The Frontline of Global Expansion | The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference will be held in Shanghai; Russia announces the implementation o

Global Expansion Highlights

Over 300 Products to Make Their Global Debut, 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference to Kick Off in Shanghai

On the morning of July 7, the Information Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government held a press conference. Chen Jie, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor, briefed on the preparations for the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, as well as the development of the artificial intelligence industry. For the first time, the total exhibition area of this conference exceeds 100,000 square meters, with more than 1,100 enterprises participating, over 3,000 exhibits on display, and more than 300 products making their global debut. The intelligent computing and embodied intelligence tracks each gather over 200 enterprises, with dozens of leading core enterprises, central SOEs, local state-owned enterprises, and top foreign firms exhibiting alongside their ecological partners, showcasing cutting-edge practices of AI empowering all industries. (People's Daily)

The 9th CIIE Promotion Conference & "Export to China" Thailand Special Event Held in Bangkok

On July 9, the 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) Promotion Conference & "Export to China" Thailand Special Event took place in Bangkok. Yan Dong, Vice Minister of Commerce, Zhang Jianwei, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, and Sunanta, Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion of Thailand's Ministry of Commerce, attended and delivered speeches. More than 200 representatives from Chinese and Thai business circles, including the Bank of China, the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Food, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, participated in the event. (Ministry of Commerce Press Office)

Ministry of Commerce and Other Departments Jointly Issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Innovative Development of the Retail Industry

To implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, promote the transformation and upgrading of the retail industry, and give full play to its role in expanding domestic demand, boosting consumption, ensuring people's livelihood, stabilizing employment, and building a strong domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, has recently jointly issued the *Opinions on Accelerating the Innovative Development of the Retail Industry* (hereinafter referred to as the *Opinions*). Guided by the new development philosophy, the document systematically arranges the development of the retail industry. (Zhejiang Commerce)

New Market Insights

Russia Announces Diesel Export Ban

Local time on the 8th, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak stated that the government has imposed a ban on diesel exports and started importing petroleum products in July. Novak made the remarks at a government meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin that day. The meeting, held via video conference, focused on the operation of the fuel and transport complexes under the current circumstances. According to Novak, due to continuous attacks on civilian infrastructure including the fuel complex, several refineries have been damaged, leading to a temporary decline in Russia's gasoline and diesel output. He noted that to stabilize the domestic market, the government has adopted a series of measures, including maximizing the load of existing refineries, releasing fuel reserves, shortening the maintenance cycle of refineries and postponing maintenance plans, fully banning the export of gasoline and aviation kerosene, and tapping into the production capacity potential of small and medium-sized refineries. (CCTV News)

Saudi Aramco Cuts Prices Sharply to Attract Asian Buyers, International Institutions Bearish on Oil Prices in H2

Recently, international crude oil suppliers have successively lowered their selling prices. As the Strait of Hormuz gradually resumes navigation, market concerns over geopolitical risks have cooled significantly, Brent crude oil prices have fallen sharply, and international thermal coal prices have returned to levels before the conflict broke out. On July 6, Saudi Aramco, the world's largest crude oil producer, drastically reduced the selling price of Arab Light Crude for the Asian market in August, aiming to attract Asian buyers. Multiple international institutions are bearish on oil prices in the second half of the year, with Citi predicting that Brent crude may drop to $60 per barrel by the end of the year. (Securities Times)

Ulvang Lithium: Plans to Invest USD 290 Million in a Lithium Battery Project in Indonesia

36kr learned that Ulvang Lithium announced that the company plans to invest in the construction of a lithium battery project in Indonesia, with a total investment of USD 290 million, to build a new 5GWh cylindrical lithium battery manufacturing project. The project will be implemented by the company through its Hong Kong subsidiary and Indonesian subsidiary, aiming to enhance the ability to guarantee product supply for overseas customers and optimize the global industrial layout. The investment has been reviewed and approved by the board of directors, still subject to the approval of the shareholders' meeting, and the filing or approval of relevant domestic and foreign departments. The project faces risks in policies, approval, and funding, but is expected to have no significant impact on the 2026 revenue and net profit. (36kr)

Company Updates

SK Hynix to List in the U.S., Wall Street Investment Banks' Total Commissions Expected to Reach USD 140 Million

