The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of China today released the first batch of licenses for imported games in 2024, with 32 games receiving approval. Tencent Games secured licenses for two Nintendo Switch games, including the 3D adventure game Kirby and the Forgotten Land and the drum rhythm game Taiko no Tatsujin. NetEase’s subsidiary Boltrend Games obtained approval for the role-playing game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, while ByteDance’s gaming arm Nuversen gained approval for the action game World Trigger: Borderless Mission. From 2021 to 2023, the imported game approvals for the past three years were 76, 44, and 98, respectively. [NPPA, in Chinese]

Chinese display manufacturer BOE surpassed Samsung Display to become the industry leader in the foldable display sector, representing a 42% market share in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to display supply chain consulting firm DSCC. On the flip side, Samsung Display experienced a notable decline, dropping from 76% in the third quarter to 36% in the fourth quarter of 2023, which was its largest quarterly decrease since the first quarter of 2021. This marks the end of Samsung’s reign in the global OLED foldable market over the past five years, the report said. DSCC analysis indicates that BOE’s surge was primarily attributed to the substantial growth in demand for Huawei’s foldable smartphones, with a 122% increase in Huawei’s foldable display procurement in the fourth quarter of 2023 alone. [IThome, in Chinese]

Xiaomi will begin mass production of its first electric vehicle model later this month, people familiar with the matter told 36Kr on Wednesday, the latest development in the Chinese smartphone giant’s entry into the fiercely competitive EV segment. The company is set to meet the start of production (SOP) requirements in late February, with a goal to achieve monthly output of 2,000 units in March and expand that number to more than 10,000 by July. The consumer tech firm, in late December, debuted the SU7 sedan, which boasts acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.8 seconds and a seamless connection between devices from smartphones to the car’s dashboard and various home appliances. The car is scheduled for launch during the first half of this year, while rival Huawei has been selling EVs in collaborations with carmakers including Changan, Seres, and Chery. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Capital Medical University Xuanwu Hospital and Tsinghua University School of Clinical Medicine jointly announced on Tuesday that they have achieved the world’s first clinical trial using an implanted epidural electrode brain-computer interface (BCI) to treat limb paralysis caused by a cervical spinal cord injury. The 54-year-old male patient had experienced a severe neck spinal cord injury in a car accident, resulting in a complete impairment classified as ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) grade A and leading to persistent limb paralysis. On Oct. 24, 2023, two coin-sized brain-computer interface processors were implanted into the patient’s skull, according to the announcement. After three months of rehabilitation training, the patient can now use brainwaves to operate pneumatic gloves, enabling independent activities such as drinking water through brain control, with the patient able to achieve a grip accuracy rate exceeding 90%. [Capital Medical University Xuanwu Hospital, in Chinese]

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China released an announcement on the telecommunications service quality in the fourth quarter of 2023, in which miHoYo’s hit game Genshin Impact was specifically mentioned by the MIIT for having the lowest timely complaint resolution rate at 39.3%. Among the 175 monitored internet companies, miHoYo, Guangzhou Great Wall Broadband Network, Ziroom, and Tongcheng Holdings were identified as the four companies that did not meet the required standards for timely complaint handling. The MIIT has urged the relevant companies to properly address the issues raised by users. Additionally, four types of complaints were received by the Internet Information Service Complaints platform: product functionality (47.7%), customer service (25.6%), privacy protection (12.9%), and other categories (13.8%). [MIIT, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker Chery Auto is working with Huawei in “an all-round way” to ramp up production of their first joint model, the Luxeed S7, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, denying that there has been conflict between the two companies in a production-constrained situation. The state-owned manufacturer also denied rumors that a deputy general manager blasted Huawei for a lack of coordination before quitting his job recently, which comes after reports saying multiple customers were frustrated over unexplained and months-long delivery delays of the S7 electric sedan. The two companies on Jan. 11 announced compensation for those who had experienced delivery delays of more than six weeks for the car, launched in late November and featuring Huawei’s in-car software with a starting price of RMB 258,000 ($35,381). The Chinese technology giant has been partnering with several other automakers including Changan, Seres, and BAIC. [CLS, in Chinese]

Chinese artificial intelligence developer iFlytek on Tuesday unveiled an upgraded SparkDesk model and claimed it outperforms GPT-4 Turbo on metrics including language understanding and math, while its capability in multimodal understanding has reached 91% of that of OpenAI’s most advanced model, according to the company. The Hefei-based firm didn’t specify the judging criteria or modalities used for its claims. Named SparkDesk V3.5, the LLM is the “first foundation model that was trained by a domestic computing power platform,” according to a press release on iFlytek’s WeChat account. The platform was co-launched by iFlytek and Huawei in October. [iFlytek, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle battery maker CATL on Tuesday projected an up to 47.1% increase in net profit to RMB 41.5 billion ($5.8 billion) in its financial year ending Dec 31. However, the year-on-year growth rate would be slowed to 9.2% over the last three months, compared with a 10.7% rise in the previous quarter and a 153.6% surge in the first half of last year. The battery giant was dethroned by BYD from the top spot in the more affordable lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery segment last year, as the latter led the shipment with a 40.4% market share compared with CATL’s 34%, figures from China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance showed. The results were also partly due to a growing trend towards plug-in hybrids over the past year, which use both gasoline and electricity as fuel sources and therefore normally carry smaller batteries than pure EVs. China reported an 82.5% annual increase in sales of PHEVs last year, compared with a 20.8% growth rate in BEV sales, according to figures from the China Passenger Car Association. [TechNode reporting, Caixin, in Chinese]

ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo told the company’s employees they lack a “sense of crisis” in an annual meeting on Tuesday, as the co-founder of Douyin and TikTok owner fears the ten-year-old firm is becoming “mediocre” and thus unable to “break new ground.” In his speech, Liang outlined three goals for ByteDance in the new year – maintaining a “first day of a startup” mindset among staff, enhancing community trust, and staying focused on a select set of priorities, according to the Chinese media outlet ThePaper. Overtly, while the tech unicorn’s short-video operation grabbed the largest market share, the emergence of rivals Kuaishou and WeChat Channel has posed a threat, and within the organization, Liang highlighted issues of low efficiency and sluggishness in seizing opportunities during his speaking, the most urgent problems to be solved currently to cope with external competition.[ThePaper, in Chinese]

GAC has opened its first showroom dedicated to its all-electric Aion brand in Hong Kong, the latest domestic automaker looking to expand sales to emerging electric vehicle markets amid slowing growth in mainland China. Toyota’s manufacturing partner will initiate sales of its Aion Y Plus affordable crossover in the city in May with a goal of selling 5,000 units this year, Gu Huinan, general manager of GAC Aion, told reporters on Jan. 28. The company also unveiled plans to build five more retail and service locations in the Asian financial hub this year and set up more than 300 fast-charging piles near office buildings, shopping malls, hotels, and transport terminals all over the city by 2028. BYD earlier this month opened its first service center spanning 20,000 square feet in Yau Tong, Kowloon, in collaboration with Harmony Auto Holding Ltd, a Chinese auto dealership, while having operated several stores in Sha Tin, Sai Kung, among other areas. Tesla is the top seller, recording sales of 673 vehicles in the city in November, according to the latest figures published by the Hong Kong Transport Department. [TechNode reporting; Caixin, in Chinese]

Volkswagen has appointed Thomas Ulbrich, a veteran of more than 30 years at Germany’s biggest automaker, as the new chief technology officer in China, hoping to foster the local development of new models to meet the growing demand for intelligent, connected electric vehicles. Effective April 1, Ulbrich will also serve as the chief executive of Volkswagen China Technology Company, the company’s largest research and development center outside Germany, where it has been working with Xpeng Motors on two new models scheduled for launch in 2026. The German carmaker has set a goal of selling at least 30 all-electric vehicle models in China by 2030, while another 30 locally-built models, including plug-in hybrids and gas-powered cars will be available by 2027 in collaboration with manufacturers such as SAIC and FAW. It is also looking to shorten the development cycle by 30% for cars with key components, ranging from batteries to automated driving systems, with assistance from partners including Gotion High-Tech and Horizon Robotics. [Volkswagen release]

On Tuesday, the analyst firm SensorTower released its 2023 annual review on the overseas performance of China’s mobile games, with the action role-playing game Genshin Impact from miHoYo securing the top spot. In 2023, overseas mobile game players’ expenditure on the App Store and Google Play amounted to $616 billion, while the overseas revenue of the top 30 Chinese mobile games on these platforms reached $7.8 billion. In terms of overseas revenue, the top five mobile games from Chinese developers in 2023 were Genshin Impact (miHoYo), PUBG MOBILE (Tencent Games), Honkai: Star Rail (miHoYo), Call of Duty (Activision Blizzard & Tencent Games), Puzzles & Survival (37 Interactive Entertainment). [SensorTower, in Chinese]

Alongside Apple, Intel’s next-generation Nova Lake processor may also embrace TSMC’s 2nm process technology, as TSMC plans to mass-produce the 2nm chips by 2025. Nova Lake, which will be Intel’s largest architectural upgrade, is expected to launch in 2026. The report suggests that Intel’s decision to use TSMC’s 2nm process in Nova Lake could be a strategic move to address the substantial architectural upgrade, ensuring market competitiveness by leveraging TSMC’s advanced 2nm process technology. Nova Lake is likely to follow a Chiplet design similar to Intel’s Core Ultra, with the CPU (central processing unit) core potentially produced by Intel’s own foundry, while the GPU (graphics processing unit) part may adopt TSMC’s 2nm process. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

BYD on Monday forecast an up to 86.5% year-on-year increase in its net profit to RMB 31 billion ($4.3 billion) for 2023. However, that means the profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 will be up to RMB 9.6 billion, which would represent at least an 8% decline compared with the RMB 10.4 billion it earned in the previous quarter. The results reflect the growing pressure in the Chinese car market, which has forced the country’s biggest electric vehicle maker to offer significant discounts over the year-end holiday season to achieve its annual target of selling 3 million cars. The Warren Buffett-backed automaker also said on Jan. 16 that it has hired more than 4,000 engineers for automated driving as part of an RMB 100 billion long-term investment initiative. Rival Tesla’s net income dropped 39% year-on-year but grew 7.2% quarter-on-quarter to $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. BYD share prices dipped 5.5% during Tuesday’s morning trading session in Hong Kong. [BYD filing, in Chinese]

Both TikTok and Shein have sharply increased lobbying spending in the US as the two China-founded companies face scrutiny there over their Chinese ties. Data from OpenSecrets shows that the fast-fashion giant boosted its spending on lobbying by 657% to $2.12 million in 2023 compared to a year prior, but this was still less than a quarter of TikTok owner ByteDance’s spend last year of $8.74 million. The parent company of the video-sharing app had a total of 45 lobbyists in 2023, largely unchanged from the previous three years, while Shein hired 14 lobbyists last year compared to only eight in 2022 as the firm faces an uncertain IPO outlook in the US. [OpenSecrets]

Temu is planning to absorb sellers who can ship locally within its covered countries, including those who already operate overseas warehouses or store inventory beyond China, according to the Chinese media outlet Caijing. This low-cost fulfillment model brings warehousing and logistics fulfillment responsibility to merchants themselves. The model is scheduled to go live first in the US starting on March 15, followed by European sites at the end of March before further expanding, the report said. Under the upcoming business model that reduces the need for items to cross borders, merchants are more flexible in partnering with local logistics firms after packing orders, thereby cutting shipping times to secure advantages over challenging competitors like Amazon. [Caijing, in Chinese]

Huawei is set to launch a new flip-foldable smartphone in February, following the P50 Pocket in 2021 and the Pocket S in 2022, according to a report in local media outlet IThome, which cited sources on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo. Details of the upcoming device, known by the code-name LEM, have not yet been officially disclosed. The new flip phone will reportedly feature Huawei’s self-developed 5G Kirin chip and will be positioned similarly to the Chinese tech giant’s mid-range Nova series. Reservations for the new device are expected to begin after the Chinese New Year holiday, which is from Feb. 9 to Feb. 17. In 2023, according to data from a third-party organization cited in the IThome report, Oppo led the flip-foldable phone sector in the Chinese market with a 30% market share, followed by Huawei at 29%, and Samsung at 23%. [IThome, in Chinese]

On Jan. 27, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated that the US government is proposing to require American cloud service companies to conduct self-assessments to determine whether foreign entities are accessing US data centers for training artificial intelligence models. The US government plans to take measures to limit China from utilizing US technology for AI-related development, as this emerging industry has raised security concerns, the report said. The proposed regulations were published on the Federal Register website last Friday. In 2023, the global top 10 cloud service providers include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, Tencent Cloud, OVHcloud, DigitalOcean, and Linode, according to intelligence platform Dgtl Infra. Seven out of the ten listed cloud service providers are from the US. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Tesla shares slid 12.1% to $182.60 on Thursday, marking the stock’s steepest drop since May, after the US electric vehicle maker posted lower-than-expected revenue and worsening margin trends for the fourth quarter of 2023. The decline was also due to a more cautious and ambiguous outlook as chief executive Elon Musk warned of a “notably lower” sales growth rate for this year in its shareholder letter. Musk did not give a specific annual delivery goal as expected. Tesla’s sales for the three months ended Dec. 31 grew only 3% to $25.2 billion, which was below analysts’ estimate of $25.6 billion and the firm’’s lowest year-on-year growth rate over the past three years. Tesla also reported a gradual decline in gross margin from 19.3% to 17.6% throughout the year, as the company has repeatedly cut prices amid slowing demand globally and rising competition from China. The Thursday drop put Tesla’s market capitalization at roughly $581 billion, with $80 billion wiped out overnight. [CNBC]

With its IPO plan in limbo, China-founded e-commerce brand Shein is being valued at $45 billion by some investors looking to sell shares in the firm on the private market, according to Bloomberg. The fast fashion giant raised $2 billion in its latest funding round last May, valuing the company at $66 billion. Shein is under review by China’s cyberspace administration due to it attempts to speed up a public listing in the US, Bloomberg reported last week. Meanwhile, the company faces resistance from American lawmakers who look set to ask US regulators to halt its IPO until claims about Shein’s alleged use of forced labor have been fully investigated. Scrutiny from both the US and China has further dented investors’ confidence in Shein’s long-awaited IPO, with the Bloomberg report quoting sources as saying that they are currently struggling to find buyers despite a relatively low valuation. [Bloomberg]

BMW China unveiled the redesigned versions of its top-selling 5 Series on Thursday, featuring a spacious 31-inch 8K rear screen and eye-motivated driver assistance tech. The model is tailored to meet the growing demand for in-car digital services among tech-savvy local customers. The China-spec 5 Series, part of the eighth generation of BMW’s midsize sedan lineup, boasts a roomier space with a 3.1-meter wheelbase, compared to the global model’s 2,995-millimeter wheelbase. The infotainment system addresses local needs with services like a voice-operated WeChat version, app downloading, and video streaming from Huawei and Baidu-affiliated iQiyi. The luxury sedan, equipped with a large, high-resolution, floating screen for rear passengers, introduces an assisted driving function allowing lane changes with eye confirmation via the outside mirror. BMW notes the sedan is technically prepared for Level 3 autonomous driving, permitting drivers to divert attention from the road and hands from the wheel in specific conditions. This development follows BMW’s announcement of localizing research and development for L3 technology in China in July. Prices for both the i5, the series’ first all-electric model, and its gasoline variant start at RMB 439,900 ($61,278). [BMW release]

China’s Baidu has expanded its AI business with the integration of the ERNIE foundation model in Samsung’s latest smartphone, the Galaxy S24 Series. In China, Galaxy AI, powered by Baidu’s ERNIE model, will offer functionalities including real-time call translation, summarization, and advanced typesetting, as stated in a Friday press release by Baidu. The new Samsung Galaxy S24 series features Google’s AI model Gemini outside China due to the Great Firewall blocking Google, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and other mainstream sites on the mainland. [TechNode reporting]

Ele.me CEO Yu Yongfu told all employees that Douyin’s acquisition of the food delivery participant was “fake” in an internal forum, as the market rumor caused large-scale discussion on the TikTok sister app’s further involvement in the local services sector. “You may feel that my clarification is the most authoritative, so let me respond positively again,” Yu said, while adding Ele.me has seen a strong improvement in efficiency over the past two years. Alibaba’s Local Services Group, which included http://Ele.meEle.me> and split into one of six separate operation units in March last year, reported the third-fastest revenue growth of 16% within six units in the third quarter and has cut its loss by nearly RMB 5 billion. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML said on Wednesday that it expected the government’s export restrictions to curb sales in the Chinese market by 10%-15% in 2024, as the company released its financial report for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023. Last year, China’s Taiwan became ASML’s leading market, representing 30% of total sales, followed by mainland China in second place with 29%, a substantial 15% increase from the previous year. On Jan. 1, the Dutch government revoked export licenses for two of ASML’s advanced lithography machines, namely NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i. Additionally, certain advanced semiconductor wafer fabs in China are unable to obtain licenses for shipping NXT:1970i and NXT:1980i DUV (deep ultra-violet equipment), as confirmed by ASML CFO Roger Dassen. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s seldom-seen co-founder Jack Ma and current chairman Joe Tsai become the giant’s largest shareholders, according to a Wednesday report by the South China Morning Post, as Ma and Tsai spent $200 million worth of its shares in the fourth quarter while Japan’s SoftBank gradually exits Alibaba. According to the e-commerce titan’s annual report, SoftBank held 23.9% of Alibaba’s stake or 5.07 billion shares as of July 15, 2022, but had cut it to less than 0.5% by May last year, the report cited calculations by Morgan Stanley. And Ma has increased his stake to over 4.3%. Under new leadership since September, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu and Chairman Tsai proposed an AI focus and users first as priority strategies for the struggling empire in revamp. [SCMP]

On Tuesday, the Chinese phone brand Oppo announced the signing of a global patent cross-licensing agreement with the Finnish tech company Nokia, covering standard patents in 5G and other cellular communication technologies. Both parties agreed to end all litigation cases after the agreement, while specific terms remain confidential. Oppo’s chief intellectual property officer, Feng Ying, emphasized the company’s commitment to respecting intellectual property, supporting fair pricing, and promoting a sustainable IP ecosystem. Nokia President Jenni Lukander stated that they seek to bring more innovations to global users through the collaboration, and the agreement is expected to ensure long-term financial stability in Nokia’s licensing business. [Oppo, in Chinese]

Chinese e-commerce giant JD has secured a deal to serve as the exclusive interactive cooperation platform for the upcoming Spring Festival Gala, the country’s most-watched TV show featuring songs and comedy performances to welcome in the lunar new year. The second partnership between JD and state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) after the first in 2022, the deal is aimed at JD attracting more users in lower-tier cities. In a post on its WeChat account, JD says it will send 100 million gifts-in-kind that each winner will only need to pay RMB 0.01 to receive during the Gala. A JD employee was quoted by local media outlet LatePost as saying the firm’s Gala program involves thousands of staff who will take on “heavier marketing pressures” than those in 2022, with GMV and the number of transaction users being the direct metrics for them at what is traditionally a family time. The company’s revenue grew at a single-digit pace in the first three quarters of last year, with a 2% increase during the July and September period, far behind rival PDD’s 94%. [JD; LatePost, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker SAIC has continued making efforts to reorganize its research and development operations which could entail a significant number of job cuts in its troubled electric vehicle brand Rising Auto, people with knowledge of the matter told local media outlet Gasgoo on Tuesday. The Volkswagen manufacturing partner will return the responsibility for automated driving software development from the individual brand back to the parent group, with at least 200 employees either being let go or being moved to the firm’s existing research departments. It is unclear how many employees will receive new job offers amid the ongoing restructuring. The state-owned carmaker was said to be considering reducing internal technology efforts as part of group-wide cost saving measures last August, as there appears to be growing consensus among traditional Chinese manufacturers that outsourcing assisted-driving technology is a better solution than developing it in-house a la Tesla. Rising Auto’s two battery EVs on sale – the R7 crossover and the F7 sedan – have a starting price of RMB 189,900 ($26,481) and it delivered a total of 21,012 units over the last 12 months, according to figures compiled by Chinese auto service platform Dongchedi. [Gasgoo, in Chinese]

News that Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai bought $200 million worth of shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant in the fourth quarter sent the firm’s New York-listed stock up nearly 8% on Tuesday. A report in the New York Times said Ma bought $50 million in Hong Kong shares in Alibaba during the quarter, while current chairman Tsai purchased $151 million worth of its US-traded stock via his Blue Pool Management family investment vehicle, showing their support for the 25-year-old firm as it faces multiple challenges. The company’s Hong Kong-traded shares rose 4.3% in the exchange’s Wednesday morning session. Ma believes Alibaba stock is now “strongly below its actual value,” the firm’s chief people officer Jane Jiang told employees in November, confirming that the company’s founder had postponed his plan to sell 10 million shares at a value of around $870 million. [The New York Times; SEC filling]

Great Wall Motor reported significant growth in vehicle sales in the year ended Dec. 31, with revenue rising 26.3% to RMB 173.4 billion ($24.2 billion) from a year earlier. However, net profit was down by 15.2% to RMB 7 billion, which the Chinese automaker said was hurt by foreign currency swings, sending shares down 9.2% to roughly HK$ 8.1 ($1) in morning trading on Wednesday in Hong Kong. The results reflect how most automakers have come under pressure in the world’s biggest and yet probably the most competitive electric vehicle market, as they have been forced to cut prices to keep up with leaders BYD and Tesla. Great Wall Motor posted sales of more than 1.2 million cars last year, up 15.3% from a year earlier, although falling short of its target of 1.6 million units. [China Securities Journal, in Chinese]

Self-driving truck developer TuSimple is suspending its business in the US and shifting its focus to the Asia Pacific markets, especially China, Japan, and Australia, hoping to commercialize and profit from its autonomous driving technologies. Chief executive Lu Cheng cited a mature local supply chain and strong regulatory support as reasons. Another executive told 36Kr on Monday that its China operation, with a team of 600 people, has secured two pilot deals for developing assisted driving software. These remarks were made two days after TuSimple, a San Diego, California-based startup with a Chinese background, said on Jan. 17 that it would delist from Nasdaq, probably on Feb. 7, following an announcement last month to cut 75% of its employees in the US. The retreat from the US is a fallout of a government investigation initiated by the US Committee on Foreign Investment in late 2022 about whether the company shared intellectual properties developed in the US with a Chinese company. TuSimple shares closed at $0.44 on Monday, compared with its debut price of $40.[South China Morning Post, 36Kr, in Chinese]

In 2023, smartphone shipments in the domestic market reached 289 million units, marking a year-on-year growth of 6.5%, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. In the same year, smartphones from domestic brands continued to dominate the market, evident in consumer preferences as indicated by the report. 79.9% of mobile phone shipments were domestically made phones in 2023, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 1.1%. Furthermore, with a year-on-year increase of 11.9%, 5G mobile phone shipments amounted to 240 million units, representing 82.8% of the total mobile phone shipments during the same period. [CAICT, in Chinese]

China’s top research institution is pushing the “industrialization” of solid-state batteries with a new task force, said Miao Wei, a former Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and a core member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body. The China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform (CASIP), formed by members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will coordinate efforts of car manufacturers, battery makers, suppliers, and researchers, aimed at developing “breakthrough” battery technology. “We should maintain the strategy of making more gradual semi-solid state batteries while preparing for significant disruptions from the adoption of all-solid state batteries,” said Ouyang Minggao, a Tsinghua University professor and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He cited Beijing’s global leadership in electric vehicles as it faces competition in battery technologies. Japan has bet on all-solid-state batteries since Toyota last June set a target of commercialization as early as 2027. [Xinhua News Agency, in Chinese]

Ren Lifeng, the vice president of ByteDance’s VR subsidiary PICO, has officially resigned from the company and opted to venture into cross-border e-commerce as an independent platform, according to the local media outlet TechWeb. Reports suggest that his startup project has secured investments from Sequoia China and IDG, with a post-investment valuation exceeding $50 million. Ren’s team includes several members from Douyin (China’s TikTok sibling), with even major veterans from the platform Douyin joining. Currently, PICO has not yet responded to this matter. In November 2023, PICO released a public statement announcing organizational restructuring and related team downsizing, impacting over 300 employees, which represents 23% of the workforce. [TechWeb, in Chinese]

Guo Qing, former vice president of Meituan, will reportedly lead e-commerce giant JD’s on-demand delivery arm Dada, a company recently audited as engaging in suspicious practices, according to local media outlet 36Kr. A source with knowledge of the matter told TechNode that Guo currently serves as an advisor to JD, and has not yet joined in an official capacity. Before starting a venture in stir-fry robot manufacturing in 2021, Guo was responsible for Meituan’s hotel and travel operations, tapped for the company’s “S-Team” decision-making body a year before he quit. The news of Guo’s potential leadership of Dada comes after it was revealed that parent company JD had invested tens of millions of yuan in Guo’s startup a month ago, while Dada competes with Meituan in on-demand delivery. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On Jan.20, Nvidia China employees shared photos on social media of Jensen Huang, the company’s founder and CEO, at its annual meeting in Shanghai. During the internal event, he was seen wearing a flower-patterned shirt from the northeastern region of China and dancing a traditional Chinese folk dance from the same region. The visit marks Huang’s first trip to mainland China since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Nvidia clarified that Huang’s visit did not include meetings with government officials or business announcements. Currently, Nvidia employs around 3,000 employees in mainland China, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen covering departments such as marketing, sales, and R&D. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Luckin Coffee once again meets China’s “national liquor” Moutai in a fresh co-branded beverage specially designed for the upcoming Dragon Year, in a move that aims to replicate the alcohol-infused latte buzz from last September. Named the sauce-flavored chocolate, this no-coffee-added drink is priced at RMB 38, discounted to RMB 18 on Monday, the first day of sales. However, it received mixed consumer feedback on social media, similar to the previous latte. The chocolate drink is made of imported cocoa powders and thick milk that contains baijiu with 53% alcohol, as stated by Luckin on its official WeChat account. [Luckin Coffee, in Chinese]

The domestically produced C919 aircraft has secured more than 1,200 orders, forming an industrial chain in China, according to state-owned media CCTV Finance. The C919 is a large passenger aircraft developed and produced by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), a state-owned aerospace manufacturer. In May 2023, the C919 achieved its first commercial passenger flight in China, marking a significant milestone in China’s aerospace industry as it strives to reduce reliance on foreign aircraft for domestic air travel. In September 2023, China Eastern Airlines signed an agreement with COMAC to purchase 100 C919 aircraft, with delivery scheduled between 2024 and 2031. Earlier this month, China Eastern Airlines received its fourth C919 aircraft. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor on Thursday started accepting pre-orders for the eπ 007, the first model under the namesake electric vehicle marque. The company aims to challenge the dominance of BYD and Tesla, seeking a larger share of the growing mainstream EV segment. Priced competitively at RMB 159,000 ($22,101), the extended-range hybrid version boasts a driving range of 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) on a full tank plus full charge, comparable to the plug-in hybrid BYD Han priced from RMB 189,800. The vehicle, measuring around 4.9 meters in length with a wheelbase of 2.9 meters, accelerates from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 3.9 seconds—slightly larger and faster than Tesla’s Model 3 (4.7 meters, 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds). Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8155 chipset for in-car infotainment systems, the large mid-size sedan boasts a sleek, sporty exterior design. The top-end version will feature Lamborghini-styled scissor doors, a feature also available with Xpeng Motor’s P7 sedan. [Dongfeng announcement, in Chinese]

Chinese e-commerce giant JD said on Thursday that nearly 100 couriers have earned more than 1 million yuan in the past three years, and in Chaoshan city in Guangdong, some have even reached RMB 2 million. The public announcement comes after news stories flooded China’s X-like microblogging platform Weibo recently as influencer accounts and state-owned media outlets extensively covered the high earnings of food delivery riders, couriers, and decoration workers, with those professions reportedly sometimes paying RMB 30,000 to RMB 40,000 a month, figures that are far higher than the public perception. The articles have sparked widespread debate and no little skepticism. In a post on its official WeChat account, JD detailed several benefit policies for its employees, including a housing guarantee fund aimed at alleviating mortgage stress and an employee assistance fund, all designed to make employees’ days “more hopeful and brighter.” [JD, in Chinese]

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and Douyin, is on track to accelerate the stock vesting schedule for its employees as part of an updated incentive policy, announced in a Thursday email. According to Chinese media outlet Jiemian, the company plans to change how often employees can turn their stock options into company stock and sell them for equity, switching from once a year to every quarter. In the latest round of share buybacks in November, ByteDance offered $160 per share to its staff. Employee annual incentives will consist of both an annual bonus and performance stock options starting in 2025, with the former capped at three months’ salary. Employees recognized for outstanding performance will be eligible for additional stock options despite IPO uncertainties over China’s most valuable unicorns. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Tesla has been sourcing cathode material from two Chinese electric vehicle battery makers for its production of 4680 batteries (high energy density cells 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 mm in length) in Texas since the second half of 2023. The deals are expected to continue until at least the third quarter of this year. Rather than purchasing battery cells directly, the US automaker procured positive electrode coils – raw electrodes processed into rollers that account for 35% of the cost of a battery cell – people with knowledge of the matter told media outlet LatePost. The move is expected to help Tesla ramp up production of the cost-efficient cylindrical battery cells, the report added. In an article by Reuters last March, China’s Ningbo Ronbay New Energy and Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing were mentioned as two companies Tesla had turned to to help lower battery materials costs. Battery-related production issues are partly responsible for delays in launching Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Temu began selling its budget-friendly products in South Africa on Wednesday, according to the country column shown on the platform’s official site, making Africa the sixth continent that the Pinduoduo sibling app now reaches after less than a year and a half in operation. Chinese-manufactured goods are expected to experience longer shipping times of up to 20 days to their destinations in the country, and Temu is reportedly set to cooperate with New Zealand-founded courier company Fastway in Africa’s southernmost state, according to Chinese media outlet Jiemian. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Foxconn recently announced that it is collaborating with the Indian tech giant HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited) to establish a new joint venture for chip packaging and testing operations in India. The partnership with HCL signifies Foxconn’s strategic shift towards the Indian market. The Taiwanese firm will own a 40% stake in the new joint venture with a $37.2 million investment. Foxconn’s Indian subsidiary, Mega Development, plans to establish an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSAT) center in India, while Foxconn is expected to invest another $1 billion to build a new plant in India dedicated to producing Apple products. Known for its engineering design and manufacturing expertise, HCL has been actively involved in discussions with the government of Karnataka, India, around the establishment of the new OSAT center. [IThome, in Chinese]

Meituan continues to face pressure on its Hong Kong-listed shares, following a fall that has left shares worth less than its IPO price of HK$69 by Wednesday’s close, plunging the company’s market value more than 80% below its peak of three years ago. The food delivery giant spent a total of HK$2.4 billion in share buybacks on six consecutive trading days since Jan.10, but this appears to have had a limited impact on ebbing stock prices. Investors have lowered their confidence in Meituan as the company struggles with aggressive competition from peers including ByteDance and slowdown concerns about its core takeout business. [TechNode reporting]

China, as the largest global semiconductor market in 2023, experienced a 15.4% year-on-year decline in the value of imported chips, which fell to $349 billion, according to Bloomberg. Although the global chip market saw an overall downturn due to a sluggish global economy, the decrease in China’s chip imports was more pronounced. Moreover, an inability to import advanced chips from the US further contributed to the significant decrease in China’s chip imports. In November 2023, the increased restrictions on the export of high-performance AI chips to China had an impact on products from companies such as Nvidia. However, these export limitations also encouraged Chinese enterprises to focus more on domestically designed and manufactured chips, reducing China’s dependence on imported chips. [Bloomberg]

Huawei on Tuesday set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shenzhen with a registered capital of RMB 1 billion ($138.9 million). The new subsidiary will absorb its automotive business unit, which is set to be spun off into a separate company in the hopes of inducing more collaborations with automakers. The new entity’s corporate information was released publicly on Chinese business intelligence platform Tianyancha. People close to the company told Caixin that Huawei and its partners are still discussing the details of investment into the new venture as they pursue a diversified ownership. The move comes after the Chinese technology giant last November revealed plans to form a joint venture with state-owned carmaker Changan Auto that will include the core technologies and resources from its Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit. Changan chairman Zhu Huarong said on Tuesday at a company event that the new firm could be named “Newcool” and will be open to other car manufacturers for collaboration. [Tianyancha, Caixin, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Xiaomi rebranded one of its Weibo accounts from Xiaomi Brand Safety to Xiaomi Legal Department, as misleading reports about Xiaomi cars continue to spread widely. In China, intensifying competition in the mobile industry has led major mobile firms to launch Weibo accounts for their legal departments, as online unverified info may spark discussions to bring negative impacts for the enterprise. In November 2023, CEO Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi’s first car model, the SU7, is currently in trial production and is expected to be released in the domestic market in the coming months, with the final price yet to be determined. Until the launch event for Xiaomi’s automotive products takes place, all information, posters, or pricing related to Xiaomi cars is considered false, Xiaomi’s PR manager Wang Hua said on Jan. 5. [IThome, in Chinese]

BYD will release at least 10 new electric cars this year featuring advanced driving technology that enables functions such as fully-automated parking and autonomous lane changing on busy urban streets in China, chairman Wang Chuanfu announced at BYD’s Dream Day event on Tuesday. The move will be part of an RMB 100 billion ($13.9 billion) long-term initiative to achieve “full-scale vehicle automation,” by which the company plans to make all core vehicle domains, from batteries to chassis, operatable by chip, artificial intelligence, 5G, and satellite, Wang explained. The company named its latest intelligent electric vehicle architecture Xuanji, an old Chinese term for the Big Dipper, adding that it will make automated driving a standard feature for all future models priced over RMB 300,000 ($41,700). The Chinese EV giant also announced it will invest RMB 5 billion in building all-terrain race tracks for enthusiasts across China, without revealing further details. [TechNode reporting, BYD announcement]

Chinese game streaming platform Huya plans to collaborate with Tencent WeChat Channels, following Tencent’s announcement last week that it will livestream Honor of Kings on ByteDance’s Douyin (China’s TikTok sibling). As a major stakeholder in Huya, the move underscores Tencent’s dedication to maintaining its own gaming livestream services, according to local media outlet Awtmt. Huya earned RMB 1.6 billion ($230 million) in the third quarter of 2023, and saw a year-on-year decline in both live streaming and advertising income, while WeChat Channels saw a 50% year-on-year growth in viewership during the same period. WeChat Channels claimed a significant growth in original content. In May 2023, WeChat Channels launched the Game Live Streaming Promotion feature, enabling game developers to directly guide fans to pre-register, download, and launch games via the platform. [IThome, in Chinese]

According to South Korean media outlet Sedaily, SK Hynix is planning to upgrade its Wuxi Plant. SK Hynix intends to upgrade its dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) production equipment to the fourth-generation 10nm class chip process at its plant in Wuxi, China, this year. Although operational specifics are yet to be confirmed, the Wuxi plant serves as a crucial hub, contributing around 40% of SK Hynix’s DRAM output. The upgrade will enable SK Hynix to maintain its market share amid global semiconductor competition despite US restrictions, according to the Chinese media outlet Global Times. Last week, SK Hynix’s president, Kwak Noh-Jung, mentioned during CES 2024 that the company last year created an internal group to address geopolitical issues and develop ways to mitigate business risks. [Global Times, in Chinese]

Correction: an earlier version of this article misidentified the 10nm class chip process as the 10nm chip process.

