China’s service spending growth outpaces retail...Brazil splits new supercomputer project between US, China...Chinese insurer Ping An reports 36% profit increase

China’s service spending growth outpaces retail

China’s spending on services far outpaced purchases of physical goods in the first seven months of 2026, driven by robust demand for travel and entertainment, reports Caixin.

Service retail sales rose 5% year on year from January through July, compared with a 1.1% increase in retail sales of physical goods, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Overall retail sales of consumer goods rose 1.2% to RMB 28.77 trillion ($4.3 trillion).

Much of the strength in services came from summer leisure spending. Revenue from tourism and cultural entertainment increased by more than 10%, while July box-office takings climbed more than 20% from a year earlier to above RMB 5 billion.

Brazil splits new supercomputer project between US, China

Brazil’s government has announced investments of about 2.3 billion reais ($444.2 million) to ‌bolster its artificial intelligence ecosystem, splitting projects between US and Chinese companies, reports Reuters. The move underscores its effort to navigate relations with both powers.

Just over half the total, 1.3 billion reais, will fund a supercomputing infrastructure project in Rio de ​Janeiro developed in partnership with China’s Huawei Technologies and iFlytek. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s ​government said the infrastructure will be used primarily to develop large language models for ⁠general and sector-specific applications.

Separately, about 1 billion reais will be allocated through a tender for a supercomputer ​that Brazil expects to rank among the world’s 10 most powerful AI processing machines. Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expect US chipmaker Nvidia to win the tender. Science and ​Technology Minister Luciana Santos told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper last week that she anticipated the ​company would be the supplier.

Chinese insurer Ping An reports 36% profit increase

Ping An Insurance, China’s largest insurer by market value, reported a 36% increase in interim profit, driven by stronger policy sales and investment gains, reports the South China Morning Post.

First-half net profit hit RMB 92.59 billion ($13.78 billion) for the six months ended June 30, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of RMB 84.45 billion.

The primary drivers of the performance were an increase in the sale of new policies and greater investment income, the company said. Ping An’s insurance funds investment portfolio grew 1.9% in the first six months to RMB 6.61 trillion yuan as of June 30, with a 4.8% average net investment yield. The group’s asset management net profit jumped 209.4% to RMB 9.66 billion in the first half.

Pop Mart offers RMB 5BN buyback as revenue drops

Chinese toy retailer Pop Mart unveiled a share buyback plan of up to RMB 5 billion ($742 million) after a double-digit decline in overseas revenue in the first half of 2026 led the company to warn it is likely to miss its full-year growth target, reports Caixin.

Hong Kong-listed Pop Mart posted revenue of RMB 17.2 billion for the first six months of the year, up 23.8% from a year earlier, according to earnings released on Wednesday. Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 10.1% to RMB 5 billion.

Domestic revenue climbed 47.3% to RMB 12.2 billion, while overseas revenue fell 11.1% to RMB 5 billion. Revenue in the Americas declined 16.5%, and Asia-Pacific sales fell 9.7%. Europe and other regions posted a 5.9% gain.

China sentences Evergrande founder to life imprisonment

A Chinese court sentenced China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan to life in prison Thursday, reports Caixin. The move caps the downfall of the tycoon who built the country’s most indebted property empire.

The Shenzhen court convicted Hui of orchestrating massive financial fraud, illegal fundraising and bribery between 2016 and 2021, according to a court statement.

The court fined Evergrande and Hengda Real Estate, two of China Evergrande’s major Chinese mainland subsidiaries, RMB 8.82 billion ($1.3 billion) and RMB 7 billion, respectively. It ordered the confiscation of all Hui’s personal property, though the ruling noted that restitution for victims takes priority over state fines and asset seizures.