mongolia and Xizang introducing measures to support its implementation. According to the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Inner Mongolia has introduced 23 measures covering legal education, coordinated enforcement, and cooperation among government departments to ensure effective implementation. Regional authorities also plan to review and revise local regulations, government rules, and policy documents to align them with the new law. The measures emphasize greater interaction, cultural exchange, integration among ethnic groups, and modernization, benefiting all communities. In Xizang, officials have announced 20 measures aimed at reinforcing legal protections for ethnic unity, improving institutional systems, and creating a stable legal environment. Priorities include infrastructure development, public services, border security, and economic growth in border regions while promoting shared modernization across ethnic groups. Officials also stated that the law's provisions allowing legal action against overseas organizations or individuals involved in ethnic separatist activities are justified and necessary.
  
  
• China Activates Level IV Flood Emergency Response: The Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV emergency response for flood control across Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan, as a developing tropical depression in the South China Sea is expected to bring heavy rainfall to the southern parts of the country. Authorities have also deployed a task force to Hainan to assist with frontline flood prevention efforts. Between July 3 and 6, South China, including Hunan, southern Guizhou, and eastern Yunnan, is forecast to experience heavy to torrential rains, with some areas such as Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi likely to face extreme rainfall, increasing the risk of flooding across major river basins and tributaries in the region. In response, authorities have launched coordinated monitoring and planning measures, including real-time tracking of weather patterns, enhanced forecasting, and early warning dissemination. Local agencies have been instructed to strengthen inspections of embankments, low-lying areas, and vulnerable infrastructure while ensuring timely evacuations based on clearly defined protocols. Officials also emphasized strict safety management of reservoirs and construction sites, especially in high-risk areas, and stressed preventive action against flash floods in smaller rivers to minimize potential damage and protect lives.
  
  
• Beijing Extends Unemployment Insurance Reforms to Support Jobs and Skills Development: According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, China has introduced a set of updated unemployment insurance policies aimed at supporting job stability, encouraging hiring, and improving workforce skills. The measures, jointly issued with three other departments, will run until the end of 2026 and are framed as “two continuations and one optimization.” The measure extends subsidies for enterprises that maintain stable employment and avoid layoffs. Small and micro firms can receive up to 60% of their previous year’s unemployment insurance contributions, while larger companies may receive up to 30%. The policy also covers eligible social organizations and self-employed participants, with a simplified system designed to deliver benefits more quickly and automatically. The measure also continues a hiring subsidy scheme that encourages companies to employ young job seekers, including recent graduates and registered unemployed youth aged 16 to 24. The third measure improves skills training subsidies by linking support more closely to labor market needs. Authorities called for improved service delivery, stronger fund oversight, and continued protection of basic social insurance benefits to safeguard livelihoods and promote stable employment growth.
  
  

SOCIAL MEDIA CHATTER 

Weibo Users Debate Over Industry Profit Pressure Following Xiaomi Research Findings: A post discussing Xiaomi’s selection for industry research is going viral on Weibo, sparking discussion on industrial competition, pricing pressure, and long-term market sustainability. The post argues that Xiaomi is caught between escalating supplier prices and aggressive downstream pricing strategies, creating a cycle of profitability pressure that may threaten long-term innovation capacity. Many users echoed the view that rapid capacity expansion in multiple industries has led to structural imbalances, noting that “when production scales too fast, the inflection point becomes uncontrollable.” Another user added that “only reasonable profits can ensure sustained investment in research and development”. Some users emphasized that “reasonable profits are necessary for companies to invest in R&D,” while several others argued that memory price increases show how cost pressures affect the entire supply chain. A few users stated that “excessive involution is unsustainable,” and that markets should be allowed to function more normally to avoid long-term damage. Several other users supported the idea of policy-level coordination, suggesting that “guidance and regulation of competition may already be underway." A few users added that “healthy competition is essential for long-term success,” while others stressed that structured industry oversight could benefit both businesses and consumers.

INDIA WATCH 

The Paper Highlights the Outcomes of the India-Japan Summit: An article in The Paper discussed the outcomes of the India-Japan summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The article highlighted agreements on defense, maritime security, economic security, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, shipbuilding, and critical minerals, while emphasizing that both sides framed economic security as a shared strategic priority. It noted that Takaichi promoted Japan’s updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision as complementary to Modi’s MAHASAGAR maritime initiative, arguing that the two frameworks are increasingly converging to expand regional connectivity and security cooperation. However, the article underscored China’s criticism of FOIP as a divisive geopolitical strategy aimed at countering Beijing’s influence. It stressed that Japan remains one of India’s largest investors, with business agreements reportedly worth over 2 trillion yen and continued support for major infrastructure and manufacturing projects. The article argued that India continues to face significant structural constraints in achieving technological self-reliance, pointing to weaknesses in semiconductor fabrication, shortages of skilled engineers, and inadequate infrastructure. The article further concluded that despite growing strategic convergence, the India-Japan partnership faces a fundamental industrial constraint, as neither country possesses the advanced midstream processing and refining capabilities needed to transform rare earth resources, leaving a critical gap in their ambition to build secure supply chains.