Baidu clarified on Monday evening that it does not have any partnership with any of China’s military organizations after a report linked the company’s ChatGPT-like technology to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), causing shares of the search giant to see their largest drop since 2022. A report in the South China Morning Post originally said that an academy paper written by scholars at a PLA-affiliated research institute had disclosed a link with the Chinese technology giant. The academy paper used Baidu’s ChatGPT-like ERNIE Bot as an example to describe how it generates battlefield maneuvers and predicts opponent actions based on combat information prompts, which SCMP reported as forging a “physical link” between Baidu and PLA. The outlet later removed the saying. “Baidu does not provide any customized services to the military,” according to the company’s statement, adding that the ERNIE Bot used by the academy paper’s author was the general version accessible to the public since August. [Baidu]

TSMC plans to mass produce Apple’s next-generation 2nm chip in 2025, as the prototype of the 2nm chips has recently been presented to Apple, according to the Taiwan-based media outlet DigiTimes. Apple and TSMC are closely collaborating on the development and implementation of the 2nm chip technology, aiming to surpass current 3nm chips in transistor density, performance, and efficiency. The report also revealed that TSMC is actively advancing its 2nm process node, with the first batch of equipment scheduled to enter the factory in April 2024. Moreover, TSMC is currently assessing potential factory locations with the goal of securing its position as the first manufacturer of advanced 1.4nm chips by 2027. [DigiTimes]

The number of merchants that sold goods with a total value over RMB 100 million increased five times year-on-year on Xiaohongshu in the past year, the Instagram-like platform disclosed on its official WeChat account on Jan. 11, adding that sellers are increasingly seeing the lifestyle app as an additional place to do business as “new business models and scenarios” are being formed on Xiaohongshu. The platform also said it saw a 380% growth in merchants with an annual transaction size exceeding RMB 10 million, though it failed to reveal exact figures. As part of the announcement, Xiaohongshu posted its annual e-commerce year-end list, titled rise100, which listed “noteworthy merchants and buyers” based on multiple factors including merchants’ yearly business growth rate in 2023. The list features a flurry of China-made and niche foreign brands, demarcating the platform’s e-commerce focus from other mainstream retailers. [Xiaohongshu, in Chinese]

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk on Jan. 14 signaled that the company is likely to showcase its eye catching Cybertruck pickup in China, a move that could create attention and buzz for the US electric vehicle giant in the world’s largest car market. Replying to a post by a user with the handle @ray4tesla, on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk mentioned the likelihood of shipping some Cybertruck prototypes to China for display, although he admitted it would be “very difficult” for the vehicle to be legally permissible on Chinese roads in the near future. The US carmaker finally initiated the delivery of its Cybertrucks, priced from $60,990 and with a driving range of 250 miles (around 402 kilometers), to customers in November from its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, after a two-year production delay. The Cybertruck is currently not available for retail sale in Europe as authorities have limited external protrusions on vehicles aimed at protecting pedestrians. [Elon Musk X repost]

ByteDance and Alibaba have not yet reached a consensus on the terms or price of an offer by the former to buy Alibaba’s food delivery service Ele.me according to financial media outlet Caijing. However, Alibaba yet again denied it was in negotiations with ByteDance to sell Ele.me. Bytedance, operator of TikTok and its domestic sibling Douyin, was reported by Caijing to have bid $7 billion, which is $500 million to $1 billion less than expected by Alibaba. A further disagreement between the duo is reported to be Alibaba’s intention to transfer over the entire Ele.me team, while ByteDance only wanted to keep its delivery couriers. Alibaba took full control of Ele.me in 2018 at a valuation of $9.5 billion, as it took steps into the local services industry to compete with Meituan. The business has yet to enter a clear cycle of profitability. As Douyin relies on third-party platforms including SF Express, JD’s Dada, and Ele.me to fulfill its delivery demands, building its own team of riders is crucial for ByteDance in doubling down on its local service ambitions. [Caijing, in Chinese]

CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, will build a plant in Beijing, according to a document published by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform on Jan. 11 and viewed by financial media outlet Caixin. The city’s economic planner expects the move to shore up the new energy vehicle supply chain in China’s capital, but has not revealed other details, although a person close to the company told Caixin that construction had begun. China’s capital is making efforts to become a regional EV production hub, spearheaded by locally-headquartered Xiaomi and Li Auto which both recently began factory operations with an annual capacity of 150,000 and 100,000 units respectively, in the outskirts of the city. The Chinese battery giant has, since early 2022, been running an 80 gigawatt-hour (GWh) facility in Shanghai’s Lingang area for Tesla, selling 233.4 GWh of batteries between January and November, according to figures compiled by industry tracker SNE Research. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s domestic marketplace, Taobao, has invited merchants to test an upgraded AI chatbot named Dianxiaomi, as its new CEO, Eddie Wu, encouraged the e-commerce giant to embrace highly sought-after artificial intelligence technology since he came to power last September. The chat tool, enhanced by an AI foundation model, is expected to be available to all Taobao and Tmall sellers in June. It aims to “better serve” pre-sales guidance, after-sales service, and data analysis, with the accuracy rate of Dianxiaomi improved to 85%, according to Alibaba. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Honda is expected to complete construction work soon on its first factory for purely electric vehicles with a 120,000-unit annual capacity, as an e:NS1 crossover rolled off the final assembly line on Dec. 31 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Honda and its Chinese manufacturing partner Dongfeng have started testing systems during commissioning at the end of the project, with the facility set to begin volume production of Honda’s Chinese-market electric e:N lineup later this year, as reported by the local newspaper Hubei Daily on Wednesday. Separately, another new production base built by GAC-Honda, a joint venture between the Japanese automaker and the other partner GAC Group, is also scheduled for operation with an output of 120,000 EVs per year in the southern city of Guangzhou in 2024. Sales of Japan’s second-biggest carmaker declined 10.1% year-on-year to approximately 165,800 units in 2023, and the company plans to accelerate the transition to EVs with the rollout of 10 e:N series models by 2027. [Hubei Daily, in Chinese]

The total value of goods sold through WeChat’s TikTok-like service nearly tripled year-on-year in 2023, the key figure was revealed at WeChat’s annual flagship event on Thursday, but creator of the all-in-one app, Allen Zhang, was absent from the event again for three years and director-level executives also haven’t attend this year. Tencent did not disclose absolute figures. Livestreaming e-commerce orders completed on Channels, WeChat’s in-app short video feature launched in 2020, increased by over 244%, the company said. Tencent allowed content creators to charge viewers for watching certain videos last year, and has now expanded that to allow creators with at least 10,000 followers to set up members-only areas, where they post content only for paid subscribers. [Yicai, in Chinese]

NIO has received critical support from China’s local government of Anhui province, with an announcement on Thursday of a collaboration with the local state-owned power producer to build 1,000 battery storage-integrated recharging facilities in the region, where the company manufactures its electric vehicles. Anhui Province Energy Group Co., Ltd., or Wenergy Group for short, on Dec. 25 set up a joint venture called Zhongan Energy with NIO and battery maker Gotion High-Tech, along with several other state-owned firms with a registered capital of RMB 1.6 billion ($223.4 million). The firm, with Wenergy Group and NIO respectively holding a 44.4% and 19.3% stake, according to the Chinese business intelligence platform Tianyancha, will be responsible for establishing a “unified” infrastructure network for battery charging and swapping within the province. The companies also expect the new recharging facilities to help improve the flexibility and resilience of the power grid by actively balancing the demand and supply of electricity. NIO on Thursday also announced it has reached partnerships with Chery Automobile and JAC Group, two state-owned automakers with headquarters in Anhui, to jointly develop and operate battery swap stations, weeks after it reached similar deals with Changan and Geely. [NIO announcement, Tianyancha, in Chinese]

Chinese car brand Luxeed said on Tuesday that it will pay RMB 200 ($28) per day as compensation for some buyers of its first model S7 who have experienced delivery delays of more than six weeks. In a statement published on the Twitter-like platform Weibo, Luxeed said it is ramping up production to ensure high-quality deliveries, calling for patience from buyers. Some customers of Huawei-backed electric vehicle brand Luxeed have experienced delivery delays of weeks for the S7 sedan, forcing them to cancel their orders and casting a shadow over the growth outlook of the technology giant’s car business. Multiple buyers informed Jiemian that they were recently told to wait at least four weeks for the car. Many of them had placed their orders right after the launch event on Nov. 28, and some received no firm delivery dates even after waiting for six weeks. The EV brand, jointly launched by Huawei and its manufacturing partner Chery, has also faced issues such as very limited showroom cars for a test drive in some retail stores, sources said. The premium sedan went on pre-sale on Nov. 9 with a starting price of RMB 258,000 ($35,381), featuring Huawei’s latest proprietary Harmony operating system and partially automated driving software. The smartphone giant is reportedly launching new, more spacious stores dedicated to EVs, which could allow at least six cars to be displayed in-store, having partnered with multiple carmakers such as Seres and Changan. [Jiemian, Luxeed statement, in Chinese]

Updated: The post was updated on Jan. 17 to include Luxeed’s response to customers’ complaints over lengthy delays of the S7.

Cloud Network Technology, a subsidiary of Chinese electronics manufacturer Foxconn, will increase its investment in Ingrasys Technology Mexico by $10 million, aiming to expand its server assembly business in the country, the Taiwan-headquartered company said. As a subsidiary of Foxconn engaged in OEM (original equipment manufacturer) production, Ingrasys Technology Mexico was established in July 2021. Taiwan-based Ingrasys provides cloud infrastructure solutions for multinational strategic partners, including hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), high-performance computing (HPC), AI machine learning, and advanced cooling technologies. Foxconn currently has built six factories in Mexico, according to its annual report. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor announced on Wednesday a new electric sports utility vehicle. Chief executive Zhu Jiangming says it is the only model on the market priced within RMB 200,000 ($27,920) and equipped with high-end chips from Nvidia and Qualcomm. The top-end, all-electric C10 integrates a DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip from Nvidia with 254 TOPS of performance and Qualcomm’s five-nanometer Snapdragon 8295 processor, providing users with advanced features such as automated driving and AI assistant at a price tag of RMB 185,800 ($25,938). The Zhejiang-based automaker also introduced several extended-range hybrid variants with a price range between RMB 151,800 and RMB 181,800, offering a driving range of 1,190 kilometers (739 miles) on a full tank plus a full charge. Leapmotor debuted the C10 SUV with plans to launch it globally at the IAA Mobility in Munich in September, a month before it reached a €1.5 billion (nearly $1.6 billion) investment deal with Stellantis for 20% of its shares. [Leapmotor release, in Chinese]

Huawei announced on Wednesday that NetEase’s mobile game A Chinese Ghost Story was the first to use its open-source adaptation for HarmonyOS on the Unity China engine. In August 2023, Huawei and NetEase unveiled the game at a launch event, showing that the main rendering and logic integration had been completed, along with various software kits for video, audio, and user login. Huawei expects games that have integrated with its HarmonyOS to have significant improvements in performance and graphics. Moreover, Huawei is set to hold a HarmonyOS Ecology event next week, with sessions in eight major Chinese cities. During the event, Huawei will unveil its latest operating system updates. [IThome, in Chinese]

Shares of Nasdaq-listed Dada Nexus plunged nearly half on Monday after the on-demand delivery company said it found “suspicious” advertising revenue in an internal audit, casting doubt on the authenticity of Dada’s first profitability in the April quarter last year. In a regulatory filing, Dada said in the first three quarters of 2023, an estimated RMB 500 million in online advertising revenue plus another RMB 500 million in operating and support costs may have been overstated, and it will commission a third-party re-audit. The potential fraud event was announced a month after the chairman and chief financial officer of Dada resigned, with the former citing “personal reasons.” [DaDa Nexus filings]

On Tuesday, the US chip giant Nvidia introduced the production microservices NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) that enable game developers, tool creators, and middleware developers to integrate generative AI models into the digital avatars within their games and applications. Chinese developers NetEase, Tencent, and HoYoverse are among the first major gaming studios utilizing this new platform. The ACE platform allows game developers to create interactive non-playable characters (NPCs) by using AI models such as NVIDIA Omniverse Audio2Face (A2F) and NVIDIA Riva automatic speech recognition (ASR). These technologies can translate spoken words from players into text, enabling AI NPCs to reply using a distinct text-to-speech tool, creating fully voiced and interactive game characters with expressive facial expressions. [Nvidia]

Southeast Asia-targeted e-commerce platform Lazada is laying off around 2,000 employees, or 20% of its headcount in the first downsizing since Alibaba’s acquisition in 2016, according to a Tuesday report by LatePost. The redundancy affects not only entry-level staff but also senior roles that rank above P8 and is aimed at bringing down costs, as six Lazada-covered countries have their own operations and support teams while headquarters were also involved in the same work previously. Lazada is still in a loss-making status, order growth has slowed over the past year, and the company also faces tightened competition from regional rival Shopee. The latest overhaul is set to shift focus towards centralized decision-making at the headquarters, which will use data-driven approaches to allocate subsidies and gain user growth for each country, a Lazada source told LatePost. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Tencent Games announced on Tuesday that underage players are allowed a maximum of 16 hours of gaming during the winter vacation and the Chinese New Year. In China, the school term typically begins in September, and the winter vacation is from the end of January to February, varying with the Lunar New Year of that particular year. Underage players can only log in to games between 8 and 9 p.m. on January 26-28, February 2-3, February 9-17, and February 23-24, according to the announcement. In August 2021, the National Press and Publication Administration of China issued a notice limiting the time for providing online gaming services to minors. All gaming companies are allowed to provide one hour of service to minors only on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays between 8 and 9 p.m. [Tencent Games Weibo, in Chinese]

Alibaba has introduced a new AI feature that enables viewers to experience Terracotta Warriors dancing on screen to “kemusan”, a recent viral dance challenge sweeping social media, with videos powered by the image-to-video tool Tongyi Wuwang, which roughly translates as “one dance king”. Using Alibaba’s foundation model “Animate Anyone,” the function is able to animate a full-body photo to a ten-second dance video while maintaining original facial expressions and background, and can be tried directly via the e-commerce giant’s ChatGPT-like program Tongyi Qianwen. The MagicAnimate-like tool was debuted as Alibaba’s latest generative AI tool of a wave of artificial intelligence products to hit the public. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

In a New Year letter to employees, a Meituan executive conveyed a shift in the company’s focus, stating that they are now catering to users seeking low prices across the internet, departing from the previous targeted search-based consumer approach, as reported by local media outlet Jiemian. Zhang Chuan, president of Meituan’s store business group, expressed the belief that this year presents a opportune time to confront intense competition. He emphasized the need to establish a new supply model centered on providing “daily low prices.” Notably, ByteDance’s Douyin poses a significant threat to Meituan, with the widely-used short video platform reporting a 256% growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV) for local life services last year. Zhang characterized Douyin as an influential and rational opponent, describing the ongoing battle as a “brutal and tormented warfare” without an immediate winner. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Li Auto plans to manufacture electric vehicles featuring advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving functions, utilizing Nvidia’s next-generation automotive-grade computer chips, DRIVE Thor. This move marks an expansion of the Chinese automaker’s collaboration with the U.S. chipmaker to address the increasing demand for assisted driving systems. Unveiled in September 2022 and slated for production in early 2025, the DRIVE Thor is a centralized car computer boasting up to 2,000 TOPS of performance. It enables automakers to integrate various intelligent functions into a single artificial intelligence compute platform, resulting in significantly lower development costs, reduced weight, and fewer cables. Chinese EV giants, from BYD to Great Wall Motor, have incorporated partially automated driving functions into their current models using Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin platform, providing 254 TOPS of performance. Furthermore, Geely’s premium EV brand Zeekr is poised to become the inaugural customer for Thor, as indicated in a release dated Sept. 20, 2022, by Nvidia. [Nvidia release]

KeeTa, a Hong Kong-facing food delivery platform owned by Meituan, has grabbed one-third of the territory’s market share within six months of its launch. Initially providing food delivery services exclusively in two residential areas, Mong Kok and Tai Kok Tsui, KeeTa now covers the entire Hong Kong territory, and official figures show that it has garnered more than 1.3 million downloads as of January 5. Meituan appears to have successfully replicated its mainland China path to become a market leader in the food delivery field in Hong Kong, as KeeTa accounted for around 30.6% of total delivery orders in the region in November, only behind Foodpanda and surpassing Deliveroo by nearly 3%, according to statistics provided by third-party platform Measurable AI. KeeTa also said it now boasts around 10,000 merchants and has experienced an average monthly merchant growth rate exceeding 30%. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Ant Group is on the verge of finalizing a $200 million deal to acquire Dutch payments firm MultiSafepay, as reported by Reuters, citing multiple sources. The purchase is currently awaiting regulatory approval. The owner of Alipay aims to acquire a 100% stake in MultiSafepay, a company providing income and expenditure services to over 18,000 small to medium-sized businesses, according to information on the company’s official website. This latest acquisition follows Ant Group’s majority stake acquisition in the Singapore-based payments firm 2C2P in 2022, marking a strategic move in its global expansion efforts to establish an international cross-border payments network. [Reuters]

On Jan. 7, Xreal, the Chinese augmented reality company formerly known as Nreal, revealed the Xreal Air 2 Ultra AR glasses for developers, as the company aims to compete with Meta’s Quest 3 and Apple’s Vision Pro. Pre-orders for the Xreal Air 2 Ultra are currently available at a price of $699, with shipping expected to begin in March. The new sunglasses-style device features six degrees of freedom (6DOF) tracking, enabling users to engage with immersive AR applications. Notably, the glasses are equipped with two environmental sensors integrated into their frame, which allows real-time tracking of the user’s location within a 3D space and facilitates hand tracking. Despite its lightweight design, at 80 grams the Air 2 Ultra weighs slightly more than its 72 gram predecessor the Air 2. [Xreal]

Tencent Nintendo Switch announced that its original “Nintendo Switch Official Store” will be de-platformed from Tmall with users advised to make purchases on the new “Nintendo Switch Store”, due to “operational adjustments”. The official Nintendo Switch Mall on WeChat, a major social media platform of Tencent, will also temporarily suspend services on January 15, 2024, to be resumed upon update completion. In December 2019, Tencent launched a Chinese version of the Nintendo Switch, but it suspended sales of the extended warranty plan for the Chinese Nintendo Switch in December 2023. [Tencent Nintendo Switch, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker Chery is set to launch multiple car models under its mainstream Omoda marque in the spring in the UK, followed by the introduction of its premium Jaecoo lineup in the summer. This strategic move positions Chery against rivals such as South Korea’s Hyundai and Kia. Simultaneously, as the manufacturing partner of Jaguar Land Rover in China, Chery is exploring the possibility of establishing two factories in Europe—one for the UK and neighboring Ireland, and the other for left-hand-drive markets in the region. Chery has initiated contact with the government for this plan after a British delegation visited China last month. Regional head Victor Zhang told the Financial Times on Thursday that it may take several years for the company to ramp up sales in the country. Chery, China’s third-largest carmaker, has sold nearly 1.6 million passenger vehicles, both gasoline and electric, from January to November, following BYD and Volkswagen’s joint venture with China’s FAW, according to figures from the China Passenger Car Association. [Financial Times]

Tencent’s multiplayer online battle arena game, Honor of Kings, emerged as the highest-grossing mobile game of 2023, raking in approximately $1.48 billion, as reported by market intelligence firm AppMagic. This revenue surpassed the second-ranked battle royale game, PUBG Mobile, by over $300 million. Candy Crush Saga, Genshin Impact, and Roblox claimed the third to fifth positions in 2023, with global revenues of $957 million, $944 million, and $869 million, respectively. Among newly released mobile games from Chinese developers in 2023, HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail secured the eighth spot with earnings of $659.1 million, while NetEase’s Justice Online generated revenue of $358.2 million, securing the 18th place. [nadianshi, in Chinese]

On Thursday, Chinese phone manufacturer OnePlus unveiled its latest device, the OnePlus Ace 3, starting at RMB 2,599 ($366). The Ace 3 serves as a direct successor to last year’s Ace 2, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, a 50MP Sony IMX890 main camera, a massive vapor chamber of 9140mm², and a substantial 5500 mAh battery. The device boasts a curved 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,240 x 2,772 pixels and a dynamic refresh rate ranging from 1 to 120Hz. Manufactured by BOE, the panel offers a brightness of up to 1,600 nits in Auto mode and a peak brightness of up to 4,500 nits. The company claims that the 100W SuperVOOC fast charging technology can provide a full charge in 27 minutes. [IThome, in Chinese]

China’s central government has revealed its inaugural blueprint aimed at exploring the potential of load shifting through electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. The goal is to stabilize the power grid amidst the increasing adoption of battery-powered cars. According to a document dated December 13, publicly released on Thursday by the National Development and Reform Commission and three other top government departments, Beijing plans to implement real-time, flexible prices on a large scale nationwide by 2025. The initiative also anticipates off-peak charging to constitute over 60% of total electricity for EV charging in at least five pilot cities, primarily in affluent regions such as the Yangtze River Delta area and the Pearl River Delta area. Additionally, more than 50 large facilities for bi-directional charging are expected to be operational in those regions by that time, enabling energy storage in a car’s battery and its return to the power grid. According to Caixin, citing Pang Xiaogang, a deputy general manager at State Grid, the peak of EV charging load could reach 100 million kilowatts by 2030, approximately 5% of China’s maximum power load. [NDRC document, Caixin, in Chinese]

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, reported a 256% increase in gross merchandise volume (GMV) for local life services last year, attributing the surge to its robust efforts in the local lifestyle sector. Douyin now proudly hosts over 4.5 million offline merchants, encompassing restaurants and lifestyle activity providers, spanning across more than 370 Chinese cities. This information was disclosed by Douyin on its official WeChat account on Wednesday. Additionally, in 2013, transaction volume completed during livestreamings witnessed a remarkable 570% growth from the previous year, while total sales generated from short videos saw an 83% increase compared to the prior year.[Douyin, in Chinese]

Huawei-backed electric vehicle brands Aito and Luxeed have paused all online advertising campaigns on popular Chinese auto service platforms Autohome, Yiche, and Dongchedi, as part of a move seen as aimed at pursuing a more direct sales strategy and reported by multiple Chinese media outlets. All content collaborations have been suspended until a new deal is reached, a Huawei representative told Jiemian on Wednesday, adding that the prior contracts expired recently, without revealing further details. Sources added that Huawei-backed EV makers now see only a very small proportion of offline sales driven by digital advertising, thanks to Huawei’s already strong brand awareness in the Chinese technology sector. The news also comes as Huawei reportedly plans to run 800 car showrooms this year under a new brand called the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance and to expand its footprint with 1,000 sales locations by 2025. Separately, an Aito M7 crossover was among the worst performers in a winter test for real-world driving range organized by Dongchedi last month. Aito later responded by saying the heater on the vehicle was on for more than an hour before the test, challenging the accuracy of the evaluation. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Duoduo Maicai, the grocery wing of PDD, has reportedly paused a local in-store merchandising campaign that began in December, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported on Wednesday. Originally set to launch after February’s Lunar New Year, the company postponed the scheme as efforts to seek more local partners offering in-store catering coupons, hotel reservations, sightseeing, and movie tickets appeared to fall short. The scheme, in which customers were encouraged to make advance purchases of discount coupons on Pinduoduo, was suspended in the last week of 2023, the report said. Meituan still dominates the local life sector for now despite new entrant Douyin’s challenge, and Pinduoduo, the online retail platform with loyal consumers primarily in low-tier cities, had been set to focus on cost-sensitive cities where Meituan and Douyin were less dominant. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Tesla shipped a record 947,742 China-made electric vehicles from its Shanghai facility in 2023, marking a 33.3% increase from the previous year. This growth rate, while slightly lower than the industry average, is based on figures compiled by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The industry group estimates that sales of China’s new energy vehicles, including battery EVs and plug-in hybrids, will rise 38% year-on-year to 8.9 million units in 2023. Secretary General Cui Dong Shu anticipates a 22% increase in that number to reach 11 million units this year. Intensifying competition in the Chinese auto market has exerted pressure on Tesla. The US carmaker was surpassed by BYD in deliveries of battery EVs by approximately 42,000 units from October to December. Despite this, Tesla maintained its top spot as the world’s best-selling BEV brand, with deliveries reaching 1.8 million units last year. In comparison, BYD sold a total of 3.02 million NEVs, of which 1.57 million were BEVs. [CPCA announcement, in Chinese]

The Legion gaming laptop series from Lenovo is set to launch in China next week, following the launch of Intel’s 14th Gen Core HX processors in the Chinese market. Lenovo’s new flagship series, which includes the Y7000P, Y9000P, Y9000X, and Y9000K models, is anticipated to feature Intel’s 14th Gen Core HX processors and Nvidia’s RTX 40 series discrete graphics processing unit. Lenovo previously announced that the Y9000P model will offer an optional screen with a 240Hz refresh rate and P3 wide color gamut, while the Y9000K model will boast an optional 2TB SSD (solid-state drive) for expanded storage. Intel claims its 14th Gen Core processors, introduced by on October 16, 2023, offer a 23% improvement in gaming performance compared to processors from its leading competitors. [IThome, in Chinese]

Xpeng Aeroht, a Chinese startup backed by Xpeng Motors, is aiming for volume production of its electric passenger drones in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the electric vehicle maker set to work on the final assembly of what they describe as flying cars. Xpeng revealed the timeline in a regulatory filing on Tuesday as part of a framework agreement signed between one of its fully-owned subsidiaries and Aeroht, adding that Aeroht will pay RMB 71,000 ($9,940) for each aircraft when production volume is lower than 25,000. In October, Xpeng Motors chairman He Xiaopeng, who is the controlling shareholder of Aeroht, unveiled an electric flying vehicle prototype built on a modular system in which the flight and automobile components can be separated. Geely-affiliated Aerofugia also expects to secure an airworthiness certificate from Chinese regulators as early as 2025, which would facilitate the delivery of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOLs) air taxis to its shareholder Sino Jet, a Chinese business jet operator. [Xpeng filing, TechNode reporting]

Li Auto has decided to put off launching the Mega, its latest battery-powered EV, from its earlier slated December. The Nasdaq-listed EV maker said it now plans to begin delivery of the allrounder on March 1, without giving reasons for the delay on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo. Pre-sales of the seven-seater with a price tag of around RMB 600,000 ($82,800) began in November. The car resembles China’s highspeed bullet-style trains and comes with CATL’s next-iteration Qilin batteries, providing the vehicle with a 500-km (311-mile) additional range on 12-minute fast charging. Rival Xpeng Motors on Monday launched a similar offering, the X9, with a starting price of RMB 359,800. It is scheduled to deliver the van from later this month. Huawei-backed Aito said last week its M9 full-size sports utility vehicle will be priced from RMB 469,800 and delivered to customers from Jan. 26. [Caixin, in Chinese]

China’s Interim Regulations on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Flight Management took effect on Monday, outlining registration requirements, permissible flight altitudes, and UAV operator responsibilities. UAV operators are now required to log in to the civil aviation department’s website to register their UAVs with their real names and affix the generated QR code on the UAV body. Flying without real-name registration is henceforth a violation, subject to a fine of between RMB 200 ($28) and RMB 20,000 ($2820). Micro UAVs are allowed to fly below 50 meters, while light UAVs are restricted to altitudes below 120 meters. Additionally, parents or guardians may be fined if minors operate micro or light UAVs without adult supervision. [IThome, in Chinese]

China’s central bank agrees that Ant Group’s payment platform, Alipay, has no controller, as stated on the official website of the People’s Bank of China. This development is widely seen as a significant step in clearing a major hurdle for Ant Group to revive its abruptly canceled IPO in 2020. The recent adjustment reduces founder Jack Ma’s share voting power from 53.46% to 6.21%, eliminating any shareholder, whether direct or indirect, with single or joint control over Ant Group. A spokesperson from Ant Group noted that the completed voting rights structure of major shareholders, announced publicly in January 2023, will not impact the daily operations of relevant companies. [PBOC, in Chinese]

On Monday, Baidu announced the cancellation of its deal to acquire Joyy’s China-focused livestreaming platform YY Live, originally slated to conclude by the end of 2023. The collapse of the move, once seen as the tech giant’s ambitious foray into the flourishing livestreaming industry, was attributed to the deal’s closing conditions outlined in the November 2020 Share Purchase Agreement, which Baidu claimed had not been fully satisfied. The conditions involved obtaining necessary regulatory approvals from government authorities and completing the transaction within the stated deadline, though Baidu did not specify the precise reason for termination. In response, Joyy has declared that it is seeking legal advice and will explore all available options. [Baidu filing]

In November 2023, sales of surveillance cameras in the Chinese online market reached 2.16 million units, marking a year-on-year growth of 14.4%, as reported by market research firm RUNTO. The sales revenue amounted to RMB 450 million ($63 million), reflecting a year-on-year decline of 10.7%. RUNTO indicated that surveillance cameras were the sole category in China’s smart home devices market to experience year-on-year growth in sales volume during November. The increased demand for surveillance camera products is attributed to heightened consumer awareness of home security, competitive unit prices, and promotional events on China’s Singles’ Day (Nov. 11), according to the report. Xiaomi, Jooan, and Ezviz secured the top three positions in the sales chart, with market shares reaching 12.7%, 11.1%, and 7.9%, respectively. [RUNTO, in Chinese]

