Two major events, eight days apart, mark a transition in the PRC property saga. On 20 August, the real estate tycoon Xu Jiayin 许家印 Evergrande Group founder, was given a life sentence; the Group and Evergrande Real Estate received combined fines of C¥15.82 bn.
economy
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18 Sep 2026
The algorithm that assigns a delivery rider’s next order is starting to leave a paper trail of its own. A State Council report submitted to the NPC Standing Committee on 28 August 2026 sets out Beijing’s strategy to regulate the algorithms managing the PRC’s 200 million gig workers (灵活就业人员) rather than making them formal employees.
labour & social security
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04 Sep 2026
In July 2026, eight polysilicon producers, representing more than 90 percent of effective capacity, pledged not to sell below a cost floor set by their industry association, rather than agree on a price among themselves. PRC competition law treats the two very differently; Beijing is now building an architecture on the gap between them.
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economy
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01 Sep 2026
A consensus unites PRC pundits on the country’s trade surplus: it stems from manufacturing upgrades and deeper integration into global supply chains, is broadly legitimate, and should be fine-tuned rather than suppressed by force. Where they diverge is on how.
trade
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27 Aug 2026
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what’s Beijing’s new property model?
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gig worker protection
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industry groups—anti-involution’s third axis
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how Beijing squares its trade surplus
monitoring
recent commentary
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central budgetfiscal transferstax systemstrategic and emerging industries...read more03 Sep 2026
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commercial bankingbanking regulationNPLscorporate debtcredit ratinghousehold debtsubnational relationsstability maintenance...read more02 Sep 2026
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local surtax law starts reshaping local revenue incentives
growth modelcentral budgetlocal budgetlocal government debtinvestment fundstax incentivestax systemVATconsumption taxtax sharingpolitical trendsdevolutionsubnational relations...read more01 Sep 2026
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ag bankingfarm upscalingstate farms (nongken)farmlandthree ruralsag SOEsag industrialisationnew ag operatorsrural non-farm industryag machinerygrain reservesag price settingag subsidiesag insuranceag futuresag riskfood standardstraceabilityfood safety strategyfood security strategyfood productiongrainfeeddraft legislation and trends...read more01 Sep 2026
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Zhang LinghanData Law Institute professor China University of Political Science and Law
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Wu HongyaoCentral Rural Work Leading Group Office deputy director, MARA (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs) Party leadership group member
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Wang Yahuaexecutive director Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management , Tsinghua University China Institute for Rural Studies
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