A total of 177 enterprises submitted initial public offering (IPO) applications on China's A-share market in the first half of 2025, surpassing the total number of IPO applications for the entire previous year, data disclosed by the three major stock exchanges in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing reported. Specifically, the peak of IPO applications occurred in June, with 150 applications accepted during the month, representing around 85 percent of the total applications received in the first six months of the year. Some industry insiders noted that the surge in IPO applications in June 2025 was driven by both the review deadline and the introduction of favorable policies. It is understood that the financial data included in enterprise IPO application documents remains valid for six months following the latest reporting period. By submitting applications in June, companies can extend the validity period of their filings. Furthermore, the ongoing release of supportive regulatory policies has also encouraged enterprises to initiate or accelerate their IPO processes. On June 18 of this year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released the policies for the reform of the Nasdaq-like STAR Market, proposing to resume the listing of unprofitable enterprises under the fifth set of listing standards for the STAR Market. "A growth tier is added to the STAR Market and the listing of unprofitable enterprises based on the fifth set of listing standards of the STAR Market is restarted. Against this backdrop, some hard-tech enterprises that meet the requirements of scientific and technological innovation and the development of new quality productive force have initiated their applications," explained Li Qiusuo, Chief Domestic Strategy Analyst of the Research Department of China International Capital Corporation (CICC). The IPO applications from companies in the fields of information technology, industrial and materials exceeded 120, accounting for about 70 percent of the total in the first half of the year. It is worth noting that the Beijing Stock Exchange recorded the highest number of IPO applications accepted during the first half of the year, totaling 115, which accounted for approximately 65 percent of the overall volume.
China's IPO pipeline swells in first six months
A video featuring a former member of Unit 731, a notorious Japanese germ-warfare unit during World War II (WWII), was released on Thursday in northeast China's Harbin, revealing details of how the unit used meteorological data to conduct horrific bacterial experiments on human beings.
The video was released by the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, in which former Unit 731 member Tsuruo Nishijima detailed how the unit used meteorological data to carry out a bacterial dispersal experiment.
The video was recorded in 1997 by Japanese scholar Fuyuko Nishisato and donated to the exhibition hall in 2019, according to the hall, which was built on the former site of the headquarters of Unit 731 in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province.
Jin Shicheng, director of the Department of Publicity, Education and Exhibition of the exhibition hall, said that Nishijima joined Unit 731 in October 1938 and served in the unit's meteorological squad. The squad was not a simple observation section but rather an auxiliary force supporting the unit's field human experiments by measuring wind direction, wind speed, and other conditions to ensure optimal experimental results, according to Jin.
Nishijima confirmed in the footage that "the meteorological squad had to be present at every field experiment." He testified to the "rainfall experiments" conducted by Unit 731, which involved aircraft releasing bacterial agents at extremely low altitudes.
At a field-testing site in Anda City, Heilongjiang, Unit 731 aircraft descended to about 50 meters above the ground. They sprayed bacterial culture liquids onto "maruta" -- human test subjects -- who were tied to wooden stakes. Each experiment involved about 30 people, spaced roughly 5 meters apart. After the experiments, the victims were loaded into sealed trucks and transported back to the unit, where their symptoms and disease progression were recorded over a period of several days.
"Unit 731's bacterial weapons were dropped by aircraft from a height of 50 meters in the open air. Therefore, the meteorological squad needed to observe wind direction and speed, which directly affected the precision and accuracy of the bacterial weapons deployment," said Jin.
Nishijima recounted the harrowing experience of the human test subjects.
"They were fully aware that inhaling the substances would certainly lead to death, so they closed their eyes and held their breath to avoid breathing them in. Their resistance prevented the experiment from proceeding. To compel them to comply, they were forced at gunpoint to open their mouths and lift their heads," said Nishijima.
These experiments, disguised as "scientific research," were in fact systematic tests of biological warfare weapons conducted by the Japanese military. The data generated from these inhumane activities became "research findings" shared among the Japanese army medical school, the medical community, and the military at large.
"At that time, the entire Japanese medical community tacitly approved, encouraged, and even participated in the criminal acts of Unit 731. The unit comprised members from Japan's medical and academic sectors who served the Japanese war of aggression against China. Thus, Unit 731 was not just a military unit but represented an organized and systematic criminal enterprise operating from the top down," said Jin.
Unit 731 was a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base established in Harbin as the nerve center for Japanese biological warfare in China and Southeast Asia during WWII.
At least 3,000 people were used for human experiments by Unit 731, and Japan's biological weapons killed more than 300,000 people in China.
Video offers details of Japan's germ-warfare crimes in northeast China
