Stories from Beijing · China

Trading volume in the Chinese market reached 2,598.7 billion yuan this week, indicating high market activity. Analysts note that the mid-to-late April period often coincides with a peak in corporate earnings disclosures. This concentration of reporting may lead to adjustment pressures for concept-driven sectors and large-cap stocks awaiting audits. Total trading volume for prediction markets reached $24 billion in a single month last month. This represents a increase from $2 billion recorded one year prior. A data company reported this growth despite more than 70% of users losing money. The markets involve betting on outcomes such as political decisions or sports results. The number of civil aviation passengers is projected to reach 2.16 million, with 1.624 million passengers having already traveled.

A new AI agent framework named 'Lobster' allows users to automate complex digital workflows, including coding and research. The technology enables autonomous computer operation by managing various data sources and interacting with software directly. This development marks a shift toward more capable, independent digital employees for individual users. These agents can perform tasks such as answering questions, scheduling appointments, making payments with credit card data, making phone calls, surfing the internet, and filling out forms. Competitors in this space include OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas and Anthropic's Claude Otto. A new software project allows users to create personal agents using any large language model. The development was reported across multiple European news outlets.

China's domestically produced C919 aircraft has secured a new order valued at 30 billion yuan. This development marks a significant milestone for the country's aviation manufacturing sector as it seeks to expand its presence in the global market. The order supports China's broader strategic goal of fostering future industries like bio-manufacturing and quantum technology.

China's fixed asset investment in the primary industry grew by 15.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026. The State Council Information Office held a press conference on April 23 to introduce measures for strengthening intellectual property protection in 2025. Measures include revising patent examination guidelines and improving patent examination standards for artificial intelligence. China's property insurance sector recorded 532 billion yuan in premium income during the first quarter of 2026, a 2.9% increase year-on-year. China's industrial crude oil and natural gas production increased by 1.3% and 3.0% respectively in the first quarter of 2026. Industrial coal production saw a year-on-year increase of 0.1%. Power sector safety production is reported as stable following the completion of power security tasks for the Spring Festival and the Two Sessions.

Beijing is increasing its crackdown on tax evasion by extending enforcement measures into consumption taxes. Authorities are framing these actions as a necessary fiscal lifeline to bolster national revenue. This move signals a more aggressive approach to domestic fiscal management. The State Affairs General Administration Inspection Bureau is investigating food influencer Bai Bing for income discrepancies. Authorities suspect Bai converted personal service income into individual business income to exploit tax incentives through falsified costs and expenses. The investigation includes several large-value service invoices worth millions of yuan. The probe aims to address the practice of underpaying personal income tax. A prominent Chinese social media influencer has admitted to using luxury goods invoices to misrepresent company income.

DeepSeek has released its V4 model, positioning it as a highly powerful open-source alternative to proprietary systems. The launch serves as a direct challenge to established closed-model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. This development marks a significant milestone in the competitive landscape of large language model accessibility.

New polling data indicates that support for China has increased by 6 percentage points in the Middle East region due to ongoing instability. Lü noted that the Iran war has already impacted Chinese exports. The source expressed uncertainty regarding when this decline will end. China reported an increase in industrial profits during the first three months of the year. This growth was driven by developments in the artificial intelligence and semiconductor industries. Specifically, profits for optoelectronic component manufacturers rose 336.8% year-on-year. Profits for photoelectric equipment and display equipment manufacturers increased by 43% and 36.3% respectively. The growth in these sectors is attributed to global capital investment in AI and data centers. China's mainland economy grew by 5% in the first quarter of the year.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States issued a statement rejecting allegations that Chinese entities are stealing American AI intellectual property. Beijing characterized the accusations as a deliberate attack on the development of the Chinese AI industry. This follows reports regarding US concerns over the distillation of American AI models to train smaller, cheaper models. A speaker stated that China has no interest in threatening itself, dismissing the notion of a 'China threat' as baseless. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian denied US allegations concerning Panama ports during a routine press conference. Six nations in the Americas issued a joint statement expressing concern regarding recent Chinese actions affecting a vessel flying the Panama flag. China's defense ministry denied recent reports alleging the transfer of military equipment to Iran.

DeepSeek has released its V4 series of large language models, claiming performance parity with GPT-5.2 and Gemini 3.0 Pro on reasoning benchmarks. The V4 Pro model is positioned as a high-efficiency alternative, priced at $0.74 per million input tokens. This release aims to challenge the dominance of major US-based AI providers by offering comparable reasoning capabilities at a significantly lower cost. The V4-Pro model features 1.6 trillion parameters and claims performance comparable to GPT-5.4 and Claude Opus 4.6 at lower costs. Chinese company DeepSeek is offering developers a 74% discount on its newly unveiled AI model, DeepSeek V4 Pro, until May 5. The company previously launched a preview of its open-source V4 model as a cost-effective alternative to Western competitors like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. AI consultant Raj Froshoff discussed user expectations for the new model.

China has implemented stricter regulations targeting government officials whose family members reside outside of the country. This move aims to increase oversight and control over the personal lives and potential loyalties of the bureaucracy. Chinese Vice Premier He Li Feng held a video call with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Trade Representative Jameson Greer on Thursday. The officials discussed implementing consensus reached during a previous meeting in Busan. The conversation focused on addressing economic and trade concerns and expanding pragmatic cooperation. According to Xinhua, the exchanges were described as candid, in-depth, and constructive.