Weekend News Summary: Financial Law Draft Opens for Public Comments; Establishes and Improves Rapid Response Mechanism for Financial Market Risks

This weekend’s major market news includes: Li Qiang attending the opening ceremony and delivering a keynote speech at the 2026 China Development High-Level Forum; the central bank governor: using multiple tools to maintain ample liquidity; the draft financial law openly soliciting opinions, establishing a sound rapid response mechanism for financial market risks, and prudently addressing major risks such as market abnormal fluctuations, panic, and liquidity shortages; the central bank: the macroprudential adjustment coefficient for domestic enterprises’ overseas loans raised from 0.5 to 0.6; the Ministry of Commerce releasing 16 measures to promote travel service exports and expand inbound consumption; Trump’s final ultimatum: open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or destroy all its power plants; Trump considering gradually downgrading military actions against Iran; the US issuing a 30-day sanctions waiver on Iranian oil; SSE accepting the IPO application of Yushu Technology; Huawei launching a new generation of computing acceleration cards with nearly 3 times the performance of H20 and supporting FP4; Elon Musk planning to build the world’s largest chip factory with an annual output target of about 100 to 200 billion chips; Sichuan discovering the world’s second-largest light rare earth mineral deposit; spot gold prices fell over 10% this week, marking the largest weekly decline in 43 years.

Macroeconomics

Li Qiang attends the opening ceremony and delivers a keynote speech at the 2026 China Development High-Level Forum

On the morning of March 22, Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 China Development High-Level Forum in Beijing and delivered a keynote speech. Li Qiang stated that the “14th Five-Year Plan” outline is not only China’s “new blueprint” for development but also a “new opportunity” for the world. China will focus on promoting high-quality development, striving to maintain stable economic growth, continue creating a favorable business environment, fully implement the national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises, and enable companies from all countries to develop with confidence and realize their ambitions in China.

Central bank governor: using multiple tools to maintain ample liquidity

On March 22, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, said at the 2026 China Development High-Level Forum that China will continue to implement a moderately relaxed monetary policy. By comprehensively using tools such as reserve requirement ratios, policy interest rates, and open market operations, liquidity will be kept ample.

Draft financial law openly soliciting opinions: establishing a rapid response mechanism for financial market risks and prudently addressing major risks such as abnormal fluctuations, panic, and liquidity shortages

On March 20, the Ministry of Justice, People’s Bank of China, Financial Regulatory Administration, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange published the “Draft of the People’s Republic of China Financial Law” on their official websites for public consultation. The draft emphasizes strengthening financial market risk monitoring, establishing a sound rapid response mechanism, and prudently responding to major risks like abnormal market fluctuations, panic, and liquidity shortages. Financial regulatory authorities and other relevant departments should strengthen expectation management and policy coordination, conduct impact assessments of major financial policies, coordinate major information releases, and handle false or misleading information according to law.

Central bank: macroprudential adjustment coefficient for domestic enterprises’ overseas loans raised from 0.5 to 0.6, overall increase in overseas loan balance limit

On March 20, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly issued the “Notice on the Management Measures for Domestic Enterprises’ Overseas Loans,” further supporting and regulating overseas lending by domestic enterprises. The main content includes raising the macroprudential adjustment coefficient from 0.5 to 0.6 and increasing the overall limit on overseas loans to better meet enterprises’ cross-border operational funding needs.

Ministry of Commerce releases 16 measures to promote travel service exports and expand inbound consumption

On March 20, the Ministry of Commerce issued the “Policy Measures to Promote Travel Service Exports and Expand Inbound Consumption.” The measures include 16 specific policies across seven areas: expanding inbound tourism consumption, facilitating inbound business activities, activating inbound sports events, prospering inbound entertainment consumption, expanding inbound health consumption, developing inbound education and training, and improving supporting measures.

Global Markets

Global markets: US stock three major indices all decline, Nasdaq down over 2%, AMD plunges over 33%

On March 20, the three major US stock indices closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 443.96 points to 45,577.47, down 0.96%. Major tech stocks declined, Tesla down over 3%, Google-C and Meta down over 2%, Microsoft and Amazon down over 1%, Apple slightly down, Netflix slightly up. In chip stocks, AMD plunged over 33%, after its co-founder was arrested for smuggling AI servers. Storage stocks declined collectively, SanDisk down over 8%, Western Digital down over 7%, Seagate Technology down over 5%, Micron Technology down over 4%, optical communication stocks led the decline.

