MNI China Press Digest Sep 24:Electricity, Tech, Stock Trading

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• China's total electricity consumption rose by 5% y/y to reach 1.01 trillion kWh in August, exceeding the one trillion mark and setting a new high for two consecutive months, Securities Daily reported citing data by National Energy Administration. This was mainly driven by rising consumption in the tertiary industry and by residents as the hot and humid weather came early and lasted longer. Consumption in the secondary industry continued to recover amid pro-growth policy measures, with the 5.5% growth in manufacturing sector driven mainly by steel and building materials, marking the highest monthly consumption so far this year, the newspaper said.
• China will quicken the creation of a number of emerging pillar industries as new growth drivers, and strengthen cutting-edge technology research and development to focus on humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces, metaverse, and quantum information for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China Securities Journal reported citing Li Lecheng, Minister of Industry and Information Technology.
• The number of monthly active users of stock trading apps reached 173 million amid August's A-share rally, a rise of 4% m/m or 27% y/y, marking the highest monthly record in 2025, 21st Century Business Herald reported. The rally is also driving new investors into the market, with the number of new A-share accounts opened last month reaching 2.65 million, an increase of 35% m/m or 165% y/y, according to data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the newspaper said.