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On September 19th, the 2026 New Cornerstone 50² Forum, hosted by Tencent's Sustainable Social Value (SSV) Business Unit, the New Cornerstone Science Foundation, and Southern University of Science and Technology, was held in Shenzhen. Xi Dan, Senior Vice President and Chief Talent Officer of Tencent, stated at the forum that Tencent's commitment to supporting basic scientific research remains unchanged, a long-term commitment that transcends commercial boundaries. Xi Dan believes that today's scientific research is exploring the boundaries of human cognition, far exceeding single disciplines. The interdisciplinary integration and the impact of artificial intelligence on scientific research are becoming sources of technological innovation.

The Polish military stated that ground-based air defense systems and radar reconnaissance have resumed normal operational activities. No violations of Polish airspace have been recorded.

On September 19, the European Union issued a statement expressing regret over the United States' decision to deny visas to members of the Palestinian delegation for the second consecutive year, preventing them from attending the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The EU urged the US to reconsider its decision, given the existing headquarters agreement between the US and the UN and the obligations the US has as the host country.

Polish military: Military air operations conducted in Polish airspace in response to Russian attacks on Ukraine have ended.

On September 19th, European technology companies and government officials have recently expressed their concerns, questioning whether the proposals by some US artificial intelligence (AI) companies to slow down AI development under the guise of security are "self-serving," arguing that their true aim is to consolidate their own advantages and suppress competitors. European AI companies, including France's Mistral AI, have expressed their opposition to the proposals from US companies. Mistral stated in a statement: "Some leading companies in the industry are using the current situation to consolidate their market position and push for regulations that favor themselves and suppress competitors." Raphael Aufon, COO of a Swiss company, commented on the US proposals at a technology event in Paris, saying, "This is entirely self-serving; they just want to maintain the market's dependence on their own services." Ben Brooks, head of public policy at the German AI startup Black Forest Labs, stated that artificially created barriers to entry that widen the gap between large AI companies and new entrants will stifle innovation in cutting-edge fields.

On September 19th, it was learned from the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association that the "2026 China Environmental and Social Governance Development Observation Report" has been officially released. The report shows that the first batch of mandatory disclosure entities have achieved full compliance with timely disclosure requirements, and the quantity and quality of disclosures by A-share listed companies have steadily improved. Data shows that as of April 30, 2026, all 430 mandatory disclosure entities in the first batch completed their 2025 environmental and social governance reports on time, achieving a 100% compliance rate. More than 2,700 A-share listed companies released their 2024 environmental and social governance reports, with a disclosure rate of 49.81%, nearly double that of five years ago. Meanwhile, over 80% of companies disclosed their sustainable development governance frameworks, and the disclosure rates for topics such as pollutant emissions and the circular economy both exceeded 90%. The greenhouse gas emission disclosure rate has risen for three consecutive years to 76.93%. The national carbon market has completed its first expansion, with steel, cement, and aluminum smelting included, covering approximately 60% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, and is expected to move towards 80% by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

According to Interfax news agency, Russian troops attacked Ukrainian cargo ships and oil tankers in the Black Sea and at a Ukrainian port.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reports a 5.5-magnitude earthquake in the Peru-Ecuador border region.

Polish military: Military air operations have commenced in Polish airspace in response to Russian strikes in Ukraine. Ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems are on high alert.

On September 19th, the General Administration of Customs released import and export data for January-August 2026. China's merchandise exports showed relatively strong overall growth in 2026, reaching $2.9255 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 19%. August saw a record high of $401.4 billion, demonstrating strong export growth. Automobile exports reached $129.1 billion in January-August 2026, a 53% increase, with August exports reaching $18.3 billion, a 43% increase, indicating strong vitality in the Chinese automotive market. Auto parts exports reached $69.8 billion in January-August 2026, an 8% increase, with August exports reaching $9.1 billion, a 7% increase, highlighting significant export pressure for Chinese auto parts. Motorcycle exports reached $15.5 billion in January-August 2026, a 26% increase, with August exports reaching $2.1 billion, a 28% year-on-year increase. Exports of gasoline-powered motorcycles slowed due to high oil prices, while electric motorcycles surged. The country needs to follow the development of domestic vehicle manufacturers and change its reliance on European and American after-sales systems.

Court websites show that Iran executed a man convicted of passing intelligence on missile bases to Israel during the war.

September 19 - According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian air defense systems destroyed 344 Ukrainian drones over Russia overnight. During the night, on-duty air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 344 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Leningrad Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Bryansk Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Oryol Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Tula Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Vladimir Oblast, Rostov Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Moscow region, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Dagestan Republic, and the Black Sea region.

