On Sept. 20 State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) deputy director and spokesperson Shu Wei told a State Council press briefing that, over the 15th Five-Year Plan period, SAMR will strengthen the food-safety responsibility framework and full-chain regulatory mechanisms, step up risk prevention in priority sectors, and fully implement Internet+AI supervision to raise the quality and efficiency of food sampling and testing, enabling earlier detection and handling of risks. SAMR also sai

ECB board member Stournaras said the bank must remain vigilant to upside inflation risks but should not act hastily. He sees no second-round, wage-driven inflation effects yet but cautioned that could change amid persistent supply shocks and stronger demand from fiscal expansion and AI investment. With just over a month until the next policy decision he has not decided and will look to ECB staff projections. If September brings an inflation spike or a rise in energy costs that moves the outlook into an adverse scenario, an October rate hike cannot be ruled out; conversely, doubts would argue for waiting for the next projections. He added that this week’s Fed rate increase bolsters Fed and global monetary policy credibility and also helps the ECB.

State elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern are scheduled for the 20th. A ZDF poll on the 17th put CDU support in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern at 6%, just above the 5% threshold for parliamentary representation; falling below 5% would be "a nightmare" and could be the final straw to topple MERZ. The risk follows AfD's roughly 44% win in Saxony‑Anhalt two weeks ago, where the CDU's vote share plunged to about 17%.