【Epoch Times July 31, 2026】Epoch Times combs through must-read articles for readers every day:
1.
Zhou Xiaohui: Personnel issues are the focus of the Fifth Plenary Session scheduled for October
According to reports from state-run Chinese media, the Politburo of the Communist Party of China held a meeting on July 30 and decided to convene the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Beijing in October this year. The main agenda includes the report of the Politburo to the Central Committee, and discussions on advancing the comprehensive and strict governance of the Party on several major issues. The news release mentioned the emphasis on “adhering to and strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party.”
2.
Investigation: Some American media personnel secretly receiving funding from Beijing
Foreign agent documents in the United States reveal that organizations affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party have planned to invite American media personnel to China for free trips, with the aim of spreading positive messages from Beijing.
3.
Xi’an woman dies during examination, anesthetist accused of playing with a phone throughout
A 37-year-old woman in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province died during an examination at a local hospital. Her husband stated that surveillance footage showed the anesthetist playing with a phone almost the entire time. This incident has sparked heated discussions online.
4.
Chinese manufacturing sector contracts, official July three major PMIs all fall below 50
On July 31, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed that the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in July dropped from 50.3 in June to 49.2, below market expectations and the first time falling into contraction territory since February this year. During the same period, the non-manufacturing business activity index dropped to 49.0, and the composite PMI output index fell to 49.3, both falling below the boom-bust line, indicating a simultaneous slowdown in China’s manufacturing and service activities.
5.
Fear of military leaks? Six departments of the CCP ban sales of retired equipment
The Chinese Communist Party, the military, public security, and other six departments jointly ordered to prohibit related sales, assembly, and marketing activities. The notice directly mentioned “military secret security risks,” exposing loopholes in the disposal of military equipment by the CCP army, from scrapping and disassembly to flowing into the market.
6.
CCP rigorously checks state-owned enterprise employees’ families and personal information, triggering backlash
Since March this year, some state-owned enterprises under the CCP have been investigating employees’ close relationships, employment status, personal travel records, educational arrangements, and requesting information on their educational experiences from elementary school onwards as well as “references.” Retired personnel revealed that apart from monitoring cadres, state-owned enterprises are also probing the family relationships and personal information of ordinary grassroots employees. This kind of scrutiny has expanded to employees’ close relatives and personal lives, displaying characteristics of human rights violations.
7.
China’s medical insurance expenditure exceeds 3 trillion yuan, “working-to-retire ratio” drops to 2.6
In 2025, China’s basic medical insurance fund expenditure exceeded 3 trillion yuan for the first time, with the ratio of working medical insurance personnel to retirees dropping to 2.6. The number of retirees continues to increase, leading to companies downsizing, reducing salaries, and shrinking job opportunities, causing changes in medical insurance payment bases. Interviewees mentioned that the CCP is avoiding the gap between internal and external protection, instead shifting the costs of economic decline and aging population onto ordinary employees, flexible workers, and the younger generation.
8.
Australian think tank: CCP’s loans to the Pacific region continue to decrease
According to the latest report from an Australian think tank, Beijing’s large-scale loans to the Pacific region continue to decline. Concurrently, the Australian government is gradually becoming the largest official development finance provider in the Pacific region through aid, concessional loans, and infrastructure financing worth billions of Australian dollars. Australia is also playing an increasingly important role in regional infrastructure investments.
9.
China’s Five Mining Group former general manager Guo Wenqing falls from power, former subordinate of Li Zhanshu
Guo Wenqing, the former general manager of China MinMetals Corporation, fell from grace suddenly two years after retirement. Guo had connections with Li Zhanshu, the former Chairman of the National People’s Congress, during his early career in Hebei.
10.
Chinese Canadian woman implicated in NATO spy case, more details revealed
According to CBC investigation, a Chinese Canadian woman named Claire Z., who is suspected of engaging in espionage activities while interning at NATO’s military headquarters, is likely Biwei Zhang. She is a systems engineer with an economics background who, before interning at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium, is believed to have worked in several Canadian government agencies.
11.
Zhong Yuan: Political Bureau meeting tone down, new variables added to Beijing’s political landscape?
On July 30, the Politburo of the CCP met to analyze the economic situation, significantly downgrading the assessment of the work in the first half of the year. The meeting confirmed the convocation of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP in October to discuss issues related to “strictly governing the Party,” stating that “Party construction” is facing “prominent problems.” It is widely believed that the Fifth Plenary Session will lay out the high-level personnel arrangements for the CCP’s 21st National Congress, and the statements from the Political Bureau meeting seem to introduce new variables.
12.
Luxury brand Hermes predicts changes in the Chinese market through pork prices
Luxury giant Hermès announced its second-quarter financial report on July 29, with Chairman Axel Dumas stating that he measures the consumption of luxury goods in China by observing pork prices in China. As pork prices hit nearly a decade low, the Chinese economy and consumer confidence remain quite weak.
13.
Chinese man hides Party membership, arrested in the U.S., experts urge early disassociation from the CCP
A Chinese man who concealed his membership in the CCP and 17 years of military service was arrested on the spot when entering the U.S. on a 10-year visa recently, revealing the tightening scrutiny on overseas Chinese identities. Analysts point out that in recent years, the U.S. has been strengthening investigations into backgrounds associated with the CCP, calling on Chinese people to recognize the nature of the CCP and cut ties early with appropriate documentation.
14.
Deadliest earthquake in nearly 50 years, not just about magnitude but life and death
Over the past 50 years, the world has experienced several devastating earthquakes. From the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the severe earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in 2023, an earthquake could claim tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of lives in just seconds.
15.
Death of a little girl reveals abnormally low clinical threshold for genetic editing in China
A 6-year-old girl died after undergoing experimental genetic editing therapy. Industry insiders state that the threshold for such experiments in China is unreasonably low, with researchers able to advance controversial clinical trials as long as research-based hospitals in China approve them.