Oracle (ORCL.N) and AstraZeneca (AZN.O) agreed to collaborate to explore AI medical applications aimed at advancing clinical trial optimization.

ChiNext Index opened down 1.00%; Shenzhen Composite down 0.67%; Shanghai Composite down 0.39%; dyes sector led declines.

Oct. 20 — At a press briefing, Liu Dan, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission's Private Economy Development Bureau, said the NDRC has run a regular government–enterprise communication mechanism since July 2023. Senior NDRC officials have held 31 private-enterprise forums and taken input from 151 private firms. The arrangement is now a monthly institutional practice. The forums produced 355 suggestions from private firms; 323 have been resolved and 32 are being advanced.