8:00 36Kr | Is Xiaohongshu "failed to get listed due to reports"? Police: The rumormonger has been placed under administrative detention; Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States starting from September 8; The starting salaries of multiple higher vocational majors exceed those of some undergraduate majors.

Today's Hotspot Guide

• DeepSeek adjusts its peak-valley billing rules, and applies off-peak period prices for the entire day on weekends
• TikTok will pay 400 million US dollars to reach a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice
• Alibaba plans to place new shares worth 80 billion Hong Kong dollars, with all proceeds invested in AI construction
• Minsheng Life responds to the rumor that it dismissed employees with incompatible zodiac signs
• The box office of the film "The Bull Comes" has exceeded 40 million yuan

TOP 3 Major News

Is Xiaohongshu's IPO Failure Caused by Reports? Police: Rumormonger Has Been Placed Under Administrative Detention

Recently, an enterprise in Huangpu District, Shanghai reported to the Huangpu police that a self-media blogger released false posts claiming that "a well-known enterprise failed to go public", which caused negative impacts on the company's reputation. After receiving the report, the cyber security department of Huangpu Public Security Sub-bureau launched an investigation immediately and locked the account operator Mo. According to the investigation, Mo saw the information about the relevant company's litigation disputes online, and out of the mentality of attracting public attention, he fabricated the statement of "the enterprise's failed IPO" without verifying the authenticity of the information, and then published the content on a securities investment platform. The relevant posts were cited and reposted by self-media accounts on social platforms, causing certain adverse effects. Eventually, Mo was lawfully sentenced to administrative detention by the Huangpu police for the illegal act of disrupting public order by fabricating facts. At the same time, he was ordered to delete the relevant content and make a public clarification. Reporters from Beijing News Shell Finance verified from multiple sources that the involved platform enterprise is Xiaohongshu. In late July, there were many rumors claiming that "Xiaohongshu had secretly submitted its IPO application before the end of June", but the process was blocked due to a former employee's report on its "listing compliance" issues. In response to the incident, Xiaohongshu stated that all the currently circulating information related to its IPO is untrue. (Beijing News)

Canada: To impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States starting from September 8

On local time August 22, Canadian Prime Minister Carney delivered a national televised speech to fully elaborate Canada's position on the breakdown of Canada-US trade negotiations. Carney announced that given the United States has imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian goods worth 20 billion U.S. dollars, Canada's equivalent retaliatory tariff plan will officially take effect and be implemented on September 8. Carney said the countervailing tariffs will cover multiple sectors including dairy products, steel, home appliances, pulp and papermaking, and electronic products. Earlier reports noted that U.S. President Trump signed multiple proclamations on July 20, imposing an additional 50% tariff on hundreds of specific commodities imported from Canada including red wine, hockey sticks and cement, in accordance with Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. (CCTV News)

Starting Salaries of Multiple Higher Vocational Majors Surpass Those of Some Undergraduate Majors

According to data from MyCOS Research, a research institution focusing on higher education management data, the average monthly income of 2025 undergraduate graduates is 6435 yuan, while that of higher vocational college graduates is 4882 yuan. If we compare the top 10 highest-earning major categories in higher vocational education with the bottom 10 lowest-earning major categories in undergraduate education, it can be found that the monthly income of the top 7 higher vocational major categories half a year after graduation has exceeded that of the 6 lowest-ranked undergraduate major categories. These 7 major categories are Thermal Energy and Power Engineering, Railway Transportation, Chemical Technology, Electromechanical Equipment, Non-metallic Materials, Mechanical Design and Manufacturing, and New Energy Power Generation Engineering respectively. Among them, the Thermal Energy and Power Engineering category, which has the highest starting salary among all higher vocational major categories, sees its 2025 cohort graduates' average monthly income reach 5840 yuan, exceeding 13 undergraduate major categories. The second-ranked is the Railway Transportation category, whose 2025 cohort graduates have an average monthly income of 5751 yuan, exceeding 11 undergraduate major categories. (Yicai)

Cutting-edge AI Frontiers

DeepSeek adjusts peak-valley billing rules, all hours on weekends are charged at off-peak prices

