China Marks Anniversary of Start of War With Japan, Xi’s Call for Cooperation, South Korean Development

Here is today’s ranking of the 10 most-read news stories in China in economics, finance and current affairs, to help give you a sense of what’s trending in the Chinese language sphere.

Chinese social media users are showing great interest in the 84th anniversary of the incident that marked the beginning of war with Japan. They have also been paying close attention to U.S. visa denials to hundreds of grad students.

1. China commemorates 84th anniversary of the July 7 Incident

China commemorated the 84th anniversary of the July 7 Incident (external source, in Chinese), also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

2. China’s cybersecurity regulator orders Didi removed from app stores

Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing received a fresh blow when China’s cyberspace regulator ordered its app removed from domestic app stores Sunday, two days after the company was placed under review.

3. China urges U.S. to reconsider alleged visa denials to hundreds of grad students

China has urged the U.S. to reconsider its denial of study visas to more than 500 Chinese science and engineering graduate students following a report published by the official China Daily.

4. SMIC loses key member of its technical team

On Sunday, leading Chinese mainland chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (external source, in Chinese) announced the resignation of a key member of its technical staff, Wu Jingang, who was vice president of research and development.

5. Fine levied on family for having eight children cut from 2.66 million yuan to 90,000 yuan

Authorities in April decided to cut the fine levied (external source, in Chinese) on a family in southwestern Sichuan province for having eight children from 2.66 million yuan ($412,000) to 90,000 yuan, payable over three years.

6. South Korea classified as developed country by U.N.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (external source, in Chinese) has upgraded South Korea’s status from developing country to developed country, the first time the U.N. body has made such an upgrade since its inception in 1964.

Photo: Xinhua

7. Xi calls for world leaders to cooperate in addressing global challenges

President Xi Jinping called for global political leaders to strengthen coordination and cooperation, align the interests of their own people with those of people around the world and move toward building a community with a shared future for mankind, in a keynote speech via video link at the Communist Party of China and World Political Parties Summit Tuesday.

8. U.K. announces lifting of Covid-19 restrictions on July 19

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (external source, in Chinese) announced Monday that his country will soon end nearly all government mandates to control the spread of the coronavirus, including social distancing and wearing of masks, and all businesses will be allowed to reopen.

9. Southwest China border area listed as high-risk for Covid- 19

Ruili, a city in Southwest China’s Yunnan province on the border with Myanmar, announced on Wednesday, that the Jiegao Border Trade Zone (external source, in Chinese), located 6 kilometers southeast of the city center, has been upgraded to a high-risk area, following confirmation of three local infections Sunday.

10. Elon Musk admits developing self-driving cars is more difficult than he thought

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (external source, in Chinese) has admitted that he had underestimated the difficulty of developing self-driving car technology, after a number of deaths in the U.S. were deemed to be linked to Tesla owners placing too much faith in autonomous driving systems.

Translated by intern reporter Chen Bingyi

Caixin has not independently verified the veracity or accuracy of all of the headlines.

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.