According to Experts.news, Ukraine increased its imports of transformers, inductors, and chokes by 49% in January–August 2026 compared to the same period last year—to $1.02 billion—with China accounting for nearly 88% of all shipments of these products, according to data from the State Customs Service.
Over the eight-month period, Ukraine imported $890 million worth of transformers, inductors, and chokes from China, accounting for 87.7% of total imports in this product category.
A year earlier, imports from China totaled $563.4 million, or 82.7% of Ukraine’s imports. Thus, over the course of the year, China not only significantly increased the volume of its exports but also raised its share of the Ukrainian market by approximately 5 percentage points.
Turkey and Germany remained other major suppliers. Turkey accounted for about 3% of imports, while a year earlier its share was 2.5%. Germany’s share, conversely, fell from 5.8% to 1.4%.
The growth rate of transformer equipment imports has been gradually slowing throughout 2026. In the first quarter, imports increased by 81% year-over-year; in the first half of the year, by 63%; and from January through August, growth stood at 49%.
In August 2026, Ukraine imported transformers, inductors, and chokes worth $115.7 million, which is 7.7% more than in August of last year.
The high volume of purchases of transformer equipment persists amid the need to restore and modernize Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
In March 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers removed transformers from the list of goods that could be imported on preferential terms under agreements with the EU Secretariat. In May, the European Business Association appealed to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal with a proposal to temporarily exempt certain types of power transformers from import duties and VAT.
At the same time, Ukraine continues to export its own transformers and related electrical equipment. From January through August 2026, the value of these exports totaled nearly $24.8 million, compared to $19.9 million a year earlier. The main export markets were Germany, Poland, and Hungary.
By comparison: for the full year of 2025, Ukraine imported transformers, inductors, and chokes worth $1.12 billion, which was 88% higher than the 2024 figure. Imports from China rose 2.3-fold during that period—to $957.3 million.
Thus, in just the first eight months of 2026, the volume of Ukraine’s imports of these products approached the figure for the entire previous year, and China further solidified its status as a key supplier of transformer equipment to the Ukrainian market.
The Perfect Group plans to launch its own apartment renovation program for homebuyers in October 2026 and intends to import some of the finishing materials for the program directly from China.
The “7 KVARTAL” residential complex will serve as the pilot project, Perfect Group CEO Oleksiy Koval said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. The company is also discussing with banks the possibility of offering loans for apartment renovations.
One of the reasons for launching the program was the sharp rise in the cost of construction work and a shortage of renovation crews. According to the developer’s estimates, labor costs today can account for half the cost of renovations or even exceed the cost of materials.
To reduce costs, Perfect Group has reviewed offers from building materials manufacturers in China and is already arranging its first shipments.
In particular, the company intends to use HPL-like panels, which eliminate the need for some traditional processes such as plastering, wall preparation, painting, or wallpapering. According to the developer’s calculations, this solution should reduce renovation time and costs.
The company is also considering importing other construction products from China, including certain types of rebar and facade solutions. At the same time, Perfect Group believes it is more appropriate to source tiles, laminate flooring, and interior doors from Ukrainian manufacturers.
The group’s in-house production is currently focused primarily on aluminum and metal-plastic windows. Looking ahead, the company also does not rule out launching the production of cabinetry.
Perfect Group has been operating in the Ukrainian real estate market since 1991.
China has updated its defense mobilization legislation, strengthening requirements for industry, technology companies and civilian infrastructure to be prepared to operate for defense needs, the Experts Club information and analytical center reports.
The revised National Defense Mobilization Law was adopted on August 28, 2026, and will take effect on October 1. The document contains 14 chapters and 82 articles, compared with 72 articles in the 2010 version, and provides more detailed mechanisms for shifting the state, economy and society from peacetime to wartime conditions.
