China’s Local Government Revenue from Land Sales Falls 30.8 Percent
China’s Ministry of Finance reported that national government fund budget revenue fell 21.2 percent year on year in the first seven months of 2026, reflecting continued weakness in local government finances. While central government fund revenue increased 6.8 percent, local government revenue fell 24.8 percent, with revenue from state-owned land-use rights declining 30.8 percent.
Tax revenue, often viewed as an indicator of economic activity, increased 6.7 percent during the same period. Domestic VAT revenue rose 6.1 percent and corporate income tax increased 7.2 percent, while personal income tax grew 14.9 percent. However, domestic consumption tax declined 2.2 percent, and deed tax revenue fell 14.5 percent, pointing to continued weakness in the property market.
Revenue from state-owned land-use rights has declined for four consecutive years since 2022, as the prolonged property downturn has sharply reduced demand for land and weakened land prices. Local governments have historically relied heavily on land sales to finance public spending.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), August 22, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202608220043.aspx
China Proposes Expanded Background Checks for Aviation Personnel After China Zun Crash
China’s Civil Aviation Administration has proposed new background-screening requirements for aviation license holders and other civil aviation personnel, citing national and aviation security concerns. The proposal follows a small aircraft crash at Beijing’s China Zun skyscraper in June.
The draft covers eight types of aviation licenses, including private, commercial, airline transport, and unmanned-aircraft pilot licenses, as well as flight and ground personnel such as flight attendants. Applicants must have no criminal record, terrorism- or drug-related violations, recent administrative detention, or involvement in organizations prohibited by the state.
For several pilot licenses, background checks would also extend to spouses, parents, and siblings, who must not have certain national-security, terrorism, or drug-related convictions or involvement in banned organizations. Those who fail the checks could be denied licenses and airport access, with background assessments conducted on an ongoing basis. Public comments on the proposal are being accepted through September 4.
Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), August 23, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202608230145.aspx
China’s Shrinking Student Population Forces Closure of Kindergartens and Schools
China’s declining birthrate is rapidly reshaping its education system. According to Caixin, China closed 21,400 kindergartens in 2025, reducing the national total to 231,900—an average of nearly 59 closures per day. The number of preschool children fell by 3.58 million, or about 10 percent, to 32.25 million.
Private kindergartens have been hit particularly hard. With 91.5 percent of preschool children enrolled in affordable, state-supported kindergartens, private institutions face growing enrollment pressure and declining demand.
Primary schools are experiencing a similar contraction: about 8,000 schools closed in 2025, while first-grade enrollment fell 9.6 percent to 14.61 million and the total primary-school population declined by 4.06 million.
China’s strict “one-child policy” contributed to a prolonged decline in births. The birthrate briefly increased after the government introduced the two-child policy in 2016, but began declining again the following year and fell more sharply around 2020. Primary-school enrollment temporarily surged in 2023 but has since declined significantly. The contraction is expected to spread upward through the education system, although the high-school-age population is not expected to peak until around 2029, as the cohorts born between 2008 and 2010 were relatively large and stable.
Source: Yahoo Taiwan, July 13, 2026
https://tw.news.yahoo.com/少子化海嘯-中國1年關近3萬所學校-每天59所幼稚園消失-035057949.html
Chinese Shipping Company Launches Regular Container Service via Russia’s Northern Sea Route
Chinese shipping company Sea Legend launched a container service from China to Europe via Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) on August 15. The company said the service will operate approximately weekly for seven weeks through early October. Its Dubai Tower freighter departed Ningbo-Zhoushan Port on August 15 and is expected to reach the UK’s Felixstowe Port in about 20 days.
The NSR runs along Russia’s Arctic coast between the Atlantic and Pacific and is one of the shortest maritime routes between Asia and Europe. It can significantly reduce transit times compared with routes through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope. Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which oversees the NSR, said it had issued permits for seven Chinese vessels to use the route to Europe.
Sea Legend is not the first company to use the NSR. According to Allianz Commercial, 23 container ships used the route in 2025, up from 15 in 2024. However, major shipping companies including CMA CGM, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd have pledged to avoid Arctic transoceanic routes because of concerns that increased shipping activity could damage the fragile Arctic ecosystem and accelerate ice loss.
China has increasingly recognized the Arctic’s economic, scientific, and strategic importance. Although China has no Arctic territory, it became an observer of the Arctic Council in 2013 and has promoted an “Ice Silk Road” as an extension of its Belt and Road Initiative. Greater use of the NSR could provide China with an alternative route to Europe that is less dependent on traditional maritime chokepoints.
Source: Epoch Times, August 18, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/8/17/n14831781.htm
Low-Budget Chinese Animation “Niulai” Becomes a Box-Office Hit
The low-budget Chinese animated film Niulai (牛来) has unexpectedly become a box-office phenomenon, largely because audiences consider it exceptionally poorly made. Released on August 5, the 86-minute film earned only RMB 7,169 (US$1,067) in its first nine days. But curiosity, online mockery, and viral memes subsequently drove audiences into theaters. By August 24, its cumulative box office had reportedly reached about RMB 45.2 million (US$6.3 million), while Maoyan’s professional platform projected a final total of around RMB 119 million (US$16.6 million).