Chinese tech giant Huawei anticipates exceeding RMB 700 billion ($98.22 billion) in sales revenue for 2023, as revealed in an internal New Year message from Huawei’s rotating chairman, Ken Hu. This projection indicates a roughly 9% year-over-year increase compared to the reported RMB 642.3 billion ($90.25 billion) in 2022, with the growth primarily attributed to a significant uptick in smartphone sales. Huawei asserts strong performance across various business sectors, including growth in ICT infrastructure, terminals, digital energy, and cloud services. Despite these efforts, the company acknowledges ongoing challenges posed by geopolitical issues, technological sanctions, and trade barriers, according to Ken Hu. [Huawei, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s core cloud and computing business is shifting its strategy priorities to focus on public cloud services under an ongoing structure and personnel adjustment, according to a Thursday report by LatePost. The move would see the Chinese tech giant cut back on government and enterprise focused customization projects and its hardware integration business. Private cloud sales are set to belong to the hybrid cloud division, which is primarily profit-seeking, while the newly set up public cloud division will mainly target market share expansion, the report said. Alibaba Cloud has been under direct control of the company’s CEO Eddie Wu since September, with Wu announcing a strategy of driving growth through AI and prioritizing public cloud services on last month’s earnings call for the firm. Wu also stated that Alibaba’s cloud unit would build the “most open cloud in the AI era.” [LatePost, in Chinese]

On Thursday, Xiaomi unveiled the special customized edition of Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro, featuring color schemes inspired by the company’s first electric vehicle, the SU7. The flagship smartphones now present color options mirroring those of the Xiaomi SUV 7, including gulf blue and olive green. Notably, olive green varies slightly from the standard green color initially introduced at the launch of the Xiaomi 14 series on Oct. 26. Both models, available in the 16GB + 1TB RAM storage configuration, maintain the same price as their standard counterparts at RMB 4,999 ($709) and RMB 5,999 ($850), respectively. All other specifications remain unchanged. [IThome, in Chinese]

Baidu’s ChatGPT-like ERNIE Bot has surpassed 100 million users, said Wang Haifeng, chief technology officer of the company on Thursday, four months after the AI bot get the green light for a mass launch from regulators. The company did not specify how many of the bot’s large base of users are active on the app. In its press release, the Chinese tech giant said the chatbot had generated 3.7 billion words of text in workplace scenarios and written 300 million lines of code. [Baidu, in Chinese]

Nvidia has unveiled the GeForce RTX 4090D, an exclusive edition for the Chinese market, designed to adhere to US export regulations. This version boasts 14,592 CUDA cores, 24GB GDDR6X memory, a 384-bit wide memory bus, a 2.28 GHz base clock, and a power consumption of 425W. Priced at RMB 12,999 ($1,840), it aligns with Nvidia’s flagship RTX 4090 GPU in cost. Notably, the 4090D differs with a 12.8% reduction in CUDA cores (14,592 from 16,384) and a 5.9% decrease in power consumption (425W from 450W) compared to the standard RTX 4090. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, China’s capital Beijing launched a public computing platform to fuel need at the city’s universities, research institutes, and small AI enterprises. The launch comes at a time when expanding the supply of computing power has become a key focus for China as computational power needs mount with the rise of AI. Built and operated by Beijing Energy International Holding, a state-run company, the platform will provide 500 petaflops of computing power in the first phase and increase that to 1,500 petaflops in phase two, scheduled to go online in the first quarter of 2024. [Beijing Energy International Holding, in Chinese]

Chinese e-commerce giant JD announced on Wednesday evening that it is set to offer salary increases of up to 100% to front-line employees starting from the beginning of 2024. Procurement and sales staff will see their annual fixed salary nearly double. Meanwhile, all JD Retail employees are expected to receive an average pay raise of 20%, according to the announcement posted on JD’s official WeChat account. Procurement and sales staff are considered the key drivers of the low-price strategy within the Beijing-based company, as reported by local media outlets. These individuals are responsible for sourcing products across various categories from suppliers and ensuring goods availability on the retailing platform. The behind-the-scenes roles even involved selling goods via livestreaming during this year’s Singles Day, which JD claimed attracted more than 380 million viewers. [JD announcement, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle brand Zeekr launched its first electric sedan, the 007, on Wednesday. Priced competitively at RMB 209,900 ($29,449), the 007 boasts fast-charging battery tech and is equipped with Nvidia’s Drive Orin processors for automated driving. The fully electric single-motor rear-drive 007 offers an estimated range of 688 kilometers (428 miles) and accelerates from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 5.6 seconds, outpacing the entry-level Model 3 by 80 km in range and reaching 62 mph in 6.1 seconds. Customers can opt for a 100 kWh Qilin battery pack from CATL, extending the range to 870 km with an additional 610 km in a 15-minute fast charging session. The four-wheel drive version accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 2.84 seconds and comes with an exclusive color option, priced at RMB 299,900. Zeekr’s sedan, set for delivery on Jan. 1, is already capable of autonomous navigation on expressways across China and will operate autonomously on fixed routes for daily commuters in major urban streets starting next June. [Zeekr release, in Chinese]

Tesla is planning to introduce a restyled, China-made Model Y sports utility vehicle featuring a new wheel design and ambient lighting, with mass production expected to begin in its Shanghai factory as early as mid-2024, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory is undergoing preparations for the move and will suspend production for a week during the lunar New Year holiday for a partial upgrade, which will be followed by more adjustments before mass production, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. The news comes just two months after the US electric vehicle giant began selling a refreshed version of its popular crossover with prices remaining the same in China on Oct. 1, having faced intensified competition from rivals ranging from BYD to Xpeng. The entry level version of the existing Model Y can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.9 seconds, faster than the 6.9 seconds of its predecessor, although radar sensors were removed by the automaker to instead rely on cameras for automated driving. [Bloomberg]

At the winter launch event, Huawei introduced its mid-range nova 12 series smartphones on Tuesday, starting at RMB 2,999 ($420). The series comprises three versions: nova 12 Ultra, nova 12 Pro, and nova 12. All models operate on HarmonyOS 4.0, with only the nova 12 Ultra supporting satellite messaging without terrestrial signal. Notably, executives did not disclose detailed chip information at the event. Earlier reports suggested self-developed Kirin chips for the nova 12 series, sparking industry interest and potentially marking Huawei’s return to self-developed chips in the mid-range smartphone lineup. Huawei, at present, has not commented on this matter. [The Beijing News, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle brand Aito aims for annual sales of 600,000 electric vehicles in 2024, more than 10 times this year’s total, according to sources cited by LatePost on Tuesday. The brand, a collaboration between Huawei and manufacturing partner Seres, has briefed parts suppliers on the outlook, offering three models (M5, M7, and M9) currently and plans for another, the M8, next year. Aito recently launched the M9, a luxury full-size crossover with Huawei’s technologies, priced at RMB 469,800 ($65,725). The EV brand reported over 10,000 non-refundable orders for the flagship SUV within two hours of its launch on Monday. Aito’s EV sales were approximately 75,000 units last year and around 68,000 units from January to November this year, with monthly deliveries expected to exceed 23,000 in December and surpass 30,000 in January, as stated by Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group, on Nov. 28. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Chinese tech giant Huawei’s self-developed operating system HarmonyOS for PCs is nearing completion and is set to launch next year, as reported by the 21st Century Business Herald. Huawei introduced HarmonyOS in 2019, showcasing a micro-kernel architecture and supporting diverse applications. Huawei sources have disclosed the aim to extend HarmonyOS to more terminals, reinforcing the company’s presence in various fields. At a Tuesday press conference, Huawei’s CEO, Yu Chengdong, expressed gratitude for consumer support and emphasized the company’s commitment to delivering high-quality products and premium experiences through increased R&D innovation. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle brand Aito on Tuesday launched a luxury full-size sports utility vehicle that it claims features unmatched safety and luxury with Huawei’s cutting-edge technologies including a gigantic heads-up display and automated driving capabilities for urban scenarios. Huawei and its manufacturing partner Seres made the body sections of the Aito M9 with the use of large, high-pressure casting machines that weigh up to 9,000 tonnes, a technique also used by Tesla for producing its Cybertruck. This will greatly boost the vehicle’s structural stiffness with the reduction of components from several hundred to only about 10 or so, Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, said during a press conference in Shenzhen. The three-row SUV is equipped with a 75-inch, augmented-reaility, head-up display unit that can present major traffic information such as navigation in a high-resolution, transparent display, as well as a 32-inch, foldable projection screen curtain for entertainment in the middle of the car. Scheduled for delivery on Jan. 26, the six-seater will be capable of navigating by itself on busy streets across major Chinese cities, and is priced from RMB 469,800 and RMB 509,800 ($65,725 and $71,321) for the range-extended hybrid and all-electric versions, respectively. [Aito release, TechNode reporting, in Chinese]

Short video platform Douyin has brought artificial intelligence technology to its in-app search function, with the goal of “assisting users in finding desired content more quickly,” according to an outline on the feature’s introduction page. The TikTok sibling’s AI Search function is currently under beta testing before a full-scale launch. It is not only capable of providing intelligent recommendations based on users’ search history and preferences, it also supports the searching of content outside of the video platform. Users are encouraged to offer feedback on the AI-generated results through a dedicated button located at the bottom of the interface. [GeekPark, in Chinese]

China’s Instagram-like Xiaohongshu has clarified that it currently has no plan to go public after a local report said the company may list in Hong Kong as early as the second half of 2024. Boasting 1 billion daily active users, the lifestyle-sharing platform operates as a real-time search engine covering a wide range of content from studying abroad preparations and household cleaning tips to sightseeing and food recommendations. Xiaohongshu’s push into e-commerce this year has boosted its higher-than-expected net profit, which a previous Bloomberg report cited sources as saying the company is projected to achieve a net income of $500 million in 2023. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Chinese battery maker Gotion High Tech will target an annual shipment of 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of batteries in 2027 for overseas markets, including the Americas, the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and Africa, said Cheng Qian, president of Gotion’s Asia-Pacific business unit, on Dec. 23. Cheng also expects overseas revenue to exceed RMB 100 billion ($14 billion) and for the firm to have captured a 10% market share for the target regions at that time. The Volkswagen-backed manufacturer is aiming to become a more comprehensive battery supplier for electric vehicles and energy storage, among other uses. Gotion reported overseas revenue of nearly RMB 3 billion last year, accounting for almost 13% of its revenue, with total shipments surging 112% year-on-year to 14.1 GWh, according to figures compiled by South Korea’s SNE Research. The company began production at its first regional plants in Gottingen, Germany, and Thailand, in September and December, respectively, and has plans to construct two plants in the US and one in Morocco. [Gotion announcement, in Chinese]

China’s game live-streamer Huya has agreed to buy a 100% equity interest in Tencent-operated global mobile application service provider, according to Huya’s filings to the SEC, in a deal for cash consideration of $81 million. Huya did not disclose which specific bid was being made in the document. The latest selling comes several weeks after tech giant Tencent sold animation and comics businesses to digital publisher Yuewen Group amid cost-cutting efforts. The acquisition is expected to “enhance Huya’s ability to promote and distribute game applications in international markets,” the company said. [Huya; China Star Market]

Correction: An earlier version of the article misidentified unspecified bids as specific bids.

On Dec. 22, Tencent witnessed a decline of approximately $46 billion in market value, while NetEase faced a loss of around $17 billion, after a surprising move by China’s gaming authority, which introduced new regulations targeting excessive gaming and spending. The National Press and Publication Administration of China (NPPA) today issued the approval of 105 new domestic game licenses, as the authority intends to demonstrate a supportive stance toward the development of online games. This marks the first time a single batch has received approval for over a hundred game licenses. As of now, 977 domestic games and 98 imported ones have been issued in 2023, marking a twofold increase compared to the previous year. [NPPA, in Chinese]

Alibaba has promoted six younger figures to lead key operations within Taobao and Tmall on Dec. 22, two days following CEO Eddie Wu taking over from Trudy Dai as the direct leader of Alibaba’s domestic e-commerce marketplaces. The rejuvenated management team further signals that the 24-year-old company is adapting to more flexible strategies as an offensive move amidst the unstoppable upward trend of rivals Pinduoduo and Douyin. The youngest person promoted this round is 1987-born Wang Tingxiang, who now heads the newly formed fashion and apparel development unit. Wu Jia, aged 38, has been named in charge of improving Taobao’s user experience, largely thanks to his track record of leading the incubation of the search engine Quark, which Eddie Wu considered as one of Alibaba’s four strategic-level innovation businesses in the recent earnings call. [LatePost, in Chinese]

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India, a financial crime-fighting agency, recently arrested several senior executives of Vivo India, including the interim CEO and CFO, as revealed by sources familiar with the matter. In response, a spokesperson for Vivo stated that the company will use all legal means to address these accusations. In October, the ED had already arrested four executives from Vivo India on charges related to illegal remittances. The arrested individuals allegedly established 23 companies in India, which were found to have assisted Vivo India in transferring a substantial amount of funds, according to the ED. Vivo is accused of transferring 624.76 billion rupees (around $7.5 billion) in this alleged case of tax evasion, representing almost 50% of the company’s overseas revenue in India. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s supermarket chain Freshippo has suspended new membership subscriptions since Dec. 13, according to local media outlet Yicai, which quoted a Freshippo source. The move comes two months after the grocery retailer introduced large-scale discounts across most of its product range. The activation fee for a one-year membership is RMB 258, which is very close to rival Sam’s Club’s annual membership fee, and grants customers a discount of 12% off every Tuesday. Freshippo, however, caused dissatisfaction among its members in October after it allowed all offline shoppers to purchase goods at a price 20% lower than the original in an unexpected move. “The ultimate goal of is to ensure ‘price reduction for all consumers’ in stores,” Freshippo told Yicai. [Yicai, in Chinese]

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) today issued Draft Management Measures for Online Games, open for public feedback until January 22, 2024. In future, online games will not be allowed to provide rewards for daily logins, or first-time and consecutive in-game purchasing. All game publishers will be prohibited from promoting or allowing high-priced transactions of virtual items through hype or auction. Charge limits will apply, as disclosed in service rules and pop-up warnings to players engaging in “irrational consumption”. Following the announcement, NetEase’s stock dropped over 20%, while Tencent’s fell by more than 15%. [NPPA, in Chinese]

JD Logistics has shortened individual-to-individual delivery time in Beijing, Shanghai, and seven provinces, the e-commerce giant’s logistics arm announced on Thursday, in a move to grab customers as it fights Alibaba’s Cainiao. The company said recipients could see their delivery from other cities in the same province as early as 8 am the next morning, and couriers could pick up items to be sent any time up to 11 pm at night. It also plans to expand coverage of “next-morning delivery” to more Chinese cities, according to the statement. [JD Logistics, in Chinese]

Chinese air mobility maker EHang said on Thursday that its EH216-S, a passenger-carrying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), had been granted China’s standard Airworthiness Certificate (AC), marking it the world’s first unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to receive such certification. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) certified EH216-S, produced at EHang’s Yunfu Production Base, complies with the type certificate (TC) issued by the CAAC in October 2023 and follows procedures set by CAAC for production. The first EH216-S has already been delivered to ETON, an aviation technology subsidiary of China’s Guangzhou Development District Communications Investment Group, which is managed by Guangzhou’s Huangpu District local government. [CAAC, in Chinese]

TikTok and Douyin owner ByteDance is expected to achieve $110 billion in sales this year, as reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, which cited a source with knowledge of the matter. The figure likely surpasses that of Tencent, the Chinese tech giant that generated $63.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2023. ByteDance’s growth rate this year is approximately the same as the 30% it achieved in 2022, according to the report. Although it’s unclear how well the Beijing-based company will perform in terms of net profit, the impressive revenue already demonstrates ByteDance’s resilience in a year when its flagship app TikTok faced security scrutiny in the US and a temporary suspension of e-commerce operations in Indonesia. [Bloomberg]

Douyin, China’s TikTok sibling which is increasingly focusing on on-demand local services, has released a fine dining list for the first time covering 14 first-tier and new first-tier cities in China on Tuesday, in a further challenge to rival Meituan’s dominant position in the sector. Listing a total of 175 outlets that “offer quality catering services,” the Douyin catering report seems like a response to Meituan’s Black Pearl guide, itself a riposte of sorts to the Michelin Guide that has been released annually since 2018 with the stated goal of creating “Chinese’s own cuisine list.” Of the 500 restaurants and cafes initially shortlisted for the guide, all 500 have already opened accounts on Douyin and most promote themselves through short video. Vice President of Douyin’s in-store business Li Wei said at the guide’s release event that the platform hopes to select good restaurants for users that are “really worth going to and affordable to go to.” Chinese tech outlet LatePost reported previously that the TikTok sibling app generated RMB 100 billion in local life services in the first half of this year. [Douyin, in Chinese]

Three of China’s biggest electric vehicle makers – BYD, Chery, and SAIC – are in discussions with Mexican authorities over the setting up of car assembly plants in Latin America’s second largest economy, arousing concerns of Chinese firms finding a way to bypass US restrictions. US government officials are concerned that such investments would allow the Chinese carmakers to sidestep Biden administration measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which prohibits China-made EVs from receiving US tax breaks, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. Sources added that BYD could initially invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the country, while SAIC-owned MG Motor could look to invest up to $2 billion. Speaking to Motortrend on Oct. 11, Brian Wu, executive vice president of Chery Mexico, said the company has developed a roadmap for entering the US, but how and when it would happen exactly had not yet been determined. [Financial Times]

Chinese auto tech startup iMotion saw its stock end almost 13% below its initial public offering price on Wednesday in an underwhelming Hong Kong debut, reflecting investors’ concerns about its heavy reliance on a single client in a competitive market. The Suzhou-headquartered company has been a partner to Intel’s Mobileye since early 2018 and facilitated the adoption of Mobileye’s SuperVision advanced driver-assist system on electric vehicles launched by Geely-owned electric car brand Zeekr since late 2021. However, the firm’s current revenue model relies heavily on Geely, from which it generates roughly 95% of its revenue during the first half of 2023, making it subject to the risk of immediate instability from the loss of its single biggest client. Over the period, the company posted revenue of RMB 543 million ($76 million) on a net loss of RMB 100 million, while predicting losses to continue in the foreseeable future. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Alibaba on Wednesday gave CEO Eddie Wu direct control of its Chinese e-commerce business, making him chief executive of both its cloud and domestic retail units at the same time in the tech giant’s latest restructuring. Former executive Trudy Dai is being appointed to assist with the establishment of an asset management company, the group’s chairman Joe Tsai announced in an employee-facing letter. “A new era requires a new strategy and organizational system change,” said Tsai, as the e-commerce giant increasingly sees its market dominance threatened by low-price-focused Pinduoduo. The move strengthens Wu’s direct control over Alibaba’s most profitable business and will likely the company’s retail marketplaces adhere to a more AI-driven strategy as proposed by Wu in September. [NBD, in Chinese]

TSMC Chairman Mark Liu has decided not to pursue a nomination for the upcoming term on the TSMC board and intends to retire from the company following the 2024 annual shareholders meeting, according to the company’s statement. The board of TSMC recommends Vice Chairman C.C. Wei to take over as the next chairman, pending the election of the incoming board in June 2024. Mark Liu, who joined TSMC in 1993 and took on the role of chairman in June 2018 after founder Morris Chang’s retirement, expressed gratitude for the 30-year journey with TSMC. Currently, TSMC manufactures advanced 3nm chips and plans to start mass production of 2nm chips in 2025. [TSMC]

A Thai coffee chain that shares an almost identical logo with China’s Luckin Coffee is reportedly claiming 10 billion Thai baht ($2.86 billion) as a financial loss from the latter, according to Chinese media outlets quoting Thai reports. 50R Group, a Thai company that operates Luckin’s Thai version, noted in the indictment that Luckin had “repeatedly compelled the plaintiff to cease using the trademark and forcibly seized its property” before the court made a final judgment on Luckin’s accused “fake” Thai stores on Dec. 1. Luckin, on Wednesday, posted on its official Weibo account, saying the claim has “yet to be verified,” and added it’s really shocked about how the lawsuit is progressing. The move comes after the Chinese coffee chain failed in a lawsuit alleging 50R Group’s trademark infringement in the Southeast Asian country. [Luckin Coffee, in Chinese]

Qorvo, a US manufacturer of semiconductors and radio-frequency (RF) solutions, announced on Monday that it has reached an agreement to sell its assembly and test facilities located in Beijing and Dezhou, China, to Luxshare Precision Industry, a Chinese contract manufacturer. The companies expect to complete the transaction by the first half of 2024, pending regulatory approvals and the fulfillment or waiver of other closing conditions. Upon closing, Luxshare will take over the operations and assets of each facility, including property, plant, equipment, and the existing workforce, while Qorvo will retain its sales, engineering, and customer support in China to continue serving its customers. Luxshare will be responsible for assembling and testing products for Qorvo under a newly established long-term supply agreement, according to Qorvo’s statement. [Qorvo]

On Monday, Xiaomi responded to user concerns about its smart door lock after reports of accidental door openings, as the incident sparked discussions about the lock’s safety. Xiaomi clarified that the products showcased in related videos employ semi-automatic lock bodies equipped with in-line C-level lock cylinders. These models lack the automatic retraction function of the lock tongue, eliminating the potential for spontaneous openings. There exists a theoretical scenario in which the door may open automatically, in instances where the door is not fully closed or when the installation tolerance of the door frame is too large. Xiaomi underscored that the smart door lock cannot support network remote unlocking. The engineer conducted on-site inspections of the product but did not reproduce the situation as shown in the video, according to Xiaomi. The company will also invite a third-party agency to conduct tests on the product, Xiaomi added. [Xiaomi Representative’s Weibo, in Chinese]

Renowned for developing popular games like Genshin Impact, Chinese game publisher HoYoverse will be creating exclusive games designed specifically for HarmonyOS, as announced by Huawei on Monday. Huawei continues to advance HarmonyOS for smartphones this year, positioning it as a competitor to iOS and Android. Despite its potential, HarmonyOS faces a challenge in limited application support, prompting Huawei to collaborate with multiple Chinese companies to enhance its app ecosystem. Currently, leading domestic applications or platforms that have announced partnerships with Huawei’s HarmonyOS include Alipay, Weibo, NetEase Games, Meituan, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Amap, and DingTalk. [Huawei Cloud’s Weibo, in Chinese]

NIO said on Monday that it had signed a share subscription agreement with CYVN Holdings for a $2.2 billion capital injection, as the Abu Dhabi-controlled fund raised its bet on the Chinese electric vehicle maker following a $1.1 billion investment in July. CYVN Holdings will take a total of a 20.1% stake in NIO after the deal is completed, making it the largest shareholder of the company entitled to hold two seats on NIO’s board of directors. Founder and chief executive William Li still holds a controlling stake and voting rights at the EV maker. The Middle East is becoming a major supporter of Chinese EV makers as the Gulf region, known for its oil and gas riches, looks to diversify the economy in preparation for a global transition to green energy. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment is set to invest $5.6 billion in Shanghai-headquartered Human Horizons based on an agreement signed in June, while Beyonca, backed by Renault and Dongfeng Motor, in October signed a memorandum of understanding with Riyadh-based Al Faisaliah Group Holding Company. Li told Chinese reporters on Dec. 14 that NIO plans to enter the United Arab Emirates in 2024. [NIO statement]

Bilibili users sent the Chinese word “Ah?” over 13.2 million times as a bullet comment on the video site over the course of 2023, serving as a brief way for viewers to express surprise in response to content creators showing off their skills, or to discovering “treasured content” and witnessing major technological breakthroughs via the site’s videos. The platform labeled “Ah?” as the annual bullet subtitle of 2023 in cooperation with the state-affiliated institution China Cultural Relics Exchange Center and National Museum of Chinese Writing last week. Bullet comments are so-called because of the way they shoot across the screen when posted by users watching a video. 2023 marks the seventh consecutive year that Bilibili, the video-streaming platform highly favored by Chinese millennials and Gen Z, has published the most representative bullet comment. The phrase of the year last year was “youya”, or “elegant” in English, which was used to complement impressive videos. [Bilibili, in Chinese]

OpenAI has suspended ByteDance’s account after tech outlet The Verge reported that the TikTok owner has been secretly using OpenAI’s API to train its own large language model at almost every stage, violating the ChatGPT creator’s business terms that forbid users from developing a rival AI model using ChatGPT outputs. ByteDance acknowledged that it had previously used GPT-generated data to “annotate the model”, but had already removed this data around the middle of this year. The Beijing-based firm implemented most of its GPT usage through Microsoft’s Azure, with an OpenAI spokesperson admitting the usage appeared “minimal”, but the Microsoft-invested startup has nevertheless suspended ByteDance’s account while it undertakes a full investigation into any potential violations of its terms and conditions. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Shanghai local authorities have continued their policy of issuing free license plates for battery electric vehicles for another year starting Jan. 1. However, they have lifted the requirements for applicants aiming to promote green vehicles while restricting vehicle ownership to control the city’s traffic. Individuals are now required to have received social security payments for at least 36 months consistently, rather than 24 months as previously stated, before applying for free license plates for their electric vehicles. This information comes from a document released by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, along with four other government departments. The updated regulation has also tightened the requirements pertaining to institutions’ applications for EV license plates. It details that businesses should have at least five employees covered by social security or pay their taxes for more than a year. Shanghai initiated restrictions on the sales of gasoline vehicles in 1994. Buyers have to bid for license plates through auctions and lotteries, boosting EV sales to more than 262,000 units in the city for the first 10 months of this year, the highest among Chinese cities. [Shanghai gov announcement, in Chinese]

Temu has filed a fresh lawsuit against rival Shein accusing the fast fashion giant of carrying out “a multifaceted scheme” to slow Temu’s growth in the US, according to a Wednesday filing. The ultra-low price retailer is alleging its Chinese counterpart infringed upon its intellectual property rights and entered into anti-competitive exclusivity agreements with merchants. The documents from Temu say Shein’s actions have “escalated recently.” The new lawsuit comes just weeks after the two sides agreed to end legal battles with each other in late October. According to the filing, Whale Inc, the operator of Temu in the US, has accused Shein of using “false imprisonment”, “phone seizure” and “loyalty attestations” as tactics to force merchants not to work with Temu, with the documents labeling Shein “a Potemkin village”. [Temu court filing]

East Buy, a subsidiary of private tutoring giant New Oriental that successfully transitioned to livestream-selling farm products, saw its market price slump nearly 20% after a dispute involving influential livestreamer Dong Yuhui intensified. East Buy’s official Douyin account said promotional content read by Dong in a recent livestream was a result of multi-party collaboration and not Dong himself. East Buy now has over 30 million followers on China’s TikTok sibling Douyin, 800,000 less than a week previously. Founder and chairman of New Oriental Michael Yu apologized on Thursday as public uproar resounded online, saying it was supposed to be an “internal matter” and exposed to “big holes” in East Buy’s management. [TechNode reporting]

AGIBOT, an intelligent robot company, recently secured a new round of financing valued at RMB 600 million ($85 million), according to a report by Chinese media outlet 36Kr. The company is reportedly also preparing another round of financing with a pre-investment valuation of RMB 7 billion ($980 million). Founded by Peng Zhihui in February, AGIBOT unveiled the Expedition A1 humanoid robot with a PowerFlow joint motor, a reverse-joint design, and a dexterous hand called SkillHand, in August. Peng (also known as Zhihui Jun and who was born in 1993), chose to depart from Huawei in December 2022 to establish his own robot company, despite being offered an annual salary of millions of RMB through Huawei’s Genius Youth Program. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On Wednesday, Huawei launched the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) app, a smart driving application for its Huawei-branded cars, on major Android application platforms in China. HIMA represents a new upgrade of Huawei’s auto business, currently encompassing the AITO and LUXEED series models. Users can remotely control their vehicles through this app, including locking the car, controlling windows and the trunk, adjusting air conditioning, monitoring real-time vehicle status, and finding charging stations on the map. Additionally, it provides online test drive reservations and facilitates online purchasing for Huawei cars. In November, the AITO series achieved a record-breaking 18,827 vehicles, marking a 48.24% increase compared to the 12,700 vehicles delivered in October, as reported by the company. [IThome, in Chinese]

The update log for Xiaomi’s HyperOS reveals a new feature that can automatically block porn apps and trigger a police alarm, as per a recent image posted on Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok). This image has sparked widespread discussion and concern among Xiaomi’s domestic users. Wang Hua, the manager of Xiaomi’s PR department, posted a clarification via the Twitter-like platform Weibo, stating that the original update log is focused on “updating Google security patches to enhance system security.” He encourages netizens who have updated the HyperOS to help spread the clarification. On October 26, Xiaomi announced the launch of the domestic version of HyperOS, a self-developed operating system for Xiaomi devices, with the international release scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. [Weibo, in Chinese]

WeChat is set to charge security deposits for mini-programs that are designed for users to watch short dramas within the messaging app, as reported by the Shanghai Securities Journal, citing various industry sources. According to the report, the deposit amount varies, with some receiving RMB 1,000 payment notices, while others are required to pay RMB 100. Mini-apps may face limited visibility in search results unless operators fulfill the deposit payment, as outlined in the payment notice. The deposit aims to ensure the provision of “high-quality goods and services” by the operator, according to Tencent regulations. This move underscores the increasing content control within the rapidly growing short web drama market. [Shanghai Securities Journal, in Chinese]

Alibaba injects an additional $634 million into Lazada, its Southeast Asia arm, amid escalating regional competition, reports Tech in Asia. This latest investment brings Alibaba’s total injection into Lazada this year to over $1.8 billion. The move follows Chinese counterpart TikTok’s $1.5 billion investment in Indonesia-based GoTo’s e-commerce unit to revive its online shopping business, three months after the short video platform had been forced to suspend retail services. Alibaba’s International Digital Commerce, overseeing overseas marketplaces including Lazada, saw quarterly revenue soar at a double-digit pace this year though still making a loss. [Tech in Asia]

SES, a battery startup supported by General Motors, Hyundai, and Honda, has entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) with one of its major investors to create prototype lithium-metal batteries labeled as B-Sample. This move aims to promote the adoption of this emerging technology in electric vehicles. Chief Executive Hu Qichao, declaring the agreement the first of its kind in the industry on Wednesday, didn’t disclose the carmaker’s name but mentioned that a similar deal with another backer is imminent. The B-Sample is the second-level prototype in the automotive industry, featuring full specifications and can be installed into test vehicles for further validation, typically taking one to two years. Last May, the Boston-headquartered company announced its intention to enter the series production process after completing the validation of C/D-sample which may last another two years. Lithium-metal batteries, which lack the carbon materials used in existing lithium-ion batteries and have pure metal lithium in the anode, theoretically offer longer driving ranges and more cabin space. [TechNode reporting]

China’s central government is set to raise the threshold for the exemption of new energy vehicles (NEVs) from purchase taxes in June, introducing changes such as higher driving ranges for battery electric vehicles. The lowest driving range for all-electric vehicles qualifying for EV tax breaks will increase from 100 kilometers (62 miles) to 200 kilometers, as outlined in a document published on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration. As part of the update, Beijing has also issued new technical standards, including the lowest energy density of EV batteries, aimed at ensuring limited degradation of driving ranges in freezing temperatures. Additionally, carmakers are now required to provide proof of ensuring battery swap services to customers who purchased their EVs with swappable batteries, either by establishing their own battery swap stations or delegating third parties to offer the service. In June, the central government had announced that Chinese EV buyers would be entitled to a 10% purchase tax exemption until the end of 2025, marking the extension of the policy for the fourth time since its initial release in 2017. [MIIT release, TechNode reporting, in Chinese]

China Literature Limited (Yuewen in Chinese), a leading online literature and intellectual property platform in China, announced on Monday that the company has entered into an asset transfer agreement with Tencent to acquire the related assets of Tencent Animation and Comics, including related app platforms and the intellectual property rights and related rights to its content, for RMB 600 million ($84 million). Established in 2012, Tencent Animation and Comics is a domestic animation and comic platform that has launched popular titles including The Outcast, The Fox Spirit Matchmaker, and Spare Me, Great Lord. Notably, the adapted animation series of the comic title The Outcast has accumulated over 6.5 billion video views on the Tencent Animation and Comics platform. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

The Chinese version of Cookie Run: Kingdom is set to launch on Dec. 28, following a final user test conducted by game distributor Tencent Games in China from Dec. 4 to assess the game’s overall completeness. The Chinese version will introduce new content, including a Chinese voice cast, additional characters, game skins, decorations, and collaboration plans with other Tencent games. Developed by Korean developer Devsisters, Cookie Run: Kingdom is a mobile RPG (role-playing game) where players build a kingdom and lead a team of cookie characters on an adventure to defeat the evil enemy Slimes. Combining base-building elements with real-time combat, the game features colorful graphics and various cookies with unique abilities. Since its release in January 2021, Cookie Run: Kingdom has generated $400 million by February 2023, with over 27 million downloads in two years, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. [nadianshi, in Chinese]

