•Five ministries issue comprehensive resource-conservation action plan with 2030 intensity targets
Xinhua (about 21:38) reported that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on 4 November that the NDRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Water Resources and the National Government Offices Administration had jointly issued an Action Plan for Implementing the Comprehensive Conservation Strategy. By 2030 the plan aims for a sounder conservation system and markedly higher resource efficiency, cutting energy use, water use and construction-land use per unit of GDP by about 10%, 10% and 15% respectively versus 2025, further reducing grain-chain losses and lifting annual recycling of major recyclables to 510 million tonnes. It sets tasks across seven areas covering energy, water, grain, land, minerals and materials plus public conservation awareness, with supporting measures on standards, policy, oversight and technology. Gov.cn the same day carried an NDRC Q&A saying the plan has nine chapters and 22 measures and will push revisions to the Energy Conservation Law and the Circular Economy Promotion Law among others. Xinhua English (about 00:10 on 5 November) carried the same targets. The Chinese readout landed about 21:38, after the 4 November 20:00 close, so it is logged today. Share · Copy
•Prosecutors indict former Politburo member Ma Xingrui for accepting bribes of particularly large amounts
Xinhua (about 10:00 on 5 November) reported that the Supreme People's Procuratorate said the bribery case against Ma Xingrui—former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and former deputy head of the Leading Group for Rural Affairs—had been concluded by the National Supervisory Commission and transferred for prosecution. The SPP decided to arrest him on suspicion of bribery and designated the Yichang People's Procuratorate in Hubei to handle the case; that office has filed an indictment with the Yichang Intermediate People's Court. Prosecutors allege Ma used positions including Party leadership and general manager roles at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Guangdong Party deputy secretary and Shenzhen Party secretary, Guangdong governor, and Politburo member, as well as influence from those posts, to seek benefits for others and accept bribes of particularly large amounts. People's Daily Online, The Paper and China News Service carried the same readout; Xinhua English posted a brief about 10:02. Reuters via Yahoo News and others said he was indicted for using government and aerospace-contractor posts to 'seek benefits' and take 'particularly large amounts' of bribes, noting his Party expulsion was confirmed in last week's Fifth Plenum communique among 33 officials. AP also reported Yichang prosecutors accusing him of 'exceptionally large' bribes. Lianhe Zaobao covered the indictment the same day. Ma's expulsion had already been logged with the Fifth Plenum review reports (Issue No. 4); today's node is the formal criminal indictment. Share · Copy
•Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security
Hong Kong's Court of First Instance on 5 November sentenced Joshua Wong (Wong Chi-fung) to 10 years' imprisonment for conspiracy to collude with foreign countries or external elements to endanger national security under the Hong Kong National Security Law. A Hong Kong government news.gov.hk release and Chief Executive John Lee's statement called Wong and Nathan Law among those primarily responsible for undermining the city's prosperity and stability, saying Wong continued after the NSL's enactment to act as an agent of foreign forces. BBC Chinese, The Guardian, AP and The New York Times reported that Judge William Tam found the offence 'grave in nature', starting from 13 years and reducing to 10 for the guilty plea entered in September; two months and two days run concurrently with Wong's existing conspiracy-to-subvert term. Prosecutors said he and Law conspired between July and November 2020 to lobby foreign powers for sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China and Hong Kong. The HKSAR government welcomed the sentence. MFA spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the central government firmly supports Hong Kong in safeguarding national security according to law and urged relevant parties to respect China's sovereignty and Hong Kong's legal system and stop irresponsible remarks on judicial cases. AP, BBC and The Guardian also quoted the US Consulate General in Hong Kong condemning the sentence and calling for Wong's immediate release, and Amnesty International criticizing the NSL as used to punish dissent. Wong, known from the Umbrella Movement, has been detained for years on NSL and other cases and had been due for release around January 2027. Share · Copy
Thursday 5 Nov close; STAR50 +1.68% to 1,286.68; Shanghai and Shenzhen turnover about 2.12 trillion yuan. CNH full-day close about 6.6680 (Investing.com/Yahoo Finance); CNY is the 5 November fixing of 6.7156 (up 24 basis points, Tonghuashun/Yicai/Chinanews); the onshore yuan closed at 6.6710 at 16:30. Data: Xinhua Finance, Jin10, Gelonghui, China Daily HK, NAMPA/Xinhua, SCMP, Yicai, Investing.com.
