•Hong Kong housing secretary Winnie Ho resigns as Wang Fuk Court fire inquiry report is released; government launches disciplinary probe
The Hong Kong government on 29 October released the (redacted) report of the independent committee on the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po; parts that could affect criminal prosecutions will be published after court proceedings end. According to RTHK, the committee said the fire was most likely started by a cigarette, that the heavy casualties involved human error or negligence, and that the Housing Bureau's Independent Checking Unit bore greater responsibility, with the Buildings Department, Fire Services and Labour Department also falling short in regulating fire risks. It recommended an immediate ban on flammable foam materials on windows and facades and a steering committee to oversee reforms. Chief Executive John Lee said Housing Secretary Winnie Ho had made no personal error but should bear political responsibility; he accepted her resignation, suspended her from duty with immediate effect and asked the central government to remove her, with Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong as acting secretary. Lee also launched a two-tier administrative accountability probe by the Public Service Commission, to be completed within three months. AP reported that Lee apologised and described the blaze as the city's deadliest in decades. Share · Copy
•Fifth plenum closes: party self-governance decision adopted, 21st Party Congress set for late 2027, Zhang Shengmin added to Politburo
Xinhua published the communique on 29 October: the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee met in Beijing from 26 to 29 October, attended by 162 full and 117 alternate members. Xi Jinping delivered a work report and explained the draft, and the plenum adopted the Central Committee's decision on major issues in persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance. It set the 21st Party Congress for the second half of 2027 in Beijing, elected Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo, and elevated 10 alternate members, including Lu Dongliang and Bao Gang, to full membership. The plenum approved investigation reports on 18 people from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, including Ma Xingrui, Lan Tianli, Liu Jianchao, Jin Zhuanglong, Yi Huiman and Li Yunze, and on 16 from the Central Military Commission, including Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, confirming the earlier expulsion of 33 of them from the party and Li Yunze's removal from party posts. Lianhe Zaobao and Sing Tao reported the close the same day; the South China Morning Post reported in September that Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli had been expelled from the party and military after a Politburo meeting. Share · Copy
•Taiwan indicts five over paid plot to attack comedian Huang Yi-hao who mocked Xi; Beijing rejects accusation
Reuters reported on 28 October that Taiwanese prosecutors indicted five people accused of being paid to stage a fake car accident and "break the arms and legs" of comedian Huang Yi-hao, whose shows satirised Xi Jinping; Huang was only lightly injured. Prosecutors did not release the defendants' full names. Taipei says Beijing was behind last month's attack and accuses it of transnational repression. Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua told a regular briefing on 28 October that the "transnational repression" narrative promotes Taiwan independence and a "two-state theory" and is a DPP fabrication ahead of next month's local elections. Lai Ching-te said the same day that transnational repression is a tool China could use to erode trust in Taiwan's democracy. Share · Copy
•Taiwan says over 50 Chinese navy and official vessels spread from southern Japan to the Philippines, with Liaoning carrier group east of the Philippines
Reuters reported on 29 October that Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council, posted a map on X on 28 October showing 53 Chinese ships, 34 of them navy warships including the aircraft carrier Liaoning. The carrier group was east of the Philippines, with other formations east and southeast of Taiwan and three off southern Japan. Wu called the simultaneous threat to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines "obvious". Taiwan's defence minister Wellington Koo told parliament on 29 October that his ministry was sharing intelligence with partners to track the Liaoning and coast guard vessels. Taiwan's defence ministry said it detected 6 PLA aircraft sorties, 7 navy ships and 1 official ship around the island between 6am on 28 October and 6am on 29 October, with 5 sorties entering its ADIZ. China's defence ministry said earlier this month that the Liaoning was on routine training not aimed at any country; the defence ministries of China, Japan and the Philippines did not immediately comment, Reuters said. Share · Copy
Wednesday 28 Oct close; STAR50 +2.45% to 1,282.93; Shanghai and Shenzhen turnover about 1.63 trillion yuan. CNH quoted 6.6652 at 15:12 HKT (Sina Finance FX); CNY is the 28 October fixing of 6.7165 (up 6 basis points, CFETS). Data: Tencent, Sina Finance.