KargoBot, the autonomous truck unit of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi, announced on Monday that it has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Beijing-based auto tech unicorn Horizon Robotics. The two companies are strengthening their alliance to promote the adoption of autonomous vehicles. KargoBot stated that it has been validating domain controllers, a computer that controls vehicle functions related to a specific area, such as body and chassis. This validation is based on Horizon’s Journey series processors, following their partnership established in April. The news follows reports in October that Didi raised RMB 450 million ($61.7 million) for the separate unit from investors, including cashmere maker Erdos Group. Didi has been piloting over 150 robot trucks for cargo deliveries in China, especially in the northern region. Horizon has also supported Chinese self-driving companies like Qcraft, as they collaboratively develop assisted driving technologies for passenger electric vehicles, including Li Auto and other carmakers. [KargoBot announcement, in Chinese]

Bubble tea chain Heytea opened its first US store last week in New York, marking the first Chinese-style tea maker to enter the world’s largest economy while its Chinese rivals still focus on building their presence in South East Asia. The New York Heytea menu has 16 beverages on sale, including fruit-made tea and milk tea, priced between $3.99 and $7.49. The brand is initially offering buy one get one free deals at the Manhattan-located store. The Shenzhen-headquartered company began its global expansion in Singapore in 2018, six years after its founding, and currently has operations in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Malaysia. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Huawei’s deputy general manager of the French branch, Zhang Minggang, announced on December 10 that Huawei’s first overseas factory will be established in France, with production expected by the end of 2025. The construction is progressing toward the goal of manufacturing one billion devices annually and creating 500 local employment opportunities. Huawei plans to manufacture and supply the entire European market from France, with an investment of 200 million euros. Instead of smartphones, this factory will produce components for 4G and 5G base stations, including chipsets and motherboards. By 2021, Huawei achieved 2.5 billion euros in sales in France, creating approximately 10,000 jobs and holding a 20% market share in France’s telecommunications infrastructure market, according to the company. [IThome, in Chinese]

Richard Liu, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD, admitted the company “must change” at an internal forum and blamed himself for the mismanagement of multiple issues at the firm. Liu’s comments came in response to an operations employee who pointed out that a flurry of problems currently exists at the retailer, from complicated promotion mechanisms and inadequate implementation of low-price strategies to insufficient cross-sector linkages, according to local media outlet LatePost. “It hits the company’s pain points,” Liu wrote, while encouraging JD employees to be more patient due to the time he said it would take to adjust at the “huge and bloated organization.” Liu’s comments come after Alibaba founder Jack Ma also urged his company to embrace change two weeks ago in a rare memo as Temu parent PDD closes in on China’s online retail leader in market valuation, with PDD’s latest quarterly earnings reflecting its strong growth momentum. [LatePost, in Chinese]

On Dec. 8, Xiaomi collaborated with HoYoverse’s hit game Genshin Impact to introduce an exclusive version of the Smart Band 8 Pro in China. This flagship wearable is uniquely packaged, complete with hidden surprises dedicated to one of the game’s favorite characters, Tartaglia. The package includes a character poster, themed stickers, a special strap, and a wireless charger designed to match the character. The user interface (UI) is also designed to reflect the theme of Genshin Impact. Despite these enhancements, the specifications remain consistent with the regular Xiaomi Band 8 Pro. Priced at RMB 549 ($77), the limited edition is slightly more expensive than the standard Smart Band 8 Pro, which starts at RMB 355 ($50) in China. [Zaker, in Chinese]

TikTok parent ByteDance intends to sell 4.389 million shares in Zhangyue, the owner of the digital reading platform iReader, marking its third stock setback since becoming the company’s third-largest shareholder in 2020. Currently, ByteDance holds a 7.49% stake in Zhangyue. This recent divestment follows a nearly 15% surge in Zhangyue’s shares over the past two months, attributed to the popularity of short web dramas before China’s broadcasting regulator tightened content control in mid-November. The share reduction, to be carried out by a wholly-owned subsidiary of ByteDance, will not exceed 1% of the total share capital of iReader’s owner, as per Zhangyue’s regulatory filings on Wednesday. ByteDance initially acquired an 11% stake in the e-book reader shares through a RMB 1.1 billion investment three years ago, aiming to diversify growth into new areas. [Zhangyue, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Gotion High Tech said on Thursday that the first locally-made battery pack has rolled off assembly lines in the facility it partners on with state-owned energy giant PTT in Thailand’s Rayong province. The news marks the beginning of local manufacturing in Southeast Asia’s second biggest economy for the Volkswagen-backed battery supplier, which is set to begin supplying the product to Chinese EV startup Hozon Auto in the first quarter of 2024. The 38 kilowatt-hour (kWh), relatively inexpensive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery provides an EV with a driving range of around 400 kilometers (249 miles) and the joint plant has an initial capacity for making two gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of batteries each year. Larger rival CATL also said in June that it will license its technologies to PTT-affiliated Arun Plus to establish a battery production base in the country. EVE, whose clients include BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in July announced plans to jointly build a six GWh battery plant with local renewable energy startup Energy Absolute. [Gotion announcement, in Chinese]

Kuaishou, the operator of its eponymous short video platform, is currently undergoing its biggest organizational overhaul in a year, encompassing core business lines such as the main site, e-commerce, and commercialization sectors, as reported by the local outlet Jiemian on Monday. As part of this restructuring, the former local consumption department is poised to be renamed to reflect a shift in focus toward the real estate industry. This unit will now oversee real estate-related business, given Kuaishou’s robust performance in property promotions through livestreaming and short videos. In the last quarter alone, the company successfully sold RMB 14 billion in property, surpassing its full-year 2022 sales by RMB 4 billion, despite challenges posed by China’s real estate crisis. Additionally, the company plans to establish a new segment dedicated to the creator and content ecosystem, aiming to further support content generation within a profit-driven strategy, according to the report. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

On December 14, China’s Zeekr will unveil the first battery pack custom-designed by the electric vehicle maker in a ceremony emphasizing its scale, vertical integration, and expertise. The event will take place at a production base in the eastern Chinese city of Quzhou. While Zeekr provided no further details on the Twitter-like platform Weibo, sources suggest that these batteries will initially be integrated into Zeekr’s first premium sedan, the 007, priced from RMB 224,900 ($31,059) and set for delivery next month, as reported by local media outlet Jiemian on Thursday. Geely’s subsidiary has formed an alliance with CATL, and its 009 multi-purpose vehicle becomes the first model powered by the battery giant’s Qilin battery, offering a driving range of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) on a single charge. Notably, rival NIO has been developing its own batteries since last year, planning to introduce them with the first model of its upcoming mainstream sub-brand, Alps, in 2024. [Zeekr announcement, Jiemian, in Chinese]

Tencent’s multiplayer online battle arena game, Honor of Kings, claimed the top spot in global mobile game revenue for November, reaching approximately $100.8 million, as reported by mobile market intelligence firm AppMagic. Meanwhile, Tencent’s battle royale game, PUBG Mobile, secured the fourth position with a monthly revenue of around $80 million. Genshin Impact, an action role-playing game by HoYoverse, climbed to the third spot in November, generating a global revenue of $96.4 million—a $25 million increase from October. Conversely, HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail experienced a revenue decline of over 50% compared to the previous month, only reaching $32.4 million in November.[nadianshi, in Chinese]

Chinese audio-sharing platform Ximalaya has said a report on its plan to lay off 30% of its workforce, with product and operation employees hit the hardest, is “baseless and completely untrue,” according to local media outlet Jiemian. Ximalaya claimed the company is currently undergoing regular organizational restructuring and recruitment efforts are also underway. The industry-leading firm is facing profitability challenges after 11 years of operation, with several executives quitting in the past six months including the senior vice president and chief content officer, the report said. Ximalaya recorded its first quarterly profit in the final quarter of last year, generating tens of millions of yuan, which came after an earlier prediction from the CEO in August anticipating profitability in the fourth quarter and a full-year profit in 2023. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

On Wednesday, China’s national television broadcaster, CCTV, unveiled its mascot for the 2024 Spring Festival Gala, Long Chenchen. Chenchen signifies a new beginning, while Long translates to dragon in Chinese, aligning with the Year of the Dragon in Chinese astrology for 2024. The mascot’s design draws inspiration from antique collections across various Chinese cities, featuring a turquoise dragon-shaped artifact from Luoyang, a gilded walking dragon from Xi’an Museum, and a five-clawed golden dragon from the Beijing Palace Museum. The red-skinned dragon’s back is adorned with a long cyan-colored pattern, symbolizing spring, hope, and growth in accordance with ancient Chinese astronomy. [IThome, in Chinese]

ByteDance plans to offer investors a $5 billion share buyback at $160 per share, matching the price of its latest stock repurchase option for employees in November, as reported by the South China Morning Post. This program values the TikTok owner at $268 billion, marking a 33% decrease from its peak valuation of $400 billion two years ago. Despite this, ByteDance remains China’s most highly valued unlisted tech company. The company abandoned its plans for a public listing in Hong Kong or New York following the Chinese government’s crackdown on the tech sector in mid-2020 which led Ant Group to suspend its IPO process. [SCMP]

Xiaomi is actively preparing showrooms for vehicle sales, currently renovating and expanding retail stores in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities. The first batch of display models is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2024. Financial media outlet Jiemian reported on Tuesday, citing employees from a Xiaomi store in Shanghai, that the first floor of the two-story shop will be dedicated to Xiaomi’s electric vehicles after renovation work is complete. This news comes after images of Xiaomi’s first EV model were revealed on the website of China’s industry ministry last month, showcasing a five-seater sedan with a sporty design similar to the Porsche Taycan. The Chinese smartphone maker aims to commence sales in the first half of next year, entering the intensely competitive EV market in China, where rivals like Huawei have been selling EVs through their retail network. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

TikTok is reportedly nearing a deal that will help the short video app restart e-commerce operations in Indonesia, its second-largest market, nearly three months after it suspended its shopping feature in fear of being banned by the Indonesian government. A Bloomberg report said TikTok is in talks with local company GoTo to invest in its e-commerce sector Tokopedia in a deal that is expected to close as early as this month. The government of the Southeast Asian country has said apps such as TikTok hurt its bricks-and-mortar shopping businesses by encouraging people to buy online. Before the ban could be imposed, TikTok’s chief executive officer Shou Zi Chew pledged to invest billions of dollars in the country over the next few years at a public event in Jakarta. [Bloomberg]

Chinese tea chain Heytea removed a tea latte from its menu, available for less than a week, after allegations that the co-branded beverage violated Religious Affairs Regulations. Multiple local media reports indicate that Heytea introduced the controversial drink at RMB 19 ($2.7) in collaboration with Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum on Nov. 28. The promotion featured a specially designed matching cup and fridge sticker showcasing the three Lohan porcelain. The National Religious Affairs of Shenzhen Bureau, Heytea’s headquarters, conducted a talk with the tea chain on Dec. 1. Subsequently, it acknowledged Heytea’s cooperation and stated that the company had admitted to its mistake “in a very good manner.” Although the religious regulation body did not specify the exact violation, the public widely believed that Heytea was accused of engaging in prohibited commercial propaganda under the guise of religion. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

NIO on Tuesday reported an 11% margin on vehicle sales in the third quarter to Sept. 30, up from 6.2% three months earlier and driving its total gross margin to 8% from a mere 1% over the same period. Founder and chief executive William Li attributed the improvement partly to the company’s strategy of stable pricing, when rivals such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz responded to competition by cutting prices on some of their models by as much as 30%. Revenue for the third quarter was nearly RMB 19.1 billion ($2.6 billion) compared to predictions of RMB 19.3 billion, with adjusted net losses falling 27.4% quarter-on-quarter to RMB 4.6 billion. The electric vehicle maker also announced plans to acquire two manufacturing plants it has been operating with partner JAC Group in Hefei for RMB 3.2 billion, following news that it secured a production license from the Chinese government over the weekend. Li said he expected NIO’s production costs to fall 10% if the company began making its own EVs instead of continuing to rely on contract manufacturing. [NIO financial report]

Honda’s joint venture with China’s state-owned GAC Group made around 900 contract workers, or 7% of its workforce, redundant in late November, becoming the latest Japanese automaker to downsize its operations due to competition with domestic automakers. GAC-Honda promised to compensate workers removed from its assembly plants in the southern city of Guangzhou in keeping with local regulations, after the JV produced roughly 520,000 cars during the first 10 months of this year, 20% fewer than a year ago. Japanese car majors, mainly those selling gasoline and hybrid cars, have faced significant setbacks in China as consumers opt for Chinese-branded battery cars instead. Toyota cut around 1,000 workers at its joint venture with GAC in July, while Mitsubishi announced a retreat from car production in China in late October. [Nikkei]

China’s four major panel manufacturers – BOE, TCL CSOT, Huike Electronics, and Xianyang Rainbow Electronic Accessories – have recently notified suppliers of their plans to further reduce production by 20% to stabilize the declining price of TV panels. The manufacturers hope that they can keep prices above their profitability level by significantly reducing the supply, Taiwanese media outlet Economic Daily News reported. China is the world’s largest producer of TFT-LCD (thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display) panels, with a global market share of over 70%, according to industry analysis cited by Icsmart. The recent significant reduction in production by major companies such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron in the memory chip market has led to an increase in chip prices, driving the industry into a positive cycle. The four major panel manufacturers in China are hoping that their production cuts can help replicate the chip industry recovery in the panels sector. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

NIO has received approval to begin manufacturing at its own electric vehicle assembly plant in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, a signal that the company is on track to end the contract it has had with carmaker JAC Motors since its inception. NIO Technology (Anhui) Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary that operates NIO’s second joint plant with JAC in the Xinqiao Science and Technology Innovation Demonstration Zone, is recorded as a vehicle manufacturing enterprise on the website of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The news comes after speculation that the nine-year-old EV maker has been mulling a bid for two production bases put on sale by partner JAC on Oct. 20, given Beijing’s tightening control over the release of manufacturing licenses for EVs in recent years. NIO has been delivering EVs produced with JAC since mid-2018 under an outsourcing agreement. [MIIT information, TechNode reporting, in Chinese]

Chinese electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron have currently halted production of iPhones at their factories in southern India near Chennai due to heavy rains, as reported by Reuters on Monday. The region, a key electronics and manufacturing hub, experienced heavy rains and floodwaters as hurricane Cyclone Michaung moved towards the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. Foxconn, which employs around 35,000 people at its Tamil Nadu iPhone facility, is yet to decide on resuming production on Tuesday. Pegatron faces its second factory shutdown in recent months, having temporarily stopped iPhone assembly after a September fire. Foxconn’s rapid expansion in India aligns with Apple’s strategy to diversify production beyond China. In the third quarter, Apple achieved its highest quarterly shipments from India, surpassing 2.5 million units, according to market analytics firm Counterpoint. [Reuters]

Luckin Coffee lost a lawsuit alleging trademark infringement in Thailand on Dec. 1, according to multiple Thai media reports, after the Chinese coffee chain sued local company 50R Group over its registration of Luckin’s trademark in the southeast Asia country and opened a number of stores over the past two years. Luckin Coffee issued a statement a year ago emphasizing it has not yet entered the Thai market, adding that counterfeit stores have caused “serious damage” to its brand. Singapore is Luckin’s first destination outside of China, with the company running 18 offline outlets since opening its first store there this March. Luckin’s logo features a deer looking to the right with a blue background color; in the Thai version produced by 50R, the only difference is that the deer gazes to the left. [Southern Metropolis Daily, in Chinese]

Tencent’s video-sharing service experienced an outage last night, resulting in the unavailability of memberships and issues with content refreshing. This incident marks the latest major setback in a series of frequent incidents observed within Chinese tech products. Tencent Video acknowledged the outage on Weibo, attributing it to “technical issues.” The service noted that the VIP function had been restored on Monday morning. Social media comments widely suggested that a continued and unprecedented wave of cost control measures accelerated the frequency of major service outages in the past month. Alibaba’s flagship Taobao also crashed shortly after the Singles’ Day festival, and last week, the car-hailing platform Didi suffered a widespread service outage, leading to a surge in commuter complaints. [Tencent Video, in Chinese]

Xingji Meizu, a Chinese smartphone maker controlled by Geely’s founder Eric Li, will launch its first own brand electric vehicle model in 2024, with a plethora of customized options for vehicle software, interior styling, and car wrapping. The DreamCar MX will be based on Geely’s dedicated electric vehicle chassis base, dubbed its Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), and come with Meizu’s in-car operating system called FLyme Auto, boasting the same smooth experience that its handset users are used to. Meizu has also been selling Geely and Volvo jointly branded Lynk & Co EVs at its brick-and-mortar stores for the past few months, in a defensive move against Chinese smartphone giants Huawei and Xiaomi. Huawei has been leveraging its distribution and retail network to sell several EVs developed with its manufacturing partners since early 2021, while Xiaomi is set to launch its first consumer car in the first half of 2024. [Meizu announcement, in Chinese]

Gaming giant Blizzard is reportedly engaging in negotiations with leading Chinese game publishers NetEase and Tencent, exploring the possibility of a return to Chinese servers for the World of Warcraft publisher almost a year after its deal with NetEase ended in acrimony. Tencent subsidiary Morefun Studios was reported to be streaming Warcraft-related content on Chinese video platform Bilibili on Thursday, but its livestream has now been discontinued. Tencent Games told Chinese media outlet Yicai that it was only a test stream. Morefun Studios is an in-house studio at Tencent and does not act as an agent for external products, according to an insider at the Chinese gaming behemoth. Tencent Games refused to directly comment on any possible negotiations with Blizzard. [Yicai, in Chinese]

BMW and Mercedes-Benz, two of the world’s biggest luxury carmakers, announced on Thursday that they will begin operating their first batch of joint super-charging stations in China next year. They plan to expand the network to more than 1,000 facilities with roughly 7,000 charging piles by 2026. The two companies are establishing a 50:50 joint venture for the daily operations of the power infrastructure, which will also be available to electric vehicles from their competitors. BMW and Mercedes car owners can access online reservations to ensure their charging experience. This move is expected to allow the German majors to share the cost of building charging piles and accelerate the expansion of their charging networks, potentially leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased EV sales. Chinese EV maker NIO has recently announced similar plans with Geely and Changan Automobile. According to figures compiled by Shanghai-based consultancy LandRoads, BMW reported sales of 78,568 battery EVs in China for the first 10 months of this year, while Mercedes-Benz reported 20,595. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Xiaomi’s budget smartphone sub-brand, Redmi, launched the Redmi K70 series on Wednesday, marking the brand’s 10th anniversary. At the anniversary event, Redmi CEO Lu Weibing claimed that the global sales of Redmi mobile phones amounted to one billion units in ten years. The Redmi K70 series includes the Redmi K70, Redmi K70E, and Redmi K70 Pro, all sharing a similar design. The flagship model, Redmi K70 Pro, is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. The standard Redmi K70 is equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, while the Redmi K70E runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra SoC. Both the Redmi K70 and Redmi K70 Pro feature a 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging. The price ranges from RMB 1,999 ($280) to RMB 3,299 ($463). [China Economic Network, in Chinese]

Alibaba founder Jack Ma rarely appeared in an internal memo urging the e-commerce giant to “change and reform” after rival PDD nearly closed in on Alibaba’s market capitalization with a stronger earnings report. Ma congratulated eight-year-old PDD for its decision-making, execution, and efforts over the past few years, while calling on Alibaba employees to return to the company’s mission and vision to reform for securing “tomorrow and the day after’s glory.” Taobao and Tmall Group, despite operating as the most profitable business within Alibaba, are being challenged by emerging e-commerce participants, including PDD and ByteDance’s Douyin. Ma also said he believed the era of AI e-commerce has just begun, which poses both an opportunity and a challenge. This statement aligns with Alibaba’s primary strategic focuses, previously disclosed by the new Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu, which prioritize being “user first” and “AI-driven.” [36Kr, in Chinese]

Chinese video platform Bilibili reported flat revenue of RMB 5.8 billion ($795.7 million) in the last quarter, managing to narrow its net loss by 22% to RMB 1.3 billion. This positions the company on a gradual path towards its commitment to achieve profitability by 2024. Revenues from mobile games dropped by 33% from a year prior, marking four consecutive quarters of decline. The company cautioned that its annual total earnings would likely fall at the “low-end” of the RMB 22.5 billion to RMB 23.5 billion range due to lower-than-expected revenues generated from games. Daily active users surpassed 100 million for the first time, providing a rare highlight in the latest financial report. Bilibili’s CEO noted that the firm anticipates reducing the workforce to around 9,000 by the end of 2023 compared to the previous year’s 11,000 employees. This move aims to make the organization more agile for “long-term success” while remaining committed to future projects that prioritize return on investment (ROI). [Bilibili]

On Wednesday, a donation signing ceremony was held at Wuhan University, where Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun donated 1.3 billion ($183 million) to his alma mater to celebrate its 130th anniversary. This donation sets a new record for the largest single donation to Wuhan University since its establishment in 1893. Lei Jun stated that the donation will primarily focus on three areas: fundamental research in six disciplines (mathematics, physics, chemistry, literature, history, and philosophy), technological innovation in the field of computer science, and financial support for university students. In 1991, Lei Jun graduated from Wuhan University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and has been a member of the university’s board since 2003. [Wuhan University]

Chinese on-demand delivery giant Meituan reported a 22.1% revenue jump to RMB 76.47 billion in the last quarter, with revenue from core local commerce, including food delivery and Meituan Instashopping, rising 24.5% to RMB 57.69 billion. During the three-month period, food delivery orders reached a daily peak of 78 million in August, the company’s highest on record and double that of three years ago. However, Meituan executives said they expect growth in order volume to slow in the fourth quarter due to the current macro environment as well as warmer-than-usual weather this winter, but added that the company will increase its marketing efforts to try and stimulate demand. The company narrowed operating loss in its new initiatives by 24.5% and CEO Wang Xing told investors on a related earnings call that the segment has a “clear path” to profitability. Wang said Meituan is a “rational” company, and will adjust its strategy if they realize any of the new initiatives have a limited chance to make significant profit in the long run. [Meituan]

Nvidia is recruiting scientists and engineers for its autonomous driving team in China, as indicated by a job post on the social media platform WeChat published on Tuesday. The US artificial intelligence giant aims to capitalize on the increasing demand for assisted driving technology. This move follows the hiring of Wu Xinzhou, a former vice president at Xpeng Motors, to lead Nvidia’s automotive business in August. Wu anticipates the local team to be the “core strength” for engineering Nvidia’s autonomous driving solutions. Nvidia has listed numerous new jobs related to software engineering for autonomous cars, covering specialties from sensor fusion to motion planning. These positions are located in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as Nvidia collaborates with clients such as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover, according to the post. China’s growing adoption of driver assistance technology has led auto majors like BYD to intensify hiring for talented engineers, while tech giants like Huawei are entering the market. Huawei mentioned on Tuesday that the higher-end versions of the redesigned Aito M7 crossover, featuring the company’s Advanced Driving System, have accounted for 60% of total orders since its launch in September. [Nvidia announcement, TechNode reporting, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Chinese chip designer Loongson unveiled its latest 3A6000-series processors, based on the self-developed LoongArch microarchitecture. The 3A6000 CPU boasts a quad-core design with four cores and eight threads, operating at a peak frequency of 2.5 GHz. The overall performance of the 3A6000 processor is equivalent to Intel’s 10th gen quad-core models launched in 2020, as claimed by Loongson. It adopts the 4th generation Dragon architecture, incorporating LA664 cores that support 128-bit vector processing extended instructions (LSX) and 256-bit advanced vector processing extended instructions (LASX), alongside SMT2 (2 independent threads can run simultaneously on 1 CPU core). [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Revenue at Temu’s owner PDD almost doubled in the third quarter while profit rose nearly 50% as the hit budget shopping app continued to win over millions of Chinese consumers this fall. The Shanghai-headquartered company reported stronger-than-expected revenue of RMB 68.8 billion, representing growth of 93.9% year-on-year, pulling it far away from rivals Alibaba and JD Retail, which saw earnings increase 4% and 0.06% in the quarter respectively. Revenue from transaction services, for which PDD charges merchant fees, surged 315% to RMB 29.2 billion from a year earlier, contributing more than 40% of the total quarterly revenue. The strong performance saw the Nasdaq-listed firm jump 18% on Tuesday to $185 billion market value, bringing it close to Alibaba’s market value of $194 billion. PDD executives emphasized in an earnings call that its global business Temu, offering shoppers from over 40 countries direct goods from “high-quality” factories, is still “in a very early stage.” [PDD]

Xpeng Motors announced on Tuesday that it has initiated a broad release of its advanced driver assistance system in China. Car owners who purchased its Navigation Guided Pilot (XNGP) package in 25 major cities can now download the latest software. This enables Xpeng’s electric vehicle to operate autonomously on both highways and busy urban streets in over 20 Chinese cities, including Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, in addition to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, where customers had already accessed Xpeng’s partially automated driving technology. The company reiterated its goal for broader coverage on traffic roads in 50 cities by the end of this year and plans to make the software, which has become less reliant on high-definition maps, available to drivers across China next year. In comparison, Huawei released its Navigation Cruise Assist (NCA) function for urban scenarios to customers in China’s top four cities, as well as Hangzhou and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing in August, aiming for a nationwide release by year-end. [Xpeng announcement, in Chinese]

Huawei is on track to reach record monthly deliveries of between 16,000 and 18,000 Aito-branded electric vehicles with manufacturing partner Seres this month, with that number expected to surpass 23,000 in December and further increase to over 30,000 in January, Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group and head of its automotive business unit, told a press conference in Shanghai on Tuesday. Yu added that Huawei is anticipating a potential collaboration with FAW Group, meaning Volkswagen and Toyota’s manufacturing partner could be the latest member of the technology giant’s expanding car alliance. Yu also announced that Huawei’s first model co-developed with Chery,  the Luxeed S7, will be priced from RMB 249,800 ($34,921), cheaper than the pre-sale starting price of RMB 258,000 revealed earlier this month. The new battery electric sedan is being positioned to compete against Tesla’s Model S and Porsche’s Taycan 4S and will incorporate Huawei’s all-round vehicle technologies, including its partially autonomous driving software, proprietary operating system for infotainment, and Tuling, a high-tech chassis with adaptive air suspension and torque vectoring to provide enhanced handling and comfort. [TechNode reporting]

TikTok maker ByteDance announced on Monday that its gaming brand Nuverse plans to scale down and adjust its structure, but this move will not affect those launched games. As for unreleased projects, apart from a few innovative technical projects, all others will be halted, ByteDance stated. Bullet Finger Universe Technology, the gaming company under Kuaishou, released a recruitment poster welcoming employees from ByteDance’s Nuverse to join in. Positions are available in cities such as Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing. HR teams from other domestic gaming companies are also active, sharing their locations near Nuverse on WeChat with a humorous post: “whether you are available or not, come downstairs for a chat.” [IThome, in Chinese]

Apple is set to mass-produce its first-generation MR (mixed reality) product, Vision Pro, in December, with the proportion of the supply chain in China significantly increasing to 60%, as exclusively reported by the local media outlet Jiemian. The initial batch will be around 400,000 units, as Apple’s sales target in 2024 is one million units, according to insiders from several supply chain companies. Lingyi iTech serves as the exclusive supplier for Vision Pro’s cooling modules, headbands, eye masks, and nose pads, while Luxshare Precision provides the exclusive assembly for the MR device, sources revealed. Currently, both Lingyi iTech and Luxshare Precision have declined to comment.[Jiemian, in Chinese]

Tesla’s China operations team on Monday denied that a technical failure was to blame for a crash on Nov. 25 in the southwestern city of Chengdu involving a speeding Tesla and 11 other vehicles; three were injured but no one was killed. An analysis of the car by the US automaker found the accelerator pedal had been pressed hard, increasing the vehicle’s speed from 54 kilometers (34 miles) per hour to 132 km/h at the time of the crash. Queried online in China about why the brake light was on but the car did not slow down, the company explained that the brake pedal was only applied two seconds after the initial hit when the brake was already damaged. The car owner surnamed Wang told Chinese media outlets that his new Tesla, registered the same day, accelerated suddenly and had been unable to stop. [Chinanews.com, in Chinese]

A former assistant of Jack Ma refuted that Ma’s new venture would involve selling pre-packaged food, following speculation over the exact business of the Alibaba founder’s venture named Ma’s Kitchen Food. Chen Wei, Ma’s former assistant, posted on his WeChat Circle on Nov.25 saying “Eating is meant to be a great pleasure in life, rather than a path for pursuing financial gain through investments.” Chen emphasized that Ma’s Kitchen Food, which was incorporated last week in Hangzhou with an initial registered capital of RMB 10 million, will “definitely” not be engaged in selling pre-packaged food, and they still have no idea what the newly-established company would actually do. However, according to corporate data platform Qichacha, the scope of the company’s business ranges from sales of pre-packaged food and import and export of goods to wholesale edible agricultural products. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Intel’s processor Lunar Lake will likely generate orders exceeding $14 billion for TSMC over the next two years, revealed semiconductor analyst Andrew Lu on Facebook. Following Apple, Intel may become TSMC’s second-largest customer for the advanced 3nm processor. Andrew Lu broke down TSMC’s anticipated orders from Intel to nearly $4 billion in 2024 and $10 billion in 2025. TSMC is preparing to produce around 15,000 of the chips for Intel monthly by the end of 2024, revving up to 30,000 chips a month in 2025, Lu said. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Damo Academy, the research initiative of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has donated its Quantum Lab and related equipment to Zhejiang University, the company told local outlet Caixin after an early report claimed the cutting-edge disciplines-focused lab had been disbanded, affecting more than 30 employees due to budget and profitability difficulties. The Damo Quantum Lab, formerly the Quantum Computing Lab, was co-founded by Alibaba’s cloud unit and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015. The Damo Institute subsumed the Quantum Lab under its umbrella after its establishment in 2018. Zhejiang University will employ a placement process involving “two-way selection” and “open recruitment” for those impacted employees, according to Caixin. [Caixin, in Chinese]

ByteDance is set to exit the game sector by shutting down its major gaming arm, Nuverse, according to local media outlet IFENG. Insiders revealed that ByteDance will announce the closure of Nuverse on Monday, instructing employees internally to cease development on all unreleased games. Meanwhile, the company is also expected to explore potential sales of existing gaming titles. This move signifies the end of ByteDance’s adventure into the gaming sector, with no plans to re-enter the global game market valued at $185 billion, as claimed by sources. As of the time of writing, ByteDance has not commented on this matter. [IFENG, in Chinese]

Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu will continue to lead the company’s cloud division in a recent organizational restructure. Wu assumed the role in September following Daniel Zhang’s surprise step down. It is widely believed within Alibaba that Wu is temporarily serving as the chief executive of the e-commerce giant’s cloud backbone, according to local media outlet Jiemian, quoting an employee. As part of the adjustment, Alibaba Cloud has introduced a new unit with a specific focus on public cloud service, which generated more than 70% of the company’s external cloud revenue in the three months to September, as Alibaba executives mentioned in a recent earnings call. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Huawei is planning to spin off the firm’s automotive business unit at a valuation of RMB 250 billion ($35 billion), seeking funds from the government of China’s southwestern municipality of Chongqing and state-owned automaker Changan Automobile. Sources informed Chinese financial media outlet Yicai, reported on Thursday, that Chongqing’s state assets regulator, the city’s state-owned assets supervision and administration commission, will be the biggest shareholder of Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit. Meanwhile, Chongqing-based Changan, a manufacturing partner of Ford and Mazda, will obtain 15% of shares in the entity for RMB 37.5 billion, making it the sole carmaker participating in the financing, the report said. Changan has collaborated with Huawei for years, jointly establishing Avatr, a premium electric vehicle brand, with Chinese battery supplier CATL back in late 2020. A Changan spokesperson denied the report to Yicai on Friday. Huawei did not respond to TechNode’s requests for comment. [Yicai, in Chinese]

DingTalk, Alibaba’s workplace communication tool, has officially started developing a native app suitable for HarmonyOS, Huawei’s operating system, as part of its “comprehensive cooperation” with the fellow tech giant, the Slack-like platform said on Thursday. HarmonyOS has said it will no longer support Android apps in the near future, although a specific timeframe has not been announced. HarmonyOS is already run on over 700 million devices in China as of August this year, and internet-focused companies including ByteDance, NetEase, and Meituan have been actively hiring developers for the Harmony OS in recent weeks. [DingTalk, in Chinese]

