This episode contains segments on:
- China’s June foreign trade in goods data
- China’s July consumer and producer price indices
- Implementation Measures for Minimum Renewable Energy Consumption Ratios and Renewable Electricity Consumption Responsibility Weights
- MOFCOM launches national security probe into imported office equipment featuring foreign software
Contact:
We’d love to hear your feedback. Contact us at website@europeanchamber.com.cn.
Follow the European Chamber on LinkedIn, X, WeChat (europeanchamber), and sign up for our newsletter here, to get notified on new episodes.
Read more:
China’s June foreign trade in goods data
http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/302274/302275/9f806879-1.html
China’s July PPI and CPI
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202608/t20260809_1965007.html
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202608/t20260809_1965008.html
https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202608/t20260809_1965009.html
Implementation Measures for Minimum Renewable Energy Consumption Ratios and Renewable Electricity Consumption Responsibility Weights
https://zfxxgk.ndrc.gov.cn/upload/images/20265/202651216563822.pdf
MOFCOM launches national security probe into imported office equipment featuring foreign software
https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/zc/art/2026/art_354593b38ed647ba8c332192e1bfe4d4.html
https://www.comnews.cn/m/content/2026-08/05/content_66365.html
Chamber event: EV & Smart Mobility: Scaling Innovation and Bridging EU-China Partnerships
Transcript:
RUI: Hello and welcome to China ShortCuts,
XINHE: the European Chamber’s weekly catchup on China’s business landscape.
RUI: This episode was recorded on 12th August 2026.
(MUSIC)
RUI: China’s exports continued their rapid growth in July 2026, with the total value up almost 24 per cent from a year ago. While the rate of growth slowed somewhat from the previous month, it still represents the second fastest recorded in almost five years.
XINHE: According to data published by China’s General Administration of Customs on 9th August, China exported nearly 398 billion US dollars’ worth of goods to the rest of the world in July. The total value of imports, meanwhile, grew at an even faster pace than exports: up 27.5 per cent over the same timeframe. While not enough to rebalance China’s export dominance, it helped trim the country’s trade surplus, which now stands at 112 billion US dollars.
Exports of high-tech products rose over 50 per cent compared to a year ago, with their total value edging close to 120 billion US dollars. A strong increase was also seen in the export of integrated circuits, or microchips, which more than doubled year-on-year, making up nearly 10 per cent of China’s total exports in July.
RUI: It is concerning that, while the trade imbalance had been brought up during high-level dialogues, China Customs’ data shows that the country’s trade surplus with the EU continued to widen in July to nearly 34 billion US dollars, up 2.7 per cent from June.
The EU’s growing trade deficit with China has become a significant point of contention in Brussels and many EU Member State capitals. During bilateral talks last month, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security and Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maros Šefčovič warned his counterpart, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wengtao, that the current situation is ‘not sustainable’.
(MUSIC)
RUI: The rise in consumer and producer prices in China both eased in July, according to data released on 9th August by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
XINHE: China’s producer price inflation slowed to the lowest rate recorded in three months, at 3.5 per cent. This was predominantly driven by cost-push inflation, rather than rising demand, as rising input costs—including for oil, gas, chemical materials and non-ferrous metals—continued to put pressure on producers’ margins.
RUI: July’s consumer price index registered a 0.5 per cent increase year-on-year, decelerating from June’s 1 per cent growth. According to an official readout from the NBS, the slowdown was primarily driven by slower gasoline price growth, which rose by only 1 per cent, with the growth rate declining by 16 percentage points compared with the previous month.
(MUSIC)
RUI: On 22nd June, the National Development and Reform Commission along with three ministries jointly released implementation measures related to renewable energy consumption, which came into effect on 1st August 2026. The measures establish renewable energy usage quotas at both the provincial level and for key energy consuming industries.
XINHE: The Chamber welcomes the publication of the measures, the goals of which are aligned with the interests of its members. The measures represent a step forward when it comes to achieving China’s 30/60 goals. It is also positive that the scope of assessment has been extended to non-electric renewable energy use.
RUI: At the same time, there is still a need for further clarification on which categories of biofuels are within the scope of the measures; specifics on how the State Council will determine what constitute key energy-consuming industries; and the introduction of additional forms of verification or accounting bases for assessing the completion of renewable energy power consumption targets, among others.
(MUSIC)
RUI: On 5th August 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce opened a national security investigation into imported office equipment with printing and copying functions that feature foreign system software. The investigation is to be completed within 12 months from the date of its announcement.
XINHE: This is the first time that national security concerns have been cited as a reason for an investigation into foreign trade matters, as specified in Article 41 of the Foreign Trade Law. However, this is not the first time office equipment has come under scrutiny in China: one of the clearest examples of this is the ‘3-5-2’ policy introduced in 2019, which specified that the use of foreign hardware and software should be reduced in Chinese government offices by 30 per cent by 2021, by a further 50 per cent by 2023, and the remaining 20 per cent by 2025.
RUI: Scope creep of what constitutes ‘national security’ continues to be a concern for businesses operating in China. Clearly defining ‘national security’ would make the business environment more predictable and would help to prevent national security concerns from restricting legitimate business activities through discretionary interpretation and any overreach in enforcement of related policies.
(MUSIC)
RUI: Today, the automotive industry is characterised by ‘involution-style’ competition and vicious price wars that weigh on innovation. European automotive manufacturers are also grappling with fragmented cross-border data regulations and divergent carbon standards in China. Meanwhile, Chinese EV exports face mounting trade barriers. Navigating this dynamic market successfully poses a major challenge for all automotive players.
XINHE: Join us on 25th August in person in Beijing, to hear experts and industry representatives discuss the current state of the EV market in China, the respective institutional frameworks of the EU and China, and issues related to cross-border compliance, as well as the opportunities that are still there for European automotive manufacturers in China.
(MUSIC)
XINHE: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in again next week.
RUI: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.
RUI: Listen to the full episode on our WeChat account, or your preferred podcast platform.