DeepSeek announced that it will adjust its peak-valley billing rules starting from 00:00 on August 23 (Sunday). After the adjustment, there will be no distinction between peak and off-peak periods throughout weekends (Saturday and Sunday), and all invocation fees will be charged at the unified off-peak hour rate. The original segmented peak-valley billing policy will remain in effect on workdays (Monday to Friday). Fees generated before the new rule takes effect will still be settled according to the original billing standard. (Jiemian News)

OpenAI Cuts API Pricing of GPT-5.6 Sol Model by Over 20%

On August 21 local time, OpenAI officially announced in its developer community that the API and credit pricing of the GPT-5.6 Sol model will be lowered by more than 20% in the next three months. The model is now available via API, and will be gradually opened to eligible ChatGPT Work and Codex credit packages. The usage prices for Pro, Plus and Business subscribers remain unchanged. (Jiemian News)

Anthropic Hires Founder of Google's Custom Chip Project to Prepare for Its Foray into Self-Developed Semiconductors

Anthropic has hired Amir Salek, founder of Google's custom chip project, to prepare this AI lab for its entry into the self-developed semiconductor field. Anthropic said on Friday that Salek will join its computing power team and report to James Bradbury. Salek was in charge of Google's Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) business until 2022 and participated in the launch of the first seven generations of TPU chips. Anthropic currently purchases chips from multiple suppliers including NVIDIA, Google and Amazon, but has recently shown the willingness to build its own chip business. Its competitor OpenAI is also taking similar actions. The ChatGPT developer has released the Jalapeno chip co-developed with Broadcom, and plans to start using it later this year. (CLS)

Major Companies / Major Events

TikTok to Pay $400 Million to Settle with the U.S. Department of Justice

On August 21 local time, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has reached a $400 million settlement agreement with TikTok, ByteDance and its affiliated entities (collectively referred to as "TikTok") to resolve the litigation concerning its compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing rules (COPPA). Under the settlement agreement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately, and pay an additional $100 million after the court revokes the prior consent decree issued against Musical.ly, the predecessor of TikTok. This settlement is one of the largest penalty amounts ever obtained in a COPPA case. The litigation was initiated in August 2024. At that time, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission jointly sued TikTok Inc., ByteDance Ltd. and their affiliated entities, accusing them of allowing children to create regular TikTok accounts even when they knew the users were under the age of 13, and collecting and retaining personal information without notifying parents or obtaining parental consent. (Yicai Global)

Senior executives of Dreame Auto have intensively started external job hunting, and a large number of project employees have resigned or been laid off

Recently, Yicai conducted an on-site visit to the office area of Dreame Auto in Suzhou, and a large number of workstations on the 9th to 11th floors were in an idle state. An internal employee Li Da (pseudonym) stated that the number of the company's employees reached 700 to 800 at the peak, and about three quarters of the workstations on the 9th floor were occupied by working colleagues. At present, the Starry Sky Project is proceeding with layoffs in accordance with the layoff list for August, and such layoff operations started more than two months ago, with roughly 25% of staff cut in each round. Sheng Jinlong, General Manager of Suzhou Zhaorui Talent Management Consulting Co., Ltd., told Yicai that a large number of Dreame Auto employees have been applying for jobs online since May this year, with more than 20 candidates at the director level alone. It has been less than one year since Dreame high-profile announced its cross-border entry into the automobile manufacturing sector last August. (Yicai)

China Eastern Airlines App Adds New Overbooking Voluntary Seat Surrender Option With RMB 50 Instant Discount: Passengers Need to Give Up Their Seats in Case of Overbooking

According to Kuai Technology's report on August 23, China Eastern Airlines App recently launched a new ticket purchasing option: when users buy economy class air tickets, an optional item marked "Voluntarily surrender seat under overbooking for RMB 50 instant discount" will appear on the payment page. By voluntarily checking this option, the ticket price will be directly reduced by 50 RMB, while passengers need to accept the corresponding travel constraints. According to the prompt inside the App, passengers who check this option will become overbooking volunteers of the flight. Once the flight is overbooked, passengers need to cooperate with the airline's itinerary adjustment arrangements.