•China's 800 billion yuan policy financial tool fully deployed by three policy banks
Shanghai Securities News reported on its 29 October front page that as of 28 October the full 800 billion yuan new policy-based financial instrument for 2026 had been deployed. China Development Bank put in 365 billion yuan (projects totalling 5.5 trillion yuan), the Export-Import Bank 120 billion (over 1.7 trillion) and the Agricultural Development Bank 315 billion (about 4.39 trillion). Funds began flowing in September. Reuters reported in August that the tool faced a slow roll-out when project applications opened. CDB's share was covered in Issue No. 3; this item records completion of the whole programme. Share · Copy
•US adds BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI to forced-labour entity list, barring their goods from 29 October
The US Department of Homeland Security said on 28 October it had added three related companies, Shenzhen BGI Technology (BGI Group), BGI Genomics and MGI Tech, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List. From 29 October, US Customs will presume goods made by them involve forced labour and bar them unless importers rebut the presumption. DHS says the firms conducted genetic testing in Xinjiang with the regional government that was used to facilitate the recruitment and transfer of forced labour. BGI Group said on 28 October it firmly rejects all the allegations, is not involved in forced labour, and that its US business is very small so the listing will not materially affect operations. MGI reportedly said it would seek removal, and the Chinese embassy in Washington said the accusations lack factual basis. A Commerce Ministry spokesperson said on 29 October the US measures had no factual basis, that Washington was "unrepentant" in adding biomedical firms after earlier listings, that the move departs from the two leaders' consensus and seriously undermines stable trade ties, and that China will take necessary measures to protect its interests. Share · Copy
•IMF proposes Chinese Vice Finance Minister Liao Min as deputy managing director from 1 December, succeeding Li Bo
The IMF said on 28 October that Deputy Managing Director Li Bo will leave on 30 November at the end of his term, and that Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has proposed Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min to succeed him from 1 December. According to the IMF, Liao has been vice finance minister since May 2018, was concurrently deputy head of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission Office until 2023, and has sat on the PBOC Monetary Policy Committee since 2023; he earlier worked at the PBOC, China Everbright Group, Bank of China and the former banking regulator, including as head of its Shanghai bureau. Caixin noted that a Chinese national has held one of the IMF's four deputy managing director posts since 2011. The South China Morning Post said Liao played a deep role in rounds of US-China trade talks and that it is unclear whether he will leave his government post before taking up the role. Share · Copy
•China's outstanding property loans fall 5.2% y/y to 50.08 trillion yuan at end-September; mortgages down 1.10 trillion yuan this year
The People's Bank of China said on 28 October in its Q3 loan-allocation statistics that outstanding yuan property loans stood at 50.08 trillion yuan at end-September, down 5.2% year on year and 1.90 trillion yuan lower than at the start of the year. Property development loans were 12.37 trillion yuan, down 9.1%, a decline of 817.9 billion yuan this year; individual mortgages were 35.91 trillion yuan, down 4.1%, a decline of 1.10 trillion yuan. Reuters reported the figures the same day. Share · Copy
•Four ministries issue Hainan free trade port measures, letting foreign-licensed doctors practise for up to three years
The Commerce Ministry website on 29 October published a notice from the Ministry of Commerce, the NDRC, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the General Administration of Customs (dated 9 October) with 16 measures to further liberalise and facilitate trade at the Hainan Free Trade Port. Foreign doctors legally licensed abroad may be invited, hired or apply to practise clinical diagnosis and treatment in the port, with licences valid for up to three years and renewable. Entry for foreign nationals is to be eased with more convenient work-permit and residence rules. Once LNG futures are listed, Hainan may host delivery warehouses, and foreign firms may use bonded facilities at Hainan's LNG terminals. New barter trade is to be piloted with yuan pricing encouraged; bonded remanufactured goods may enter other free trade zones once duties are paid; and Hainan-Hong Kong economic cooperation is to deepen. Lianhe Zaobao reported the notice the same day. Share · Copy
•China markets close: Shanghai Composite down 0.82% at 3,651.43, ChiNext down 4.45%; onshore yuan ends at 6.6621, strongest since June 2022
A-shares opened lower and drifted down on 29 October. The Shanghai Composite closed at 3,651.43, down 0.82%; the Shenzhen Component at 11,138.20, down 2.92%; ChiNext at 2,517.59, down 4.45%; the STAR Composite at 1,490.79, down 4.46%; and the CSI 300 at 4,041.84, down 1.03%. Turnover in Shanghai and Shenzhen was about 1.56 trillion yuan, roughly 72 billion yuan less than the previous session, with more than 4,700 stocks falling. Computing hardware, optical modules, semiconductors and memory chips led losses, while banks rallied and the combined market value of the big four state banks topped 10 trillion yuan for the first time. The yuan's central parity was set at 6.7147 per dollar, 18 pips stronger; the onshore yuan (CNY) closed at 6.6621 at 16:30, up 48 pips, and the offshore yuan (CNH) traded around 6.659 near 17:00. Reuters said the onshore yuan touched 6.6620 intraday, its strongest since 7 June 2022, and that the fixing was 551 pips weaker than its estimate, which traders read as a signal to pace appreciation; by Reuters' calculation the CFETS basket index rose to 103.75. Reuters also said Alphabet's results stoked worries about returns on AI spending, weighing on Chinese tech shares. Share · Copy
•China's old-age dependency ratio overtakes child ratio for first time
Data published recently by the National Bureau of Statistics show China's old-age dependency ratio rose to about 23.1% in 2025, overtaking the child dependency ratio of about 22% for the first time. People aged 65 and over numbered about 223.65 million, nearly 16% of the population, against about 212.76 million aged 0–14. The Global Times said China has entered a "moderately ageing society", adding pressure on pensions, healthcare and long-term care. Reuters and the BBC reported on 28 October that scholars expect public spending to shift toward pensions and health, possibly constraining growth and consumption. Share · Copy
