Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu met Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Secretary Jan Adams in Beijing on October 9 for the 26th China-Australia Foreign Ministry Political Consultations. The two sides held candid and in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of shared concern.

TREE NEWS update: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has approved emergency declarations for Florida and Alabama due to Hurricane Isaias, the DHS Secretary said. The move frees up federal resources ahead of the storm’s impact on the two states.

TREE NEWS update: Construction began on October 10 on the upstream and downstream cofferdams for the Gezhouba shipping capacity expansion, part of the Three Gorges Waterway New Channel project. The two cofferdams, together with bank slopes, will enclose the construction area and create dry-land conditions for building the new 10,000-tonne-class shiplock, marking the full entry into the main construction phase of the Gezhouba expansion.

TREE NEWS reports: Domestic gold jewelry prices in China rose across major brands. Chow Sang Sang’s pure gold jewelry was quoted at 1,262 yuan per gram, up 8 yuan from yesterday; Chow Tai Fook at 1,265 yuan, up 10 yuan; Lao Miao Gold at 1,258 yuan, up 9 yuan; and Lao Feng Xiang at 1,262 yuan, up 12 yuan.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will work with other departments to draft a policy document on promoting employment through services-sector development, Vice Minister Li Zhong said at a State Council Information Office briefing. The plan aims to stabilize employment in labor-intensive industries and expand the total number of services jobs, while tapping new employment potential in emerging and future industries.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Commerce and six other departments issued a notice on implementing the ‘Five Excellences’ campaign for quality e-commerce, calling for high-level opening in the sector. The notice deepens bilateral and multilateral cooperation under the Silk Road E-Commerce mechanism, covering policy exchange, industry matchmaking and capacity building, and advances global e-commerce governance through single-window data exchange, electronic bills of lading and cross-border identity authentication.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s basic pension insurance covered 1.079 billion people as of the end of September, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The figure covers the national basic pension insurance scheme, which includes urban worker and urban-rural resident pension programs. No further breakdown of the enrollment data was provided.

TREE NEWS update: China created 10.52 million urban jobs in the first nine months of 2025, reaching 87.7% of the full-year target, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said at a State Council Information Office briefing on October 10. The surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2% over the first eight months, with employment conditions described as generally stable.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Commerce and six other departments issued a notice launching a ‘Five Excellences’ campaign to improve e-commerce quality, calling on platforms to publicly commit to product and service quality improvements and publish quality governance reports. The initiative also aims to curb disorderly competition such as automatic price-matching and ‘lowest price across the entire internet’ practices. National e-commerce demonstration bases will lead the effort with credit management and tiered guidance.

TREE NEWS update: China will roll out a campaign to promote employment adapted to AI development, the State Council Information Office said at an October 10 press conference on the 15th Five-Year Plan. The package also includes a ‘Skills Light Up the Future’ training program, a migrant worker employment initiative, a high-quality public employment service campaign, and a ‘human resources services plus’ integrated development program.

TREE NEWS reports: China will roll out a campaign to promote employment adapted to AI development. The State Council Information Office revealed this at an October 10 press conference on the 15th Five-Year Plan. The package also includes the “Skills Light Up the Future” training program, a migrant worker employment initiative, a high-quality public employment services campaign, and the “Human Resources Services Plus” integrated development program.

TREE NEWS update: China is launching a campaign to promote employment that adapts to AI development. The State Council Information Office announced this at an October 10 press conference on the 15th Five-Year Plan. The package also includes the ‘Skills Light Up the Future’ training program, a migrant worker employment initiative, a high-quality public employment services campaign, and the ‘Talent Services Plus’ integrated development program.

TREE NEWS reports: China will carry out a campaign to promote employment adapted to AI development. The State Council Information Office announced this at an October 10 press conference on the 15th Five-Year Plan. The package also includes the ‘Skills Light Up the Future’ training program, a migrant worker employment initiative, a high-quality public employment services campaign, and the ‘Talent Services Plus’ integrated development program.

TREE NEWS update: PetroChina’s Tarim Oilfield has produced a cumulative 4.08 million tonnes of ethane, the company said, marking a step up in deep processing of natural gas from the Tarim Basin. Ethane is a key component of natural gas and the core feedstock for ethylene, which is further processed into plastics and synthetic fibres. Tarim Energy, based in Luntai County, Xinjiang, has an annual natural gas processing capacity of 25 billion cubic metres.

TREE NEWS update: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 9 that he felt “betrayed” by a US-Russia diesel agreement, expressing clear disappointment in an interview. Trump, asked repeatedly by reporters about Zelensky’s criticism the same day, declined to comment and said only that he was satisfied with the deal reached with Putin. In a statement that night, Zelensky called allowing Russian diesel exports a “weak decision by a strong partner.”

TREE NEWS update: The People’s Bank of China conducted zero 7-day reverse repo operations on October 10, saying the decision reflected demand from primary dealers in open market operations. No reverse repos matured on the day, leaving the operation with no net liquidity impact. The central bank did not announce any other open market operation for the date.

TREE NEWS update: China raised fuel surcharges on domestic airline tickets starting today. Adult passengers now pay 50 yuan per segment on routes of 800 km or less and 90 yuan per segment on longer routes, up 10 yuan and 20 yuan respectively. Infants are exempt, while children, disabled revolutionary servicemen and disabled police officers pay half the applicable rate. Tickets issued before today will not be charged the difference if rebooked today or later.

TREE NEWS update: Kansai Electric Power restarted the reactor at Mihama Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 in Fukui Prefecture on October 10, entering adjustment operation with commercial operation planned for November 4. The unit had been manually shut down on May 8 after a hole in the high-pressure turbine casing caused a steam leak, and was halted again the day after a pipe leak was found on September 17 during adjustment runs.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said the United States does not want cars made in Canada and wants to build its own vehicles. The remark, made in a public statement, signals continued pressure on cross-border auto manufacturing between the two countries. No further policy details or dates were given.

TREE NEWS update: President Trump said New York should not have allowed companies to relocate to Texas, adding that oil refiners and retailers should begin cutting prices. He also said the United States has eliminated more than 1 million federal positions. No further details were given.