China's July urban surveyed unemployment rate rose to 5.2% from 5.0% in June.

A-share storage-chip sector rallied, with Yingfang Micro at the daily limit; Youyan New Material, Woge Optoelectronics and Bomin Electronics earlier hit limit-up, while Debang Technology, Tianzhun Technology, Gailun Electronics, AMEC and Zhongke Feice climbed over 10%.

On Aug. 17 in Hangzhou, at Alipay’s first AI ecosystem conference focused on commercialising intelligent agents, Ant Group CEO Han Xinyi said agent-based commerce will surge within the next 6–12 months. He attributed the timing to three converging conditions — improved AI capabilities, a leap in user demand, and the formation of a value loop — and urged industry players to accelerate co‑building.