China's CSI 300 index futures (IF) front-month contract fell 0.54% at the morning open; SSE 50 index futures (IH) down 0.10%; CSI 500 index futures (IC) down 0.82%; CSI 1000 index futures (IM) down 0.98%.

NEA director Wang Hongzhi said China’s AI surge is creating sharp electricity demand growth — generating 5 seconds of HD video uses roughly the same power as charging 10 phones. The NEA will implement an electricity-driven compute approach to align energy-resource allocation with data-center construction, advancing compute-power coordination across planning, policy and operations. In planning, western regions will link national compute hubs with large new-energy bases and co-develop compute facilities and power systems; eastern regions will push distributed compute paired with distributed generation, microgrids and virtual power plants for local response. Policy measures will encourage direct green-power connections for qualifying compute facilities and allow participation in green-power certificate trading; operational measures will optimize compute-load scheduling by task-specific demand profiles and flexibility potential.

A magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck northeastern Chiba Prefecture at about 12:46 local time on the 26th. Narita Airport closed two runways from 12:47 and is conducting safety inspections. The Tsukuba Express, linking Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture with Akihabara in Tokyo, suspended full-line service from 12:50; the operator said trains will resume once safety is confirmed.