Tesla is advancing the launch of its Full Self-Driving software package in mainland China, partly prompted by Beijing’s new policy that could significantly increase the rollout of partially and highly autonomous vehicles on major city roads. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed the news to the state-owned China Fund reported on Thursday, stating that there was no specific timeline yet for the release. Nevertheless, the US automaker has begun selling the software to Chinese customers, now priced at RMB 64,000 ($8,949), as per information published on its official website. The company stated that the suite would enable cars with on-ramp to off-ramp driving, automatic lane changing on Chinese highways, smart summon in a complicated parking lot, as well as traffic light and stop sign recognition on urban roads. [TechNode reporting, China Fund, in Chinese]

PDD is hiring for large language model-related roles as the e-commerce company doubles down on AI prospects, as seen on multiple recruitment websites. The owner of the budget shopping app is offering salaries of up to RMB 80,000 a month ($11,275) for staff with at least one year of experience in modeling NLP algorithms, according to recruitment details. Engineers will be responsible for supporting the adoption of AI-generated content across the company’s businesses, including customer services and user growth. Chinese tech outlet TechPlanet added more details on AI development at PDD in a Wednesday report, saying the operator of Pinduoduo and Temu has already set up an AI model team at its Shanghai headquarters with dozens of staff. [TechNode reporting; TechPlanet]

Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma has not sold any shares in the e-commerce giant, Chief People Officer Jane Jiang told employees in an internal letter on Wednesday, following regulatory filings last week showing Ma’s intention to sell 10 million shares for around $870 million, the day Alibaba released its second-quarter earnings. Jiang gave the reason as a current lower-than-expected share price since valuation in August. Proceeds of the now-canceled sale were expected to fund investments in agricultural science and public welfare projects, the letter said. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Moore Silicon, a chip subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned electronics company TCL, announced its dissolution on Tuesday, resulting in the layoff of hundreds of employees. All employees were offered compensation based on N+1 (N representing the working year of an employee). For instance, an employee who has worked in the company for two years can receive three months’ salary in one lump sum. Moore Silicon was established in March 2021 with a registered capital of RMB 180 million ($25.19 million). “Our main challenge lies in the progress of financing, not project progress,” said a representative from Moore Silicon. The capital investment in the chip industry has become more cautious in 2023, as demand in the consumer electronics market remains weak, according to a professional from a domestic chip design company interviewed by YiCai reporter. [Yicai, in Chinese]

LI Auto is hiring specialists in Singapore for the research and development of silicon-carbide (SiC) power modules, which enable a longer driving range for its electric vehicles, according to several job posts on LinkedIn reported by media outlet LatePost on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the EV maker is rushing to reach the final phase for the design of its neural processing units (NPU), a key component for its advanced driver assistance system. The goal is to enable all Li Auto users to partially autonomous driving on fixed routes in major cities by next June. The report, citing several people familiar with the matter, added that Li Auto’s in-house team for chipmaking has expanded to over 160 employees in various locations, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Silicon Valley, led by technology chief Xie Yan. The Beijing-based EV startup has followed in the footsteps of Tesla to develop its own artificial intelligence chips, an effort that may also help reduce the negative impact of the US chip ban. [LatePost, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Chinese electronic components producer BOE told Chinese media outlet ThePaper that recent reports alleging the end of its collaboration with Samsung were “not accurate.” Last week, South Korean media outlet BusinessKorea claimed that the collaboration between Samsung and BOE had been halted, with the electronics giant removing BOE from its supply chain amid concerns around geopolitical tensions between China and the US. A supplier of LCD (liquid crystal display) panels for Samsung, BOE provided 10% of the Korean firm’s TV panels in the first half of 2023, ranking third among its global panel suppliers. [ThePaper, in Chinese]

TSMC is reportedly considering constructing a third facility in Japan dedicated to producing cutting-edge 3nm chips, according to sources familiar with the matter. TSMC has informed its supply chain partners that the company plans to establish its third chip plant, designated as TSMC Fab-23 Phase 3, in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. TSMC’s first factory in Kumamoto is expected to commence mass production next year, with the current number of employees surpassing a thousand. There have been previous reports about TSMC’s second facility in Japan aiming to be constructed by the end of 2026, while the timing for the third facility remains uncertain at this point. [Bloomberg]

Changan Automobile said on Tuesday it will implement NIO’s sprawling electric-vehicle swapping infrastructure across China with the first EV model powered by swappable batteries scheduled for launch in 2025, making it the first automaker to adopt NIO’s swapping technology. The two companies will together push for the establishment of a common standard to guide the development of swappable EV batteries. Several other automakers are currently in negotiation with NIO for a similar collaboration, according to founder, chairman, and CEO William Li. The partnership echoes recent comments from Xin Guobin, a vice minister of industry and information technology, who in June called on businesses to “invest rationally” and come together to write a standard configuration for battery swap connectors and a communication protocol, among other issues. NIO operates 2,103 battery swap facilities as of Nov. 20, which makes it China’s biggest battery swap network, with that number expected to grow to more than 2,300 by the end of 2023. [TechNode reporting, Changan statement, in Chinese]

Chinese mainstream entertainment apps, including WeChat, Douyin, and Kuaishou, have removed hundreds of short web dramas in the past week, citing content with inappropriate or negatively oriented values. These actions by platforms follow China’s broadcasting regulator’s announcement of tightened control over the short drama market’s popularity on Nov. 15, with measures ranging from accelerating the formulation of rules for content reviews in the industry to conducting a month-long campaign to combat violent content. Video apps have systematically refined their guidelines for short dramas on platforms to align with specific requirements since the broadcasting regulator issued the statement. For example, content that promotes “undesirable values” or “contains pornographic” is strictly prohibited from promotion.[People’s Daily, in Chinese]

Xiaomi experienced a significant increase in quarterly net profit, surpassing market expectations, according to its unaudited financial results for the third quarter. In the third quarter, Xiaomi’s revenue reached RMB 70.89 billion ($9.98 billion), while the adjusted net profit saw an increase of 182.9% year-on-year, amounting to RMB 5.99 billion ($0.84 billion). Xiaomi secured the third position in global smartphone shipment for the third quarter, with a market share of 14.1%, marking a 0.5% increase compared to the previous year, as reported by Canalys. Xiaomi stands out as the sole brand among the top three to achieve year-on-year growth in shipment volume amid the slump in the phone market. The company also demonstrated its commitment to innovation by investing RMB 5 billion ($0.7 billion) in research and development during the third quarter, reflecting a substantial 22.0% year-on-year growth in expenditure. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Temu, PDD’s rapidly expanding overseas business, has reportedly set a $30 billion GMV goal for next year, which would mean nearly doubling its 2023 total, according to Chinese media outlet LatePost. The shopping app is also in the process of negotiating its second commercial ad collaboration with the Super Bowl, the US annual championship NFL game, the report said. Temu made its Super Bowl ad debut this February at a cost of around $14 million, resulting in a 45% surge in downloads and a 20% increase in daily active users on the night of the ad’s launch. “Shop like a billionaire,” the final message of the commercial, has since turned into a memorable Temu slogan. Temu now estimates a total of $14 billion in GMV will be made by the end of 2023, $2 billion less than its target set at the beginning of the year. [LatePost, in Chinese]

There are reports suggesting that Huawei’s self-developed system, HarmonyOS, will no longer be compatible with Android next year. The iOS, Android, and HarmonyOS will be three independent operating systems, according to sources familiar with the matter. Huawei has not yet responded to this, but there are currently no plans to apply HarmonyOS to overseas smartphones, as reported by local media outlet Jiemian. Overseas consumers can continue to use Android applications with confidence on Huawei phones running EMUI, the previous Android-derived operating system, the report added. As of Oct. 30, 100 million devices upgraded to HarmonyOS 4, released on August 4, according to Huawei. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

TikTok owner ByteDance is threatening the long-established positions of China’s traditional “big three” tech firms – Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent – with $29 billion in revenue and 40% year-on-year revenue growth in the second quarter this year. The Douyin operator’s earnings reached $54 billion in the first half of 2023, close to Meta’s $60.6 billion for the same period, according to tech outlet The Information. ByteDance overtook rival Tencent in terms of total sales in the quarter, but failed to overtake e-commerce giant Alibaba. ByteDance’s revenue growth came mainly from advertising and e-commerce business, the report stated, with most of the firm’s earnings coming from its domestic market; overseas markets accounted for about 20% of its revenue during the period. [The Information]

China on Nov. 17 issued a new program to accelerate the rollout of highly autonomous vehicles on the road by allowing more of the futuristic technology onto the market and expanding zones where the cars can go. Automakers and actual users of mass-produced, semi- or highly-autonomous cars (Level 3 and 4) in certain cities have until Dec. 20 to file joint plans for commercial operations to the regulators, according to a document released by four central government departments. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will review plans alongside the country’s top public security, transport, and housing authorities. for final approval with a goal to help refine the technology and sustain the drafting of relevant rules, regulations, and national standards. The first approvals, aimed at refining the technology and improving the drafting of rules, are likely to come in the first quarter of 2024, and expected participant cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, according to industry insiders who spoke to financial media outlet Caixin. Several self-driving companies, including Baidu and http://Pony.aiPony.ai>, have been testing their robocars on the public in designated areas in the four cities since 2018. [MIIT document, Caixin, in Chinese]

WPS, a word processing brand operated by Chinese software company Kingsoft, apologized after being accused of using private documents to train AI, in a violation of users’ privacy. The controversy stems from public interest in a WPS privacy policy saying that the company “will use material users voluntarily upload as the base material for AI training after desensitization,” leading the tech brand to offer a statement on Weibo at the weekend saying it had removed the misleading phrase in the updated policy after online criticism. “User documentation will not be used for any AI training purposes or in any scenario without the user’s consent,” it emphasized. [WPS, in Chinese]

Douyin has initiated trials for a pay-to-watch feature as the short video platform pursues a 30% revenue-sharing model with creators. The move suggests the TikTok sibling is banking on a new revenue stream on the widely adopted entertainment platform, having previously charged fees for in-app short dramas. Viewers can access a preview of the content before making a payment and are allowed to watch repeatedly within seven days of purchase, as outlined in the purchase instructions. Douyin has specified that creators with at least 100,000 followers can join the paid content function, provided they maintain a clean record with no violations and complete real-name authentication to qualify for the feature. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Alibaba has paused the public listing of its supermarket chain because of what it sees as a volatile market and canceled its cloud unit spin off, the company announced on Thursday alongside reports of its earnings for the three months to September. The US’s decision to tighten controls on exports of advanced AI chips to China has created uncertainties, says Joe Tsai, Alibaba chairman, adding that the company will instead chase “sustainable growth” based on AI-driven demand and operate its cloud computing services independently. Meanwhile, Alibaba has put grocery chain Freshippo’s IPO on pause citing market conditions and the need to reevaluate various factors. Alibaba generated RMB 224.79 billion ($46.03 billion) in revenue in the July to September period, up 9% from a year earlier, with revenue from its international digital commerce group that operates Lazada and AliExpress seeing a 53% earnings increase, again recording the highest growth rate among its six groups, and partially offsetting lackluster domestic performance. [Alibaba]

Chinese tech giant Tencent on Wednesday reported 10% year-on-year revenue growth to RMB 154.6 billion ($21.5 billion). The firm’s net income decreased for the first time in 2023, falling 9% compared to the same period last year to RMB 36.2 billion, but this figure was still RMB 10 billion higher than the two preceding quarters. Ma Huateng, chairman and CEO of Tencent, said in the company’s earnings report that the revenue was “high quality”, as online advertising and international games showed 20% and 14% growth, respectively. The robust growth in advertising was largely due to the huge demand for Video Accounts, Tencent’s mobile ad network, and Weixin Search, according to the company. Executives also highlighted the “great potential for growth” in the monetization of WeChat. On a related earnings call, senior figures from the company noted the recent chip curbs imposed by the US, saying that Tencent has “one of the largest inventories of advanced artificial intelligence chips of any vendor in China,” enough for the firm to upgrade multiple versions of its Hunyuan large language model, they said. [Tencent]

Chinese GPU manufacturer Moore Threads recently completed a new round of B+ financing, raising hundreds of millions of RMB, significantly less than the RMB 1.5 billion ($0.2 billion) it raised in last December’s B round. Moore Threads was founded in October 2020, drawing in team members from chip giant companies Nvidia and AMD. Last month, Moore Threads was blacklisted by the US government as the country imposed broader limits on selling advanced AI chips and chip-making tools to China. The company subsequently decided to cut jobs last week, as announced by CEO Zhang Jianzhong in an internal open letter. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, is reportedly in discussions with potential buyers for the sale of its gaming unit, Moonton Technology, as exclusively reported by Reuters on Wednesday. This move follows ByteDance’s acquisition of the Shanghai-based game studio two years ago in a deal valuing it at $4 billion. Sources suggest that the talks are in the early stages, and the deal is not assured. The decision to explore the sale aligns with ByteDance’s strategy to focus resources on its core business, according to the report. Moonton Technology gained recognition for developing the popular mobile game “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang,” acquired by ByteDance in 2021. Despite the success of “Mobile Legends,” Moonton has yet to replicate the same level of success with another hit game since its establishment in 2014. [Reuters]

JD, a major participant in the Chinese e-commerce sector, generated RMB 247.7 billion ($134.0 billion) in revenue for the three months to September, representing only a 1.7% year-on-year growth. Meanwhile, net income increased by 31.67% to RMB 7.9 billion in the period. JD Retail, the company’s key support business, experienced a decline in revenue growth to 0.06%, down from 4.85% in the previous quarter. However, JD’s chief financial officer anticipates a return to “normal growth rates” for both overall and retail business in 2024. On the same day, JD announced that CEO Sandy Xu will take over the role of chief executive of the retail sector from Xin Lijun, who is leaving due to another appointment. Despite a slow rebound in China’s consumption, JD executives highlighted that its core GMV achieved “high single-digit growth” in the third quarter, a figure surpassing the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods. [JD]

Temu is set to ship China-manufactured goods via express sea vessels in cooperation with various shipping companies, including Matson, ZIM, and CMA CGM, according to a Tuesday report by Chinese media outlet 36Kr. The move is expected to reduce the cross-border retailer’s logistics costs compared to its current reliance on air transportation, while strengthening the company’s profitability. Temu launched in the US in 2022, expanding to Canada earlier this year, followed by launches in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. [36Kr, in Chinese]

A developer on Hugging Face, a collaborative AI platform, found that Yi, the large language model released by Chinese AI venture 01.AI, used “exactly” the same structure as Meta’s Llama, but changed the names of two tensors. AI pioneer Kai-Fu Lee’s venture 01.AI, founded in June, was recently valued at $1 billion following a funding round led by Alibaba’s cloud unit. The developer called on 01.AI to republish Yi with the tensors aligned with Llama’s architecture. The Chinese AI unicorn, in response to the allegations, told Chinese outlets on Tuesday that Yi “draws on public results at the top level of the industry,” and its design is based on the proven structure of GPT. An open-source signatory of 01.AI, Richard Lin, published a statement under the Hugging Face post claiming the tensors’ renaming had been needed to meet “experimental requirements” during model training, and had not been switched back before release. “We’re going to change them back from Yi to Llama, just as you suggested,” wrote Lin. [Hugging Face; Jiemian, in Chinese]

BYD is set to supply cost-effective, iron-based batteries for Audi’s Q6L e-tron, the inaugural electric vehicle model constructed on a dedicated premium EV architecture and manufactured in China by the German carmaker, as per a Tuesday report from financial media outlet CLS. Simultaneously, Chinese battery giant CATL is set to furnish Audi with pricier, more energy-dense, nickel-based batteries, according to individuals familiar with the matter, who declined to disclose further details. In March, the Volkswagen subsidiary announced plans to commence mass production of the Q6 e-tron and the A6-tron lineups in collaboration with partner FAW Group at their joint facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, with an annual capacity of 600,000 units by 2024. The Q6 e-tron, the inaugural model based on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric), a jointly developed EV platform by Audi and Porsche, has faced delays in its launch due to behind-schedule software development. Despite TechNode’s requests for comment, BYD and Audi have not responded. [CLS, in Chinese]

Xiaomi’s first consumer electric vehicle will be a medium- to large-size sedan featuring HyperOS, its latest operating system. The car offers a spacious interior with an exterior comparable to the Porsche Taycan, positioning it with a starting price exceeding RMB 300,000 ($41,124). Car influencer Han Lu, a former senior director at the New York-listed car sales website Autohome, first shared this information on the Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo on Monday. Although the post was later deleted, it has circulated on social media. The top-end version of the car might approach a price point of RMB 400,000, representing a significant achievement in Xiaomi’s new corporate strategy of building a comprehensive ecosystem spanning devices from smartphones to cars. Last month, Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known Apple analyst, predicted that the initial price of Xiaomi’s first car, set to be released next year, would be below RMB 300,000. Xiaomi did not respond to TechNode’s requests for comment.[TechNode reporting, a screenshot of Han Lu’s Weibo, in Chinese]

A total of 37 Chinese companies made it to the top 100 global mobile game publishers by revenue in October, generating a combined income of $1.91 billion, according to analyst firm Sensor Tower. This accounts for 38.7% of the total revenue generated by the top 100 mobile game publishers worldwide during the period. HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail saw an 11% month-to-month increase in overseas revenue last month, reclaiming the global mobile game top spot. Tencent’s PUBG dropped to second place, while HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact took third place. Notably, the fourth position was taken by Whiteout Survival, a survival strategy game centering on a glacial apocalypse theme developed by Century Games. [Sensor Tower, in Chinese]

On Monday, Vivo unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the X100 series, succeeding last year’s X90 series. These devices mark the introduction of the first Android phones powered by MediaTek’s new Dimensity 9300 chipset. The X100 Pro model boasts a Zeiss APO 100mm equivalent periscope lens. Both phones feature a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with curved edges, offering a 1.5K resolution, adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. The X100 series sports a triple rear camera setup, including a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x optical and 100x digital zoom, utilizing the Zeiss-certified Vario-APO-Sonar lens. The starting price of the X100 is RMB 3,999 ($550) for the basic 12GB + 256GB variant. [IThome, in Chinese]

Didi announced on Monday that revenue for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 grew 25% year-on-year to RMB51.4 billion ($7.1 billion), marking a record-breaking quarterly result for the ride-hailing platform. Chinese citizens returning to regular activities drove demand for road transport. Average daily rides reached a historical peak of 31.3 million in the home market over the period. The country’s biggest ride-hailer implemented targeted measures to subsidize trips, particularly those driven by red-hot demand for music events during summer holidays. Net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 107 million contrasts with a net loss of RMB 2 billion earned a year ago, partly due to the benefit from the investment in Nasdaq-listed rival Grab and the spin-off of its autonomous truck business. Didi has also completed the sale of its electric vehicle business to Xpeng and is currently assessing the impact on its consolidated financial results. [Didi filing]

A series of Alibaba-built apps that run on the group’s cloud services, including Taobao, DingTalk, and Xianyu, crashed for over three hours yesterday evening. The incident occurred one day after Alibaba wrapped up the country’s biggest shopping bonanza Singles Day, with the company’s cloud backbone later claiming the incident was due to an “anomaly” in the cloud product console access and API calls. The large-scale outage marks the second system failure for Alibaba within a year. Then-Alibaba CEO and chairman Daniel Zhang took over as head of the cloud division after a massive breakdown of cloud services in Hong Kong and Macau last December, which the firm described as its “longest major-scale” outage. Eddie Wu, the new chief executive of Alibaba, now also serves as head of the e-commerce giant’s cloud division. [Alibaba Cloud, in Chinese]

Nov. 12 marked the global debut of Volvo’s first all-electric multi-purpose vehicle model, the EM90. Unveiled in Shanghai and with a price tag of RMB 818,000 ($112,095), the car represents Volvo’s entry into the increasingly competitive premium segment in the world’s biggest electric vehicle market. The single-motor EM90 has a power output of 200 kW and is equipped with a 116-kilowatt-hour battery pack that offers a driving range of 738 kilometers (459 miles) and can be charged from a low-level to 80% in 30 minutes. The six-seater features almost the same dimensions as the Zeekr 009, a similar offering launched by Volvo’s parent Geely with a significantly lower price tag of RMB 499,000. The EM90 is also priced higher than some other existing offerings such as BYD’s Denza D9, priced from RMB 329,800, as well as the redesigned Voyah Dreamer, priced from RMB 339,900. EV startups Li Auto and Xpeng Motors are also set to launch their first electric MPV models next month. [TechNode reporting, Volvo’s announcement, in Chinese]

Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD kept quiet for the second year in a row on their overall sales volumes for the weeks-long shopping festival centered on Nov. 11, with Alibaba merely saying Taobao and Tmall recorded “positive year-on-year growth” in GMV, order number, and participating merchants, and rival JD pointing to “all-time high” transaction volume, order volume, and user engagement during the period. Data from industry watcher Syntun showed that from Oct.31 to the end of Nov.11, Tmall, JD, and Pinduoduo generated less than RMB 10.5 billion in sales combined, compared with last year. By contrast, content-based e-commerce sites led by Douyin and Kuaishou saw GMV increase by 18.6% to RMB 215.1 billion within the same period, compared with growth of 146.1% last year. Singles Day shopping festival was originally a 24-hour online commerce event that took place on Nov.11 every year. On Nov. 11 this year, total online transactions decreased by nearly 10% to RMB 277.65 billion. Similarly, the number of express parcels dropped 16.4% from last year. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Avatr, a Chinese electric vehicle brand established by Huawei, CATL, and Changan Automobile, launched its first electric sedan on Nov. 10. Priced between RMB 300,800 and RMB 400,800 ($41,240-$54,950), the Avatr 12 is set for delivery in December. Boasting three lidar sensors and Huawei’s latest Advanced Driving System, the sedan, according to Richard Yu, Huawei’s consumer business group chief executive, can detect and identify 99.9% of objects, when navigating major Chinese city streets. The sports sedan features Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4, an alternative to Google’s Android operating system, and includes innovative elements like a camera-based digital rear-view mirror system, providing a monitor view of the vehicle’s rear in the cabin. With a driving range exceeding 700 kilometers (435 miles), the five-seater can cover an additional 350 km on a 20-minute fast charge, utilizing CATL’s 94.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Electric vehicle maker Zeekr is seeking to raise over $1 billion in an initial public offering in New York, marking the largest US listing by a Chinese company in two years, as revealed in updated federal regulatory paperwork made public on Thursday. However, a source familiar with the matter informed Reuters that investor sentiment could influence the Geely affiliate’s success amid ongoing tensions between China and the US over trade, technology, and geopolitics. Zeekr reported a net loss of RMB 3.87 billion ($531.34 million) in the first six months of this year, up from RMB 3.09 billion a year earlier, while revenue more than doubled to nearly RMB 21.3 billion during the same period. The company currently offers three models for sale—the 001 hatchback, the 009 van, and the X compact crossover—and is set to unveil its first sedan, the 007, on Nov. 17. [Reuters]

Order volumes have emerged as a new metric for assessing the overall performance of Singles Day within Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba’s domestic online marketplaces, according to Chinese media outlet LatePost. Gross merchandise volume of goods orders, without any adjustment for returns, has previously been the key metric in e-commerce, but Alibaba has declined to reveal the figure publicly since its announcement of achieving RMB 540.3 billion for Singles Day 2021, ten thousand times the first shopping festival held in 2009. According to LatePost, Taobao Tmall Group reached a consensus internally that total turnover growth should naturally result from unit price, daily active consumers, and order volume. [LatePost, in Chinese]

TikTok sibling Douyin has reportedly sold nearly RMB 2 trillion ($274.2 billion) worth of goods in the e-commerce business in the first ten months of this year, representing a 60% growth year-on-year. Over 65% of these sales were generated through short videos and live-streaming, according to the local outlet LatePost. The emerging influence of the short video platform has attracted a flurry of branded merchants to sell on Douyin, with a figure conducted by investment bank CICC showing not only Chinese brands like Proya but also international giants L’Oréal and Lancome experienced higher year-on-year increases in GMV on Douyin compared to Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace during this year’s Singles Day bonanza. [LatePost, in Chinese]

US tech giant Nvidia plans to introduce new AI chips tailored for the Chinese market, just weeks after the US government tightened regulations on exporting high-end AI chips to China, reports China Star Market. The exclusive report suggests that Nvidia has created three customized versions of AI chips for Chinese customers: HGX H20, L20 PCle, and L2 PCle. The official announcement is anticipated on Nov. 16, with insiders revealing that Chinese manufacturers could receive the products in the coming days. As of now, Nvidia has not provided a response on this matter. [China Star Market, in Chinese]

Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu said on Wednesday that the company aims to become an open tech platform serving the whole of society in the AI era, as AI “becomes the key to innovation breakthroughs in China’s digital economy.” Wu gave a speech at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, expressing his expectation for Alibaba to “provide infrastructure for AI innovation and transformation in thousands of industries.” The comments were part of Wu’s first public speech since taking over as chief executive from Daniel Zhang in September, and align with the latest speech from Joe Tsai, Alibaba’s new chairperson, outlining Alibaba Cloud’s goal of transforming artificial intelligence into a major productivity tool. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Human Horizons is reportedly in discussions with the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, to secure at least $250 million at a valuation of $3 billion, according to Bloomberg sources. The deal is anticipated to close within the year, though final decisions are pending from both parties. This development follows Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment signing a cooperation agreement in June worth $5.6 billion with the six-year-old automaker. The agreement aimed to establish a joint venture in the Middle East country. As part of its strategy for a global shift from oil to electricity, the government aims to have over 30% of cars in its capital be electric by 2030. Similarly, in June, NIO announced a cash injection of approximately $738.5 million from CYVN Holdings, an investment firm supported by the Abu Dhabi government. [Bloomberg]

A source at state-owned telecommunications corporation China Telecom has disputed claims that Huawei has a monopoly on the country’s satellite communications, stating instead that there is a minimum technology threshold to be met to implement satellite communications on mobile phones. The comments to local media outlet IThome came after reports that rival mobile phone brands Xiaomi and Vivo were looking to follow Huawei by deploying satellite communication technology. Still, they were experiencing delays because of alleged Huawei exclusivity. In August, Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro series, the industry’s first smartphone to support satellite calls, which only work with a China Telecom SIM card. An insider at China Telecom pointed out to IThome that such features require a lot of R&D investment to tackle technical problems, such as chip module miniaturization, satellite protocol system optimization, and user terminal management. [IThome, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, the US investment research firm Hindenburg Research published a report titled “EHang: Hollow Order Book And Fake Sales Make This China-Based eVTOL Company Last In Line For Takeoff.” EHang, China’s autonomous aerial vehicle company, is grappling with a significant credibility issue. The report accuses EHang of inflating its pre-order numbers and providing misleading information about early sales, creating an appearance of fraudulent revenue. EHang promptly refuted these claims on Wednesday, asserting that the report contains false statements and misrepresentations about the company’s business operations and financial status. The company strongly denies the allegations, particularly those suggesting that EHang deceived investors regarding its order pipeline and sales. [EHang]

BJEV, the electric vehicle unit of the Chinese state-owned automaker BAIC, witnessed a 9.1% surge in shares in Shanghai on Wednesday. This followed media reports that the manufacturer had been invited to attend a closed-door meeting hosted by smartphone maker Xiaomi, hinting at a potential partnership between the two entities. Xiaomi, the tech giant, has reportedly been gearing up for a production ramp-up at its own plant in Beijing since September, with an initial production capacity set at 150,000 EVs. CEO Lei Jun, on Oct. 25, reaffirmed the timeline for launching its first EV model, possibly a sports sedan, in the first half of 2024. Despite these plans, the company is reportedly seeking a manufacturing partner for its second model, a sports utility vehicle, in the short term. This move aims to avoid expanding its Beijing facility, leading the company to engage in discussions with various Chinese automakers, including Brilliance and Chery. [Shanghai Securities News, in Chinese]

Fast fashion giant Shein is targeting up to $90 billion in its upcoming US IPO, according to a Tuesday report by Bloomberg, despite the China-founded company’s recent valuation dropping to $50 billion in secondary market trading due to market concerns. The timing of Shein’s long-awaited IPO remains uncertain due to a dim economic outlook as well as copyright and forced labor disputes concerning the company. The report also noted that although it faces intensified competition with its Chinese counterpart Temu, Shein shows continuing profitability, expecting to reach $2.5 billion in net income this year, a figure 2.5 times that of 2019. [Bloomberg]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto is set to deliver 800,000 units next year, followed by rivals Xpeng Motors and NIO, which will aim for annual deliveries of 280,000 and 230,000 units respectively, media outlet 36Kr reported on Tuesday, citing figures from local suppliers. Specifically, Li Auto is hoping to sell 80,000 units next year of the Mega, the company’s first all-electric model and multi-purpose vehicle, while Xpeng expects sales of its similar offering to reach 2,000 units each month. Both vehicles are scheduled for launch later this year. The report said the estimates do not include projected sales by the forthcoming sub-brands of NIO and Xpeng, codenamed Alps and Mona. Li Auto, NIO, and Xpeng delivered 284,647, 126,067, and 101,445 vehicles respectively from January to October. The three companies did not respond to media requests for comment. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Chinese internet giant Baidu has ordered artificial intelligence chips from Huawei this year, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. In August, Baidu placed an order for 1,600 Huawei 910B Ascend AI chips as an alternative to Nvidia chips, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The move was made ahead of new regulations by the US government in October, which imposed stricter restrictions on AI chip exports to China, including those made by Nvidia. Baidu has become a leading AI company in China with the development of its ERNIE large language model (LLM), the firm’s answer to ChatGPT. By October, Huawei had already delivered over 60% of the Baidu order, comprising approximately 1,000 chips, the report stated. The total value of the order is estimated to be around RMB 450 million ($61.83 million), with Huawei expected to fulfill the remaining chip deliveries by the end of this year. [Reuters]

iQOO, a sub-brand of the Chinese phone maker Vivo, launched the iQOO 12 series phones in China on Tuesday, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and a self-developed gaming chip Q1. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, the new device offers 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM along with the option for up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. To enhance the immersive gaming experience, it boasts a self-developed Q1 chip that enables smooth gameplay at a refresh rate of up to 144Hz (at 1080P). This Q1 chip also incorporates advanced technologies such as low-latency frame insertion, superframe, and super-resolution. Additionally, the iQOO 12 Pro provides a 5,705mm² vapor chamber for efficient heat dissipation. The iQOO 12 is priced at RMB 3,999 ($550) for the 12GB+256GB model, while the iQOO 12 Pro starts at RMB 4,999 ($687). [IThome, in Chinese]

FAW-Toyota, the joint venture between Toyota and China’s FAW Group, will further reduce production in three months from December following output cuts during the previous two months, as part of its measures to mitigate the pressure on the operations of local dealerships. According to a letter circulated Tuesday, the automaker told partners on Nov. 3 that the vehicle allocation, which refers to the number of cars assigned to a franchise holder, will be adjusted to 66,000, 60,000, and 38,000 units from December to February accordingly. It also called on dealerships in the letter to “make the most of it” as the year-end peak season approaches, despite the market being in a slow gear. A sales employee told Chinese financial media outlet Jiemian that some car dealers are facing a heavier inventory of unsold vehicles in their lots, especially in the Chinese second and third-tier cities such as Jinan, as sales remain weak after the pandemic. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Chinese logistics company Best said on Monday that it has received a preliminary buyout proposal from a group consisting of Best founder and CEO Shao-Ning Johnny Chou on behalf of a flurry of the company’s chief figures and external companies, including Alibaba Investment and Cainiao. The buyout offer plans to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares in Best at a price of $0.144 per ordinary share, funded by the buyer group’s own equity capital and cash, according to Best’s statement. The proposal comes after Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba, filed an IPO in Hong Kong in September that aimed to raise more than $1 billion. [Best]

The joint venture between Jaguar Land Rover and China’s Chery Automobile laid off about 15-20% of its staff from functions including manufacturing, engineering, and logistics, making it the latest global automaker to reduce its workforce amid growing competition in China. Several employees told Chinese media outlet Meiren Auto that the company had terminated a large number of contracts early this year, and executed cost-saving measures on travel and training. Facing quality issues and slowing demand for its gas- and diesel-powered off-road vehicles, the British carmaker sold around 68,000 vehicles in China last year, falling from a peak of 146,000 units in 2017, according to figures published by the China Passenger Car Association. JLR is not the only overseas automaker feeling the heat as Chinese electric vehicle makers BYD and Li Auto gain momentum at home. Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors on Oct. 24 announced an end to production of its joint plant with Chinese partner GAC. [Meiren Auto, in Chinese]