The prompt also clarifies that once the selection is confirmed, it cannot be revoked, nor can it be unsubscribed separately. Passengers can get corresponding compensation in accordance with China Eastern Airlines' overbooking service plan. (Kuai Technology)

Box office of the film *Niu Lai* exceeds 40 million yuan

According to data from the Beacon Professional Edition, the film *Niu Lai* crossed the 40 million yuan box office mark on the evening of August 22. *Niu Lai* was released on August 5, posting a box office of 342 yuan on its premiere day and 7,711 yuan 10 days after release. After being widely ridiculed for its shoddy production, it unexpectedly triggered a nationwide upsurge of curious onlookers. On August 15, the total box office and screening sessions of *Niu Lai* skyrocketed. Its box office exceeded 20 million yuan on August 18, and surpassed the 30 million yuan threshold on August 20. At present, AI forecasts that its total box office will exceed 60 million yuan. (Blue Whale News)

Alibaba plans to place new shares worth HK$80 billion, all of which will be invested in AI development

Alibaba announced that it intends to place new shares to non-U.S. persons outside the United States, with a total placement amount of HK$80 billion. This is the first new share placement launched by Alibaba since its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2019. 100% of the net proceeds from this placement will be used to invest in full-stack AI capabilities, strengthen AI infrastructure construction, and further consolidate Alibaba's global leading position in the AI sector. (Dahe Finance Cube)

Minsheng Life Insurance Responds to Rumors of Dismissing Employees With Incompatible Chinese Zodiac Signs

Recently, a leaked screenshot circulating online shows that the chairman of Minsheng Life Insurance has laid off all employees whose Chinese zodiac signs are incompatible with his own. Other reports claim that employees who have worked for many years will also be dismissed if their educational background does not meet the first-tier university admission standard. In response, the customer service team of Minsheng Life Insurance stated that the company has completed evidence preservation for the defamatory content on the internet. For institutions or individuals that fabricate and spread such false information, the company will pursue their legal responsibilities through judicial channels. It reminds the general public to verify the authenticity of online information, refrain from believing rumors and do not spread them. All information of the company shall be subject to the officially released content. (Chinanews)

Tesla, Geely, XPeng, Dongfeng, Xiaomi and other automakers have launched vehicle recalls over safety hazards related to door handles

Recently, according to the announcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation, a number of car enterprises have recalled multiple car models due to door handle safety issues, including FAW, BAIC BluePark, Dongfeng Motor, Chery, Geely, XPeng, Leapmotor, Tesla and so on. The main reason for this recall of multiple models by car manufacturers is the door handle. The specific problem is: since the emergency mechanical pull handle inside the vehicle is close to the interior trim in color, it is not easy to identify and operate. In extreme scenarios such as a severe collision that causes the failure of the vehicle's low-voltage system, it may prevent drivers and passengers from quickly opening the door to escape and hinder the rescue of personnel outside the vehicle, posing safety risks. (CLS)

The tour logo of Teens in Times is alleged to be highly similar to the F1 trademark, and F1's legal team has intervened in the investigation

According to a report by Beiqing Entertainment, as the tour logo of Teens in Times is highly similar to the F1 trademark and suspected of infringement, the F1 legal team has officially filed an investigation into the incident. Times Fengjun has urgently blurred the logo that appeared in the official filmed videos of the concert. The logo of the racing-themed tour of Teens in Times is pointed out to be highly similar to the Formula 1 trademark. The official F1 stated in a letter that after receiving reports from global racing fans, it has transferred the case to its global brand protection legal team and set up a special investigation team to assess the losses caused by the infringement. (Yicai)

Zhu Bingren Copper Accessories Blame "Sweat" for Fading, Founder Issues Apology

Recently, a number of consumers have reported fading problems with Zhu Bingren copper accessories. A video stating that "a copper accessory worth hundreds of yuan faded after being worn for only one month, and the founder of Zhu Bingren Copper responded that 'your sweat is different from that of ordinary people'" has attracted huge public attention. In the video, parts of the front and back of a small copper "little mouse" pendant are exposed in silvery white. On August 21, Zhu Junmin, founder and chairman of Zhu Bingren Copper, said in an interview with Tide News that "the response circulating online is a line from a popular science video we shot more than a year ago, which was taken out of context and misused by others." But Zhu Junmin acknowledged that the "little mouse" product with quality defects shown in the video is indeed a product of Zhu Bingren Copper. In this regard, Zhu Junmin issued an apology and said the company is willing to take remedial measures. (JIEMIAN News)