Iran allows non-hostile ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz

According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency on March 22, Iran’s representative to the International Maritime Organization stated that Iran permits non-hostile ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but coordination with Iran on security issues and related arrangements are required. Iran will cooperate with IMO to improve navigation safety and protect seafarers.

Trump’s final ultimatum: open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or destroy all its power plants

On March 21, US President Trump issued a threat to Iran: if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the US will strike and destroy all its power plants. Trump posted on social media: “If Iran fails to fully open the Strait of Hormuz without threats within 48 hours from now, the US will strike and destroy Iran’s various power plants, starting with the largest one!”

Multiple sources indicate US government is discussing potential negotiations with Iran

On March 21, CCTV reporters learned that a US official and an informed source revealed that after three weeks of ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflicts, the Trump administration has begun preliminary discussions on the next phase of actions and what form peace negotiations with Iran might take. President Trump on March 20 said he is considering “gradually ending” the war. However, US officials expect the conflict to continue for another two to three weeks. During this period, Trump’s advisors hope to lay the groundwork for diplomatic mediation.

Trump considers gradually de-escalating military actions against Iran

On March 20, US President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform “Real Social” that as they consider gradually de-escalating major military operations targeting the Iranian regime in the Middle East, they are very close to achieving their set goals. Trump stated that the guard and patrol work in the Strait of Hormuz should be undertaken by other countries using the strait when necessary, and the US will no longer bear this responsibility. If invited, the US is willing to support these countries’ actions in the Strait of Hormuz, but once the threat from Iran is fully eliminated, such support will no longer be necessary.

US issues 30-day sanctions waiver on Iranian oil; Bissent: will supply about 140 million barrels globally

On Friday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that the Trump administration has issued a 30-day sanctions waiver allowing purchases of Iranian oil at sea to ease energy supply pressures since the US-initiated conflict with Iran. The new license permits the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products loaded before March 20. The license has been published on the US Treasury Department’s website.

Financial Capital

SSE accepts IPO application of Yushu Technology; prospectus reveals five key points

On March 20, SSE accepted the IPO application of Yushu Technology on the STAR Market. The IPO is expected to raise 4.202 billion yuan, potentially making it the first “humanoid robot” stock in A-shares. The prospectus shows that in 2025, Yushu Technology achieved revenue of 1.708 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 335.36%; net profit attributable to shareholders after non-recurring gains and losses exceeded 600 million yuan, up 674.29%, mainly due to rapid growth in product sales.

Insurance funds reduce holdings due to new solvency regulations: new accounting standards for the third phase of the “Solvency II” policy not yet implemented

Recent rumors suggest that the market decline is due to small and medium insurance companies reducing holdings because of new solvency regulations. In response, a reporter from Cailian Press confirmed that this is not credible. The “Solvency II” third phase based on new accounting standards is still in testing, not yet implemented. Industry insiders note that “regulatory counter-cyclic measures are still in place; some small and medium insurers do have solvency pressure leading to reduction behaviors, but these occur quarterly and are not due to the new policies. Also, their equity investment proportions are small, so the impact is controllable.”

“National team” enters the market: Galaxy Aerospace’s shareholding and partner companies exposed

Recently, according to Qichacha, the well-known commercial aerospace company Galaxy Aerospace changed its registration. Its name changed from “Galaxy Aerospace (Beijing) Network Technology Co., Ltd.” to “Galaxy Aerospace (Beijing) Technology Group Co., Ltd.” and its business entity type changed from other limited liability company to other joint-stock company (non-listed). This indicates Galaxy Aerospace has completed shareholding restructuring, adding another major player to China’s commercial aerospace capital circle.

Industrial Economy

Huawei launches new generation of computing acceleration cards with nearly 3 times the performance of H20 and supporting FP4

At Huawei’s China Partner Conference 2026, Huawei announced and showcased the new Ascend 950PR-based AI training and inference acceleration card Atlas 350. Core partners including Kunlun, Huawei Kunpeng, Shenzhou Kun Tai, Yangtze Computing, Baode, Ruantong Huafang, and Baixin released server products based on Atlas 350, marking the commercial deployment of the Ascend 950 inference computing power. Huawei’s Ascend computing president Zhang Dixuan said that Atlas 350’s single-card computing power reaches 2.87 times that of Nvidia’s H20, and it is currently the only domestically supported FP4 low-precision inference product.

