【Morning Report】600 billion yuan! Central Bank operations today; Meta and AMD reach $60 billion AI chip procurement agreement

Macro News

1. Premier Li Qiang chaired the State Council executive meeting on February 24, outlining arrangements to promptly advance government work after the Spring Festival holiday; the meeting discussed promoting the silver economy and elderly care services; it reviewed and approved the “Opinions on Strengthening Grassroots Firefighting Work”; and discussed and approved in principle the “Water Law of the People’s Republic of China (Revised Draft),” which will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for review.

2. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning hosted a routine press conference yesterday. A reporter asked about U.S. President Trump’s planned visit to China on March 31. Mao Ning stated that high-level diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-U.S. relations, and both sides are maintaining communication regarding Trump’s visit.

3. German Chancellor Merz will pay an official visit to China from February 25 to 26. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said that China highly values its economic and trade cooperation with Germany and is actively preparing for events such as the China-Germany Economic Advisory Committee meeting to provide advice and build a communication platform for enterprises from both sides to seek cooperation.

4. To ensure ample liquidity in the banking system, on February 25, 2026, the People’s Bank of China will conduct a 600 billion yuan Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) operation with a fixed amount, rate-based bidding, and multiple price levels, with a one-year maturity.

5. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce responded to recent U.S. tariff adjustments, stating that China is closely monitoring and will conduct a comprehensive assessment of U.S. measures. Future responses regarding tariffs on U.S. fentanyl and reciprocal tariffs will be decided as appropriate. China reserves the right to take all necessary measures to defend its legitimate rights and interests. China opposes all forms of unilateral tariffs and urges the U.S. to cancel and cease imposing such tariffs.

6. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, hosted a routine press conference yesterday. A reporter asked about a senior U.S. government official’s claim that DeepSeek’s AI model was trained using NVIDIA’s most advanced AI chips, which might violate U.S. export controls. The U.S. believes DeepSeek needs to remove the relevant equipment. Mao Ning stated that China has repeatedly expressed its principled position on the U.S. chip export issues to China.

Industry News

1. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on February 24 the cultural and tourism market during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday. Over nine days, 596 million domestic trips were made nationwide, an increase of 95 million compared to the 8-day 2025 holiday; total domestic tourism expenditure reached 803.483 billion yuan, up 126.481 billion yuan from 2025. Both visitor numbers and spending set new records.

2. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, from 24:00 on February 24, retail prices for gasoline and diesel will be increased by 175 yuan and 170 yuan per ton, respectively. On average nationwide, 92-octane and 95-octane gasoline, as well as zero diesel, will each increase by about 0.14-0.15 yuan per liter. This means filling a 50-liter tank with 92-octane gasoline will cost about 7 yuan more.

3. Reports indicate that Meta has reached an AI device procurement agreement with AMD, planning to deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs. AMD has agreed to sell AI chips to Meta valued at up to $60 billion.

4. During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, Hainan’s offshore duty-free market experienced a shopping peak. Data from Haikou Customs on the 24th showed that during the holiday, offshore duty-free shopping totaled 2.72 billion yuan, a 30.8% increase from last year’s holiday.

5. Liu Qiangdong announced the creation of an independent yacht brand, Sea Expandary, with a planned investment of 5 billion yuan in Guangdong to develop the yacht industry. He hopes to eventually produce yachts costing around 100,000 yuan, making yachts affordable for ordinary workers.

6. The Shanghai Gold Exchange adjusted margin requirements and price limit rules for some contracts. Starting from the close on February 24, 2026, margin ratios for contracts such as Au (T+D), mAu (T+D), Au (T+N1), Au (T+N2), NYAuTN06, and NYAuTN12 were reduced from 21% to 18%. The daily price fluctuation limits were also adjusted from 20% to 17%.

7. Multiple media outlets reported on the 23rd that to facilitate the deployment of dedicated AI satellite networks, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, envisions launching satellites from the Moon using electromagnetic catapults into Earth orbit.

Company News

1. Wen’s Shares released its performance brief, reporting a net profit of 5.235 billion yuan in 2025, a decrease of 43.59% year-over-year.

