Tesla CEO Praises China’s Growth, Xiongan Hands Out Digital Yuan, Richard Branson to Fly Into Space

Here is today’s ranking of the 10 most-read news stories in China, in economics, finance and current affairs, based on mass data sourced from China’s mainstream social media platforms and online news websites. While these headlines can help give you a sense of what’s trending in the Chinese language sphere, Caixin has not independently verified the veracity or accuracy of all of the headlines or stories.

Chinese social media users have been paying close attention to Lego-like Chinese building-blocks. They also have continued to follow the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China.

1. Xi Jinping warns China won’t be bullied

“We will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us. Anyone who would attempt to do so will find themselves on a collision course with a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said (external source) in a speech Thursday to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party.

2. China celebrates 100th birthday of the Communist Party

Celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China was held (external source, in Chinese) at 8 a.m. Thursday at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

3. WHO declares China free of malaria

The WHO announced Wednesday that China has been certified as malaria-free after going four years without reporting a new case of the mosquito-borne infectious disease. In the 1940s, the country was reporting 30 million cases a year.

4. China’s Covid-19 vaccination drive passes 1.2 billion doses

As of Monday, China had administered more than 1.2 billion doses (external source, in Chinese) of Covid-19 vaccines, according to the country’s National Health Council, including 200 million shots that have been given in the last 10 days.

5. Vaccination rate for adult population in Shanghai reaches 77.6%

According to the Shanghai government, as of Tuesday, over 16 million people have been vaccinated (external source, in Chinese) in the city, with 77.6% of those over 18 years old inoculated.

6. Tesla CEO Elon Musk praises China’s “amazing” economic boom

Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a tweet (external source, in Chinese) Thursday praised China’s economic boom as “truly amazing” and encouraged people to pay a visit to the country.

7. Xiongan New Area to give away 3 million digital yuan worth of “red packets”

A total of 3 million yuan of digital yuan red packets will be issued (external source, in Chinese) to residents in Xiongan New area, in packets of 50 yuan each. Users can redeem up to four red packets based on their step count. The digital yuan can be used in about local 1,000 stores.

8. Chinese “Lego” Sunmao gain popularity among youth, foreigners

Sunmao (external source, in Chinese) is a Chinese building-block toy kit that introduces traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon joinery. These Chinese mortise tenon building blocks represent the beauty of traditional Chinese wood craftsmanship, with a history of thousands of years. In recent years, Sunmao has gained popularity among the young people in China, as well as overseas.

9. Hong Kong marks 24th anniversary of return to Chinese sovereignty

On Thursday, Hong Kong celebrated (external source, in Chinese) the 24th anniversary of its return to the motherland. A grand flag-raising ceremony was held at Golden Bauhinia Square.

Hong Kong. Photo: VCG

10. Virgin Galactic to send Richard Branson into space in July

Virgin Galactic announced (external source, in Chinese) Thursday that the space tourism company will launch its next test space flight on July 11 and carry Richard Branson, the English business magnate, into space.

Translated by intern reporter Chen Bingyi

The daily ranking of most read news stories among Chinese people, about China and global affairs, is jointly provided to you by Caixin Insight and HANA Data, an artificial intelligence technology team.

The key indicators calculated on the list are based on mass data sourced from China’s mainstream social media platforms and online news websites. Click here for a detailed introduction of our methodology.