01.AI, a Chinese AI startup founded by AI pioneer Kai-fu Lee, has achieved a $1 billion valuation, earning unicorn status in less than eight months, according to a Monday report by local outlet 36Kr. The company reached this valuation after concluding a new funding round led by Alibaba’s cloud division. On Monday, http://01.AI01.AI> also unveiled its first open-source bilingual large model “Yi,” featuring a 200K context window. It claims to process around 400,000 words of text in a single prompt, outperforming OpenAI’s improved model version GPT-4 Turbo, launched on the same day, which can handle up to 128K tokens of context. Yi, the foundation model of http://01.AI01.AI>, is available in Chinese and English in two versions, each equipped with six billion and 34 billion parameters. Lee noted that his company has initiated the training of the next model with a hundred billion parameters, as reported by 36Kr. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Baidu has appointed Wang Yunpeng, previously a vice president and general manager of its Intelligent Driving Group (IDG), as the new head of the group to oversee the development of autonomous vehicles and the operations of mobility services for the tech giant. Li Zhenyu, the former head of the IDG and a senior corporate vice president, will become an assistant to Chief Executive Robin Li and lead Baidu’s ethical committee of artificial intelligence governance, according to an internal memo obtained by media outlet LatePost on Monday. Several company insiders expect more restructuring as China’s biggest search engine is diving into generative AI amid surging interest and demand in the technology across businesses, when technical and business challenges still prevent the widespread adoption of driverless cars. The Apollo Go, its autonomous ride-hailing service, has offered 3.3 million rides as of June, according to financial results published on Aug. 22. [LatePost, in Chinese]

On Nov. 3, Tencent announced a 115-minute gameplay demonstration of its new first-person shooter game, Delta Force, with the first test of the PC-end being launched in China. The test requires a minimum configuration of an i7-4790 processor + RTX 3060 GPU (graphics card). Delta Force, a tactical shooter game co-developed by iDreamSky Technology and Tencent’s Timi Studio, will be available for free on PC, consoles, and mobile platforms. In August, Tencent unveiled a gameplay trailer of Delta Force at Gamescom 2023, a renowned annual game event in Cologne, Germany. Currently, the pre-registered players on the official website have exceeded four million. [IThome, in Chinese]

Meituan has denied a rumor that the company will no longer give orders to couriers aged over 45, according to local media outlet Yicai. A Meituan spokesperson told the outlet that the firm hires couriers aged between 18 to 57, taking into consideration safety factors related to the delivery process. It says some hiring stations may recruit older individuals. Social media has been awash with a phenomenon known as the “curse of 35”, referring to a fear that those aged 35 and older are likely to face job cuts. The food delivery giant has not disclosed a recent breakdown of its riders by age, but official data from early 2020 shows that male riders account for 93.3% of the total while more than 83.7% of riders are aged between 20 and 40. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Huawei announced on Nov. 5 that its e-commerce platform, Huawei Mall, will start the “90-day pre-order reservation” service for Huawei Mate 60 Pro on Monday. During these 90 days, customers can cancel their reservations at any time and receive a full refund. According to the latest data from Counterpoint, Huawei sold 1.6 million units of the Mate 60 Pro within six weeks of its release on Aug. 29. Currently, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro series is consistently out of stock, as it is selling out quickly in China, said the analyst from Counterpoint. The Mate 60 Pro series offers three storage variants: 12GB+256GB ($892), 12GB+512GB ($961), and 12GB+1TB ($1098). [IThome, in Chinese]

MeiOne, the live-streaming agency behind China’s top influencer Li Jiaqi, issued a statement on Nov.4 insisting that there was no “green channel” for selecting products promoted on live-stream events. This comes after a former employee of MeiOne was found guilty of receiving more than a million yuan in benefits over two years as a product commissioner, beginning in July 2020. The employee was sentenced to three years in prison for accepting bribes and job misappropriation, the criminal record shows. MeiOne disassociated itself from news of any charges aimed at guaranteeing products would be marketed in Li Jiaqi, writing on its official site that they were not connected to the company. It is reported that on the first day of this year’s Singles Day shopping festival, Li sold less than 50% of his last year’s record. [Beijing News, in Chinese]

China-founded chain Luckin Coffee generated RMB 7.2 billion ($986.8 million) in revenue in the third quarter of 2023, marking an 84.9% year-on-year growth, as its baijiu-infused latte collaboration with Moutai witnessed huge sales in September. Net profit also increased by 87% to nearly RMB 1 billion, though the company’s operating income margin dropped from 16.2% in the previous quarter to 13.4% amid an ongoing price war with its domestic competitor Cotti Coffee; Luckin offers coffees priced from RMB 9.90 while the latter sells certain beverages at RMB 8.80. Luckin’s revenue during the period led Starbucks again after it first overtook the US-based coffee brand in the second quarter. Starbucks posted revenue of $841 million in China for the third quarter, up 8% year-on-year. [Luckin Coffee]

BYD announced Wednesday that it is offering significant discounts on five of its mainstream electric vehicle models, including a limited time deduction of RMB 18,000 ($2,461) for its Frigate 07 plug-in hybrid crossover up until the end of November. For those who place orders for the Dolphin hatchback and the Seal sedan, the Chinese EV giant also said that it will knock the standard RMB 2,000 deposit off of the final price in addition to discounts totaling RMB 7,000 on the original ticket price of the vehicles. Several other Chinese automakers are making similar moves. Lynk & Co, a brand jointly owned by Geely and Volvo, is offering a subsidy of RMB 6,000 to purchasers of its 08 sports utility vehicle this month. Meanwhile, the T03 small EV made by Leapmotor, a Stellantis-backed Chinese startup, is currently available with a discount of RMB 5,000. [TechNode reporting, Securities Times, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s wholesale marketplace 1688 and its second-hand goods platform Xianyu have been elevated to first-tier businesses within the company’s domestic e-commerce group, according to local media outlet LatePost, as Chinese consumers are increasingly looking for highly cost-effective products. The heads of these two businesses will directly report to Trudy Dai, chief executive of Taobao Tmall Group, which became a separate operating company in March. The report noted that 1688, Xianyu, office management tool DingTalk, and supermarket chain Freshippo are internally considered to have the most growth potential within the Alibaba ecosystem. While 1688 previously served as a B2B wholesale and direct sales website, it has recently attracted more retail buyers. LatePost quoted one of its staff as saying the site’s monthly active users have witnessed double-digit growth, with a big part of new users coming in this year being under the age of 30. For Xianyu, which currently boasts 500 million users, user growth is the primary focus, according to LatePost, which added that the platform has set an internal target of achieving 40 million daily users by the end of the year, with the figure standing at 36.7 million in September. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Volkswagen’s software unit Cariad and smartphone maker Vivo announced on Friday that they are setting up a joint lab in China, allowing the two companies to integrate mobile technology and artificial intelligence into cars to provide customers with a “seamless” in-vehicle experience. The arrangement expands on the existing partnership through which various information and entertainment applications, such as gaming, have been available to Volkswagen car owners by leveraging the computing power and ecosystem of Vivo smartphones. Additionally, Vivo Vice President Zhou Wei mentioned that the companies will explore providing more technology services based on its Lanxin generative AI models, unveiled at Vivo’s annual developer conference on Wednesday and capable of understanding human language and generating content. Chinese carmakers and tech companies are collaborating closely as cars become increasingly defined by their software. Geely, on Oct. 27, launched the Jiyue 01, its first vehicle model powered by Baidu’s ChatGPT-like chatbot, while Huawei and Seres began delivering the Aito M5, the first model equipped with the tech giant’s HarmonyOS operating system last March. [TechNode reporting]

AI chip giant Nvidia may be forced to cancel orders worth over $5 billion for advanced chips to be exported to China next year, due to expanded export restrictions imposed by the US government, The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported on Tuesday. The US Department of Commerce issued a series of new chip export restrictions on Oct. 17, broadening the definition of advanced AI chips. The new restrictions are set to take effect on Nov. 16. However, on Oct. 23, the US government requested Nvidia to immediately cease the export of high-end chips to China. A source mentioned that major Chinese AI and cloud computing companies, including Alibaba, ByteDance, and Baidu, have placed $5 billion orders with Nvidia for next year, which are expected to be canceled in accordance with the new policy. [The Wall Street Journal]

Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor’s new battery assembly plant in Thailand is up and running. The 500 million Thai Baht ($13.9 million) plant, established with leading Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group at an industrial park in eastern Thailand is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. The endeavor is expected to shore up electric vehicle production in the country, China News Service reported on Wednesday, citing Zhao Feng, general manager of SAIC Motor-CP, the companies’ joint venture. The 75-hectare (185-acre) facility will be able to make up to 50,000 lithium-ion battery packs a year. SAIC said it has sold 18,000 battery cars in Thailand since 2019, while rival BYD sold nearly 16,000 Atto 3 electric SUVs there between January and September, according to Autolife Thailand. [China News Service, in Chinese]

China’s first commercial reconfigurable fifth-generation chip, the Pofeng 8676 chip, has been showcased on Alibaba’s e-commerce site Taobao recently in an online store run by an agency under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Although China Mobile’s research unit released the chip in August, it has yet to be made publicly available for sale. The store currently features 16 prototypes, among which is the world’s first 100,000-ton deep-water semi-submersible oil production and storage platform, China’s self-developed Deep Sea No.1. Shoppers are urged not to place orders but can add these showcased products to their shopping carts to boast about having “the most hardcore China-produced goods.” [Guancha News, in Chinese]

At the 2023 Vivo Developer Conference, the tech giant unveiled BlueOS on Tuesday, making it the third Chinese smartphone company, alongside Xiaomi and Huawei, to develop its self-made operating system for the device ecosystem. Vivo BlueOS stands out for its utilization of the Rust programming language, marking it as the first globally to be built on this framework. This innovative system is equipped with advanced features supporting large language models (LLM) and various interaction types, including voice, picture, text, video, gesture, sign language, and even brainwave recognition. BlueOS also transforms application development by facilitating automatic code generation and allowing customization of desktops, wallpapers, and themes. [IThome, in Chinese]

Baidu launched a paid version of ERNIE Bot on Wednesday, offering users a ChatGPT-like service powered by its latest large AI model at a charge of RMB 59.90 ($8.20) per month. The move suggests that the search giant has intensified efforts to monetize its AI chatbot nearly eight months after it debuted. The subscription price is reduced to RMB 49.90 monthly for auto-renewal subscriptions, while the basic ERNIE Bot 3.5 version will continue to be available to the general public for free. Chief executive of Baidu, Robin Li, released the ERNIE 4.0 iteration last month, claiming its capabilities are on par with OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. Baidu’s professional version, based on ERNIE 4.0, provides “enhanced modeling capabilities and image generation capabilities,” while also supporting “a variety of practical plug-ins,” according to the company. [Caijing, in Chinese]

The global laptop shipments totaled 51.2 million units in the third quarter, marking a 7% drop compared to the same period last year, according to analysis firm TechInsights. This decline has slowed to single-digit percentage points for the first time since the first quarter of 2022. Lenovo secured the top spot with a global shipment of 12.2 million units, capturing a 24% market share. The other top four brands are HP, Dell, Apple, and Asus. HP was the only brand among the top five manufacturers to experience year-to-year growth, with a positive increase of 7%, while Apple saw a significant decline of 30% year-to-year. Despite the continued sluggish demand in the laptop market, especially in the commercial sector, the deceleration in the rate of decline indicates that the market has overcome its most challenging period, as analyzed by TechInsights. [TechInsights]

Dating game Love is All Around has consistently topped the Steam bestseller list in the Chinese market in the past fortnight, surpassing hit games such as PUBG, CS2, and Apex. Launched by Chinese game developer Intiny on Oct. 17, Love is All Around reached a peak of 65,435 players online within 24 hours. The interactive video game allows players to experience a first-person perspective while dating women in various scenarios intended to imitate real life. The game’s popularity has sparked widespread discussion about its innovative approach of incorporating short dramas into gaming, with some suggesting that this combination may become the next trend to watch in China’s gaming market. [National Business Daily]

China’s state-backed “Big Fund” for chip-making has invested RMB 14.56 billion ($1.99 billion) in domestic memory chip company Changxin Xinqiao, one of its largest investments in recent years. The investment accounts for 33.15% of Changxin Xinqiao’s registered capital according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS). Changxin Xinqiao, founded two years ago in Anhui province, has applied to build a manufacturing base for 12-inch memory wafers, as stated in the NECIPS database. Earlier this year, the Big Fund spent RMB 13 billion ($1.78 billion) on Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), China’s only player in the global NAND (a type of non-volatile storage technology) memory market. In 2022, the US government blacklisted YMTC due to concerns that the company might redirect US chip technology to Huawei. [Reuters]

On Monday, BYD reported a record net income of RMB 10.4 billion ($1.42 billion) for July to September, marking the Chinese electric vehicle maker’s largest quarterly profit ever and representing an 82.2% increase from a year earlier. The gross margin experienced a three-point year-on-year growth to 19.79%, slightly below the 20.7% achieved as of June. Notably, the company exported approximately 71,000 cars in the third quarter, nearly matching the 75,000 units achieved in the first half of this year. This brings BYD’s total exports from January to September to around 145,500 units, comprising 17.6% of China’s new energy vehicle shipments to overseas markets, as per figures from the China Association of Auto Manufacturers. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Shanghai’s market regulator said that its anti-monopoly office is aware of price-control disputes related to the country’s top livestreamer Li Jiaqi and is currently in the process of investigation and verification, according to a Monday report by Jiupai News, a new media platform under the state-run Changjiang Daily Press Group. The controversy began on Oct. 24, when local kitchen appliance brand Huaswirt accused online retailer JD of intentionally lowering the prices of its ovens, which reportedly caused Huaswirt to violate its minimum price agreement with Li Jiaqi on Taobao Live. Li’s agency MeiOne denied the allegation shortly after. However, Li’s rival on Douyin, with the nickname “Crazy Little Brother Yang” (our translation) subsequently accused Li of “kidnapping the brand” through his huge sales appeal, which resulted in brands not being able to sell their products at a lower price via other channels. Jiupai News also cited the anti-monopoly office as saying they would deal with the issue if violations were found. [Jiupai News, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Voyah has opened its inaugural showroom in Copenhagen, Denmark, and commenced sales of its flagship multi-purpose vehicle, the Dreamer, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday that Voyah had initiated the delivery of its Free sports utility vehicle in Norway last December. Affiliated with Dongfeng Motor, a state-owned automaker and manufacturing partner of Honda in China, Voyah also marked the regional debut of its five-seater sedan, the Chasing Light (Zhuiguang in Chinese pinyin). The company plans to enter additional European markets, including Germany, France, and Italy. Voyah had previously obtained European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (EWVTA) for the Dreamer, a plug-in hybrid van with a driving range of 1,231 kilometers (765 miles) on a full charge and full tank, enabling volume export and license plate registration in all EU countries. [TechNode reporting, Xinhua, in Chinese]

Shein has bought the UK-based fast fashion brand Missguided from Frasers Group, the company announced on Monday, as the China-tied fashion giant stepped up efforts to expand its global market share. The exact purchase price was not disclosed by either party. In this deal, Shein will license Missguided’s intellectual property to Sumwon Studios, a joint venture formed by Shein and Missguided founder Nitin Passi. Concurrently, Shein will manufacture and sell Missguided’s products as independent brands on its website. This acquisition follows Shein’s recent announcement of plans to launch a co-branded clothing line with Forever 21, aiming to enhance its global presence through the brand’s offline stores. [Shein]

China’s Hozon Auto said on Monday that it is partnering with EIH Automotive&Trading, an Abu Dhabi-based car distributor, to help launch its Neta range of electric vehicles and services in the United Arab Emirates in 2024. EIH Automotive&Trading is a subsidiary of investment conglomerate Ethmar International Holding (EIH), chaired by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, a son of the country’s founding sultan, according to its website. The news comes months after rival BYD’s compact crossover Atto 3 arrived in UAE via an alliance with local dealership Al-Futtaim in June. Geely-affiliated Zeekr signed sales agreements with partners in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain last month. China shipped nearly 100,000 cars to the UAE in the first eight months of this year, turning the small Middle Eastern country into China’s ninth-largest car export destination, according to figures compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. [TechNode reporting, Caixin, in Chinese]

In the third quarter, China’s smartphone shipments saw a slight decline for the second consecutive quarter, dropping by 5% to 66.7 million units, according to analysts Canalys. Honor regained its leading position with an 18% market share and 11.8 million shipments, thanks to its competitive products and efficient distribution channels. Oppo (including OnePlus) secured second place with 10.9 million shipments. Apple came in third with 10.6 million shipments, benefiting from the recent launch of its iPhone 15 series. Vivo held fourth position with a 16% market share,while Xiaomi ranked fifth with a 14% market share. Notably in the third quarter, several Chinese vendors showcased foldable devices including Xiaomi Mix Fold3, Honor V Purse, Magic Vs2, Oppo Find N3 series, and Huawei Mate X5. [Canalys]

Fast fashion retailer Shein plans to design, manufacture, and distribute a line of Forever 21 apparel and accessories as part of further cooperation with its former competitor that will see the co-branded clothes sold on Shein’s website. The announcement comes two months after Shein and Sparc Group, Forever 21’s operator, signed a partnership agreement that saw the two companies acquire stakes in each other’s businesses. The deepening relationship enables Forever 21 to leverage Shein’s digital interaction and huge customer base while also enhancing the China-tied company’s physical retail presence as it prepares for a potential IPO in the US. [Shein]

Some Huawei and Honor smartphone users overseas reported last week that their devices had misidentified the Google app as a “TrojanSMS-PA” virus, a type of malware that can send messages without a user’s consent. According to feedback posted online, affected models include Huawei P10, Huawei P20 Pro, Huawei P30 Pro, Huawei P40 Pro, Huawei Mate 20 X, Huawei Nova 5T, and Honor Magic 5 Lite, operating in various languages. Members of the Google community offered two solutions online: disabling and deleting all Google apps before reinstalling, or clearing the cache and data of the phone management app, and updating the phone management app’s virus library. [IThome, in Chinese]

Li Jiaqi, the celebrity Chinese livestream salesman who attracted viewer anger earlier in 2023 for pushing high-priced cosmetics, reportedly sold RMB 9.5 billion ($1.3 billion) in goods on the first day of Alibaba’s annual shopping festival, a slump of more than 50% on his daily record of RMB 21.5 billion last year. The influencer was cited in several industry disputes in recent days. Li’s glory day seems to be over, as new and younger livestreamers demonstrate higher sales dynamism. Taobao Live said that 12 livestream rooms saw sales exceed RMB 100 million in the first four hours of pre-sales, of which Li Jiaqi’s was one. [Shanghai Securities Journal, in Chinese]

Taier Sauerkraut Fish, a well-known restaurant chain specializing in Chinese-style fish dishes, was absent from the TripAdvisor-like app Dianping on Thursday, according to the local media outlet Jiemian, which quoted the parent company of Taier as saying they’re still figuring out what is happening. Dianping, a Meituan-owned review and ratings app, is widely used in China for discovering local restaurants, shops, and activities. The incident occurred a day after Taier conducted its first livestreaming on Douyin, during which the restaurant offered 30% off on coupons that could be redeemed by consumers visiting the chain. Over the past year, the TikTok sister app has stepped up its efforts in the local life services sector, an area that has long been dominated by Meituan. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr will begin selling left-hand drive battery electric cars in Macau later this year, followed by the availability of right-hand drive versions of its lineups in the city and neighboring Hong Kong in the third quarter of 2024. The company announced on Thursday that it will operate three retail locations in Hong Kong, including a clubhouse-style flagship store, as well as one smaller shop in Macau in the first half of next year, in partnership with local dealership Kam Lung Motor Group. This move represents the latest expansion effort by a Chinese EV maker into the emerging markets of the country’s two special administrative regions, as rivals Tesla, BYD, and NIO continue to attract local customers. An affiliate established by Volvo’s parent company Geely in early 2021, Zeekr is also exploring potential opportunities in other right-hand drive countries, including the UK and Japan, while simultaneously entering major overseas markets such as Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. [TechNode reporting, Bloomberg]

On Wednesday, NIO began operating a third-generation battery swap station near the Macau Science Center, two years after the Chinese electric vehicle maker set up its first power facility for the country’s special administrative region in November 2021. The automaker has built a user base of 330 in the city, delivering 31 left-hand drive EVs to local customers last month, making it the second best-selling EV brand in the market, according to figures released during an opening ceremony on Wednesday. This move signifies NIO’s progress toward its ambitious target to open more than 2,300 swap stations across China this year, up from around 1,300 as of last December. NIO announced in May that its most updated power swap station offers up to 408 swaps per day, an increase of 30% from the previous generation. [TechNode reporting, NIO announcement, in Chinese]

Leapmotor will “make use of” the production capacities from Stellantis as part of a €1.5 billion (nearly $1.6 billion) investment deal from Europe’s second-biggest automaker, said Zhu Jiangming, founder and chief executive of the electric vehicle startup on Thursday. Amsterdam-headquartered Stellantis will hold 20% stakes in Leapmotor, secure two of the five board seats in the Hangzhou-based EV maker, and own 51% of a joint venture set to be established by the two companies for making and selling EVs worldwide, according to Thursday’s announcement. This move eliminates the possibility of Leapmotor expanding overseas markets independently, leading to a nearly 10% drop in the company’s shares as of Thursday in Hong Kong. The deal comes months after Volkswagen announced a $700 million investment in Xpeng for nearly 5% of the EV startup’s shares and the joint development of two VW-branded EVs with Xpeng’s self-driving technology set to launch in the Chinese market in 2026. [TechNode reporting, CLS, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Xiaomi unveiled design renderings of its upcoming Xiaomi 14 series, set to launch this Thursday. The latest official photos showcase a sleek 6.36-inch flat screen with ultra-thin borders, featuring a unique Parisian stud texture design. Lao Wei, Xiaomi’s phone product manager, provided details about the Xiaomi 14’s bezel dimensions. The device boasts a narrow four-equal-width design, with bezels measuring 1.61mm on three sides. The bottom border or chin narrows at 1.71mm. The camera module adopts a square design with rounded edges, accommodating three lenses and a flash. At the center of this module, it displayed a LEICA logo. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese AI company iFlytek said on Tuesday its iteration large language model Spark 3.0 outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 in Chinese, while showing comparable ability in English contexts. However, the Hefei-based company, known for its voice recognition products, saw shares slump nearly 10% during its annual AI event on Tuesday, a slide believed to be linked to reports that the firm’s teenager-focused educational tablet was allegedly found to have criticized Mao Zedong in an article. iFlytek plans to train Spark 4.0, a further enhanced AI foundation model that it aims to benchmark against GPT-4, on an arithmetic platform built with Huawei and is expecting to launch the new iteration in the first half of 2024. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Today, during the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform, set to serve as the powerhouse for premium flagship Android smartphones in 2024. Xiaomi President Lu Weibing attended the event and stated that Xiaomi will globally debut flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi 14 series, equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor this Thursday. According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 offers a 30% performance improvement and a 20% increase in energy efficiency compared to its predecessor. Flagship Android devices featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor are expected to be available on the market in the coming weeks. The first batch of Chinese phone manufacturers includes Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Honor, OnePlus, Meizu, ZTE, iQOO, Meizu, Nubia, and Realme. [IThome, in Chinese]

Temu’s monthly sales in the US nearly surpassed Shein’s in September, according to a Tuesday report by Chinese media outlet LatePost. The discount e-commerce platform has already expanded its presence to 47 countries worldwide since it launched in the US last September and has consistently taken the top spot in the Apple App Store and Google Play download charts. As the emerging business has experienced rapid growth, its marketing budget has seen a corresponding increase, with LatePost quoting an advertising agency representative who noted that Temu spent more than $300 million on advertising this August. The report also highlighted that the management team of PDD, Temu’s parent company, had planned for ongoing investment and prepared for a potential three-year period of losses when the Temu project was initially launched. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Shanghai Disneyland announced on Tuesday that the world’s first Zootopia-themed park is set to open on December 20, 2023. Based on the Disney movie Zootopia, this new development will transform the beloved film and its characters into a vibrant experience within the themed park. It will feature innovative entertainment, merchandise, food, beverage options, and a new thrilling attraction, allowing visitors to immerse themselves fully in the animated world of Zootopia. The new attraction, Zootopia: Power Tracks (a temporary translation), will invite visitors to embark on an adventure cruiser propelled by a cutting-edge trackless ride system as they explore the diverse districts of Zootopia. The preparations for the operation are currently underway, with cast members continuously improving various experiences, aiming to uphold Disney’s strict standards of guest service in the new park. [ThePaper, in Chinese]

Great Wall Motor submitted the documents required for the European Commission’s investigation into subsidies for China-made electric vehicles imports on Oct. 11, making it the first among its peers to do so, president Mu Feng said on Monday on the Chinese Twitter-like social media platform Weibo. In another post, Mu added that the manufacturer is accelerating its decision on a location for its first vehicle assembly plant in Europe, calling for “a fair and open trade environment” with pledges to promote collaboration and follow the rules of the respective markets. The automaker has been selling imported EVs in Germany since late last year, and is considering setting up its first regional plant in Germany, Hungary, or Czechia, Meng Xiangjun, president of its European operations told Automotive News on May 30. Other Chinese automakers, including BYD, SAIC Motor, and NIO, have also been asked to respond by the EU, while BMW and Tesla are among the non-Chinese brands involved in the investigation, formally initiated by Brussels on Oct. 4. [Great Wall Motor president’s Weibo post, in Chinese]

Shortly after its release in September, the iPhone 15 series has recently attracted attention in the domestic phone market as its prices plummeted in China. On Monday, “iPhone 15 Series Price Fall” became a trending topic on the social platform Weibo. For instance, the 128GB version of the iPhone 15 is being sold on e-commerce platforms for as low as RMB 5198 ($712), which is a decrease of over RMB 800 ($110) compared to the official prices of RMB 5999 ($822). Even the relatively popular iPhone 15 Pro series has seen varying degrees of price drops on e-commerce platforms, depending on different memory storage and color versions. Taking the example of the titanium iPhone 15 Pro 256GB version, which is officially priced at RMB 8999 ($1232), the current price from third-party channels declines to RMB 8249 ($1130). [ThePaper, in Chinese]

Mitsubishi Motors is set to withdraw from the Chinese auto market and will officially announce a finalized exit plan at the end of this month. The Japanese automaker aims to dispose of a regional unit that has long underperformed. Several employees informed the Chinese media outlet Tencent News on Monday, adding that GAC Aion, the electric vehicle unit of GAC Group, will take over around half of the 3,000 workers from a vehicle assembly plant jointly established by the two automakers a decade ago. Situated in the central Chinese city of Changsha with a production capacity of 200,000 units annually, the facility has been under renovation by GAC and will start manufacturing Aion-branded EVs as early as next May, according to the employees. The two companies have been offering significant discounts to help clear out inventory since early this year. They suspended production in June while posting sales of 12,000 vehicles for the first six months of 2023, as reported by local media outlet Yicai on July 13. [Tencent News, in Chinese]

Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Luxshare Precision, a Chinese electronic components manufacturer in Zhejiang Province, China. During his visit, Cook asserted that over 95% of Apple’s products are still manufactured and assembled in China. In an interview, Cook expressed Apple’s desire to achieve a “win-win” situation through collaboration with Chinese supply chain companies. This collaboration should encompass various aspects, including environmental protection, corporate social responsibility, and education. Prior to this, the chairman of Luxshare Precision, Wang Laichun, also received an interview where she revealed that the company is preparing for the production of Apple’s upcoming Apple Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset scheduled to be launched next year. [Zaker, in Chinese]

ByteDance has dismissed recent rumors of its plans to gradually shut down Pico, a virtual reality startup acquired by the TikTok owner in 2021. A ByteDance spokesperson told Chinese media outlets that Pico is running normally, with a commitment to long-term investment in the XR business. Pico held a 58.7% share of China’s VR headset market during the first six months of this year, according to market intelligence firm IDC. The company has not revealed any sales or shipment numbers on its flagship Pico 4 since its launch last September, but a previous report noted that Pico lowered its sales targets by half to 500,000 units in 2023 due to a slump in demand. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On October 20, China announced new export restrictions on graphite, a crucial material in electric vehicle batteries, in response to US limitations on tech-related sales to Chinese companies. China, a major player in global mineral supply chains, will mandate export permits for three types of graphite due to “national security” reasons, starting December 1, 2023, as stated by China’s Commerce Ministry and the General Administration of Customs. These new controls are expected to heighten geopolitical tensions between the two economic giants, along with their allies. China was the world’s leading graphite producer last year, accounting for an estimated 65% of global production, according to the US Geological Survey. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Last week, Chinese AI startup ZhipuAI announced it secured RMB 2.5 billion ($342 million) in funding this year. Investors, including social insurance funds, Alibaba, and Tencent, have propelled the state-backed company’s valuation to over RMB 10 billion. Notable investors in ZhipuAI also include Meituan, Xiaomi, and Kanzhun, reflecting a growing interest in artificial intelligence following the launch of OpenAI’s pioneering ChatGPT in November. ZhipuAI’s chatbot, ChatGLM, stands out as one of the first generative AI services approved for public launch by the Chinese government in late August. [Caixin, in Chinese]

GAC Aion, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group, on Thursday began taking orders for its Hyper HT at a competitive starting price of RMB 220,000 ($30,052), the first SUV model under its premium Hyper marque features an attention-grabbing falcon-wing back door design. The five-seater subcompact SUV will compete against Tesla’s popular Model Y with similar dimensions of 4,935/1,920/1,700mm (length/width/height) and a wheelbase of 2,935mm, along with a driving range of up to 770 kilometers (479 miles), higher than the Model Y’s 688 km. It will also be able to travel up to 450 km on 15 minutes of charge, empowered by an 800-volt fast charging electrical system. By comparison, Xpeng claimed an additional range of 300km could be achieved in under 10 minutes of fast charge with its G6 crossover, priced at RMB 209,900. In July, GAC began delivering the Hyper GT, a mainstream luxury sedan priced from RMB 219,900, and on Oct. 9 started handing over its Hyper SSR supercar, the first Hyper-branded EV with a price tag of RMB 1.28 million. [GAC announcement, in Chinese]

Chinese e-commerce giant JD said on Thursday that it boasts 1.5 times the number of participating merchants for this year’s Singles Day consumer event compared with a year earlier, while products featuring in JD’s “10 Billion Yuan Discount” program have doubled compared to the mid-year shopping bonanza 618. The company says it is committed to offering “genuinely low prices” to customers, with a RMB 50 discount for every 299 spent. JD is set to kick off its participation in the country’s biggest online shopping festival at 8 p.m. on Oct. 23 without a pre-sale period, a method that has been the standard approach for major Chinese online retailers such as Taobao for the past few years. Beijing-based JD also noted that many best-selling products from famous brands including Apple’s new iPhone lineup have been stocked up in advance. [JD, in Chinese]

Great Wall Motor launched its first multi-purpose vehicle model, the Gaoshan (meaning “high mountain” in Chinese), on Wednesday as the automaker seeks to meet the growing demand from Chinese affluent and three-generation families for larger interior car spaces. The van will compete against BYD’s Denza D9 at a similar price range, with the latter being the second best-selling MPV model, either electric or gasoline-powered, in China last month, following the Buick GL8, according to figures from the auto services portal Dongchedi. The van utilizes a 1.5-liter high-performance petrol engine along with two electric motors, achieving a power output of up to 358 kW. It is four-wheel drive, meaning the engine powers all four wheels evenly. In comparison, the entry-level Denza D9 is front-wheel drive with a single motor and equipped with a turbocharged 1.5T engine that delivers a combined output of 221 kW. Rivals Zeekr and Voyah have also been selling similar offerings, while both Li Auto and Xpeng Motors are set to introduce their first MPV at the end of this year. [Great Wall Motor announcement, in Chinese]

Cotti Coffee, launched by former Luckin Coffee executives in October 2022, has applied for the registration of multiple trademarks related to baijiu-infused cold brew and is currently under substantive examination, according to data from the corporate database Qichacha. Cotti has not yet teased cold brew coffee infused with Chinese liquor, as per the latest menu from the value-focused coffee chain. Luckin Coffee initially introduced Moutai alcohol-added latte in early September and sold 5.42 million cups of it in a single day, generating sales of over RMB 100 million. [Qichacha, in Chinese]

