Land sales down 31%, AliExpress fine · Jul 22

China reports first-half land-sale revenue down 31 percent.

Today's events

Land-sale revenue.
Local land-sale income fell 31.5 percent in the first half to 978 billion yuan, dragging total government-fund revenue down 21.6 percent.¹Jul 22 · MOF
Private-economy law.
Central planners and the top prosecutor’s office released ten model cases enforcing the private-economy law, including unfreezing accounts of eleven private petrochemical firms.²Jul 22 · Procuratorate
Quality inspection teams.
Four inspection teams entered provinces from July 20 in the first such exercise, targeting quality failures in sectors marked by involution-style price competition.³Jul 22 · SAMR
Europe fines AliExpress.
Commerce ministry said it strongly objects to the European Commission’s 550-million-euro fine on AliExpress and will take forceful measures to defend the company.⁴Jul 22 · MOFCOM
Double expulsion in Shanghai.
Peng Song, former executive deputy director of Shanghai’s civil-military fusion office, was expelled from the Party and public office; his bribery case goes to prosecutors.⁵Jul 21 · CCDI
Artificial-intelligence governance.
Qiushi commentary, July 22, restated Xi’s July 17 Shanghai call for a United Nations-centred framework on artificial intelligence, plus 5,000 training places for developing countries.⁶Jul 22 · Qiushi
European Parliament in Beijing.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi and legislature vice-chairman Li Hongzhong received the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on its first delegation to China.⁷Jul 21 · State Council
Public-interest lawsuits.
A second-draft law on prosecutor-brought public-interest lawsuits went out for comment, adding cross-border cases and routing first-instance suits to grassroots courts.⁸Jul 21 · NPC
Data as an asset.
Two national standards were issued classifying data assets into three types and sixteen subtypes, and setting rules for entering them in accounting books.⁹Jul 17 · MOF

Voices

“The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo by any single country, but a symphony of global cooperation.”
President Xi Jinping, World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Shanghai · July 17⁶

“China firmly opposes the European side erecting digital barriers under the banner of platform regulation and taking discriminatory measures against Chinese e-commerce firms.”
Ministry of Commerce spokesperson · July 22⁴

“We welcome the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee sending a delegation to China for the first time, to see a real, multidimensional and progressing China.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing · July 21⁷

“The rule of law is the best business environment. Prosecutors will keep responding to public concerns and carrying out measures that promote the private economy.”
Model Cases on the Private Economy Promotion Law, Supreme People’s Procuratorate · July 22²

“Four inspection teams will spot-check prominent quality problems in fields marked by involution-style competition and in areas of strong public concern.”
Office of the Leading Group for Building a Quality Powerhouse · July 21³

“He seriously violated the Party’s political, organizational, integrity and life discipline, and showed no restraint even after the 20th Party Congress.”
Shanghai Commission for Discipline Inspection, on Peng Song · July 21⁵

Sources

Ministry of Finance (财政部), “Fiscal Revenue and Expenditure in the First Half of 2026,” July 22, 2026. gks.mof.gov.cn/tongjishuju/…/t20260722_3993943
Supreme People's Procuratorate (最高人民检察院), “National Development and Reform Commission and Supreme People's Procuratorate Jointly Release Model Cases on Implementing the Private Economy Promotion Law (Second Batch),” July 22, 2026. spp.gov.cn/xwfbh/wsfbt/…/t20260722_732479
State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局), “Office of the Leading Group for Coordinating the Building of a Quality Powerhouse Launches Quality Inspection Work for the First Time,” July 21, 2026. samr.gov.cn/xw/zj/…/first-quality-inspection
Ministry of Commerce (商务部), via China Military Online (中国军网), “Commerce Ministry Spokesperson Answers Questions on the European Commission's Fine on AliExpress,” July 22, 2026. 81.cn/fyr/…/16475193
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (中央纪委国家监委), “Peng Song, Former Executive Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee's Civil-Military Fusion Office, Expelled from the Party and Public Office,” July 21, 2026. ccdi.gov.cn/yaowenn/…/t20260721_502705
Qiushi (求是网), “Advocate Mutual Assistance, Improve Global Governance — Fourth Commentary on Jointly Building a Fair and Reasonable Global AI Governance System,” July 22, 2026. qstheory.cn/20260722/…/c
State Council (中国政府网), “Wang Yi and Li Hongzhong Meet Separately with a Delegation of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs,” July 21, 2026. gov.cn/yaowen/…/content_7076226
National People's Congress (中国人大网), “Broaden the Scope of Public Interest Litigation, Strengthen Constraint and Disposal Mechanisms,” July 21, 2026. npc.gov.cn/c2/c30834/…/t20260721_456303
Ministry of Finance (财政部), “National Standards ‘Asset Management — Classification and Codes for Data Assets’ and ‘Asset Management — Guidelines for Data Asset Registration’ Released,” July 17, 2026. zcgls.mof.gov.cn/zhengcefabu/…/t20260717_3993702