Overseas Expansion Frontline｜16 countries across the globe will participate in the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games; "Zhangxue Motorcycle" has been awa

Overseas Development Milestones

A total of 16 countries worldwide will participate in the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games, with the total number of teams increasing by 138% year-on-year

The 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games will open on August 22 at the National Speed Skating Oval "Ice Ribbon". This event is co-hosted by the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, China Media Group and other institutions. This edition of the competition has attracted 666 teams and 2056 robots from 16 countries across six continents to compete together. The total number of teams has increased by 138% year-on-year, and the number of robots has quadrupled. The total number of competition events has expanded from 26 in the first edition to 51, building a full-dimensional technical "training ground". (CCTV News)

International Energy Agency: Sustained closure of the Strait of Hormuz shocks global oil market

On local time August 12, the Paris-headquartered International Energy Agency released its latest monthly oil market report, stating that the global oil supply and demand have been significantly impacted by the sustained closure of the Strait of Hormuz, high fuel prices and the situation in the Middle East. The IEA forecasts that global oil demand will drop by 1.6 million barrels per day in 2026, 510,000 barrels per day wider than the forecast from last month; global oil supply is expected to decline by 4.3 million barrels per day. The report shows that global oil supply in July rose to 101.5 million barrels per day, but it is still 6.3 million barrels per day lower than the same period last year, of which 8.3 million barrels per day of production in the Gulf region remains interrupted. Global observable oil inventories plunged by 69 million barrels in July, with a cumulative decline of 410 million barrels since the outbreak of the war. (CCTV News)

Expert Symposium on the Construction of the Think Tank Support System for the BRICS Special Economic Zones China Cooperation Center Held

On the morning of August 12, the expert symposium on the construction of the think tank support system for the BRICS Center was held at Zhejiang Gongshang University. Relevant leaders from Zhejiang Gongshang University, Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Social Sciences, Provincial Regional and Country Studies Association, the Secretariat of the BRICS Center, and more than 20 experts from provincial research institutions on BRICS countries and provincial regional and country research centers in Zhejiang Province attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the person in charge of the Secretariat of the BRICS Center introduced the background and construction progress of the BRICS Center. The university leaders of Zhejiang Gongshang University focused on introducing the work of integrating the whole university's resources to participate in the construction of the BRICS Center and the think tank of the "BRICS Countries Research Center". The participating experts conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on BRICS country-specific research, the construction of the think tank support system for the BRICS Center, and the cooperation and promotion of special economic zones among BRICS countries. The leading official in charge of the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Social Sciences stated that efforts will be made in four aspects: "building a good platform, establishing a sound mechanism, cultivating high-quality talents, and providing sufficient support", to support and promote provincial regional and country research centers to participate in the construction of the think tank support system for the BRICS Center. (BRICS Special Economic Zones China Cooperation Center)

New Market Observation

This summer's heatwave in France may cause over 10 billion euros in economic losses

On local time August 12, French Minister of Ecological Transition Monique Barbe stated that the economic impact of climate change is becoming increasingly severe, and the direct and indirect economic losses caused by this summer's heatwave are expected to be significantly higher than those in 2022. Barbe pointed out that the direct and indirect losses caused by the 2022 drought in France were about 5.6 billion euros, a figure that does not yet include socio-economic costs such as damage to the tourism industry and health issues. At present, as this year's extreme high temperature weather has not ended, the final loss is still difficult to accurately estimate. The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies of France preliminarily estimates that the direct and indirect economic losses caused by this summer's heatwave may reach 10 to 15 billion euros. (CCTV News)

China's import dependence on Germany declines, multiple European countries speed up to fill the gap

While Germany's exports to China have fallen into negative growth, exports to China from France, Italy, Hungary and other countries are rising against the trend with double-digit growth rates - China's imports from Europe and the entire map of China-Europe trade are being redrawn. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that from January to June 2026, China's total import and export volume with Europe increased by 18.6% year-on-year, with exports up 14% and imports up 26.3%. During the same period, China's total import and export volume with Germany increased by 7.6% year-on-year, of which exports rose 14.8% while imports shrank by 1.7%. While China's import dependence on Germany is declining, many European countries are accelerating to fill the gap. Preliminary data recently released by Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) also shows that from January to June this year, Germany's exports to China fell by more than 12% year-on-year to slightly less than 37 billion euros, making China drop from Germany's second largest export market in 2021 to its ninth largest market. (Yicai Global)