Food delivery giant Meituan has officially introduced a short video feature on its independent app that shares the same name as the company. This move comes after nearly six months of testing in select Chinese cities. Beijing-based Meituan places great emphasis on the new function, giving it a central position at the bottom of the app’s homepage. The head of the business directly reports to Meituan’s newly-promoted senior vice president Li Shubin. Meituan does not support users in shooting and uploading original videos through the platform currently, with existing content mostly purchased from external platforms, according to local media outlet Jiemian. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn has revealed its intention to collaborate with Nvidia, the US chip giant, to construct AI factories as part of its ambitious venture into electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang jointly announced this initiative in Taipei on Wednesday. These upcoming facilities, utilizing Nvidia’s advanced chips and software, aim to enhance Foxconn’s integration of AI in its EVs. By employing large computing systems powered by cutting-edge AI chips, Foxconn plans to develop software platforms for the next generation of EVs. These platforms can learn from everyday interactions, enabling accelerated computing for generative AI services and simulation. Additionally, Foxconn has secured exclusive supply orders for Nvidia’s AI chips GH200, L40, and L40S, according to sources from the supply chain. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Chinese online shopping giant JD is set to reduce its on-demand local delivery time to one hour, targeting consumers within three to five kilometers of offline retail stores, the company announced on Wednesday. This move comes as JD faces fierce competition from Meituan and newcomer Douyin, prompting a race to enhance delivery speed. “On-demand retail is a significant part of the company’s overall strategy, playing a crucial role in bringing merchants and brand partners together to address external challenges while ensuring solid growth,” said Xin Lijun, chief executive of JD Retail, at the relevant event in Beijing. The company also unveiled a five-year plan on Wednesday, aiming to facilitate the digital transformation of more than 2 million local medium- and small-sized stores. Additionally, JD plans to create opportunities for over 10 million individuals to engage in “flexible roles” as couriers, order pickers, and promoters over the next five years. [JD, in Chinese]

BaichuanAI announced on Tuesday that it has raised $300 million in a new round of funding, with investors including Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi. The six-month-old AI startup did not disclose its exact valuation, but declared that it has now become a unicorn, which typically refers to a startup reaching a valuation of over $1 billion. Founded by Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan in April, BaichuanAI has launched three AI foundation models with monthly updates since June, and the company claimed the iteration version of its first two models, Baichuan2-7B and Baichuan2-13B, which it upgraded in September, had taken “a commanding lead” in capabilities over Meta’s LlaMA 2. [Caixin, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, the US government announced new restrictions on exports of advanced AI chips to China, marking an escalation in trade tensions between the two countries. The restrictions aim to address loopholes identified after the US imposed export limitations on chips last October. The measures are intended to prevent China from importing advanced semiconductors and related equipment, controls that will impact the sales of US companies such as Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, and Intel. In response to the new policy, chip stocks experienced a decline in Tuesday’s trading. Nvidia’s shares dropped by approximately 5%, while Broadcom and AMD saw declines of around 2% and 1%, respectively. AMD’s shares fell more than 1%, and Intel closed down by 1.4%. [CNBC]

According to a Tuesday report by 36Kr, Didi has recently established its autonomous truck business as its own separate entity, naming it KargoBot, and successfully secured approximately RMB 450 million ($61.7 million) in a funding round. Investors, including domestic cashmere maker Erdos Group, participated in the funding. This strategic move aims to provide KargoBot greater autonomy in piloting robotrucks for commercial operations with partners, sources familiar with the matter revealed. Didi will retain its position as the largest shareholder in the newly formed entity. Presently, Didi operates 150 autonomous trucks on Chinese roads, specializing in transporting bulk cargos such as coal, particularly in the northern region. The report outlines Didi’s ambitious plans to expand its autonomous truck fleet to over 1,000 in the next two years. Notably, Didi had previously spun out its autonomous driving unit into an independent company in August 2019, three years after the unit’s inception. [36Kr, in Chinese]

China has granted Ehang, a prominent autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology company, permission to operate fully autonomous passenger-carrying air taxis, as reported by CNBC. On October 13, Ehang, based in Guangzhou, announced that it has received an official airworthiness “type certificate” for its EH216-S AAV—a fully autonomous drone capable of carrying two passengers—from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. CEO Huazhi Hu stated that this certification will expedite the approval process for Ehang to operate similarly in the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia. This groundbreaking decision marks a significant milestone in the evolution of urban air mobility, underscoring China’s commitment to advancing innovative technologies and embracing the future of mobility. [CNBC]

On Monday, Vivo announced plans to host the 2023 Developer Conference in Shenzhen on November 1st. The conference will showcase various tech developments, including a self-developed AI large model, a self-developed operating system, and OriginOS 4 (based on Android 14). Renowned tech source Digital Chat Station shared a screenshot highlighting the capabilities of Vivo’s “Jovi Copilot” AI assistant. This tool excels at searching through the phone for a wide range of information, facilitating efficient organization and retrieval of data, including photos and files. Furthermore, Jovi Copilot can generate diverse types of text, such as marketing programs and work summaries. [IThome, in Chinese]

Livestreaming e-commerce platform East Buy today launched a paid membership service, a move that signals the company’s ambition to retain loyal customers and increase stable revenue. Customers are required to pay RMB 199 (approximately $27) to join the premium membership program, giving them a 12% discount on most of the platform’s private label products, 12 membership coupons for a year, and a coupon package with a value of RMB 66. Subscribers are able to withdraw membership if they have “any dissatisfaction” within a one-year validity period, the company told local media outlet Securities Times. The e-commerce retailer, originally an after-school education firm, achieved a net profit of RMB 971 million in the 2023 fiscal year largely thanks to its booming e-commerce business, compared to a loss of 71 million a year prior. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

Recently, multiple reports have emerged suggesting that MIUI 14 could be the final iteration of Xiaomi’s operating system (OS). Speculation among netizens has surfaced regarding a self-developed OS named MiOS, with some circulating fake images bearing the name CNMIOS. However, Wang Hua, the PR manager of Xiaomi Group, recently asserted that both MiOS and CNMIOS are inaccurate names and could potentially pose legal risks. Addressing another name discovered by netizens – Mina – Wang Hua clarified that it pertains to a system used for a Xiaomi TV box in the overseas market. Notably, Wang Hua emphasized that the name “iOS” is legally protected as a system name. [IThome, in Chinese]

Xiaomi is in discussions with several Chinese automakers including Brilliance and Chery to build its own-branded electric vehicles, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Oct. 12, adding that no decision has been made in the ongoing talks. The Chinese smartphone giant has secured the greenlight from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s state planner, to produce EVs, but is still waiting for final approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Reuters reported on Aug. 23. However, according to an Oct. 13 report by local media outlet Jiemian, Xiaomi made the move to work with partners in an effort to launch its second model, a sports utility vehicle, in the short term without the need to establish a new assembly line at its own factory on the outskirts of Beijing. Meanwhile, the company is expected to deliver between 50,000 and 60,000 units of its first consumer car, a sports sedan, at a starting price of under RMB 300,000 (around $41,000) next year, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said on social media platform X on Oct. 13. [Bloomberg; Jiemian, in Chinese]

Hema Xiansheng, the grocery brand affiliated with Alibaba’s Freshippo supermarket chain, aims to transform approximately 350 offline stores into discount supermarkets by the Chinese New Year in 2024. This noteworthy adjustment, anticipated to slash prices on over 5,000 items by an average of 20%, is set to extend to online orders in the future, as reported by local media outlet 36Kr, citing Freshippo. The implementation of these discounts is facilitated by a more direct supply chain, mirroring the approach of competitors such as Sam’s Club and Costco, renowned for their members-only models, by cutting costs through the elimination of intermediary transactions. Since initiating a price war with Sam’s Club in early August, Freshippo has experienced a notable 13.3% growth in average weekly DAU (Daily Active Users), signaling a strategic move to enhance its market share, particularly in light of potential profitability challenges amid considerations for an IPO. [36Kr, in Chinese]

BMW’s first locally-made electric Mini vehicle rolled off the assembly line over the weekend at its joint plant with manufacturing partner Great Wall Motor in Zhangjiagang, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, local media outlet 42How reported on Oct. 14. The news comes after the German automaker on Sept. 8 confirmed plans to start exporting electric Mini Cooper hatchbacks and Aceman crossovers from China in 2024 and following the establishment of Spotlight Automotive, a 50-50 joint venture between the two companies, in late 2019. BMW told The Times last October that it would discontinue mass production of electric Minis at its Cowley facility near Oxford, England, and instead move all production to China by the end of 2023, however a last-minute package of subsidies from the UK government eventually led to BMW partially reversing this decision last month. In a similar move, Daimler has been partnering with Geely to build electrified, Smart-branded city cars locally in Xi’an, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi Province. [42How, in Chinese]

By the end of the first half of 2023, approximately 120 million digital yuan wallets were set up through the official app. The cumulative amount of digital yuan transactions in the pilot areas reached RMB 1.8 trillion, as revealed by the former governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) at the 2023 China Digital Finance Forum on Thursday. The ex-head of China’s central bank emphasized that the digital yuan is designed to circulate in channels such as WeChat and Alipay and is not intended to “replace” these existing mobile payment channels. Meanwhile, the conference showcased multiple digital financial application results as the country increasingly encourages customers to use the official e-currency. This includes a digital yuan hard wallet based on SIM cards with features that enable payment without a phone battery. It was co-developed by the Bank of China, along with Chinese telecom giant China Telecom and China Unicom. [Caixin, in Chinese]

On Thursday, Honor unveiled the latest addition to its foldable Magic V series, the Magic Vs2, succeeding last year’s Magic Vs. The new model features an upgraded magnesium alloy frame and a newly developed Luban titanium hinge, allowing for a slimmer design at 229 grams. When folded, the Magic Vs2 measures 10.7mm in thickness and expands to 5.1mm when unfolded. The device boasts a 6.43-inch LTPO OLED cover screen with a resolution of 2376×1060 pixels, while Honor claims the cover panel can achieve a brightness of up to 2,500 nits. Under the hood, the Magic Vs2 is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, paired with 12/16GB of RAM and 256/512GB of storage. The device’s cameras include a 50MP main shooter, a 20MP telephoto module with 2.5x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. It is priced at RMB 6,999 ($958). [IThome, in Chinese]

TikTok’s Chinese sibling, Douyin, has established an independent entrance for its one-hour delivery service within the “marketplace” channel on its homepage, according to local media outlet 36Kr. The short video platform is increasingly focusing on local life services to challenge industry giant Meituan. Sales generated from this channel contributed to over 30% of the total revenue in 2022, as revealed by Douyin in May. The faster on-demand delivery service, which commenced operations in Shenzhen in August 2022, now covers around 15 domestic cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Similar to Douyin’s food delivery operation, the within-hour service is fulfilled by merchants themselves or in cooperation with third-party courier platforms. Currently, the majority of merchants providing faster delivery services to Douyin users are supermarkets equipped with self-delivery capabilities. [36Kr, in Chinese]

TSMC plans to build a second chip factory in Japan, thanks in part to the country’s government considering providing it with a subsidy of up to RMB 44.1 billion ($6.04 billion), Japanese media outlet The Asahi Shimbun has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Currently, TSMC is constructing its first Japanese chip factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, with production expected to begin in December 2024. On October 4, during the recent Increase Domestic Investment Cooperation Forum, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida published a new round of economic stimulus plans. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan will allocate a budget of approximately RMB 166.6 billion ($22.81 billion) to establish three funds for semiconductor production and R&D. These three funds are the Post-5G Intelligence Communication System Enhancement R&D Fund, the Specific Semiconductor Fund, and the Stable Supply Support Fund. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Multiple car owners of models made by China’s WM Motor have recently found that a number of in-car features, such as viewing historical charging data and playing music from third-party streaming services, have been rendered unavailable, Chinese auto services portal Autohome reported on Thursday. The company’s official website and user app have also crashed and telephone calls to its customer service hotline were not answered, leaving customers with no access to official repairs for their cars, the report said. The news comes two days after eight-year-old WM Motor acknowledged that it had filed a bankruptcy plan in Shanghai in a move the embattled electric vehicle maker said would facilitate a cash injection from new strategic investors globally to avoid a debt crisis. The company terminated the process of going public in Hong Kong via a backdoor listing, according to a Sept. 10 filing. It held cash and equivalents of RMB 3.7 billion ($507 million) as of last March, compared with accumulated losses of RMB 17.4 billion in the three years to 2021, according to its prospectus. [Autohome, in Chinese]

TikTok is lowering the threshold for the platform’s viral effect creators to receive rewards, as per its blog post on Wednesday, five months after announcing the allocation of $6 million to pay effect and filter creators. The global hit short video platform now provides opportunities for small creators who have five effects published and at least three of them used in 1,000 videos to qualify in eligible regions. This is in contrast to the previous requirement of the effect being used in 500,000 videos for it to start earning rewards. Additionally, the fund is extending its reach to creators in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and eleven other countries. [TikTok]

China’s passenger electric vehicle exports surged 107% year-on-year to around 91,000 units in September. Tesla topped the list with shipments of 30,566 units from its Shanghai factory, according to figures published by the China Passenger Car Association on Wednesday. This was followed by BYD and SAIC with 28,039 and 12,678 units, respectively. Geely and Smart, a joint brand owned by Geely and Daimler, shipped 5,026 and 2,146 EVs to overseas markets over the month. Notably, Xpeng Motors recorded exports of 766 EVs last month, making its first appearance on the list starting this year. China remains a major export country of gasoline vehicles, as EVs accounted for a quarter of the total amount last month. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA, said in August that China has the potential to export 5 million cars this year, either electric or gasoline-powered. [China Passenger Car Association, in Chinese]

Youdao, the educational subsidiary of NetEase, teased an AI-driven private English tutor named Echo on Wednesday, in a further step applying AI capabilities to help tailor education. Echo, powered by the company’s large language model Ziyue which was released in July, is designed to offer personalized “spoken English with an American accent.” The avatar tutor currently covers 68 topics spanning eight dialog scenarios, allowing users to talk about careers, social issues, food, and travel-related topics with Echo, the company said on its official WeChat account. Users are also encouraged to engage in open conversation and receive suggestions on pronunciation and grammar while practicing with Echo through either the WeChat mini-program or the program’s independent app. [NetEase Youdao, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Xiaomi introduced a smaller version of the TV S Pro with 65/75-inch screens, following the launch of the 100-inch version in August. It is priced at RMB 4,299 ($589) and RMB 5,999 ($822), respectively. Both TV models feature a 4K 144Hz Mini LED display with a peak brightness of 2200 nits, supporting 1.07 billion colors and Dolby Vision panoramic sound. The TV S Pro is equipped with a quad-core A73 processor, 4GB + 64GB storage, Wi-Fi 6, dual HDMI 2.1 ports, and an NFC remote control. In September, the report of market intelligence firm Runto Tech revealed that the top seven brands in the Chinese TV market are Xiaomi, Hisense, TCL, Skyworth, Changhong, Konka, and Haier. The total TV shipment of September amounts to approximately 3.3 million units in China, representing an 11.4% year-on-year decrease but a 19.8% month-on-month increase, according to the same report. [IThome, in Chinese]

RoboSense, a laser sensor (lidar) maker backed by BYD and Xiaomi, reported on Tuesday shipments of over 20,000 units in August, more than double the nearly 10,000 units it sold in June. The figure highlights the accelerated adoption of self-driving tech by Chinese electric car makers. Specifically, the growth momentum could be attributed to the strong delivery of Xpeng’s G6 vehicles which the EV upstart has touted as having semi-autonomous driving capabilities applicable to Chinese highways and urban settings. Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng told investors on Aug. 18 that the Max version of the G6, equipped with two lidar units sourced from RoboSense, accounted for 70% of total orders since the car’s official launch on June 29, “far” exceeding expectations. Shenzhen-headquartered RoboSense, also a major supplier to Xpeng Motors and Huawei-backed Aito, has provided 14 car models with automotive sensors as of August in China. Lidar uses lightwaves to detect objects and estimate distances, adding more detailed and accurate three-dimensional data to map roadways compared with cameras and radar technology. [RoboSense statement, in Chinese]

In the third quarter of 2023, the global PC market experienced a year-on-year decline of 7.6% but saw a quarterly growth of 11%, with a total shipment of 68.2 million units, according to market intelligence firm IDC. In the past two quarters, the declining trend in PC shipments has slowed down compared to the same period last year, indicating a gradual return to normal market demand, as analyzed by IDC. In the third quarter, the top five PC brands in terms of global shipments are Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, and Asus. HP achieved positive growth of 6.4% year-to-year in the third quarter, while the other four vendors experienced varying degrees of decline in shipments. Lenovo topped the third quarter with a shipment of 16 million units, capturing a market share of 23.5%. [IDC]

Huawei aims to ship between 60 to 70 million smartphones in 2024, according to sources familiar with the matter on Tuesday. The source claimed that Huawei has placed sufficient orders with its supply chain to ensure it meets this shipment target for 2024. Although this target represents a doubling of shipments compared to 2022, it is still equivalent to Huawei’s total shipments in 2014. Huawei’s peak smartphone shipments over the past decade occurred in 2019, with a total of 240 million units shipped, surpassing iPhone shipments of 198 million units in the same year. Prior to this, the shipment for Huawei’s new flagship Mate60 Pro and Mate60 Pro+ has been increased to 20 million units, as revealed by supply chain sources. [DoNews, in Chinese]

Li Feng, a former head of purchasing at Xpeng Motors, is under investigation by authorities over corruption allegations. His department has been taken over in the interim by Xpeng’s internal control team, according to sources cited by 36Kr on Tuesday. Xpeng Motors later confirmed the news, stating it is taking “normal” action to combat corruption, which would have little impact on business operations, without revealing further details. The development occurs as the electric vehicle maker intensifies the delivery of its redesigned G6 and G9 SUVs, aiming to cut operational costs and recover from a months-long slump since late last year. Volkswagen’s Chinese partner aims to reduce overall costs by 25% by the end of 2024, as mentioned by CEO He Xiaopeng during an earnings call on Aug. 18. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Chinese tech blogger Digital Chat Station revealed on Monday that MIUI 14 might mark the end of Xiaomi’s official custom Android skin. Although older MIUI versions will still receive support, there is speculation that there won’t be a MIUI 15. Xiaomi has reportedly trademarked the name MiOS and secured the domain http://mios.cnmios.cn> in China, indicating the possible arrival of a self-developed operating system built from scratch rather than relying on AOSP, the source code for the current MIUI. Xiaomi has not yet made any statements on this matter. In May, the monthly active users of MIUI worldwide exceeded 600 million, according to Xiaomi. [IThome, in Chinese]

South Korea’s presidential office announced on Monday that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two largest global memory chipmakers, have been granted permission to supply US chip equipment to their factories in China without separate approvals from the US government indefinitely. This decision was well-received by both companies, as they have invested billions of dollars in their chip production facilities in China. In October 2022, the US issued a regulation prohibiting US enterprises from exporting cutting-edge semiconductor production equipment to China. However, under the strong opposition of Samsung and SK Hynix, these two Korean companies were exempted from shipping related chip equipment to China for one year, with the exemption period ending on October 11, 2023. [DoNews, in Chinese]

E-commerce giant Alibaba plans to invest RMB 2 billion ($274 million) in supporting medium- and small-sized merchants to achieve one million yuan in turnover during Singles Day, the company’s marketing operating system Alimama announced on Monday. The initiative is part of Alibaba’s strategy to boost consumer spending for China’s biggest shopping festival. Meanwhile, Alibaba’s livestreamed evening gala is set to return on Nov. 11, known in the country as Singles Day, after a year’s absence, with the company adding that it would feature “celebrities and high-profile shows.” This year’s retail bonanza is scheduled to kick off pre-sales on Oct. 24 and end on Nov. 11, with Alibaba also planning to allocate RMB 50 million in cash to subsidize merchants and influencers who conduct livestream shopping events and create related short videos. [NBD, in Chinese]

HoYoverse, the Chinese game developer behind Genshin Impact, has made two unsuccessful attempts since August to establish its own payment methods. The moves were intended to allow the company to bill customers directly without having to pay Apple’s commission fees of up to 30% on transactions through the App Store. HoYoverse heavily relies on a feature called gacha, which operates like a toy vending machine and encourages players to make small payments to obtain desired anime characters and limited-edition items. Despite its controversial similarities to gambling, this randomized system has contributed to the immense success of Genshin Impact, a free-to-download fantasy role-playing game released in 2020. According to intelligence firm Sensor Tower, Genshin Impact generated approximately $1.56 billion worldwide in 2022. [IThome, in Chinese]

China aims to boost the country’s computing power, used to measure computer speed, by more than 50% by 2025. This comes as competition intensifies in high-tech sectors, especially artificial intelligence, between China and the US. The plan, released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday, sets a target for computing power to surpass 300 EFLOPS (3 trillion floating-point operations per second) by 2025. In August, MIIT revealed that China’s computational power ranked second globally, following the US, with a growth of 9.4% from 180 EFLOPS in 2022 to this June. [MIIT, in Chinese]

Baidu is poised to launch a new version of its language model at its annual flagship technology conference on October 17, as reported by local tech outlet China Star Market. The 4.0 version is deemed “a significant upgrade” from the latest foundational AI model ERNIE 3.5, which the company claimed outperformed ChatGPT in certain key areas upon its release in June. The firm’s ChatGPT-like chatbot, ERNIE Bot, is powered by its self-developed model ERNIE, which was fully opened to the public in August. A source informed the outlet that the model’s four core abilities – understanding, generation, logic, and memory – would be further enhanced in the upcoming iteration. [China Star Market, in Chinese]

BYD has recently opened its first retail location dedicated to the premium Yangwang marque in Shanghai and received roughly 4,000 pre-orders for its RMB 1.09 million ($149,531) off-roader, the U8, after the public debut of the vehicle at this year’s Auto Shanghai show in mid-April. A sales employee at the company informed the financial media outlet Jiemian on Sunday, following BYD’s announcement in January to operate direct-sales stores in dozens of major domestic cities by the end of this year. The 500 square meters (5,382 square foot) retail space is located in the city’s popular riverfront Bund area, attracting middle-aged male customers primarily interested in the car’s capabilities, such as tank turn and water crossing, according to the report. BYD also operates several other luxury brands, including Denza and FangChengBao, with target price ranges of between RMB 300,000 and RMB 500,000, as well as RMB 400,000 and RMB 600,000, respectively. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Temu plans to charge merchants a 5‰ service fee for the actual costs paid by customers for each order as the popular e-commerce site expands rapidly outside China. The term is included in the recently issued “customer service outsourcing agreement,” which sellers operating in Temu must sign to ensure service quality within their stores. According to the agreement, the service fee will not be refunded if an order is refunded. In comparison, mainstream cross-border platforms like Shopee and AliExpress typically charge commissions of around 5%, varying depending on the product category. The newly introduced service fee has a “greater impact” on products with low gross margins, cited a merchant from Temu, as reported by Chinese outlet Jiemian. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Chinese manufacturer Chongqing Changan Automobile announced on October 7 that it has appointed Klaus Zyciora, the former design chief at Volkswagen Group until 2022, as vice president to oversee and lead the company’s global design team. The move is expected to bring a “world-class design philosophy” to Changan’s existing design culture, as stated in a statement by the state-run automaker, which is also a manufacturing partner of Ford and Mazda in China. Zyciora, a world-renowned designer and former head of group design at Volkswagen, led design efforts across various lineups, contributing to the success of models such as the iconic Golf hatchback and midsize Passat sedan. After over three decades with Volkswagen, he left the company at the end of 2022. Volkswagen’s CEO Oliver Blume praised Klaus, stating, “Klaus demonstrated his abilities as an excellent designer, strong team leader, and creative forward thinker for more than 30 years,” in a statement published on December 14. [TechNode reporting, Changan statement, in Chinese]

On Saturday, “porn apps disguised as study apps on iOS App Store” became a trending topic on Chinese social platform Weibo. Some netizens discovered a number of adult-content apps disguised as study apps available on the App Store, with some even making the top ten free-download list. These apps were rated for ages 4 and above and the download pages resembled those of normal study apps, but they redirected users to pornographic and gambling websites when opened. By Saturday afternoon, the related apps had been removed from the App Store following users’ complaints. It is technically illegal to produce, disseminate, or sell sexually explicit material in China, with prison sentences possible for those found to be violating the country’s laws on such material. [ThePaper, in Chinese]

On Friday, the US Commerce Department announced the addition of 42 Chinese companies to an export control list due to their support for Russia’s military and defense industries. This support includes the supply of integrated circuits of US origin, according to the statement. Additionally, seven entities from Finland, Germany, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom were also added to the export control list. The Commerce Department stated that these circuits, including microelectronics, are used by Russia for precision guidance systems in missiles and drones deployed against civilian targets in Ukraine. In response, China criticized the US action as unilateral bullying and called for the US to rectify its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies, as stated by China’s Ministry of Commerce. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Alibaba has opted to close Luohan Academy, a research institute initiated by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, according to sources cited by the South China Morning Post on Saturday. The sudden closure is part of an ongoing restructuring effort within the e-commerce giant. However, the report adds that some of the institute’s operations will persist within Alibaba, including the environmental, social, and governance research team. Founded in mid-2018, Ma expressed his desire for Luohan Academy to endure for 300 years, much like his aspirations for Hupan University, DAMO Academy, and the Jack Ma Foundation to become more enduring presences than Alibaba itself. The committee of this open social science institute boasts multiple Nobel Prize winners in economics, as its official website indicates. It emphasizes that its research “addresses the most important global challenges and focuses on the long-term development of human society.” [SCMP]

In the ongoing tech war between the US and China, the Biden administration faces pressure from lawmakers to restrict US companies involved in the development of RISC-V, a freely available chip technology widely used in China. This move could disrupt global collaboration in the tech industry. RISC-V, pronounced as “risk five,” is an open-source alternative to British semiconductor and software design company Arm Holdings’ expensive proprietary technology, and has diverse applications, from smartphone chips to advanced AI processors. US lawmakers have raised concerns about China taking advantage of the culture of open collaboration among US companies in order to bolster its own semiconductor industry. [Reuters]

Market research firm Appmagic has released its global rankings for September’s top grossing mobile games, with Tencent’s Honor of Kings continuing to dominate in the top spot, while Scopely’s Monopoly Go and Tencent’s PUBG Mobile secured second and third place. Last month, the three mobile games generated approximately $115.8 million, $87.95 million, and $83.19 million. HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail remained in fifth place in September, but experienced a decrease of approximately $8 million in month-on-month revenue. Genshin Impact, another hit game from HoYoverse, saw a $10 million increase in revenue compared to the previous month, rising to seventh place overall. Dunk City Dynasty, a new street basketball game developed by NetEase Games and launched on August 23, achieved revenue of $19.5 million last month. The title is currently only available in the Chinese market. [Baijing, in Chinese]

Chinese consumers spent RMB 753.4 billion ($104.7 billion) during the recent nationwide holiday, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 1.5%. The eight-day holiday witnessed approximately 826 million people traveling, marking the busiest “golden week” holiday in the past five years, with the figure surpassing 2019 levels by 4.1%. Data from on-demand local services provider Meituan reveals that dine-in catering consumption surged by 254% compared to the same period in 2019. Despite the country’s recent sluggish economic growth, the extended holiday, which included the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, spurred spending on domestic and outbound travel. Orders for outbound tours during the holiday period grew more than eight times year-on-year, according to the travel platform Trip.com. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

The 19th Asian Games closing ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center on October 8th. Presently, the top five countries, based on the total number of medals, are China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Kazakhstan. During the opening ceremony, 100 million online users united as one massive golden “digital torchbearer” through augmented reality (AR) technology for the virtual lighting ceremony. This “digital torchbearer” is anticipated to deliver an impressive performance during the closing ceremony as well. The chief director of the Hangzhou Asian Games closing ceremony has disclosed that the “digital torchbearer” will engage in an interactive segment with the audience and performers present at the event, and its name will be revealed at the final moment. [IThome, in Chinese]

On Wednesday, Qualcomm and Tencent Music announced a collaboration to introduce Snapdragon Premium Sound Quality. Leveraging the AI computing power of the Qualcomm AI Engine, Snapdragon Premium Sound Quality combines with QQ Music’s AI model algorithm on the device side, providing users with a more layered and in-depth listening experience, according to the company. Specifically, it enhances the speed and efficiency of audio encoding, audio decoding, and audio detail restoration. Snapdragon Premium Sound Quality is now available as an audio option for paid QQ Music Super VIP Members, while users of smartphones equipped with Snapdragon mobile platforms also have exclusive access to the service for a limited time. [Qualcomm China, in Chinese]

Leaked phone case images have seemingly revealed the design of the upcoming Xiaomi 14 Pro. The rear design seems to be an evolution of its predecessor, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, with a square camera island housing three cameras and an LED flash unit. In the case images, the top-right module, resembling a camera with internal sensors, might house the LED flash and bear the Leica branding. In contrast, the Xiaomi 13 Pro had the LED flash and Leica logo in the bottom-right module. The Xiaomi 14 Pro is expected to feature a 2K 120Hz quad-curved AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, a 50MP camera with a 1/1.28-inch sensor, and 120W fast charging. The Xiaomi 14 series is anticipated to make its debut in the first half of November. [Zaker, in Chinese]

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), China’s gaming regulator, approved 89 domestic games on Monday as the country’s authorities continue to green-light a steady stream of titles following its previous freeze on new titles. As of September, China has approved a total of 757 new games in 2023, comprising 699 domestic games and 58 imported games. The new batch of approvals, following several months of similar-sized tranches of games allowed to go public, continues to alleviate industry concerns around the granting of new gaming licenses. Among the most highly anticipated gaming titles in September are Lost Castle by Migu (a subsidiary of China Mobile), Battle Through Heaven by CMGE Technology, Doula Continent by Kingnet Network, Ares Virus 2 by Qingci Games, and Son-in-Law by 37 Interactive Entertainment. [NPPA, in Chinese]

Leaked conversations between Qualcomm and its Korean partners have revealed that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset will comprise both the faster 3nm (N3E) and the less expensive 4nm (N4P) process variants developed by TSMC, tech media outlet IThome reported on Tuesday. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor is expected to adopt a 2+4+2 design, which gives it two Cortex X4 cores, four Cortex A720 cores, and two Cortex A520 cores, the report added. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will launch on October 24 at the Snapdragon Summit 2023 in Hawaii, US. It is still unclear whether the distinction between the two TSMC variants of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be unveiled separately. [IThome, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, the Chinese national team won the gold medal in the event Honor of Kings, also known as Arena of Valor, as e-sports made its debut at the Asian Games 2023. This marks the first gold medal ever awarded in the history of e-sports at the Asian Games. In the final of the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game Honor of Kings, China defeated Malaysia with a score of 2:0, securing the gold medal and marking it as the 48th gold medal for China at the 19th Asian Games. Additionally, this achievement raises the possibility of e-sports being included in future Olympic Games. [Zaker, in Chinese]

On Monday, Huawei unveiled its latest flagship tablet, the MatePad Pro 13.2, which is touted as the world’s thinnest and lightest tablet. It weighs 580 grams and measures 5.5mm in thickness. The tablet features an edge-to-edge screen design, covering almost the entire front of the device. It boasts a 13.2-inch flexible OLED display with a resolution of 2.8K and a refresh rate of 144Hz. Powering the Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2 is the self-developed Kirin 9000s chipset, the same one found in the Mate 60 series smartphones. Under the hood, this device packs a built-in 10,100 mAh battery and supports 88W fast charging technology. According to Huawei, it can reach an 85% charge in just 40 minutes and achieve a full charge in 65 minutes. The highest storage variant, 16GB+1TB, is priced at RMB 6,999 ($958). [IThome, in Chinese]

During the fall product launch event on Monday, Huawei introduced the ultra high-end Huawei Watch Ultimate Design Gold Edition, with a luxurious price of 2,999 euros. Six segments of 18K gold are inlaid at the edge of the nanocrystal ceramic bezel. The watch features a 1.5-inch LTPO OLED display with a resolution of 450 x 450 pixels, an adaptive 60Hz refresh rate, and a satellite messaging function. The company claims that its 530 mAh battery can last up to 14 days with normal usage and 8 days with heavy usage. Notably, the 100-meter diving accessory function supports recording underwater data in different diving modes, including scuba diving and free diving.[IThome, in Chinese]