Tongcheng Travel Completes the Acquisition of Dida Travel

On August 21, Tongcheng Travel released an announcement stating that it has completed the tender offer for Dida Travel. According to the announcement, Tongcheng Travel received a total of 910,755,954 validly accepted shares, accounting for approximately 88.74% of Dida Travel's total issued share capital. After the completion of the acquisition, Dida Travel will maintain independent brand and operation. Tongcheng Travel stated that it plans to keep Dida Travel's listing status on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange unchanged. (China Finance News Service)

Power failure in the server room has rendered the online functions of the car owner's APP unavailable, and Dongfeng Nissan has issued an apology

On August 23, Dongfeng Nissan released an apology announcement. The announcement stated that due to the power failure of the server room, online functions such as the car owner's APP login and remote control are unavailable at present. The team is making all-out efforts to carry out emergency repairs and strive to restore services as soon as possible. This unexpected situation will not affect the normal driving of vehicles. It is recommended that car owners carry their physical keys with them to ensure normal travel. In case of emergency, please call the dealership immediately, and the service staff will assist with the handling. You will be notified as soon as the functions are restored. (Yicai)

Taikang Insurance Group appoints President Liu Tingjun as CEO, Chairman Chen Dongsheng no longer holds the concurrent post

On August 22, 2026, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its establishment, Taikang Insurance Group announced the adjustment of its governance structure: Mr. Chen Dongsheng, the founder and chairman, will no longer concurrently serve as Chief Executive Officer. He will return to and focus on the company's strategy, team, risk control, culture and decision-making of major matters, and continue to play a core leading role; Mr. Liu Tingjun, the president of the company, is appointed as the Chief Executive Officer. (Jiemian News)

Apple Plans to Lay Off Over 200 Employees From Its Siri and Vision Pro Teams

According to reports, Apple Inc. will cut staff in the Siri and Vision Pro teams, involving more than 200 positions. Apple stated in a statement that these adjustments are made to "drive business development and deliver the best experience to users", and the company will also create new positions at the same time. (Jiemian News)

News has emerged that Nvidia servers are facing price hikes, with the increase expected to exceed 15%

Citing people familiar with the matter, multiple media outlets disclosed that many of "Nvidia's largest customers" have been notified that due to the soaring cost of memory chips, the prices of servers equipped with Nvidia's artificial intelligence chips will rise, and the increase will exceed 15% in most scenarios. This round of price increase will apply to systems shipped in early next year, including servers equipped with the Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chip combination. The specific increase range will depend on the Nvidia chips used and the memory configuration adopted by the servers. (CLS)

The United States to Pay USD 725 Million in Arrears of Contributions to the United Nations

According to CCTV News reporters' information on August 21 local time, a notification from the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress shows that the Trump administration has launched the procedure of paying 725 million U.S. dollars to the United Nations to pay off part of the membership fees the United States owes to the UN. The payment is expected to be completed before Trump goes to New York to attend the UN General Assembly and deliver a speech next month. However, the 725 million U.S. dollars is less than 20% of the total amount of U.S. arrears. (CCTV News)

Gram price of gold jewelry is approaching 1400 yuan

On August 22, spot gold saw a 1.86% increase, reaching $4603.25 per ounce. Comparisons of domestic gold jewelry prices show that the domestic pure gold ornament prices released by a number of gold and jewelry brands on that day were raised from the previous day: Laofengxiang quoted 1388 yuan per gram, up 32 yuan in a single day; Lao Miao Gold quoted 1391 yuan per gram, up 34 yuan in a single day; Chow Sang Sang quoted 1387 yuan per gram, up 22 yuan in a single day. (Jiemian News)

Zhang Jianping made major position adjustments in the second quarter: he withdrew from the top ten shareholders of two resource stocks and became the new 9th largest shareholder of Innolight