One of the key changes is the stronger role assigned to data and technology within the mobilization system. Enterprises given mobilization assignments must reserve not only equipment, materials and components, but also technologies, data and software. Authorities are also required to assess the resilience of production and supply chains, the availability of resources and companies’ ability to rapidly expand production of necessary goods.
Following a mobilization decision, designated companies may be required to fulfill military procurement contracts, switch production to required items or increase output. Suppliers of critical resources would be expected to give priority to defense-related tasks.
China’s industrial capacity makes these mechanisms particularly significant. In 2025, the country’s GDP reached approximately CNY 140.19 trillion, while manufacturing value added amounted to about CNY 34.7 trillion. China produced 34.8 million vehicles, 484.3 billion integrated circuits and 773,000 industrial robots. Research and development expenditure reached CNY 3.93 trillion.
At the same time, adoption of the law does not in itself mean that China has declared mobilization or decided to go to war. Many of the mechanisms were already present in the previous legislation. The reform primarily modernizes the system technologically, clarifies preparedness procedures and potentially reduces the time between a political decision and the industrial implementation of defense tasks.
China’s official defense budget for 2026 stands at CNY 1.94 trillion. According to SIPRI estimates, Chinese military expenditure reached approximately $336 billion in 2025, marking the 31st consecutive year of growth.
For the global economy, China’s increased mobilization readiness matters because of its central role in the production of electronics, batteries, machinery, ships and industrial equipment. In a crisis scenario, changes in supply priorities could affect international supply chains and the availability of components.
The Consulate General of Ukraine in Shanghai has warned Ukrainian citizens of large-scale flooding in Fujian Province in southeastern China, caused by heavy downpours resulting from Typhoon Saudel.
According to the diplomatic mission, intense rainfall has led to flooding in the region. Ukrainians staying in Fujian Province are advised to continuously monitor announcements from local authorities and weather forecasts and to avoid flooded areas, riverbanks and mountainous terrain.
The Consulate also urges people not to attempt to cross flooded roads and to comply with the instructions of local authorities if an evacuation is announced.
In China, the number for calling the police is 110, emergency medical services — 120, and the fire and rescue service — 119.
Ukrainian citizens who find themselves in an emergency due to the natural disaster are asked to contact the hotline of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Shanghai at +86 138 1631 8830.
Fujian is located on the coast of the Taiwan Strait and is regularly affected by tropical cyclones and typhoons, which can cause heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides during the summer-autumn season.
Original source: Consulate General of Ukraine in Shanghai
China was the only G20 country that did not support a number of provisions in the final document of the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the “Group of Twenty,” held August 31–September 1, 2026, in Asheville, North Carolina.
As a result, instead of a joint communiqué agreed upon by all participants, the United States, as G20 chair, issued a chair’s statement. The official document from the U.S. Department of the Treasury states that it was endorsed by all G20 members present, except for China, which opposed four sections.
One of the main points of contention was the issue of global trade imbalances. The text, supported by the other countries, calls on nations to abandon non-market policies and practices that exacerbate imbalances. Countries with excessive and persistent external trade surpluses are urged to eliminate factors that constrain domestic consumption and create excessive dependence of economic growth on exports.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated after the meeting that China was the only dissenting participant. He called China’s current account surplus the largest and “unsustainable” and stated that a non-market economic model that constantly increases the supply of cheap export goods cannot be sustainable.
China also did not support provisions to expand the International Monetary Fund’s role in monitoring global economic imbalances. The other G20 members advocated for strengthening the IMF’s analysis, including an assessment of non-market policies, the factors driving external trade imbalances, and their impact on other economies.
Another point of contention was the Strait of Hormuz. The G20 statement expressed concern over ongoing disruptions to energy trade and emphasized the need for free, safe, and predictable shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and other key maritime routes. China opposed the entire relevant section of the document.
In addition, Beijing disagreed with the section concerning sovereign debt restructuring and the continued application of the G20’s Comprehensive Framework for Addressing the Debt Problems of Developing Countries. An official document from the U.S. Treasury Department explicitly states that China objected to paragraphs 4, 10, 11, and 13 of the statement.