Major chip news! Elon Musk just announced plans to build the world’s largest chip factory

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on social media that SpaceX and Tesla will hold a live broadcast around 8 pm Central US time on X platform to officially unveil the “Terafab” chip factory project. Tesla also posted that the company, together with SpaceX and AI company xAI, is building the largest chip manufacturing plant in history. The “Terafab” project aims to produce over 1 exa-operations of computing capacity (logic, memory, and packaging) annually, about 80% for space and 20% for ground use. Media reports indicate that “Terafab” plans to adopt 2nm process technology, integrating logic chips, memory chips, and advanced packaging in one park, with an annual output target of about 100 to 200 billion chips.

Shanghai real estate heats up with rapid transactions in 3 days

Since the implementation of Shanghai’s “Seven Policies” for the real estate market, nearly a month has passed. Recent visits and surveys show that second-hand home transactions have surged, reaching new highs in several indicators. New home markets are also gradually recovering, with some projects announcing price increases, reflecting optimistic market expectations. All signs point to a “volume increase and price stabilization” trend, with the “small spring” market in March becoming increasingly clear.

Sichuan discovers the world’s second-largest light rare earth mineral deposit with 9.6656 million tons

Sichuan has made a significant mineral discovery! Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced new exploration results. The resource verification and exploration project at the Maoniuping deposit in Mianyang, Sichuan, confirmed total resources of 9.6656 million tons of rare earth oxides, along with associated large fluorite (27.1354 million tons) and barite (37.2277 million tons). Data shows that Maoniuping rare earth deposit is the second-largest in the world in terms of proven reserves, second only to the Baiyun Ebo deposit in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. Compared to previous confirmed reserves of 3.16 million tons, this increase exceeds 200%.

Price drops below 1,400 yuan! Domestic brand gold jewelry prices plunge, spot gold down over 10% this week

On March 21 early morning, international gold markets experienced a sharp decline, with spot gold and gold futures both falling below $4,500 per ounce, weekly decline exceeding 10%, the largest weekly drop in 43 years. Many investors are puzzled, as geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East intensify, and gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven asset, has moved in the opposite direction. Domestic gold jewelry prices also plummeted, falling below 1,400 yuan per gram.

Company Focus

“Global Drug King” patent expires! Trillion-yuan market to face reshuffle

On March 20, Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide patent in China expired. This product, known as the “global drug king,” has long held a monopoly, which is now broken. Over ten domestic pharmaceutical companies have launched generic competition, leading to a reassessment of the GLP-1 industry chain. Industry development will enter a new phase. Estimates suggest that the domestic GLP-1 market potential is significant. By 2032, the market for type 2 diabetes treatment could reach 68.8 billion yuan, and obesity treatment could reach 42.7 billion yuan, with the combined core indications surpassing 100 billion yuan.

Zijin Mining plans to distribute over 10 billion yuan in dividends! Several other A-share companies also release plans

On the evening of March 20, Zijin Mining (601899), known as the “mining giant,” announced its 2025 profit distribution plan, proposing to pay a cash dividend of 3.8 yuan per 10 shares (tax included). As of the announcement date, the company’s total shares were about 26.59 billion, implying a total cash dividend of approximately 10.104 billion yuan (tax included).

ByteDance sells Moonton Technology for over $6 billion to focus further on AI strategy

According to Jiemian News, ByteDance announced it has reached a final agreement with Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), to sell Moonton Technology for over $6 billion. Moonton is the developer and publisher of the popular Southeast Asian MOBA game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), acquired by ByteDance in 2021. ByteDance has invested heavily in AI; its overall profit declined in Q4 2025, and selling Moonton is seen as a strategic move to further focus on AI.

Hengli Hydraulic: Actual controller and chairman Wang Liping is detained

On March 20, Hengli Hydraulic announced that the company’s actual controller and chairman Wang Liping received a “Notice of Filing” and “Detention Notice” from Jiangsu Provincial Supervision Commission. Wang Liping has been detained. The company has made appropriate arrangements. This matter is not expected to significantly impact production or operations.