2. On February 20, 2026, Eastern Time, DJI Innovation officially filed an appeal with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision on December 23, 2025, to place DJI and its products on the “Controlled List.”

3. KaiPuYun announced the termination of its acquisition of 100% equity in Nanning Taike.

4. Tongwei Co. announced plans to acquire 100% equity of Lihua Qingneng, and its stock has been suspended.

5. Sugon released its performance brief, with a net profit of 2.113 billion yuan in 2025, up 11% year-over-year.

6. Huazhi Digital Media announced that the movie “Silent Zephyr” has grossed over 900 million yuan, accounting for more than 50% of its latest fiscal year’s operating revenue.

7. Apple announced that in 2026, it will purchase over 100 million advanced chips produced by TSMC’s Arizona factory.

8. Light Media announced that the film “Flying Past Life 3” has grossed approximately 2.926 billion yuan, with operating income from the film around 43-53 million yuan.

9. Changxin Bochuang plans to acquire a 93.81% stake in Shanghai Honghui Optical Communications Technology, expanding into the upstream of the optical communication industry chain.

10. Dongyang Sunshine announced plans to acquire the controlling stake of “Dongsu No.1,” a company established for the acquisition of Qinhuai Data.

Global Markets

The three major U.S. stock indices all closed higher, with the Nasdaq up 1.04%, the S&P 500 up 0.77%, and the Dow Jones up 0.76%. Most large tech stocks rose, with AMD up over 8%, Intel up over 5%, and Tesla, Netflix, and Apple each up over 2%. PayPal gained a total of 13% over two trading days, the largest increase since 2022. Thomson Reuters rose over 11%, and SaaS giant Salesforce increased 4%. Most major European stock indices closed higher, with Germany’s DAX 30 up 0.04%.

International crude oil futures settled down 1%. WTI April futures fell 1.03%, Brent April futures fell 1.01%.

COMEX gold futures declined 1.12%, closing at $5,166.9 per ounce. COMEX silver futures rose 0.57%, closing at $87.695 per ounce.

Twelve U.S. F-22 fighters departed from the UK on the 24th local time heading to Israel. One returned due to technical issues, while the remaining eleven arrived in Israel and were deployed at an air force base in southern Israel.

Investment Opportunities Reference

1. The global AI investment boom is rapidly boosting the power infrastructure demand for AIDC

Industry media reports that a UK regulatory agency states that the total electricity requested for new data center projects in the UK will exceed the country’s current peak electricity demand.

AVIC Securities notes that the global AI investment surge is driving AIDC’s power infrastructure needs. According to IEA forecasts, from 2025 to 2030, global IT load will increase by a total of 106 GW. Due to differences in grid structures and expansion difficulties across regions, overseas AIDC prefers BYOG (bring your own generator) models for faster deployment, mainly using gas turbines and SOFCs. Whether using grid power or self-generation, the distribution system is key to ensuring efficient and stable power supply. With upgrades in compute chips and servers, AIDC distribution systems are trending toward reduced losses, fewer transformation stages, and better adaptation to power fluctuations. Currently, most AIDC distribution relies on UPS systems, but future HVDC and SST solutions are expected to gradually increase.

2. Explosive growth of AI toy products, becoming the top consumer trend during Spring Festival

Media reports that the Spring Festival shopping spree has propelled AI toys to become the top gift trend. Data from Taobao Tmall’s toy industry shows that during the holiday, sales of AI toys surged 500 times year-over-year during the New Year’s festival, with product supply increasing over 500 times as well. Six products each sold over one million units.

The rise of AI toys results from mature AI technology, accelerated scene-based applications, and consumer upgrades. The shift from children-only to universal AI toys marks the biggest change in the sector over the past year. With rapid iteration of embodied intelligence and large models, not only have dynamic effects of humanoid robots during the Spring Festival Gala seen breakthroughs, but AI toys are now more than just companions for children’s play and learning—they are the new generation of smart toys capable of listening, thinking, and interacting, thanks to AI technology. The Shenzhen Toy Industry Association and JD.com jointly released the “AI Toy Consumer Trends White Paper,” projecting that China’s AI toy market will surpass 10 billion yuan around 2030, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 70%.