Foreign capital flows into Japan's chip industry, with investment scale reaching 6 trillion yen

The scale of foreign investment in Japan's chip industry has reached 6 trillion yen (about 37 billion U.S. dollars), and this figure has further expanded as Sony Group and TSMC recently announced the construction of image sensor factories. (CLS.cn)

Corporate Updates

"Zhang Xue Motorcycle" has been awarded the EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval Certificate

Recently, TÜV Rheinland Greater China, an international independent third-party testing, inspection and certification body (hereinafter referred to as "TÜV Rheinland"), announced that the 500RR motorcycle of "Zhang Xue Motorcycle" has obtained the EU WVTA certificate issued by the Luxembourg Ministry of Transport. This is the first EU WVTA certificate obtained by Zhang Xue Motorcycle, marking that this model meets the EU market access requirements and can legally enter EU member states and other countries and regions that recognize WVTA certification. (CCTV News)

AliExpress fully scales up the "Overseas Custodian" model, with more than 20,000 new merchants settled in the first half of the year

According to news on August 13, Jiemian News learned that AliExpress is currently fully scaling up the "Overseas Custodian" cross-border model and accelerating merchant recruitment. In the first half of 2026, more than 20,000 new merchants have settled under the AliExpress Overseas Custodian model. Overseas Custodian is the key cross-border model that AliExpress is currently promoting, which means that sellers are responsible for local stock preparation and delivery; the platform is responsible for full-link operation custody including pricing, marketing, after-sales service, etc. At present, its Overseas Custodian service has covered more than 30 countries and regions around the world. (Jiemian News)

JD Logistics reaches strategic cooperation with Fast Retailing Group to jointly build a global logistics supply chain network

According to "JD Logistics Blackboard News", recently, JD Logistics has reached a strategic cooperation with Fast Retailing Group. The two sides will work together to build a global logistics supply chain network, and comprehensively improve the level of supply chain automation, digitalization and sustainable development. JD Logistics will create an overseas distribution service system for the brands under Fast Retailing Group, helping its e-commerce logistics further reduce costs and increase efficiency. (People's Finance News)

Industry Trends

Solving the difficulties in small currency cross-border settlement, banks launch combined financial services to empower foreign trade enterprises to go global

High costs, difficult remittance, cumbersome intermediate links... At present, domestic foreign trade enterprises in China are continuously exploring the global market, and the demand for cross-border settlement in small currencies continues to rise. However, the previous dual exchange mode of "small currency converted to US dollar first and then to RMB", coupled with the cumbersome procedures for multi-currency settlement and the lack of small currency exchange rate hedging tools, has caused some foreign trade enterprises to be plagued by problems such as high exchange losses and slow capital arrival. Reporters visited foreign trade enterprises and commercial banks in multiple regions and found that the banking industry is launching a combination of cross-border financial services. Since the beginning of this year, a number of banks have launched small currency direct exchange and settlement services, eliminating the US dollar transit link and reducing the exchange cost for enterprises. Some banks, in combination with the needs of enterprises, customize differentiated exchange rate hedging solutions. With the support of multiple parties, the "capillaries" of cross-border finance are being unblocked again. (China Securities Journal)

Cumulative trading volume of China's national carbon emission trading market exceeds 900 million tons

Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment, introduced at the "14th Five-Year Plan Kickoff" series of press conferences held by the State Council Information Office on August 13 that as of the end of July, the cumulative trading volume of the national carbon emission trading market has exceeded 930 million tons, which has effectively promoted green and low-carbon transformation while driving the industry to reduce carbon at low cost. (Xinhua News Agency)

EU new packaging regulation takes effect to reduce environmental pollution and health risks

The new EU regulation on commodity packaging officially came into effect on August 12, aiming to reduce the environmental and health risks caused by packaging waste. The EU hopes to reduce the total amount of packaging waste by 5% by 2030 compared with 2018, and by 15% by 2040. To achieve this goal, the EU stipulates that starting from 2030, producers and importers must ensure the use of as little packaging as possible, and single-use plastic packaging for fresh agricultural products will be banned. EU officials stated that for non-compliant products, member states will prioritize warnings rather than penalties to leave time for enterprises to rectify. Later this year, the European Commission will hold consultations on unified labeling to further facilitate consumers' participation in waste sorting. (Xinhua News Agency)

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Zhejiang Enterprises Overseas Comprehensive Service Port".