The EU's recent move to prohibit funding support for projects using inverters from China and other so-called "high-risk countries" has drawn firm opposition from China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), which said on Thursday that China will take measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. A spokesperson of the MOFCOM said that the EU side, without any factual evidence, has for the first time designated China as a so-called "high-risk country," and, on this basis, prohibited financial support for projects using Chinese inverters. The spokesperson said that this move constitutes stigmatization of China and amounts to unfair and discriminatory treatment of Chinese products. China cannot accept this and firmly opposes it, the spokesperson said.

Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Thursday that Hong Kong will build a global commodities and gold trading hub, with national policy support, rising Asian demand and reshaped global trade and supply chains providing the backdrop. Speaking at the London Metal Exchange (LME) Asia Metals Seminar 2026, Chan said that Hong Kong has exceptional institutional strengths and deep capabilities in financial and professional services. It maintains full alignment with international standards, the common law system, and independent dispute resolution mechanisms, and offers a full range of services, from trade finance and marine insurance to derivatives and risk management tools.

Turkish electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Togg has signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese battery giant CATL to jointly develop a new platform for its upcoming B-segment EV family, according to local media reports and a CATL press release published Thursday. Under the agreement signed Wednesday, CATL will provide its advanced "Bedrock" chassis technology, marking its first international deployment. Togg will take an active engineering role, tailoring the platform to its own product specifications, digital architecture, and user experience goals. Three new models are planned under the partnership, with mass production expected to begin gradually from 2027, CATL said in the press release.

China's first four independently trained airship pilots have received their commercial pilot licenses from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, marking a breakthrough in the country's ability to cultivate its own airship flight crews, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) has announced. The milestone fills a critical talent gap as the country's homegrown Xiangyun AS700 manned airship moves toward large-scale commercial operations, AVIC said in a press release on Wednesday. The four pilots, drawn from both client companies and the airship's developer, completed a comprehensive training program approved by the aviation regulator, encompassing theoretical study, simulation and actual flight training.

Scenes once only seen in science fiction -- ships plotting routes autonomously, identifying obstacles in real time, and docking at ports with fully automated cranes -- are quickly becoming the new normal in China's maritime industry. Driven by a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, the world's largest shipping nation is actively pivoting toward "smart shipping," which experts say is essential for developing "new quality productive forces" and securing supply chains.

Boosted by China's new zero-tariff policy for African countries with diplomatic ties, a growing wave of African specialty products hit the Chinese market over the just-concluded May Day holiday, unlocking fresh opportunities for robust bilateral trade. At the stroke of midnight on May 1, 24 tonnes of apples from South Africa were swiftly cleared by customs officers in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, becoming the first batch of imports entering the country after it began implementing an expanded zero-tariff treatment for all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. The latest policy expansion came as China -- Africa's largest trading partner for 17 consecutive years -- had already scrapped tariffs on 100 percent of tariff lines for imports from 33 least developed countries (LDCs) with diplomatic ties on the continent since Dec. 1, 2024.