The 2026 update of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) further strengthens cough-related content in the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and assessment of asthma. The major updates include refinement of cough-related asthma phenotypes, incorporation of induced sputum differential cell as a diagnostic method for asthma, inclusion of chronic cough-related etiologies in the differential diagnosis of asthma, and the integration of cough symptoms into asthma assessment. The expanded coverage of cough in the GINA 2026 update reflects the growing global attention to cough in asthma, and also highlights GINA's acknowledgment of research achievements from China in this field.