With the continuous disclosure of 2026 semi-annual reports of listed companies, the shareholding trend of "star retail investor" Zhang Jianping has gradually become clear. According to statistics from reporters of Securities Times, as of now, Zhang Jianping (the possibility of duplicate names is not excluded) newly became the 9th largest shareholder of Innolight in the second quarter, and withdrew from the top ten shareholders of multiple stocks at the same time. The semi-annual report of Innolight shows that Zhang Jianping newly joined as the 9th largest shareholder, holding 5.9348 million shares. Calculated based on the closing price of 1270 yuan per share of Innolight on June 30, the market value of Zhang Jianping's stock holdings exceeds 7.5 billion yuan. In addition, Zhang Jianping also withdrew from the top ten shareholders of multiple stocks in the second quarter, including Sichuan Gold, Northern Rare Earth, Dongcai Technology, etc. At the end of the first quarter, Zhang Jianping appeared in the top ten shareholders of many resource stocks, in addition to the aforementioned Sichuan Gold and Northern Rare Earth, there was also Western Material, whose semi-annual report has not been disclosed yet. (Securities Times)

Large Company Financial Reports

Sinopec: Net profit of 25.6 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 19.3% year on year

36Kr learned that Sinopec has released its 2026 interim performance report. In accordance with the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises in China, the company achieved an operating revenue of 1.4366 trillion yuan, and the net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 25.6 billion yuan, up 19.3% year on year. Meanwhile, the company focuses on shareholder returns. The board of directors has decided to distribute an interim dividend of 0.105 yuan per share, with a cash dividend payout ratio of 49.5%. The company has implemented share repurchases at home and abroad for five consecutive years, and actively safeguards corporate value and shareholder interests.

Jiangling Motors: Net profit attributable to shareholders in the first half of the year reached 739 million yuan, up 0.83% year on year

According to 36Kr, Jiangling Motors released its 2026 semi-annual report. The company achieved an operating revenue of 19.362 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 7.02%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 739 million yuan, up 0.83% year on year; the basic earnings per share was 0.86 yuan per share.

East Buy Fiscal 2026 Performance: Self-operated Products GMV Accounts for More Than Half of the Total

According to the news on August 22, the FY2026 performance report released by East Buy shows that the total revenue of the fiscal year increased by 36.3% year on year. In this fiscal year, East Buy's gross profit stood at 2 billion yuan, up 45.2% year on year, and its operating profit reached 660 million RMB. As of May 31, 2026, the total GMV of East Buy hit 10.2 billion yuan, among which the GMV contributed by self-operated products was 5.4 billion yuan, accounting for around 52.6% of the total GMV. During the reporting period, East Buy launched a total of 1009 self-operated products. Sun Jin, Executive President of East Buy, stated that the R&D and new product launch of self-operated products will continue to accelerate in the new fiscal year. This year, East Buy has opened new live streaming studios in Hangzhou, including accounts for self-operated apparel, self-operated food, and self-operated personal care and cosmetics. The Hangzhou base completed leasing and renovation two months ago. (Jiemian News)

IPO in Progress

Shein's Hong Kong IPO pricing range is HK$47.6 - HK$49.5

36 Kr has learned from the announcement Shein submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company has launched its global offering, with an initial total of 279,992,500 Class B shares to be offered. Among them, 27,999,300 shares are for Hong Kong public offering, accounting for around 10%, and 251,993,200 shares are for international offering, accounting for around 90%. The offering price range is HK$47.60 to HK$49.50 per share, with each trading lot consisting of 100 shares. The shares are expected to start trading on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on September 1, 2026.

Cool Products

Tesla's fully autonomous electric vehicle Cybercab launch event is scheduled

Tesla announced on social platforms that it will hold the Cybercab launch event in Austin, Texas, the United States on September 3, 2026. It is understood that in April this year, Tesla's fully autonomous electric vehicle Cybercab was officially put into production in North America. The company stated that the vehicle is AI-powered and requires no steering wheel, pedals or rearview mirrors. (CLS)

Humanoid Robot Surpasses the Men's 400m World Record Held by Human Beings

The 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games decided the champion of the 400m event on the afternoon of August 23. In the final of the 400m (large-size group) event, Tiangong Robot won the championship with an on-site displayed result of 38.15 seconds. This result has exceeded the human men's 400m world record of 43.03 seconds, and also refreshed the record of this event. The runner-up and the third place were both taken by Honor's robot teams, which are Speed Chaser Zai Zai (39.45 seconds) and Jinghong Power Team (39.66 seconds) respectively. The champion of this event last year was won by Gaoyi Technology (equipped with Unitree H1 robot) with a result of 1 minute 28.03 seconds (88.03 seconds), and the speed increase of this year's champion is quite remarkable. (Yicai Global)

Edited | Chang Yi