The investment banking team involved in SK Hynix's listing project will reap generous commissions of over USD 100 million. The South Korean chip giant with a market cap exceeding USD 1 trillion is about to land on the U.S. stock market, and this offering is expected to rank among the largest IPOs in history. Two sources familiar with the transaction revealed that the total commission pool for underwriters including Goldman Sachs and Citi on this Nasdaq stock offering may exceed USD 140 million; the commission consists of two parts: a 0.5% base underwriting fee of the total fundraising amount, and a floating incentive bonus paid separately by SK Hynix. (Sina Finance)

Sinopec Signs the Design Contract for Uzbekistan's First Full-Industry-Chain Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Project

According to news on July 8, during the 5th Tashkent International Investment Forum, Ningbo Engineering Co., Ltd. under Sinopec Engineering Group, and Allied biofuels FE LLC of Uzbekistan officially signed the front-end engineering design and detailed design contract for the country's sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project. This signing marks a major breakthrough in Sinopec Engineering's overseas low-carbon new energy business.

This project is the first large-scale full-industry-chain bio-aviation fuel complex in Central Asia, integrating biomass raw material processing, green hydrogen production, sustainable aviation fuel, e-SAF (electro-synthetic aviation fuel), and green diesel production. The project is equipped with large-scale photovoltaic, green hydrogen, and energy storage facilities, with power supply mainly from photovoltaics. Its main raw materials are sorghum, rice husks, and straw, with a planned production capacity of about 160,000 tons of biomass SAF, 250,000 tons of e-SAF, and 5,000 tons of green diesel. The products will meet the demand of the aviation industry in Central Asia and radiate to the Middle East and European markets. (Sinopec Group)

Nestlé to Invest USD 688 Million in a Thailand Hub, Creating 520 New Jobs Thailand has approved a THB 23 billion (equivalent to USD 688 million) investment project by Nestlé (Thailand) Ltd. to build smart factories and distribution centers, helping Thailand become a regional food and beverage manufacturing hub. The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) approved this new plant project on Wednesday, with the site selected in Samut Prakan Province in the central region. The BOI announced on Thursday that the base is scheduled to be put into operation in the fourth quarter of 2028, with an annual output of 170,000 tons of instant Nestlé coffee, compound coffee drinks, and ready-to-drink beverages. (Sina Finance)

Industry Trends

Overseas Revenue of Innovative Drugs Approaches USD 100 Billion in First Half of the Year, Chinese Innovative Drugs See a Leap in Global Industrial Status

In 2026, the scale of China's innovative drug BD (Business Development) overseas transactions continues to surge. Statistics from PharmaHub show that in the first half of 2026, the value of China's innovative drug BD overseas transactions reached USD 99.7 billion, about twice that of 2024 and 73% of 2025. Among them, the total upfront payment of BD outbound licensing transactions is about USD 5 billion, accounting for about 70% of the total of last year. The industry generally expects that the full-year BD transaction value in 2026 is expected to reach a new high. (Securities Times)

UN Global Regulations on Autonomous Driving Officially Take Effect, Creating a Window of Unified Rules for China's Intelligent Driving to Go Global

Recently, major news came from the 199th plenary meeting of the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (UN/WP.29): the globally unified technical regulation for autonomous driving systems (ADS GTR), jointly led by China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Japan, was passed by the vote of all contracting parties and officially released. This set of regulations realizes the breakthrough of a unified global standard for L3 and higher-level autonomous driving from scratch, reconstructs the underlying logic of global intelligent driving supervision, and removes key compliance obstacles for Chinese automakers with mature intelligent driving technologies to go overseas, marking that China's automobile industry has officially moved from exporting products and technologies to a new stage of participating in global rule-making. (China Securities Journal)

New Cosmetic Inglement Regulation Released, Multiple Positive Factors Boost Domestic Beauty Brands' Global Expansion

According to CCTV News, the newly revised *Provisions on the Registration, Filing and Documentation Management of New Cosmetic Ingredients* has been recently released and will come into effect on July 15, as learned from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) today. The new regulation will clear the bottlenecks and difficulties in cosmetic ingredient innovation, and empower the R&D of China's cosmetics industry. Li Yunfeng, Deputy Director of the Cosmetics Supervision Department of the NMPA, stated that the new regulation encourages enterprises to adopt new technologies and methods such as animal alternative testing, reduces technical barriers to international trade, and provides policy support for promoting domestic beauty brands to go global. (Yicai Global)

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Zhejiang Enterprises Global Expansion Comprehensive Service Port", author: Zhejiang Enterprises Global Expansion.