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On January 31st, at the Fourth Session of the 14th Heilongjiang Provincial People's Congress, which opened on January 31st, expanding domestic demand and promoting consumption were once again key tasks in the government work report. In 2026, Heilongjiang Province will hold over 2,000 consumption-promoting activities, including "Shopping in Heilongjiang," and distribute over 800 million yuan in government consumption vouchers. In 2025, Heilongjiang Province launched a special campaign to boost consumption, expanding the scope of the trade-in program for old consumer goods and organizing a series of consumption-promoting activities, stimulating consumption by 72.84 billion yuan. The province also stimulated potential consumption such as first-launch economy and live-streaming e-commerce, establishing 15 new internationally and domestically renowned flagship stores, and achieving a 14.7% year-on-year increase in online retail sales. The investment structure continued to optimize, with investment in high-tech manufacturing increasing by 11.5% year-on-year, and the proportion of private investment increasing by 2.2 percentage points.

January 31st - To effectively curb the sources of cybercrime, rectify the cybercrime ecosystem, and enhance the public's sense of security and satisfaction with cybersecurity, the Ministry of Public Security, after thorough research and demonstration, has drafted the "Cybercrime Prevention and Control Law (Draft for Public Comment)," and is now soliciting public opinions. The deadline for feedback is March 2nd, 2026.

January 31st - According to Lighthouse Pro, as of 9 PM on January 31st, the total box office for January 2026 reached 1.961 billion yuan, with "Zootopia 2" holding the top spot for the third consecutive month.

On January 31, the "Implementation Plan of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on Further Accelerating the Construction of a City of Artificial Intelligence (2026-2027)" was released. The Implementation Plan systematically outlines the development goals for the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area's city of artificial intelligence over the next two years, proposing to accelerate the construction of a city-level engineering experimental platform driven by data and scenarios, and to promote the application of artificial intelligence in various industries and households. The Implementation Plan specifies that by the end of 2027, the focus will be on building no fewer than 10 benchmark intelligent scenario complexes, promoting the application of 100 vertical models, constructing a number of high-quality industry datasets, gathering 1,000 core enterprises in the artificial intelligence industry chain, attracting 10,000 super individuals and independent developers, and significantly enhancing the scale and level of the core industries of the intelligent economy.

On January 31st, Seth R. Freeman, Senior Managing Director of GlassRatner Consulting & Capital Group, pointed out that one of the primary tasks of Warsh, the newly nominated Federal Reserve Chair, will be rebuilding credibility in global markets. This is particularly important against the backdrop of strained relations between Trump and Powell over the past few months. Freeman also stated that Warsh is the best candidate, given his long experience in government. However, the best news is that we no longer have to deal with the uncertainty and market turmoil caused by Trump's constant pressure on the Fed Chair, which is good for everyone. Furthermore, he noted that the sharp drop in gold and the even more dramatic decline in silver indicate that the market is facing a stronger dollar and a different environment, especially for silver. Given this nomination, it would be unsurprising if metal prices do not rebound significantly. And given Warsh's hawkish leanings, traders heavily invested in precious metals may face losses, especially those with unhedged or short positions. Some traders may find themselves in serious trouble next Monday, at least those who did not take a neutral stance or short precious metals.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 5.3-magnitude earthquake 110 kilometers south of Akureyri, Iceland.

January 31st - Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Nvidia's (NVDA.O) plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to help train and run its latest artificial intelligence models has stalled after some within the chip giant expressed doubts about the partnership. The two companies announced the massive agreement last September at Nvidia's headquarters in Santa Clara, California. They signed a memorandum of understanding under which Nvidia would build at least 10 gigawatts (GWh) of computing power for OpenAI, while the chipmaker also agreed to invest up to $100 billion to help OpenAI cover related expenses. As part of the deal, OpenAI agreed to lease chips from Nvidia.

January 31 - According to Interfax news agency, the Russian government announced on Saturday that it will lift the ban on gasoline exports to oil production companies to alleviate inventory backlogs. The government statement also noted that the ban on gasoline exports to non-production companies will remain in effect until the end of July 2026.

January 31st - According to data from platforms such as Dongchedi, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra sold only 45 units in December 2025. Blue Whale News reported that the highest monthly sales figure for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra was March 2025, with 3,101 units sold. From March to August 2025, monthly sales of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra remained between 2,000 and 3,000 units. However, starting in September, sales plummeted, with only 488 units sold that month. October sales further dropped to 130 units, November sales fell below 100 units, and by December sales had fallen below 50 units.

January 31 - According to the China Railway 12306 Technology Center, since the Spring Festival travel rush train tickets went on sale on January 19, as of 11:00 AM on January 31, the railway department has sold a total of 51.02 million tickets.

On January 31, Chen Jining, Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC, pointed out during a research visit this morning (January 31) to promote consumption through the integration of culture, tourism, commerce, sports, and exhibitions that it is necessary to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the important speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his inspection of Shanghai. He stressed the need to consistently focus on the deep integration of culture, tourism, commerce, sports, and exhibitions, using major festivals such as the Spring Festival as important levers to better grasp consumption trends, innovate consumption formats, enrich consumption scenarios, and lead the forefront of consumption, continuously amplifying the brand effect of "Shanghai Consumption" and promoting the construction of an international consumption center city to a deeper and more practical level.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that due to the lack of funding and the (partial) government shutdown, it is currently operating according to its planned procedures during the shutdown. From January 31, 2026, until further notice, only a very small number of staff will continue to operate.

January 31st - According to Xiong'an Customs, the total import and export value of Xiong'an New Area will reach 71.95 billion yuan in 2025, an increase of 18.9 times year-on-year. Exports will reach 11.38 billion yuan, an increase of 283.9% year-on-year; imports will reach 60.57 billion yuan, an increase of 8979.2% year-on-year.

January 31st - Recently, Unit 2 of the support unit project for the Lingang Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Test Power Plant successfully completed 168 hours of full-load trial operation, marking the full commissioning of the support unit project. The Lingang Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Test Power Plant project is a major national "Two Engines" project. The support unit project follows the national strategy of relying on independent research and development while extensively engaging in international cooperation. It utilizes mature F-class and H-class commercial units on the market for technological breakthroughs and demonstrations. The support unit project is equipped with one 500 MW F-class unit (Unit 1) and one 670 MW H-class unit (Unit 2) combined cycle unit.

Market news: Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, experienced a large-scale power outage, and the metro also stopped operating.

According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that its troops have occupied Petivka and Toretsk in eastern Ukraine.

January 31st - Starting February 1st, a number of important national standards will be implemented, including those for software process capability maturity models, 5G mobile communication security, energy metering equipment configuration and management, standards for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, student physical fitness testing equipment, desks and chairs for primary and secondary school students' lunch break, design of furniture suitable for the elderly, placement of barcode symbols on commodities, consumer services, elevator safety, and earthquake rescue team capabilities. These standards will provide support for guiding and regulating the development of emerging and future industries, promoting the transformation and application of achievements and standards, protecting consumer rights, and safeguarding the lives and property of the people.

On January 31st, Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Strategist at Spartan Capital Securities, stated, "I don't want to say that Warsh's nomination as the new Federal Reserve Chairman was entirely unexpected. He has always been considered hawkish, but recently he seems to be converging with Trump's position, making it a bit difficult to assess how the market will accept this nomination. We just need to see if he will be influenced by the White House. My guess is that he won't; he will examine issues very carefully and maintain a certain balance on inflation and the labor market. He may not be as decisive as Powell, but he won't be too far off."