•China and Canada extend mutual tariff relief on canola meal, peas, lobster, crab and selected steel/aluminum to end-2028
China's Ministry of Commerce posted about 22:00 that on 3 November Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu co-chaired the 29th China–Canada Joint Economic and Trade Commission in Beijing—the first at ministerial level—with International Trade Representative and Vice Minister Li Chenggang attending. Wang said recent China–Canada trade talks had made positive progress under the two leaders' guidance, including further extending exemption measures under the Preliminary Joint Arrangement; the sides signed an MoU to establish a China–Canada CEO roundtable. Yicai (about 22:13) carried the MOFCOM readout. Global Affairs Canada announced in Beijing on 4 November that China and Canada agreed to extend through end-2028 the favourable market access for Canadian canola meal, peas, lobster and crab under the January 2026 Preliminary Joint Arrangement struck during Prime Minister Carney's Beijing visit, and that Canada would likewise extend remission measures for certain Chinese steel and aluminum products to end-2028. CBC reported that China's paused 100% tariffs on canola meal and peas and 25% tariffs on lobster and crab, in place since March and due to expire end-2026, are now extended two more years. BNN Bloomberg and others also covered the extension. Both the MOFCOM readout and the Canadian announcement landed after the 4 November 20:00 close, so they are logged today. Share · Copy
•9th CIIE opens; Ding Xuexiang says overall tariff down to 7.3%, China does not deliberately seek trade surplus and will expand imports
The ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) and Hongqiao International Economic Forum opened in Shanghai on 5 November. A Xinhua flash said the edition drew 162 countries, regions and international organizations and 4,142 overseas exhibitors, with total area topping 440,000 sq m for the first time; enterprise-exhibit space first exceeded 370,000 sq m, Fortune Global 500 and industry leaders first topped 300, and more than 480 global/Asia/China debut exhibits set a record. Politburo Standing Committee member and Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang attended and delivered the keynote. TVB published the full speech; Commercial Radio Hong Kong and RTHK carried key points: China's overall tariff level has fallen to 7.3%, with zero tariffs for all diplomatic LDCs and African partners; manufacturing foreign-investment access restrictions have been fully lifted; goods imports have ranked second globally for 17 years and China is a top export destination for nearly 80 countries; Q1–Q3 imports rose 22.3%, about 6 percentage points faster than exports. Ding said China never deliberately seeks a trade surplus; the current-account surplus-to-GDP ratio fell from 9.9% in 2007 to 3.7% in 2025, within an internationally recognized reasonable range, and China will keep importing more quality goods and services. He set out four points—sharing the large market, deepening investment cooperation, innovation empowerment, and mutual trust—to promote positive, dynamic and upward trade balance, and said that by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period annual retail sales of consumer goods may reach about 60 trillion yuan and the services sector about 100 trillion yuan. Reuters via Devdiscourse and others confirmed the opening. Hard speech points were not yet complete at the 10:00 patrol, so this slot logs them. Share · Copy
•China foreign-investment security review bars SoftBank from buying ABB Robotics in China; sides still talking on $5.375bn deal
Swiss group ABB said on 5 November it had been informed by SoftBank that China's Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review had prohibited SoftBank from acquiring ABB's robotics business in China. ABB recalled its October 2025 agreement to divest Robotics to SoftBank for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions managed by SoftBank; ABB and SoftBank remain in close dialogue and are working constructively on the transaction. Earlier the same day the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, said China's NDRC would block the deal amid concerns that robotics data could be moved overseas to train AI models—including those of OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor—and about retaining manufacturing capability in China; Reuters then said it could not independently verify the report and SoftBank/ABB had not responded. Lianhe Zaobao, citing Reuters and Bloomberg, later noted ABB's confirmation and that China accounts for about 30% of ABB's robotics business, with the global robotics HQ in Shanghai. MFA spokesperson Guo Jiakun, asked at the regular briefing, said the question should be directed to the competent Chinese authorities. At the 14:00 patrol only the unverified FT account was available; today's node is ABB's official confirmation. Share · Copy
•China markets close: Shanghai Composite up 0.10% at 3,689.91, STAR50 up 1.68%; onshore yuan ends at 6.6710
China's major A-share indices closed higher on Thursday 5 November. The Shanghai Composite finished at 3,689.91, up 0.10%; the Shenzhen Component at 11,471.09, up 1.19%; ChiNext at 2,566.80, up 0.87%; the CSI 300 at 4,113.41, up 0.29%; and the STAR50 at 1,286.68, up 1.68%. Xinhua Finance put Shanghai turnover at about 979.7 billion yuan and Shenzhen at about 1.1382 trillion yuan, or roughly 2.12 trillion yuan combined, about 80.3 billion yuan heavier than the prior session; photovoltaics, robotics, AI-drama and gold names led while coal and oil lagged, with PetroChina down nearly 8%. Jin10 carried the same index closes; China Daily Hong Kong and NAMPA's Xinhua English wire reported Shanghai and Shenzhen higher; the South China Morning Post said the CSI 300 rose 0.3% and the STAR50 about 1.7%, noting a sharp Hang Seng gain. The yuan's central parity was set at 6.7156 per dollar, 24 pips stronger (Tonghuashun, Yicai, Chinanews; Xinhua English via NAMPA). The onshore yuan closed at 6.6710 at 16:30, up 60 pips (Yicai, Gelonghui, NBD); the offshore yuan's full-day close was about 6.6680 (Investing.com/Yahoo Finance). The issue's market table, which had carried the Wednesday 4 November close, is updated to 5 November. Share · Copy
•State Council General Office issues 2027 public-holiday schedule; Spring Festival break spans 9 days
Xinhua's authorized release about 17:23 on 5 November carried the State Council General Office notice on partial public holidays for 2027, approved by the State Council. New Year's Day is 1–3 January (3 days); Spring Festival runs 5–13 February (Lunar New Year's Eve through the eighth day of the first lunar month), 9 days with make-up work on Sundays 31 January and 14 February; Qingming 3–5 April (3 days); Labour Day 1–5 May (5 days) with make-up on 8 May; Dragon Boat Festival 9 June (1 day); Mid-Autumn Festival 15 September (1 day); National Day 1–7 October (7 days) with make-up on 26 September and 9 October. The notice encourages combining paid annual leave for longer breaks and staggered travel, and calls for holiday duty and safety arrangements. People's Daily Online carried the full text; CCTV News via Chinanews noted relatively few make-up days in 2027 and that the nine-day Spring Festival matches 2026 among the longest in recent years. The authorized text landed about 17:23; the 18:00 patrol prioritized the market close, so the close slot logs it. Share · Copy