The film tells the story of a young calf named “Niulai” and a leopard named “Baola.” Its crude 3D modeling, stiff animation, and seemingly illogical dubbing have become the focus of online jokes. The film was reportedly produced almost entirely by a mother-and-son team over five years, with the son handling directing, modeling, editing, and dubbing, while his mother handled the screenplay and additional dubbing. Industry estimates put the production cost at only several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.
The film has generated a wave of online parody and remixing, with Chinese netizens creating spin-offs such as Malai, Goulai, Xionglai, and Lv Lai, featuring horses, dogs, bears, and donkeys, respectively.
Some political commentators interpret the phenomenon as more than simple entertainment, arguing that audiences may be expressing fatigue with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) heavily promoted patriotic and political narratives and seeking a channel of non-mainstream expression. Others attribute its popularity primarily to its unusual production story, poor but genuine amateur quality, comedic effect, and the power of online meme culture.
Source: Epoch Times, August 20, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/8/20/n14833144.htm
China Expands Supply Cooperatives’ Role in Agriculture and Rural Economy
China has released the National Supply and Marketing Cooperatives’ 15th Five-Year Plan, outlining 18 key tasks aimed at strengthening food security and supporting rural revitalization. By 2030, the plan calls for the construction or renovation of about 100 national strategic agricultural-input reserve facilities and 1,000 county-level agricultural-input distribution centers.
The plan would further expand the role of the supply-and-marketing cooperative system in agricultural machinery services, farmland management, agricultural processing, warehousing and distribution, and other agricultural services. The system currently has about 37,000 grassroots cooperatives and 856,000 business and service outlets nationwide. In some regions, cooperatives have also been incorporated into high-standard farmland management, county-level commercial networks, and emergency supply systems, while affiliated companies participate directly in procurement, wholesale, retail, logistics, and asset management.
Supply and marketing cooperatives were once a central part of China’s rural planned economy, controlling much of the distribution of fertilizer, pesticides, seeds, daily necessities, and agricultural products. Their influence declined after market reforms opened rural commerce to private businesses, but the system has been expanding again in recent years.
Critics warn that the expansion could increase state control over rural distribution and squeeze out private businesses, leaving farmers and consumers with fewer private alternatives and increasing their dependence on state-controlled distribution networks.
Source: Radio Free Asia, August 4, 2026
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhengzhi/2026/08/04/china-supply-and-marketing-cooperatives-great-canteens-planned-economy/
Beijing Claims China’s Cooperation with Iran Is Legitimate and Should Not Be Disrupted
On August 24, the United States launched Operation Economic Outcast, a new campaign aimed at economically isolating Iran and targeting its financial and commercial networks. The Trump administration also warned countries and entities continuing to support Iran that they could face U.S. sanctions.
Xinhua News Agency reported China’s response, emphasizing that its cooperation with Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law.
At a regular press briefing on August 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China has repeatedly expressed its firm opposition to unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and have not been authorized by the UN Security Council.
Lin said economic warfare and “maximum pressure” would not help resolve disputes but would instead further intensify tensions and conflicts, create spillover risks, disrupt the global economic and financial order, and harm the legitimate rights and interests of other countries. He said the immediate priority should be to de-escalate the situation and return to dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible.
Lin said China’s cooperation with Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted. He added that China is closely monitoring relevant developments and will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests.
Source: Xinhua, August 25, 2026
https://www.news.cn/world/20260825/4f45e922e10649b29e9a0c89bbaf83d6/c.html
People’s Daily: Southern Europe’s Economic Recovery Offers Lessons on Economic Opening for Europe
People’s Daily published an article describing the economic success of four Southern European countries—Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain.
The article says that the European debt crisis more than a decade ago pushed the four economies into severe fiscal and economic difficulties, but they have since staged a significant recovery. Spain’s GDP grew 2.8 percent in 2025, well above the euro-area average, while Italy maintained strong manufactured-goods exports and Greece and Portugal recorded government surpluses.
The article argues that their recovery has been driven by structural reforms and greater openness to international trade and investment. It highlights cooperation with China as an example. After Chinese shipping company COSCO became involved in the operation of Greece’s Piraeus Port, it upgraded the port and expanded its shipping network, turning the once-struggling facility into a major Mediterranean logistics hub and creating thousands of jobs. In Spain, Italy, and Portugal, Chinese companies have also invested in renewable energy, infrastructure, logistics, and advanced manufacturing, bringing capital, technology, and access to broader markets while supporting industrial upgrading and job creation.
The article concludes that economic openness can bring greater benefits than protectionism, suggesting that European countries should avoid policies aimed at restricting economic ties with China.
Source: People’s Daily, August 24, 2026
https://world.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0824/c1002-40784672.html