On September 19th, a preliminary investigation report released by the UK's National Air Traffic Control (NAC) on the 18th concluded that the widespread disruption at multiple UK airports last week, resulting in the cancellation of over 2,000 flights, was caused by a "millisecond-level" software glitch. The investigation revealed that a software failure occurred in the UK air traffic control system on September 8th, "the entire failure occurring within one millisecond," rather than a human error as many had initially speculated. This system is responsible for assigning flight codes, allowing air traffic controllers to identify flights on radar. This glitch forced the cancellation or delay of numerous flights, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. Several major airports, including London Heathrow, Edinburgh, and Manchester, were impacted, with many passengers stranded at airports, and order only gradually being restored after several days.

On September 19th, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz announced the termination of state subsidies for diesel fuel and a shift to a unified pricing model to help address the long-standing fuel shortage. Paz stated that Bolivia relies on imports for approximately 90% of its diesel, with the government spending about $55 million weekly on subsidies. From today, the price of diesel will equal the cost of purchasing it abroad. Rampant fuel smuggling and black market resale are key factors contributing to the weekly losses. This move replaces the dual-pricing system introduced in August, which charged high-volume consumers 18 Bolivianos ($2.60) per liter while maintaining a subsidized price of 9.80 Bolivianos for other consumers. Paz stated that domestic prices will now follow global benchmarks, and if international costs decrease, domestic prices will also decrease. To offset the financial pressure on households and key economic sectors, the government announced targeted relief measures, including direct cash transfers and concessional credit lines.

On September 19th, the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology publicly solicited opinions on the "Implementation Plan for the Development of the High-end Chemical Industry in Shandong Province during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)." The plan proposes that by 2030, the added value of the province's chemical industry will grow at an average annual rate of over 5%, and the economic benefits of high-end chemicals will account for approximately 65% of the province's total chemical industry output. The energy supply system and raw material security structure in the basic chemical sector will be further optimized, and the competitiveness of products in the fields of new chemical materials and fine chemicals will be significantly enhanced. The plan proposes three major actions: strengthening the foundation of the basic chemical industry, cultivating and expanding the new chemical materials industry, and improving the innovation and quality of the fine chemicals industry. It also clarifies the development directions for 16 sub-sectors, including petrochemicals, coal chemicals, and salt chemicals.

On September 19th, it was reported that since the sale of train tickets for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays began on September 23rd, in order to create a fair and just ticket purchasing environment, the 12306 railway ticketing system has continuously identified and curbed malicious ticket-grabbing behavior. Utilizing big data analysis and risk control technology, it has accurately identified abnormal behaviors such as frequently purchasing large numbers of tickets for accounts not registered to themselves, frequently making large numbers of payments for orders not made to themselves, and using forged terminal devices to imitate user ticket purchasing operations. Related technical restrictions continue to be implemented, placing 12306 registered accounts with abnormal behavior in a slow queue and refusing to issue tickets to payment accounts with abnormal behavior. These abnormal 12306 registered accounts will show a waiting status when purchasing tickets, and payment accounts will show a failed purchase status. Since the sale of train tickets for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays began this year, 12306 has cumulatively placed 7.117 million transactions in the slow queue and refused to issue tickets for 1.023 million transactions, totaling 1.331 million rejected tickets, effectively curbing malicious ticket-grabbing behavior.

On September 19th, Russian President Vladimir Putin, while chairing a meeting of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission on September 18th, stated that some European leaders' public declarations of preparing for war with Russia are merely attempts to salvage their declining approval ratings and cover up their economic and social policy failures, with little effect and offering no real help. Putin stated that the European public has clearly expressed their desire to avoid war with Russia, yet some European leaders continue to escalate tensions and use Ukrainians as cannon fodder. Putin emphasized that Russia has no intention of aggression against European countries and is willing to cooperate with its European neighbors to restore relations.

September 19 - According to a report released by the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck about 75 kilometers northeast of Salmi Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia, at 11:18 a.m. local time on September 19, with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

On September 19th, Zhang Bin, a researcher and deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated at the Tsinghua PBC School of Finance Chief Economist Forum that the main imbalance in my country's current economy is strong supply and weak demand, a kind of aggregate imbalance. "There are many reasons for insufficient demand, but the most crucial one lies in the weak expectations of business entities; enterprises and residents are hesitant to invest and spend money. Individual behaviors are rational and reasonable, but the cumulative effect of micro-level behaviors creates a negative self-amplifying mechanism, forming a negative cycle," Zhang Bin said. Zhang Bin believes that the key to breaking the demand shortage is first to break the negative cycle. A negative cycle itself is a market failure, requiring strong external forces to break it; the most effective tool is to increase counter-cyclical adjustments.

Market news: Bolivia will set a unified diesel price, which will be linked to international oil prices.