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On September 18th, it was learned that the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has launched a nationwide special campaign to safeguard the bottom line of mandatory product certification. The campaign employs a "random inspection and public disclosure" approach to inspect certification bodies, covering all 34 designated CCC certification bodies, 90 designated CCC laboratories, and 300 voluntary certification bodies. Currently, designated certification bodies have suspended 108,500 CCC certification certificates, affecting 18,500 manufacturers, and revoked 44,900 CCC certification certificates, affecting 13,000 manufacturers. Among these, over 4,200 CCC certification certificates for power banks and lithium batteries that failed to continuously meet certification requirements have been revoked or cancelled, effectively ensuring product quality and safety. Simultaneously, a special campaign to regulate certification rules for body registration is ongoing. This year, 50,200 rules have been reviewed, with 30,300 denied registration, 17,700 returned for rectification, and 2,186 approved. High-standard certification rules ensure high-quality certification activities.

September 18th - According to data from the National Railway Administration, from January to August 2026, the national railway passenger and freight volumes continued to grow, with safe and orderly transportation providing strong support for passengers' safe travel and stable economic operation. In terms of passenger transport, from January to August, the national railway system completed a total of 3.321 billion passenger trips, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%; and completed 1,181.184 billion passenger-kilometers, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%. During the summer travel season from July 1st to August 31st, the national railway system transported a total of 954 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%.

On September 18th, the Ministry of Finance released its fiscal revenue and expenditure figures for January-August 2026. From January to August, national government fund budget expenditure totaled 5,194.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 17%. Breaking it down by central and local governments, central government fund budget expenditure was 317.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 58.3%; local government fund budget expenditure was 4,877.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.3%, of which expenditure related to revenue from the transfer of state-owned land use rights was 2,178.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 18.5%.

The onshore yuan closed at 6.6973 against the US dollar at 16:30 on September 18, up 112 points from the previous trading day.

On September 18th, the Ministry of Finance released its fiscal revenue and expenditure figures for January-August 2026. From January to August, national government fund budget revenue totaled 2,141.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19%. Breaking it down by central and local governments, central government fund budget revenue was 329.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%; local government fund budget revenue was 1,812.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 22.9%, of which revenue from the transfer of state-owned land use rights was 1,375.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.6%.

On September 18, the Ministry of Finance released its fiscal revenue and expenditure figures for January-August 2026. From January to August, national general public budget expenditure totaled 18,145.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%. Breaking it down by central and local governments, central government general public budget expenditure was 2,817.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%; local government general public budget expenditure was 15,327.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.3%.

Royal Bank of Canada: It expects the Bank of England to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in November 2026.

September 18th - Data shows that eurozone household inflation expectations rose in August, suggesting the European Central Bank (ECB) may have to raise interest rates further. The ECB's monthly survey released Friday showed that the consumer price index (CPI) is expected to rise 3% over the next year, up from 2.9% in July. Specifically, the three-year CPI, which is more important for monetary policy decisions, rose to 2.9% from 2.7% in July, and the five-year CPI also increased. The data shows that investors have recently bet that the ECB will further tighten monetary policy after its second increase in deposit rates this month, confirming previous expectations. Officials are taking action to address the renewed surge in oil and gas prices caused by the conflict with Iran, which began in February and shows no signs of ending.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde: We have not yet seen a second round of (inflation) effects.

UBS: The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points each in November 2026 and February 2027, compared with previous forecasts of rate cuts in February and April 2027.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde: We will decide on interest rates at each meeting.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde: The growth outlook is better than we expected.

Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares fell 27.5% in pre-market trading after the company paused recruitment of new patients for its antidepressant drug trial.

The European Central Bank's 3-year CPI forecast for the Eurozone in August is 2.9%, compared to a previous reading of 2.70% and a forecast of 2.80%.

The European Central Bank's 1-year CPI forecast for the Eurozone in August is 3%, down from the previous reading of 2.90%.

The Eurozone's unadjusted current account balance for July was €36.5 billion, compared to €46.9 billion in the previous month.

ECB Governing Council member Kazak: The exact level of the neutral interest rate is not the main issue at present. We must prevent a second round of effects.