Despite the lack of full consensus, the remaining 19 G20 members supported the approach to reducing global imbalances. Reuters notes that the issue has effectively turned into a debate over China’s export model, industrial subsidies, and the growing supply of Chinese products to global markets.
These disagreements come amid growing concerns from the U.S., the EU, and several other major economies regarding China’s manufacturing capacity and its expanding trade surplus. Western nations fear that a glut of Chinese industrial goods could intensify pressure on local manufacturers and increase dependence on specific supply chains.
The meeting in Asheville marked the second gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors under the U.S. presidency in 2026. Key topics included economic growth, global imbalances, public debt, digital assets, financial literacy, and the state of the global financial system.
The G20 currently comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, China, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey, France, South Africa, South Korea, and Japan.
In addition, the European Union and the African Union are full members of the G20. Thus, following the African Union’s accession in 2023, the G20 effectively comprises 21 members—19 countries and two regional organizations.
According to The Serbian Economist, mass production of humanoid robots officially began on August 29 in Šabac, Serbia, as part of a joint project between the Chinese companies Minth Group and AGIBOT. The Serbian Development Agency (RAS) calls this facility Europe’s first mass-production base for humanoid robots. The first phase of the project is estimated at 20 million euros.
Production is underway at the existing Minth Metal Parts Majur facility in Šabac. The first robot assembled there was assigned a serial number during the opening ceremony, which was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Minth Group founder Qing Zhonghua, and representatives of AGIBOT, the Serbian government, the city of Šabac, and the Serbian Development Agency.
“Today, Serbia has taken a step into the future and demonstrated that it is capable of moving forward at a pace unmatched by many more developed European countries,” Vučić stated at the plant’s opening.
According to the president, in the first phase, the plant expects to assemble more than 5,000 robots per year, and initially, about 200 people will work directly in this new division. In the future, the project is set to transition from assembly to deeper localization of production. Vučić emphasized that he considers it fundamentally important for the robots to bear the “Made in Serbia” label.
The next phase of the project is significantly larger in scale. Minth intends to build the Robotics Industrial Park in Indija, with a total planned investment of approximately 200 million euros. The park is designed to integrate the production of robots, unmanned systems, batteries, and other high-tech components. Once the project is implemented, the stated production capacity could reach 20,000 humanoid robots and robot dogs per year, targeting both the European and global markets.
The project is particularly interesting because the technology is coming to Serbia not from a small experimental company. Minth’s technology partner is the Shanghai-based company AGIBOT Innovation, founded in 2023 and specializing in embodied AI—the combination of artificial intelligence with robots capable of perceiving their surroundings, making decisions, and performing physical tasks.
According to research firm Smart Analytics Global, global shipments of humanoid robots totaled approximately 19,100 units in the first half of 2026, an increase of 272% compared to the previous year. AGIBOT shipped approximately 8,400 robots and captured 44% of the global market, ahead of Unitree Robotics, which held a 31% share. Thus, the Serbian project’s technology partner is currently the world’s largest supplier of humanoid robots in terms of shipment volume.
AGIBOT already has its own production facility in Shanghai. The company produced its first 1,000 general-purpose robots in early 2025, and by mid-2026, total production had reached 15,000 units, according to RAS.
The second project participant—Minth Group—is significantly older and larger. The company was founded by Qin Junhua in the 1990s and is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automotive components. Minth is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the ticker 0425.HK and specializes in body panels, exterior automotive components, aluminum parts, and battery casings.
According to the group’s own data, as of the end of 2025, it had 27,400 employees, approximately 80 factories and offices in 15 countries across four continents.
Another component of the emerging cluster is expected to be the battery industry. Vučić stated that the first agreements are planned to be signed with Reliance regarding a battery plant in Indija worth approximately 100.5 million euros. This project is expected to be linked to a future robotics and unmanned systems park.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3563
