China's machinery industry output expanded strongly in Jan–Jul, with all five major subsectors posting YoY gains: general equipment +7.9%, special equipment +8.8%, motor vehicles +7.2%, electrical machinery and apparatus +6.5%, instruments +9.4%. Representative product flows: metal-cutting machine tools 510,000 units, +0.8% YoY; industrial robots 635,000 units, +28.5% YoY; generator sets 208.97 GW cumulative capacity, +2.8% YoY.

The State Council’s report on this year’s economic and social plan was submitted for review at the NPC Standing Committee meeting in Beijing (Aug. 25-28). It shows 1H GDP rose 4.7% YoY, with an incremental output of 3.6 tln yuan — the largest same-period increase in five years. CHINA STATE PLANNER deputy director Wang Changlin said plan execution is overall good; growth, employment, prices and foreign trade are in line with expectations, while consumption, household income, fiscal/financial measures, social security, environment work and grain output have advanced. The report warned geopolitical conflicts are increasingly spilling over to China’s economy, domestic activity is increasingly bifurcated, insufficient effective demand is weighing on economic circulation, more firms in some sectors are facing operational difficulties, risk resolution in key areas remains onerous, and employment and livelihood support need strengthening.

First Financial Investment Trust, which manages about NT$240 billion (≈$7.55 billion) of client assets, said Taiwan’s weighted index (TAIEX) is likely to exceed 50,000 by year-end, citing strong corporate earnings and Taiwan’s central role in NVIDIA’s supply chain. The firm expects the Federal Reserve will not raise rates for the remainder of 2026, forecasting U.S. inflation will gradually stabilise. It projects capital expenditure by the four largest cloud service providers, including Amazon and Google, to reach about $2.3 trillion by 2030 versus roughly $700 billion expected for 2026. First Financial plans to launch a global multi-asset fund next month targeting NT$5–6 billion in seed capital.