🌆 Where to Set Up in China

China issues guidelines to boost consumption, investment through infrastructure upgrades

China's National Development and Reform Commission and other departments have issued joint guidelines to upgrade the physical and digital infrastructure that supports consumer spending — shopping districts, marketplaces, parking, tourism sites, delivery networks and 5G coverage. The goal is to get consumers spending and to pull in investment at the same time, so that consumption and investment reinforce each other. It follows a dedicated five-year consumption-expansion plan released in July 2026, against a backdrop of weak retail growth (2.6% year on year in the first three quarters). The document sets direction for local governments rather than creating directly enforceable obligations for companies.

Notice of the PBOC, NFRA and CSRC on Issuing the Green Finance Endorsed Project Catalogue (2025 Edition)

The People's Bank of China, the financial regulator (NFRA) and the securities regulator (CSRC) have issued a single, unified Green Finance Endorsed Project Catalogue (2025 Edition) that replaces the separate green bond catalogue used since 2021. From 1 October 2025, banks, bond issuers and other financial institutions will use one common list of qualifying 'green' projects across green loans, green bonds and other green financial products, which should make green assets easier to compare, trade and manage. The notice also sets grandfathering rules so existing loans and bonds are not disrupted, and it deliberately excludes stock exchange listings and New Third Board issuances for now.

PBOC, MEE, NFRA and CSRC Issue Opinions on Leveraging Green Finance to Support the Beautiful China Initiative

China's central bank (PBOC), environment ministry (MEE) and financial regulators (NFRA, CSRC) have jointly issued a policy opinion with 19 measures to steer bank and capital-market financing into pollution control, ecological restoration and low-carbon projects under the Beautiful China Initiative. The policy sets up a curated pipeline of 'landmark' projects that regulators will share with financial institutions, asks lenders to factor borrowers' carbon and pollution performance into credit approval and pricing, and promotes new products ranging from green bonds and asset securitization to carbon-emission-rights-backed loans and 'carbon inclusion' consumer credit. It matters because it indicates where preferential green financing is likely to flow over the next few years and which assets banks will be pushed to lend against.

China unveils five-year plan to strengthen industrial foundation, upgrade manufacturing

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with other departments, released a five-year plan to strengthen the country's 'industrial foundation' — the core components, basic materials and foundational software that underpin manufacturing. The plan acknowledges that China's industrial base is large but weak at the high end, especially in integrated circuits and industrial software, and sets a goal of significantly easing those gaps and reaching internationally advanced capability levels by 2030. It also targets cultivating more 'single-champion' manufacturers and specialized 'little giant' firms in this sector. The document is a strategic roadmap rather than a set of binding rules, so concrete obligations will follow in separate implementing measures.

China mulls policies to accelerate smart manufacturing

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says it is drafting a new set of policies for next-generation smart manufacturing that would embed artificial intelligence across the entire production chain. The plan would use a tiered system of basic, advanced and top-tier smart factories, plus support for smarter machine tools, robots, inspection equipment and industry-specific AI models. No rule or obligation exists yet — this is a policy signal of direction, backed by existing figures such as 13,000+ advanced smart factories and 2,592 EFLOPS of smart computing power. It matters because it flags where subsidies, standards and equipment-upgrade demands are likely to flow next.

SAFE Releases Data on China's Foreign Exchange Reserve at the End of August 2026

China's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3,438.3 billion at the end of August 2026, up USD 19.5 billion (0.57%) from the end of July. SAFE attributed the increase mainly to a weaker US dollar and mixed global asset prices, which raised the translated value of reserves rather than reflecting new capital inflows. The release is a monthly statistical update with no new rules or obligations — it is a sentiment signal on currency stability and cross-border capital flows, not a policy change.