B[The United States urges Israel to combat violent attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank] October 18th, US Secretary of State Rubio stated on October 17, local time, that the United States hopes that Israel will take more measures to curb violent attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. On October 16, while reporting on Palestinian farmers picking olives in the West Bank, Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levin was surrounded and beaten by dozens of masked Jewish settlers, and had her camera, passport and other belongings taken away. "We are deeply disturbed by those images and what we saw," Rubio said. "We have asked and continue to ask Israel to crack down on this type of behavior." He said the U.S. State Department has made inquiries about the incidents, including Levin's attack, and he expected to receive a response from the U.S. Embassy by Sunday. (CCTV News) B[Russian Ministry of Defense: The Russian Army received more than 10,000 pieces of equipment of various types in September] October 7th, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 6th that the Russian Army received a total of more than 10,000 pieces of equipment of various types in September. Including Su-57 and Su-35S fighter jets, T-90M, T-80BVM and T-72B3M main battle tanks. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the newly delivered tanks are equipped with additional protection systems, and the relevant systems were developed with reference to Russia’s actual combat experience gained in special military operations areas. In terms of unmanned combat equipment, relevant Russian military forces have received different models of "Super Camera", "Stray", "Sea Eagle" and "Lightning" reconnaissance drones, as well as attack FPV drones, hexacopter drones and ground robot systems for different purposes. (CCTV News) B[The purchase subsidy for trade-in smart homes in Zhejiang Province will be implemented from now on, with a maximum subsidy of 1,500 yuan per item] On September 30, it was learned from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce that from now until December 31, the 2026 trade-in smart home purchase subsidy for consumer goods will be carried out throughout the province. Individual consumers who purchase 10 categories of smart home products can enjoy subsidies at 15% of the final transaction price, with a maximum subsidy of 1,500 yuan per item. This subsidy covers 10 categories of smart home products, and the products must have at least one smart function. Specifically, they include: smart door locks (including smart cameras), smart humidifiers/dehumidifiers (including smart air purifiers), smart sweepers/floor scrubbers (including smart window cleaning robots), smart range hoods, smart gas stoves/integrated stoves, smart dishwashers (including disinfection cabinets), smart toilets (including toilet seats), smart cameras (including action cameras), smart beds/mattresses (including massage chairs and sofas), and smart microwave ovens (including micro-steaming and baking machines). (Chao News) B[Sichuan: A new round of trade-in subsidies will be implemented on October 1, including 10 categories with a maximum subsidy of 1,500 yuan per item] On September 30, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce issued the "Notice on the Implementation of Independent Category Subsidies for Trade-in Consumer Goods" on the evening of September 29, deciding to implement independent category subsidy activities for consumer goods trade-in. The subsidy period will be from October 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026. The subsidy funds are uniformly arranged from the local matching funds required for the replacement of old consumer goods with ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, and the total amount is controlled on a first-come, first-served basis and while supplies last. According to the "Notice", the subsidy categories are smart range hoods, smart home stoves, smart dishwashers, water purifiers (including direct drinking machines, pipeline machines), smart cleaning robots (including sweepers, floor washers, and vacuum cleaners), smart toilets (including toilet seats), digital cameras (including action cameras), smart drones, smart projectors, and smart headphones, a total of 10 categories. The subsidy standard is 15% of the final sales price after deducting discounts in various links. Each consumer can subsidize 1 piece of each category, with a maximum subsidy of 1,500 yuan per piece. B[The head of the Department of Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce talks about China’s consumer market situation from January to August 2026] September 20th, according to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, from January to August, the total retail sales of social consumer goods and services increased by 2.5% year-on-year (the same below). The consumer market is stable and improving, and the consumption structure continues to be optimized.
First, commodity consumption grew steadily. From January to August, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 1.1%, and the retail sales of consumer goods other than automobiles increased by 2.7%. Basic daily necessities grew well, with grain, oil, food, clothing, and daily necessities growing by 6.8%, 5.1%, and 3.8% respectively. Some upgraded products grew faster, with communications equipment, cosmetics, and cultural office supplies growing by 16.3%, 6.1%, and 6.0% respectively. Affected by new energy substitution, petroleum products fell by 6.1%. Green, smart, and healthy products are growing rapidly. The Ministry of Commerce’s business big data shows that from January to August, sales of smart glasses on key platforms increased by 1.2 times, sales of ECG monitors increased by 75%, sales of action cameras increased by 26.9%, and sales of organic food increased by 7.4%.
Second, there is strong demand for service consumption. At present, residents' consumption needs are becoming increasingly diverse and diverse, and the consumption structure continues to be optimized, shifting from mainly commodity consumption to paying equal attention to both commodity consumption and service consumption. From January to August, retail sales of services increased by 4.9%, 3.9 percentage points faster than retail sales of goods. The summer vacation stimulated the vitality of the service consumption market, and the retail sales of tourism consulting and rental services, cultural, sports and leisure services maintained rapid growth.
The third is to release rural consumption potential. The vitality of the county consumer market continues to be released, and the urban and rural consumption structure continues to be optimized. From January to August, the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas was 4.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.3%, and the growth rate was 1.3 percentage points faster than that of urban areas; the retail sales of consumer goods in counties and townships, including towns and rural areas, accounted for 39% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year.
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