CX Weekly Briefing: China’s Consumer Inflation Bounces Back

A roundup of recent headline developments in and around China covers finance, business, technology, global affairs, and regional governance during the past week.

In finance and economics, China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) in June rose 0.1% year-on-year, ending a streak of four consecutive months of decline. This was mainly driven by a rebound in industrial consumer goods prices, resulting in a 0.2 percentage point increase from May. The core CPI—which excludes volatile food and energy prices—also accelerated by 0.1 percentage points to 0.7%, reaching its highest level since April 2024. However, the Producer Price Index continued its slide, dropping 3.6% year-on-year, the steepest decrease in nearly two years, largely attributed to lower energy prices and a worldwide trade slowdown that affected export-heavy industries [para. 2].

In real estate, despite a 27.5% year-on-year revenue jump in residential land sales across 300 Chinese cities in the first half of 2025, the total land transacted fell by 5.5%. This divergence is due to intensified market differentiation with the top 10 cities accounting for over half (approximately 860 billion yuan or $120 billion) of total revenue—a 19 percentage point increase from late 2024. The top 20 cities contributed 68% of total revenue, reflecting a trend where a shrinking group of cities dominates the property market amid ongoing market downturns [para. 3].

China’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $3.3 trillion in June, the first time at this level in almost a year, increasing by $32.2 billion and marking the sixth consecutive monthly rise. Factors cited include a weakening U.S. dollar and changes in asset prices. China is also incrementally increasing its gold reserves—now at 73.9 million ounces for a seventh month—though the rate has slowed since March in response to soaring costs [para. 4].

In the business and tech sector, Chinese embodied AI startup Tars raised $122 million in new funding in a rapid follow-up to its initial $120 million round, despite challenging conditions in embodied AI investing. Tars is buoyed by a strong leadership team including former heads of Baidu and Huawei intelligent driving divisions, though it has yet to launch any product [para. 5].

ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. (CXMT), China’s leading domestic DRAM chipmaker, has started its IPO process, collaborating with top Chinese investment banks. The company, which manufactures memory chips essential for consumer electronics and AI, is accelerating its high bandwidth memory production—potentially challenging South Korean dominance in the sector [para. 6].

In the auto sector, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is addressing delayed payments to small and midsize automotive suppliers by opening an online complaints channel and enforcing new rules capping payment terms at 60 days. Currently, some carmakers are delaying payments up to 120 or even 200 days, eroding supplier profitability and fairness [para. 7].

In property, Guangzhou authorities have reclaimed a 437,000-square-meter plot from the Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group, after failing to develop the site in over four years due to financial trouble, marking further fallout from the collapse of China’s most indebted developer [para. 8].

On the global front, Chinese authorities are prosecuting Bai Suocheng and other members of the Bai family crime syndicate from Myanmar’s Kokang region for crimes ranging from cybercrime to murder, with 21 people charged and ringleaders extradited from Myanmar [para. 9].

China's new International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA) convened its inaugural conference, signaling growing ambitions in space exploration, including lunar and planetary missions, and the deployment of a large satellite constellation [para. 10].

Finally, China’s commerce ministry has imposed export controls on eight Taiwanese firms in aerospace and shipbuilding, banning all exports of dual-use items to these entities effective immediately [para. 11].