China A-shares domestic operating-system sector briefly rallied; Chengmai Technology rose over 9%, China Software gained over 5%, Feitian Technologies, Shensi Electronics and Transsion Holdings also advanced.

李强主持召开国务院第十二次全体会议强调，深入贯彻落实党中央决策部署，努力完成全年经济社会发展目标任务。

On Aug 18 Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular briefing that China opposes broadening the concept of national security to restrict or suppress normal international education and research cooperation. The comment followed reports that Australian foreign minister Penny Wong asked the Australian National University and the University of Queensland to terminate cooperation agreements with Shandong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.