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China Daily Brief

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Covering 9 articles

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CMC Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Former Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli Expelled in Historic Military Purge

In an extraordinary shakeup at the summit of China's defense apparatus, the Politburo has expelled Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and former Joint Staff Chief Liu Zhenli from the Party and the military. Handed over for criminal prosecution over factionalism and bribery, the move marks one of the most consequential high-level military purges in decades.

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Top Stories
1

Prominent US and UK software firms, including Harvey, Cursor, and Thinking Machines Lab, are increasingly building commercial tools on open-weight foundations developed by Moonshot AI and DeepSeek. The trend underscores rising international demand for customizable, post-trainable open models over closed proprietary APIs.

2

The Central Committee has appointed Hu Changsheng as Party Secretary of Tibet and transferred Qinghai Party Chief Wu Xiaojun to lead Gansu Province. The moves reflect a coordinated realignment of western regional governance, though successors for vacated posts remain unannounced.

3

China's economic planner has pitched 36 infrastructure and energy projects to private firms, seeking to mobilize 15.6 billion yuan in non-state capital. The initiative spans EV charging grids, rail, and renewables, supported by pledged mechanisms to reduce regulatory friction.

4

Value-added tax records for the first eight months show robust manufacturing expansion, powered by an 18.9 percent increase in high-tech industrial revenue. Surging sales in integrated circuits, smart vehicles, and enterprise digitalization outpaced broader commercial activity.

5

Marking 34 years of China's human spaceflight program, astronaut Yang Liwei praised the Shenzhou-23 crew and highlighted the growth of orbital living quarters from six cubic meters in 2003 to over 120 cubic meters today. Operations aboard the Tiangong space station continue to advance smoothly.


In Brief

Editor's Note
Today's briefing is dominated by a seismic leadership purge at the summit of the Central Military Commission, even as Western AI startups increasingly rely on Chinese open-weight models and Beijing accelerates initiatives to revive private capital investment.
Daily Brief — Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | China Daily Brief - Professional News Curation