People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng emphasized optimizing intermediate variables for monetary policy and improving the market-based interest rate transmission mechanism.

The National Bureau of Statistics released the "15th Five-Year Plan for Statistical Reform and Development," which will add new statistical indicators related to new productive forces. The plan aims to enrich indicators reflecting new economic sectors, new productive forces, and social welfare improvements, while also deepening reform of statistical accounting methods and enhancing the international comparability of data. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism also issued its "15th Five-Year Plan," targeting 2030 goals for advancing cultural and tourism development, boosting national soft power, and enhancing the influence of Chinese culture.

In a signed article published in Qiushi, Pan Gongsheng discussed China's financial structure changes and enhancing financial services for the real economy. The article noted the central bank will continue to optimize monetary policy intermediate variables, reduce focus on quantity targets, and place more emphasis on price-based regulation through a market-oriented interest rate formation and transmission mechanism. The central bank will also work on improving deposit and loan pricing, giving businesses more loan pricing benchmarks, and intensifying efforts to prevent financial industry "involution" and idle fund circulation.

The Pinglu Canal, the first major canal project under national planning since the founding of New China, officially opened for navigation on September 16. A 5,000-ton cargo ship marked the launch, creating a new passage for southwest China to the sea. Goods from the region can now save over 560 kilometers of inland waterway distance compared to traditional routes, reducing annual transport costs by more than 5 billion yuan.

As of now, summer grain purchases are nearly complete, with preparations for autumn grain purchases largely in place. Nationwide, wheat purchases total 100 million tons and early indica rice purchases reach 12 million tons, slightly ahead of last year's pace. Meanwhile, the China Electricity Council reported that national internet data service electricity consumption exceeded 60 billion kWh this year, up over 40% year-on-year. Computing power electricity demand is expected to add more than 100 billion kWh annually during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

Starting October 1, the national standard for battery swap systems for electric motorcycles and light electric motorcycles will take effect. The standard imposes strict requirements on electrical, mechanical, and material safety to better protect consumer safety.

Retail sales data from the China Passenger Car Association for September 1-13 shows passenger vehicle retail sales fell 23% year-on-year to 515,000 units but rose 4% from the previous month. Cumulative retail sales this year reached 12,231 million units, down 21% year-on-year. New energy vehicle retail sales for the same period totaled 362,000 units, down 10% year-on-year but up 16% from the previous month, bringing cumulative sales to 7,036 million units, down 12%. The new energy retail penetration rate stood at 70.3%.

In corporate news, Sany Heavy Industry announced on September 16 that it repurchased 16.6206 million shares via centralized bidding, representing 0.1808% of total shares, at prices ranging from 17.64 to 18.96 yuan per share, totaling approximately 299 million yuan excluding transaction fees. Kanghui Co stated that its wholly-owned subsidiary Beijing Kanghui Zhichuang signed a computing power service contract with Client A, valued at about 1.72 billion yuan including tax over five years. To support implementation, the subsidiary signed a server purchase contract with Supplier G, totaling approximately 1.141 billion yuan including tax. Henggong Precision announced plans to issue convertible bonds to unspecified investors, raising up to 810 million yuan for projects including embodied intelligent robot manufacturing, pilot bases, R&D centers, high-end equipment parts expansion, new materials parts expansion, and working capital. Tongding Interconnection issued a statement on unusual stock price fluctuations, clarifying that its current business does not involve optical modules or optical chip products. The company's core business focuses on optical fiber cables, communication cables, power cables, and energy storage security. It noted recent market attention on optical fiber cables, while warning that price volatility sustainability remains uncertain and future market environment changes could lead to price declines and supply-demand shifts. *ST Wentai announced that rating agency China Chengxin has downgraded its main credit rating to "BBB-" with a negative outlook, and also downgraded the "Wentai Convertible Bond" rating to "BBB-" from "BBB+".

The US Federal Reserve concluded its two-day monetary policy meeting on September 16, raising the federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4%, marking the first rate hike since late July 2023. The decision was unanimous and in line with market expectations. The Fed's economic projections indicate one more rate hike in 2026, with rates held steady in 2027, declining in 2028, and settling at 3.5%-3.75% by 2029. Core PCE inflation is expected at 3.7% in 2026, with a return to the 2% target by 2029. Meanwhile, President Trump signed a proclamation excluding Canadian products from US government procurement plans, according to the White House.

In the UK, the Institute of Grocery Distribution warned that food inflation could peak at 3.9% this year and approach 7% by 2027, driven by Middle East tensions, rising production costs, and extreme weather linked to El Ni帽o. Eurozone industrial production fell 0.1% month-on-month in July, the second consecutive monthly decline, according to preliminary data from Eurostat. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to establish a "climate insurance alliance" to address increasingly frequent extreme weather events. In her annual State of the Union address, she also expressed willingness to work with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney toward Canada becoming the EU's first "associate member," proposing cooperation in smart manufacturing, technology alliances, integrated defense industries, and making the Arctic a flagship project. Cooperation would extend to energy, critical minerals, batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, cybersecurity, and economic security.

Japan's trade deficit reached 1.11 trillion yen in August, marking the fourth consecutive monthly shortfall, driven by higher crude oil and other import costs. Brazil's President Lula signed legislation establishing a national critical and strategic minerals policy to boost domestic processing value-added and safeguard national sovereignty over natural resource use. The US Treasury released its July TIC report showing net foreign inflows of $83.7 billion for all long-term and short-term securities and banking flows. US August retail sales rose 1.2% month-on-month, exceeding the expected 0.8%.