Hong Kong, China Q2 GDP final QoQ -0.6 pct (expected -0.3 pct); prior +2.90 pct.

China State Planner spokesperson Jiang Yi said at a July 31 briefing that progress on a unified national market has exposed deeper problems. The agency will accelerate rule‑making — rolling out "one regulation, three lists and three systems" — to define government economic‑promotion boundaries, clarifying what interventions are prohibited and what are permitted to preserve fair competition while allowing development. It will press to remove bottlenecks in goods and services circulation to raise factor‑flow efficiency and will closely monitor rectification to eliminate entrenched distortions. To tackle disorderly low‑price competition, authorities will use capacity controls, standards guidance, price enforcement and quality supervision to root out "involution" competition.

Apple (AAPL.O) CFO said the company received about $600m in tariff refunds in fiscal Q2.