Three-minute news breakfast on Wednesday, October 18, 2023

1) On the evening of October 17, Xi Jinping hosted a banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to welcome the spouses and guests of foreign leaders attending the Third Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum. Xi Jinping held talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Chilean President Gabriel Boric separately. The Belt and Road Entrepreneurs Conference attracted more than 1200 representatives from China and other countries, with roughly equal representation from both sides.

2) The second round of inspections by the 20th Central Committee has begun, conducting regular inspections of the party committees (party groups) of 31 units, including the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and conducting follow-up inspections of the party group of the National Railway Administration and the party group of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

3) Autumn grain harvest exceeds 60%, with significant yield increases in many areas. The Ministry of Natural Resources issued a document suggesting the cancellation of land price ceilings and the 1.0 floor area ratio limit in suburban areas.

4) The National Health Commission and two other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of Medical and Health Institutions Supporting Early Childhood Care Services." In the first eight months of 2023, basic medical insurance fund revenue reached 2092.33 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%. National Healthcare Security Administration: The clinical efficacy and safety of generic drugs selected through centralized procurement are comparable to those of original research drugs.

5) The national standard "Technical Regulations for the Compilation of Provincial-Level National Spatial Planning" will come into effect on January 1, 2024.

6) China's first multi-baseline interferometric synthetic aperture radar mapping system has been successfully put into orbit.

High-performance, large-area boron carbide thin films have been successfully developed at the China Spallation Neutron Source.

7) [Rule of Law] Song Xibin, former vice chairman of the Heilongjiang Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the first instance. The first-instance verdict was announced in the bribery case of Gao Jie, former director of the Rizhao Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee in Shandong Province. Official report on the incident of a girl being bitten by a dog in Chongzhou, Sichuan: The Rottweiler that bit the girl has been captured, and the owner, Tang Mou, has been taken criminal compulsory measures in accordance with the law. The girl's vital signs are currently stable. Animal Protection Association: Rottweilers are not suitable for raising in cities.

8) [Military] The Chinese Coast Guard lawfully expelled Japanese ships that illegally entered China's Diaoyu Island territorial waters, urging Japan to immediately cease all illegal activities in the waters.

9) [Hong Kong and Macao] Hong Kong will introduce measures to encourage SMEs to apply AI technology.

10) [Taiwan] Ma Ying-jeou's speech at New York University: Some Americans "intend to use TSMC as a weapon," and Taiwan is definitely not Ukraine.

1) Premier Li Qiang met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Chilean President Gabriel Boric separately. Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Wang Yi had a phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. The presidents of Indonesia and Chile, and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea laid wreaths at the Monument to the People's Heroes. Officially signed with Serbia! China's high-speed train sets exported to Europe for the first time.

China and the US are promoting the construction of the "Shanghai Port-Los Angeles Port Green Shipping Corridor." Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida offered offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine on October 17. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: We have lodged a solemn protest with Japan. Zhai Jun, China's special envoy on Middle East issues, met with Israeli Ambassador to China, Pan Qirui.

2) The US, UK, France, and Japan vetoed a draft resolution on the humanitarian issue in Gaza, with Russia criticizing the West for holding the Security Council "hostage." Five countries, including Russia and China, voted in favor of the draft resolution. China's representative spoke after the vote: Humanitarian issues should not be politicized, and the protection of civilians is a priority. China once again appeared at the Cannes Autumn Television Festival as the guest of honor.

3) Biden will visit Israel on October 18. The US and Israel have reached an agreement on humanitarian aid to Gaza. US Treasury Secretary: Our economy is very good, and we can support both Israel and Ukraine at the same time. Commander of US Central Command makes surprise visit to Israel. The US military deploys 2,000 troops to the Israeli coastal waters. Trump's latest statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: If re-elected, he will ban immigrants who support Hamas from entering the United States.

4) Palestinian armed groups claim to have taken more than 200 Israeli hostages. Hamas: Foreign hostages are guests and will be released in due course. Hamas released a video of hostages for the first time, a 21-year-old Israeli-French dual national said: She is being taken care of and hopes to return home soon.

The Israeli army launched air strikes on several military targets of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Lebanese media reported that Israel used white phosphorus bombs to attack the Lebanese border.

5) Israeli media: Zelensky's request to visit Israel with Blinken was rejected.

6) The Russian State Duma revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: due to the United States' irresponsible attitude towards global security.

7) German electric vehicle exports increased by 103.9% year-on-year in the first eight months of this year. Macron called on the government to respond "mercilessly" to those with a "terrorist ideology." Two Swedish citizens were shot dead on the streets of Belgium, and the Swedish Prime Minister called on Swedish citizens in Belgium to remain vigilant.

8) India is pushing forward with its crewed flight mission, announcing that the first high-altitude escape test will be conducted on October 21.

9) Fairy tale comes true? The Danish royal family posted: Looking for the "Cinderella" who lost her shoe at the prince's birthday party.

1) Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Promote the evolution and application innovation development of 5G lightweight (RedCap) technology.

2) Collective action by 10 central enterprises! More than 100 companies have repurchased and increased their holdings since September. Signals of the bottom of the industry cycle are emerging, and many semiconductor companies have joined the repurchase and increase holdings group. Oriental Securities: The company plans to repurchase 250 million to 500 million yuan of the company's A-shares.

3) Li Bei, from Banxia Investment: The A-share market is likely to experience a bull market that surpasses the once-in-five-year level. Refinancing policies continue to be optimized, and nearly 100 listed companies have pressed the "stop" button on their follow-on offerings. The CSSC Central Enterprises Modern Industrial Leading Index, etc., will be released.

4) China Banking Association: The asset scale of 59 listed banks in China has exceeded 26.5 trillion yuan.

1) The Beijing Winter Olympics made a final presentation to the IOC General Assembly, and President Bach thanked Beijing in Chinese.

3) The exhibition area of the cultural relics and art section of the 6th CIIE will exceed 3,000 square meters, setting a new record.

4) The Athletes' Village for the first National Students (Youth) Games opened.

1) National flags were hung in Tiananmen Square to welcome dignitaries from many countries attending the Belt and Road International Cooperation Summit Forum.

2) The number of individual and household businesses in Guangdong Province exceeded 10 million. Multiple departments in Sanya, Hainan jointly investigated four "giant" investment companies worth trillions.

3) Hunan completed the first reduction in domestic freight charges for imports via the China-Europe freight train.

4) There will be heavy rainfall in southern South China, and a strong cold front will affect the central and eastern regions. From 8 PM on October 17 to 8 PM on October 18, light to moderate snow or rain and snow is expected in parts of western Xinjiang, northern and southeastern Tibet, central and southern and northeastern Qinghai, western Gansu, northern western Sichuan Plateau, and northeastern Inner Mongolia.