The State Council Safety Commission has issued a notice concerning two firework explosion accidents and has deployed comprehensive safety supervision measures across the entire supply chain. China Railway's 12306 platform has cumulatively sold 298 million tickets for the Spring Festival travel period. The total box office revenue for 2026 has surpassed 60 billion yuan, with the Spring Festival holiday movie earnings, including pre-sales, exceeding 34 billion yuan. Canada's trade deficit widened significantly in 2025, indicating reduced reliance on the United States.
Domestically, the State Council Safety Commission released a circular analyzing major accidents at fireworks retailers in Jiangsu and Hubei provinces. The notice outlined prominent safety issues and mandated enhanced supervision over the fireworks industry, particularly focusing on sales and ignition stages. Authorities were urged to learn from these incidents, conduct immediate inspections, and implement measures to prevent further accidents, ensuring stability during the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.
China State Railway Group reported that on February 20, railways nationwide were expected to transport 15 million passengers, with 1,469 additional trains scheduled. On February 19, passenger volume reached 13.539 million, with operations remaining safe and orderly. As of 8:00 AM on February 20, the 12306 platform had sold 298 million tickets for the Spring Festival travel rush.
According to online platform data, as of 3:07 PM on February 20, the total annual box office for 2026, including pre-sales, exceeded 60 billion yuan. The Spring Festival holiday movie revenue surpassed 34 billion yuan, with "Pegasus 3," "Awakening Silence," and "Boonie Bears: Forever" ranking as the top three films.
Data from the comprehensive transport coordination team for the Spring Festival period showed that on February 19, the 18th day of the travel rush, cross-regional passenger flow reached 339.411 million人次, a 5.1% increase from the previous day and an 11.6% rise compared to the same period in 2025.
The State Administration for Market Regulation announced that during the Spring Festival holiday, local market regulators intensified inspections in key areas, strengthened supervision, and enforced responsibilities to combat illegal activities, ensuring food safety. Focus was placed on major supermarkets, wholesale markets, and festival fairs, with particular attention to holiday food items and key entities such as food producers and banquet caterers. Inspections and undercover checks were conducted to ensure compliance, with over 500,000 inspections carried out in the first three days of the holiday.
The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors reported that in 2025, China issued 1,077.88 billion yuan in green bonds, with the outstanding amount reaching 2,415.48 billion yuan by year-end. The structure of the green bond market remained stable, with green financial bonds surging 129.1% and green corporate credit bonds growing 15.9%. Secondary market turnover for green bonds approached 1.2 trillion yuan, up 78.8% year-on-year, with an average turnover rate of 57.1%, indicating stable market activity compared to 2024.
According to SWIFT's monthly report released on February 19, the Chinese yuan accounted for 3.13% of global payments by value in January 2026, ranking fifth worldwide, up one spot from December 2025. Yuan payment values increased 11.44% month-on-month, while overall payments in all currencies decreased 2.68%.
Internationally, NASA released an investigation report on Boeing's "Starliner" crewed test flight, classifying it as a Category A accident—the most severe—due to spacecraft malfunctions that stranded astronauts on the International Space Station. NASA stated the classification resulted from the spacecraft's loss of maneuverability during docking and associated economic losses.
Statistics Canada data showed the country's merchandise trade deficit widened significantly to 31.3 billion Canadian dollars in 2025, the largest since 2020. This marked the third consecutive year of trade deficits, following deficits of 933 million dollars in 2023 and 7.2 billion dollars in 2024.
The European Central Bank imposed a 12.18 million euro administrative fine on JPMorgan's European subsidiary for violating reporting rules and providing incorrect capital requirement information. This is reported to be the largest fine ever issued by the ECB.
S&P Global data indicated the eurozone's composite Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.9 in February, remaining above the 50-point threshold for the 14th consecutive month and hitting a three-month high.
Greek officials announced that the "Lighthouse" artificial intelligence platform project is set to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2026, providing computing power, data, and technical support to startups, universities, and research institutions to foster AI innovation.
Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported the core Consumer Price Index, excluding fresh food, rose 2.0% year-on-year to 112.0 in January, marking the 53rd consecutive month of increase.
A JPMorgan Chase Institute report highlighted that U.S. mid-sized businesses have been severely impacted by tariffs, with their monthly tariff expenses tripling since early 2025. The report noted a sharp increase starting April 2025, peaking at around three times pre-April levels by August, with expenditures remaining high thereafter.
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