Germany, France, UK, Italy, Canada Issue Joint Statement ◆ "Lu Ha" May Need to Pay 2.69 Billion Yuan in Compensation ◆ BabyBus Fined 300,000 Yuan!

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2026-03-18

Top News Highlights

■ Premier Li Qiang signed a State Council order to announce the “Decision of the State Council on Amending the Regulations on the Administration of Social Group Registration,” which will take effect upon publication.

■ On March 16, local time, during the China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue, Chinese lead, Vice Premier He Lifeng, met with French lead, Minister of Economy, Finance, Industry, Energy, and Digital Sovereignty Lescure, after the China-U.S. trade and economic Paris consultations, to exchange in-depth views on recent China-France economic and financial cooperation and mutual concerns.

■ According to media reports, U.S. President Trump indicated that his visit to China might be delayed due to handling Iran-related conflicts. On March 17, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that China and the U.S. are maintaining communication regarding the timing of President Trump’s visit, and there is no further information to provide at this time.

■ The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, and National Development and Reform Commission recently jointly issued a notice to deploy pilot work on comprehensive hydrogen energy applications. 【Details】

■ The National Healthcare Security Administration, National Development and Reform Commission, and National Health Commission issued the “Guiding Opinions on Supporting Primary Healthcare and Medical Services,” covering 14 measures including fund management, treatment guarantees, and medication security.

■ On March 17, the Ministry of Finance released the “2025 China Fiscal Policy Implementation Report,” showing that in 2025, fiscal departments at all levels effectively implemented proactive fiscal policies, continued efforts, strengthened coordination with other policies, and provided solid support for achieving annual economic and social development goals.

■ On March 17, according to the National Energy Administration, from January to February 2026, the total electricity consumption across society reached 1,654.6 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%.

Economic and Financial News

■ On March 17, the China Banking Association held a sharing and exchange meeting in Beijing on the “Ten Major Events” and “Good News” of the banking industry in 2025. Liu Hong, Vice Chairman of the China Banking Association and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Agricultural Bank of China, attended and delivered a speech. Xing Wei, Secretary of the Party Committee and full-time Vice President of the association, announced the “Ten Major Events” for 2025, while Secretary-General Xu Jiqin announced the “Good News,” and Deputy Secretary-General Yin Youxiang announced the “Media Promotion Experts” for 2025.

■ Recently, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and Barclays Bank Shanghai Branch jointly held a thematic exchange on foreign currency options, focusing on the newly launched foreign currency Quanto options, sharing advanced international market trading experiences, and discussing high-quality development of the domestic and foreign currency markets.

■ On the evening of March 16, Hunan Xiangyou Technology Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Kelida Decoration Co., Ltd. announced that they are under investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The reason for the investigation is suspected violations of information disclosure laws and regulations. 【Details】

■ Yau Cai Securities announced on the evening of March 16 that the tender offer initiated by Ant Group has been approved by relevant Chinese authorities, and the settlement is expected to be completed by March 30. This indicates that the most critical step of this acquisition has now been completed.

Social Hot Topics

■ Recently, consumers reported that “Luhua” Lingda Le’s beef tripe products had hygiene issues, including unappetizing processing environments, operators smoking during steaming, and beef tripe being cooled and removed on damaged epoxy resin floors. There are also allegations of illegal use of hydrogen peroxide in the rehydration process. Netizens estimated that “Luhua” Lingda Le’s live broadcast sold 30 million units of this product, and if the “fake one, triple compensation” policy is applied, consumers could be compensated up to 2.69 billion yuan; with the “fake one, ten times compensation” policy, the amount could reach 8.97 billion yuan.

■ On March 17, the Fire and Rescue Department held a routine press conference, stating that the cause of the “12.9” commercial self-built house fire in Shantou, Guangdong, which resulted in 12 deaths, is still under investigation, but the immediate cause was the owner’s careless use of mosquito coils.

■ Recently, the well-known children’s digital enlightenment brand “BabyBus” was fined 300,000 yuan by the Cangshan District Market Supervision Administration in Fuzhou for displaying vulgar advertisements that violate social morals in its children’s app, and 3.68 yuan was confiscated as illegal income. The administrative penalty officially confirms the controversy over “adult advertisements in children’s apps” that sparked protests from parents last year.

International News

■ On March 16, local time, the German government issued a statement that leaders of Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and Canada issued a joint statement on Lebanon, calling for de-escalation of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and promoting a political solution to the crisis.

■ On March 17, local time, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced a 25 basis point rate hike to 4.10%. This is the first rate increase among major central banks since the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28; it is also the first sustained rate hike by the RBA since February 3.

■ According to CCTV News, TASS reported on the 17th that Moscow has experienced its largest drone attack of the year since the 14th. Over the past three days, Russian air defense systems have shot down 181 drones approaching Moscow.