On Monday, Huawei launched the Mate 60 RS Ultimate Design, the first premium smartphone under its new Ultimate Design marque. Released in partnership with Porsche, the Mate 60 RS Ultimate Design features identical specs to the Mate 60 Pro+, with a 6.82-inch LTPO OLED screen, Kirin 9000s chipset, three 40MP cameras, satellite call function, and a 5,000 mAh battery. In terms of design, the model draws inspiration from last year’s Mate 50 RS Porsche edition, with an octagonal camera module in the center of its phone back. The body is made of ceramic and the frame is aluminum. It is available in two color options: red and black. The device comes with two storage configurations: 16GB+512GB for RMB 11,999 ($1,641) and 16GB+1TB for RMB 12,999 ($1,778). [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker FAW Group will deploy in-vehicle laser sensors sourced from lidar maker Hesai in an upcoming new model under its Hongqi marque, scheduled for mass delivery during the first half of 2025, according to a statement released on Sept. 22. The move marks the first series production design of its kind and makes FAW the first automaker to use the technology at scale; most existing rivals have perched the equipment on the roofs of their vehicles to monitor the environment for autonomous driving. Nasdaq-listed Hesai released the ET25 in-vehicle lidar in April, a system which the company says can enable a sleek design for automobiles without reducing aerodynamics and acceleration performance, while still providing a clear view for the optical component to work thanks to quick cleaning via windshield wipers. Shanghai-headquartered Hesai captured nearly half of the total global lidar market in 2022, up from a 42% share a year ago, according to figures from consulting firm Yole Intelligence. [Hesai press release]

Chinese electric vehicle startup Rox Motor Tech announced on September 22 that it has successfully completed a $1 billion fundraising round, with funding coming from the local aluminum producer Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group. This development marks the latest entry into China’s thriving electric vehicle (EV) industry. The announcement follows Shanghai-based Rox Motor Tech’s launch of the Polestone 01 plug-in hybrid sports utility vehicle a month ago. The Polestone 01, Rox’s first production model, is priced starting at RMB 349,900 ($47,893) and is scheduled for delivery in November 2023. Founded in early 2021 by Chang Jing, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Roborock, a robot vacuum cleaner maker backed by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, Rox plans to utilize the funds raised to develop all-aluminum body vehicles and establish a new gigacasting die-cast process. Shandong Weiqiao, a privately-owned entity, previously invested in electric truck maker Deepway and acquired a production facility in the eastern city of Qingdao, where Rox’s first model is set to be manufactured. [Rox statement, in Chinese]

In the first half of 2023, China’s major e-commerce platforms achieved a cumulative livestreaming sales volume of RMB 1.27 trillion ($174 billion), according to a September 21 report by IThome, which cited data from the National Institute of Metrology, China. In the first half of this year, there were over 110 million livestreams on these platforms and more than 70 million products were showcased through live commerce, the report said. During the same period, the number of active e-commerce livestreamers in China reached over 2.7 million. In 2022, more than 120 million livestreaming activities were conducted on major e-commerce platforms and received over 1.1 trillion views in total, according to a report released in January by China’s Ministry of Commerce and the National Bureau of Statistics. Throughout 2022, there were 1.1 million active livestreamers in China, the report stated. [IThome, in Chinese]

Luxshare, one of Apple’s main suppliers in China, has begun the production of three models from the iPhone 15 series this year with a doubled order size compared with 2022, the company’s chairman Wang Laichun told The Paper on September 21. Luxshare is also preparing for the production of Apple’s first generation augmented reality device, the Apple Vision Pro, she added. In February of this year, Nikkei Asia reported that the Guangdong-based company had taken over Apple’s AR development team in Shanghai. Currently, Luxshare provides development and manufacturing services for Apple’s iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro. Last year, Luxshare established a new facility in the Chinese city of Kunshan to support the mass production of iPhones, Wang said. In the first half of 2023, the company achieved revenue of RMB 97.971 billion ($13.4 billion), a year-on-year growth of 19.53%, according to its semi-annual report released in August. [The Paper, in Chinese]

BYD on Wednesday officially launched the U8, its first-ever high-end, off-road sports utility vehicle model under the new Yangwang sub-brand, which the Chinese automaker says will have a price tag of nearly RMB 1.1 million ($150,395). The electric vehicle giant for now has no specific sales target for the super high-end lineup and is on track to begin delivery from late October in a dozen major Chinese cities, a company spokesperson recently told Chinese media outlet LatePost. Capable of doing a 360-degree spin on its own axis, the full-size off-roader also comes with enhanced assisted driving capabilities such as valet parking and adaptive cruise control, powered by dual Nvidia Drive Orin processing chips. The plug-in hybrid vehicle is aimed at competing with offerings from Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz, and BYD plans to operate 90 direct sales stores across the country by the end of the year. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) currently has a new energy vehicle (NEV) sales proportion of approximately 30%, according to a September 21 report by media outlet Yicai. In 2023, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models dominate the company’s NEV sector and sales of pure electric vehicles are expected to grow continuously, a GWM employee told Yicai. In terms of terminal channel construction, GWM will establish separate sales networks for new energy- and fuel-powered vehicles. To further continue its move toward new energy vehicles, the company will expand its offline stores with an aim of achieving 1,200 terminal channels by the end of 2023, the report said. In August of this year, GWM sold 26,300 new energy vehicles, representing a year-on-year growth of 119.83%, a GWM performance report showed. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Chinese AI startup Ling Xin Intelligence, founded by a professor from Tsinghua University, has been fully acquired by technology company Zhipu AI, according to a September 22 report by 36Kr. Zhipu AI, a company founded by Tsinghua alumni in 2019, focuses on the development of large language models. Prior to the move, Zhipu AI had participated in Ling Xin Intelligence’s angel and Pre-A funding rounds in 2021 and 2023, respectively. An industry insider said the valuation of Ling Xin Intelligence was hundreds of millions of yuan when the acquisition was finalized. Ling Xin Intelligence was founded in late 2021 by Huang Minlie, an associate professor from the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University. His main research areas cover natural language processing, dialogue systems, natural language generation, and sentiment analysis. In August of this year, Ling Xin Intelligence started invitational testing for its large language model Echo, which is co-developed with Tsinghua CoAI Lab. The model is designed to provide users with empathy and companionship, the firm said at the time. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Huawei unveiled its Panggu vehicle large language model at the Huawei Connect summit in Shanghai, according to a September 21 report by IThome. The LLM is able to help autonomous driving systems in coping with complex scenarios in a two-day long learning cycle by constructing digital twin spaces and generating complex scene samples for them, according to Huawei. The model will empower various business scenarios in the auto industry, including automotive design, production, marketing, and research and development, the firm said. In July of this year, the Chinese telecom giant unveiled the latest version of its Pangu large model, Pangu 3.0. Zhang Ping’an, the executive chairman and CEO of Huawei Cloud, said at the time that the Pangu model series is specifically designed for various industries with a special focus on government affairs, finance, mining, railroads, and meteorology. So far, Huawei has extended the application of the Pangu LLM to scenarios including coal mining, weather forecasting, and medical care. [IThome, in Chinese]

On Thursday, LightSpeed Studios, a subsidiary of the Chinese game publisher Tencent Games, released “High Energy Heroes,” an adapted version of Apex Legends tailored for Chinese players. Apex Legends, a free-to-play battle royale shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts in 2019, served as the source material for this adaptation. The original Apex Legends team collaborated with Tencent to create “High Energy Heroes,” combining elements of first-person shooting, teamwork, and strategic decision-making. The game places a strong emphasis on team communication, with players working together to outgun their opponents. Currently, “High Energy Heroes” has claimed the top spot on the domestic iOS free-download game list. The official website indicates that the number of pre-registered players exceeded 10 million over a month ago. [nadianshi, in Chinese]

TikTok introduced a new tool this week to help creators label AI-generated content, as announced on the popular short video platform’s blog. TikTok now requires creators to inform viewers when images, audio, or video has been created or edited using AI, aiming to prevent the potential spread of misleading content. The AI label will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the video, below the username. Failure to provide this information about AI-created content may result in the removal of such content. Additionally, the company plans to rename its AI effects and filters to include “AI” in their names and is encouraging creators to do the same. [TikTok]

On Thursday, the Chinese phone maker Xiaomi unveiled its budget-friendly Redmi Note 13 lineup, which includes the Redmi Note 13, Redmi Note 13 Pro, and Redmi Note 13 Pro +. The Redmi Note 13 Pro + is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 7200-Ultra, a latest mid-range chipset built on a 4nm process, designed to deliver flagship-level performance. This model boasts a 200MP primary camera, a 1.5K resolution screen, IP68 water and dust resistance, and a 5,000 mAh battery. Notably, it supports 120W fast charging, capable of fully recharging the phone in approximately 18 minutes, as claimed by the company. The top-tier configuration with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is priced at RMB 2,299 ($315). [IThome, in Chinese]

Gong Yu, the founder and chief executive of the Chinese long-form video site iQiyi, highlighted that generative AI is causing significant changes in production methods, cost structures, and staffing arrangements, and these changes are expected to unfold over the next three to five years. He shared these insights during his speech on Thursday at the company’s annual iJOY Conference, where plans for the release of 282 new films, drama series, and variety shows were unveiled. “We believe the core capabilities of AIGC can be summarized as language expression, artistic video production, and creative diffusion, which empower creators across the four major stages of pre-planning, script evaluation, production, and promotion,” said Gong. He also emphasized that artificial intelligence won’t replace human beings, as the current work remains human-centered. [NBD, in Chinese]

Florasis, a Hangzhou-based makeup brand, has found itself embroiled in another controversy. This follows its earlier apology for comments made by top beauty influencer Li Jiaqi during a live-stream, where he suggested viewers consider whether they had “worked hard enough” to afford Florasis’ RMB 79 eyebrow pencil. According to reports, the statement released by the company was not connected to its PR unit, and the entire team was unaware of the apology’s publication. Local outlet ThePaper cited sources familiar with the matter on Wednesday. The report also mentioned that the decision-makers in the PR department have already resigned from their positions. [ThePaper, in Chinese]

In 2022, Chinese domestically developed video games generated a total sales revenue of $17.346 billion in overseas markets, according to a September 20 report by Jiemian, citing data from a state-run research institution. In 2022, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany were key destinations for China’s mobile game exports, with the US, Japan and South Korea collectively accounting for over 56% of the total revenue, the report said. Additionally, the number of games developed by Chinese companies in the top 100 exported mobile games globally continued to grow for two consecutive years, the report said. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Jin Yuzhi, the president of Huawei’s optical product line will take over the position of CEO of Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit from Yu Chengdong, a Sept. 21 report by Jiemian said. An individual familiar with the matter said that Yu will become the chairman of the IAS unit after the transfer. The change does not imply a reduction in Yu’s responsibilities as Huawei’s IAS unit is set to expand within the year, according to the report. Jin Yuzhi is a candidate for the company’s board of directors and has long led Huawei’s optical fiber business. In recent years, Huawei has extended the development of its optical technology from the communications sector to the automotive sector, creating intelligent in-car optical products such as light field displays, intelligent car lights, and AR-HUD driver assistant systems, among others. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

A unit of Huawei has begun shipping newly manufactured Chinese chips for surveillance cameras, according to a Sept. 20 report by Reuters, citing sources familiar with the unit’s activities. Huawei’s HiSilicon chip design division started shipments this year, and some of the customers involved are Chinese, sources told Reuters. In addition to these developments, Huawei has recently introduced new smartphones that incorporate advanced chips believed to be domestically produced. “These surveillance chips are relatively easy to manufacture compared to smartphone processors,” said a source familiar with the surveillance camera industry’s supply chain, adding that HiSilicon’s resurgence in this sector could disrupt the market. HiSilicon primarily supplied chips for Huawei equipment but also had external clients, including companies like Dahua Technology and Hikvision. Prior to the imposition of US export controls in 2019, HiSilicon dominated the surveillance camera chip supply sector with an estimated global market share of 60% in 2018, according to Reuters, citing data from brokerage Southwest Securities. However, this share had dwindled to a mere 3.9% by 2021, according to data from consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan. [Reuters]

Meng Wanzhou, who holds the rotating chairwoman position at Huawei Technologies, outlined the company’s new “all intelligence” strategy at a summit on Sept. 20, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP). This strategic shift marks a once-in-a-decade upgrade from the “all cloud” strategy introduced in 2013 and the “all IP” strategy in 2003. During her speech at the Huawei Connect summit in Shanghai on Wednesday, Meng emphasized the company’s commitment to contributing to China’s technological advancement by serving as a crucial infrastructure and computing power provider. Huawei will offer “an alternative choice for the world”, Meng said without providing further details. The Huawei Connect event, spanning three days, showcased applications of Huawei’s technologies across various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and finance. The Chinese company supports organizations and industries in leveraging their data and knowledge to develop large language models and will build a computing power base to meet the diverse AI needs of different industries, according to Meng. [SCMP]

Qualcomm’s Shanghai research and development center may undergo layoffs, with compensation for employees ranging from N+4 months’ salary (N being the employee’s years of seniority) to a maximum of N+7 months’ salary, according to a Sept. 20 report by Tencent News. Qualcomm primarily focuses on the development and sales of smartphone chips. However, the company experienced a reduction in revenue this year due to the decrease in global smartphone shipments and strong competition from its rivals such as MediaTek, the report said. In the third quarter of 2023, the company saw a 23% year-on-year decrease in revenue with $8.451 billion and a 52% year-on-year decrease in net profit with $1.803 billion. During the release of its Q3 financial report in August, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said in a conference call with analysts that Qualcomm would continue to reduce costs, and layoffs were one of the measures. [Tencent News, in Chinese]

AI-powered digital avatar generator Miaoya Camera said on Wednesday it now offers a free experience for consumers to create personalized portraits after uploading a single headshot and a set of seven recent photographs, in a further attempt to expand its services to a wider user base. The app quickly went viral when it was launched in July and became the most widely used generative AI app in China. Users were charged a minimum fee of RMB 9.9 ($1.36) to generate standard-style digital avatars when the app first launched. The app developer acknowledged that the free mode may have “some limitations in generated effectiveness” compared to the paid version, while adding that the company wants more users to enjoy the fun of creating AI portraits through this free experience, in an article posted to its official WeChat account. [Miaoya, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Starbucks opened its largest intelligent coffee production and logistics base in China, with a total investment of RMB 1.5 billion ($220 million), underscoring the Seattle-based coffee brand’s growing commitment to its second-largest market. The newly completed manufacturing site, situated near Shanghai in Kunshan city, is slated to serve as Starbucks’ national production and distribution hub in China, as stated by the company. Laxman Narasimhan, the new CEO of Starbucks, expressed to Chinese media outlets that China “presents tremendous opportunities” for the company, given that the current per capita coffee consumption in China remains relatively low compared to that of the US and Japan.[Starbucks]

Chinese phone maker Oppo declined to comment on previous reports suggesting that it might restart its independent chip development business and has begun recalling former employees to return, according to a Sept. 19 report by Chinese news outlet CLS. In May of this year, Oppo unexpectedly dissolved its chip developing unit Zeku, citing uncertainties in the global economy and the smartphone market. Since Zeku’s establishment in 2019, Oppo has introduced two chip products, namely MariSilicon X and MariSilicon Y. Industry insider Chen Gen told CLS that Oppo’s return to chip development is a possibility, but it comes with challenges. “Performance stability, yield rate, and cost are three key factors that enterprises planning to develop their own chips must consider,” he added. [CLS, in Chinese]

Huawei’s chief executive Ren Zhengfei stated during an event that Huawei invests approximately $3 to $5 billion annually in fundamental theoretical research to strengthen its technological development, according to a Sept. 20 report by Securities Times. Ren emphasized that the world is entering the fourth industrial revolution, with computing power serving as the foundation for this technological transformation. When asked about his perspective on Huawei’s competitor Apple, Ren mentioned that his daughter uses Apple’s iPhone for its convenience while studying in the United States. Huawei continually explores the reasons behind the widespread popularity of Apple’s products and acknowledges the gap between Huawei and Apple, he added. Ren said that Apple’s presence provides an opportunity for Huawei to learn from and compare itself to, which he views as a good thing. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr aims to achieve a $18 billion market valuation before pursuing a $1 billion IPO in the US, a Sept. 19 report by Jiemian said. In February of this year, Zeekr was valued at $13 billion after a Pre-A funding round, according to the report. In August, publicly available information on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website revealed that Zeekr had applied for government approval for its proposed IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Over the past three weeks, Zeekr has been conducting roadshows. Insiders familiar with Zeekr’s roadshows told Jiemian that the company has been holding meetings with investors in Singapore and Europe, with a primary focus on overseas investors. If the fundraising goes smoothly, Zeekr’s $1 billion IPO could become the largest one by a Chinese company in the United States since Didi raised $4.4 billion in 2021, the report said. However, Gui Lingfeng, Director at consulting firm Kearney, told Jiemian that US capital markets are cautious about Chinese concept stocks and emerging companies that provide exclusively electric vehicles, such as Zeekr. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s AI technology subsidiary has rebranded the home automation device brand Tmall Genie into XGenie, Chinese tech news site IThome reported on September 19. The revamped XGenie integrates services supported by Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen large language model (LLM), offering features such as AIGC creation, open-domain dialogues, and TTS emotional expression, among others. On the same day, the company unveiled three new AI-supported terminal products, including XGenie AR glasses, XGenie Sound smart assistant, and an upcoming smart tablet for children. Alibaba entered the crowded digital voice assistant market in 2017 with the smart speaker Tmall Genie X1. In July of this year, Tmall Genie conducted an internal test of its LLM-supported terminal operating system. [IThome, in Chinese; XGenie announcement, in Chinese]

Ji Yue, a Chinese electric vehicle brand co-developed by automaker Geely and search engine Baidu said on Tuesday that it will begin delivery of its first production model in October, featuring advanced in-car technology and a starting price of RMB 259,900 ($35,609). The Ji Yue 01 is one of the first models in China equipped with Qualcomm’s smart cockpit computing platform SA8295, which allowed two social media influencers to play the hit racing game Asphalt with a 35.6-inch display across the dashboard during a livestream press event. The five-seater crossover is also currently the only model available with Baidu’s full range of advanced driver assistance capabilities, which the company said would enable the car to navigate by itself on busy Chinese streets, without revealing further details. Baidu and Geely set up a joint venture Jidu Auto in 2021 and launched a limited edition of their first model the Robo-01 last October. Geely said on Aug. 14 that the two companies would launch their first joint offering under a new brand called Ji Yue later this year. [Ji Yue announcement, in Chinese]

Alibaba Pictures, a separately listed subsidiary of Alibaba Group, announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Pony Media Holdings, which operates Damai, a China-based online live events ticketing platform from Alibaba Group. The acquisition, valued at $167 million, has shrunk by 68% compared to when Alibaba Group bought Damai. The e-commerce giant became Damai’s major shareholder in 2014 through a $133 million deal, and completed its full acquisition of the platform three years later after a further $393 million investment. The live events firm has more than 100 million registered users, and Alibaba Pictures said in the regular filing that it expects to “further enhance brand awareness for its offline entertainment business through Damai.” [Alibaba Pictures]

China’s Chery Automobile, which has a manufacturing partnership with luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), will enter Thailand with an all-electric model in the first half of 2024, Vice President Xu Qingsong said at the China-ASEAN Expo in the southern city of Nanning on Monday. Xu declared that Thailand is one of Chery’s strategic markets, along with Malaysia and Indonesia, after the Chinese manufacturer revealed plans in July to establish manufacturing facilities in the three countries as part of its expansion into Southeast Asia. Thailand’s government last year announced measures to reduce import duty for EVs by as much as 40% until the end of this year, while requiring eligible manufacturers to locally produce vehicles similar to the imported models in a 1:1 ratio by the end of 2024. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Zhipu AI, a state-backed startup, has reportedly secured B-4 round fundraising from Tencent and Alibaba among others, according to local tech outlet 36Kr. The latest funding valued the Tsinghua University-incubated startup at $1 billion dollars, nearly double its value at the company’s last funding worth hundreds of millions of yuan led by Meituan earlier this year. The fundraising spurt comes after China granted various companies – ZhipuAI, Alibaba, and Tencent included – permission to open their generative artificial intelligence services to the public. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Chinese cosmetics brand Florasis, through its official Weibo account, expressed feeling “apprehensive and overwhelmed.” This sudden attention stemmed largely from the actions of China’s top beauty influencer, Li Jiaqi, who questioned his viewers about whether those unable to afford the RMB 79 eyebrow pencil might not have worked “hard enough” during a recent live-streaming session. While the Hangzhou-based company did not directly mention the controversial product or Li Jiaqi in its statement, it indicated that relevant comments had been thoroughly documented. The statement concluded by emphasizing the promotion of “domestic products to strengthen themselves.” However, this delayed response did not quell the anger of some customers who felt the brand had not addressed concerns about “high makeup prices.” [NBD, in Chinese]

Xpeng Motors on Tuesday launched a redesigned version of the G9 with sticker prices significantly lower than last year’s version, in an effort to boost sales of its highest-positioned offering. The sports utility vehicle now costs from RMB 263,900 ($36,160), compared with the RMB 309,900 ($42,464) price tag the car came with last September. The G9 has space for two 15-inch high-resolution screens on its center console, and takes 20 minutes to charge from a low level to 80%. The roomy five-seater is equipped with adaptive dual-chamber air suspension and can adjust its dampers to dynamically match road conditions. Volkswagen-backed Xpeng will begin delivering the vehicle in four European countries including Norway and Denmark next month, with plans to enter Germany in 2024, chief executive He Xiaopeng said at a press event. [Xpeng statement, in Chinese]

Pascal Lamy, the former director-general of the World Trade Organization, stated on Sept. 16 that he anticipates the EU and China could resolve a looming trade dispute concerning electric vehicles through an agreement not to sell them below a minimum price, known as a “price undertaking.” The former WTO chief made this comment during an interview with the Chinese financial media outlet Caixin. He also noted that there is a precedent for such anti-dumping measures in previous trade disputes over solar panels between the two sides. Lamy further cited the EU’s concerns about its tariff rates being significantly lower than those of the US, which facilitates the entry of China-made EVs into the region. This concern was cited as one of the major reasons behind the European Commission’s recent investigation, announced on Sept. 13. Currently, the EU imposes a duty of 10% on cars imported from China, compared to the 27.5% imposed by the US. In 2013, Beijing and Brussels agreed to establish a price floor on Chinese solar panel imports, which European manufacturers accused of benefiting from substantial government subsidies and distorting the markets. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Recent reports suggest that Chinese drone maker DJI plans to withdraw from the US market due to a verdict in a US patent case and relocate its headquarters from Shenzhen to Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi Province in central China. However, on Monday, a DJI spokesperson refuted both possibilities. “As global customers are equally important to us, DJI will not abandon the US market,” the spokesperson stated. In April, US aerospace company Textron won a $279 million verdict against DJI Technology for patent infringement related to drone flight control systems, although DJI strongly disagreed with the result. [ThePaper, in Chinese]

Moutai and Dove’s co-branded chocolate has seen a surge in demand after the liquor-flavored snack was officially launched on September 16, with the price rising by 60% to 150%, according to a September 18 report by CLS. The official launch price for 20g of the baijiu-infused chocolate is RMB 39 ($5.3). However, on several unauthorized online stores on JD.com ecommerce platform, the price has reached RMB 64 ($8.8), representing a 64% increase. On Temu’s Chinese sibling app Pinduoduo, certain merchants have successfully sold the chocolate to customers at RMB 98 ($13.4), a 151% increase on the official retail price. At 10 a.m. on September 18, authorized online stores started another round of sales for the liquor-filled chocolate and saw it sell out within a minute. [CLS, in Chinese]

TSMC may postpone the mass production of its 2nm process until 2026, as progress in constructing the company’s 2nm plant has begun to slow down, according to supply chain sources on Monday. These sources revealed that the original plan for 2nm mass production in the second half of 2025 has been affected by sluggish demand for semiconductors and uncertain 2nm orders. TSMC’s 2nm process plants are currently under construction in three Taipei locations: Hsinchu Baoshan plant, Taichung Zhongke plant, and Kaohsiung Nanzi plant. TSMC’s 2nm process technology will incorporate the advanced GAA (gate-all-around) transistor architecture for the first time but is still facing challenges with a low yield rate due to technical difficulties. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Anhui Gujing, a time-honored baijiu brand in China, plans to launch a co-branded ice cream with ice cream maker Baxy on September 19. The co-developed ice cream, mainly made of milk and light cream, contains more than 1.12 grams of Gujing’s premium baijiu Gu20 in each cup, according to Anhui Gujing. The retail price for a 500ml bottle of 42% vol Gu20 is RMB 799 ($110), while the 52% vol Gu20 is priced at RMB 899 ($123); the price for the ice cream has not yet been officially revealed. In the first half of 2023, Anhui Gujing became the fastest growing firm among listed liquor companies in China with a net profit of RMB 2.78 billion ($381 million), a 44.85% year-on-year growth, according to Securities Times. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced on Monday its plans to establish industry standards for the metaverse sector, according to Reuters. In a draft proposal released on Monday, the ministry outlined its intention to create a working group dedicated to the metaverse. The proposal emphasized that the metaverse is one of nine emerging technology sectors for which China aims to develop comprehensive standards. It anticipates that the metaverse will stimulate numerous innovative business models, create fresh business opportunities, and contribute to the growth of the digital economy. Despite the hype around the metaverse as a prominent tech trend since 2021, there is currently no consensus on precisely what constitutes a metaverse, MIIT highlighted in its proposal. The lack of clear definitions within the metaverse industry has allowed certain individuals and businesses to drum up speculation, the MIIT said. The industry faces several challenges and needs to foster healthy and orderly growth through standardization and guidance, it added. [Reuters]

China and the European Union held discussions on subjects including AI, cross-border data flow, and information and communication technology in Beijing on Monday, as Reuters reported. The conversations were part of the EU-China High-level Digital Dialogue, co-chaired by China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing and the European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova, the report said. It is the first such dialogue in three years and takes place after the European Commission’s announcement on September 13 of an investigation into potential punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to safeguard EU producers. During the talks on Monday, the European Commission conveyed concerns about the difficulties faced by EU companies in China to make use of their industrial data, while Vice Premier Zhang emphasized China’s openness to companies worldwide, including those from Europe, to share the opportunities presented by its digital economy for mutually beneficial outcomes, as reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Both parties agreed to foster an environment that is open, equitable, and free from discrimination to support the development of the digital economy, as per Xinhua. [Reuters; Xinhua, in Chinese]

Chinese game developer HoYoverse showcased the latest trailer of Honkai: Star Rail at Sony’s State of Play event on September 14, announcing its PlayStation 5 version’s launch date on October 11. Currently, the game is available on mobile platforms and Windows PCs since its global release in April. However, the local media outlet IThome asserted on Monday that Honkai: Star Rail is expected to land on Xbox and Switch, as the new Sony trailer demonstrated a notification stating “console exclusive for a limited time.” Additionally, mobile players have spent $500 million on Honkai: Star Rail from its release date on April 26 to July 31, according to intelligence firm Sensor Tower. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr has appointed Guan Haitao, the former Chief Marketing Officer at Huawei’s smartphone unit Honor, as the new head of marketing, confirmed Geely spokesman Victor Yang in a post on the Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo on Monday. This move reflects a growing trend among Chinese car manufacturers to recruit talent from smartphone makers, as more consumers are shifting to software-defined EVs that are more like smartphones on four wheels. Guan has previously held positions at Chinese dairy producer Yili and gaming company Tencent, and most recently served as the CMO at Huawei’s budget-brand smartphone unit, Honor, since late 2018. Zeekr, a two-year-old EV brand established by Volvo’s parent company Geely, had previously hired Chen Qi, a former tech lead at Huawei’s self-driving department. Meanwhile, rival Li Auto announced in April that it had appointed Honor veteran Zou Liangjun as a senior vice president. It’s worth noting that Huawei sold its handset unit to a consortium of agents and dealers in late 2020 following US sanctions. [Victor Yang’s post, in Chinese]

On September 15, Fulishe, an e-commerce platform operated by the Instagram-like lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, announced that it will stop selling goods from October 16 this year and will officially close its online store on November 16. Fulishe, the name of which translates as Benefits Club, was established at the end of 2014 and primarily sources skincare, cosmetics, and fashion related products directly from suppliers and resells them to consumers. Two weeks earlier, Xiaolvzhou (or Small Oasis), another Xiaohongshu-owned e-commerce platform that focused on outdoor and sports products, said it would cease operations from October. In recent years, Xiaohongshu has been actively seeking a unique path to enter the e-commerce industry. In late August, Chinese news outlet LatePost reported that Xiaohongshu had merged its e-commerce and livestreaming operations, establishing a new trading division in parallel with its core community division. In the same month, the company launched a new e-commerce business model which encourages bloggers and livestreamers on the platform to select and sell items in line with the personal styles that they present in their posts. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On September 15, Qualcomm China announced that the company has signed a non-binding Strategic Cooperation MoU with Baidu. The two entities will jointly develop extended reality (XR) technology and its application in tourism, education, and other industries, according to Qualcomm’s statement. In 2021, Baidu launched its XiRang platform to support the development of the metaverse. Through the partnership with Qualcomm, Baidu is aiming to enhance the metaverse user experience by integrating Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Spaces™ XR developer platform and its cutting-edge XR technologies into the XiRang platform, the statement said. [Qualcomm statement, in Chinese]

Chinese automaker Geely denied rumors that the company was planning to build a factory in Indonesia, according to a September 17 report by Chinese tech news site IThome. Although Geely is assessing the potential for development in Indonesia’s new energy market, there are currently no specific plans to invest in or establish a factory in the country, the company said. Last week, Luhut Pandjaitan, a senior Indonesian minister who oversees regulations on natural resources and investment, told a seminar that Geely had given the nod to his proposal for the Chinese firm to make cars in the country under an Indonesian brand, according to a September 14 report by Reuters. [IThome, in Chinese; Reuters]

Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, is planning to double its workforce and investment in India by 2024, according to a September 18 report by Reuters. V Lee, Foxconn’s representative in India, made the announcement in a LinkedIn post celebrating Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 73rd birthday. In the post, he wrote that Foxconn was “aiming for another doubling of employment, FDI (foreign direct investment), and business size in India” next year, without disclosing further details. Currently, Foxconn operates an iPhone manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu with approximately 40,000 employees. In August, the state of Karnataka announced that Foxconn would invest $600 million in two projects focused on producing casing components for iPhones and chip-making equipment. During an earnings briefing the previous month, Foxconn’s chairman Liu Young-way said that the several billion dollars in investment in India “is only a beginning.” [Reuters]

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced a €345 million ($370 million) fine against TikTok on September 15, saying that the company had breached privacy laws regarding children’s personal data in the European Union, Reuters reported. The DPC said that TikTok users’ accounts were set as “public” by default, which allowed everyone to access their posts and thus brought various risks to users under 13 years old. Additionally, TikTok did not verify whether the user linked to a child’s account through the “family pairing” feature was actually the child’s parent or guardian, according to the DPC. In November 2020, TikTok implemented enhanced parental controls for family pairing, and by January 2021, the short video platform modified the default setting to “private” for all registered users under the age of 16, the report said. A TikTok spokesperson expressed the company’s disappointment with the ruling, particularly with the size of the penalty, saying many of the allegations raised were no longer applicable as TikTok had implemented measures before the DPC initiated its investigation in September 2021. The DPC has granted TikTok three months to rectify any compliance issues identified in their processes, according to Reuters. [Reuters] 

TikTok plans to subsidize merchants with heavy discounts of up to 50% off the cost of selling on the platform during the upcoming month-long Black Friday shopping festival, according to Bloomberg. A spokesperson from the short video platform has confirmed the plan to Bloomberg, which the company hopes will boost its freshly launched online marketplace place in the US. TikTok will conduct training courses for sellers starting this week, with direct discounts likely to add to an e-commerce price war with rivals including US-based Amazon as people try to cope with high inflation. [Bloomberg]

On September 16, an official Weibo account named “TiMi Park” posted a cartoon poster featuring numerous Tencent anime characters, including Tencent Penguin, Bubble Dog, Luban No.7, and Orange. TiMi Studio, a subsidiary of Tencent Games, is renowned for its popular mobile games, such as Honor of Kings, Speed Drifters, CrossFire: Legends, and Craz3 Match. Given Tencent Games’ capabilities, domestic players are eager to learn whether TiMi Park will become a large-scale theme park akin to Disneyland and Universal Studios or if it will remain limited to an online virtual park. TiMi has scheduled a press conference for September 19th to reveal details amidst industry speculation and player anticipation. [GameLook, in Chinese]

Moutai and Dove’s co-branded chocolate experienced a similar sales boom as the baijiu-infused latte, and sold out within one minute of its online launch on Sept. 16, marking another instance of a successful joint marketing initiative for the Chinese brand this month. Ding Xiongjun, chairman of Kweichow Moutai, mentioned at the chocolate launch event that Moutai aims to embrace the younger generation as a strategy for the liquor maker to ‘stay young’ while ‘enhancing corporate vitality.’ The throat-burning liquor has been diversifying its business over the past year, starting with the introduction of baijiu-infused ice cream last May and teasing a new kind of Latte with Moutai’s alcohol in early September. However, the Shanghai-listed company has temporarily paused its expansion into peripheral products. [NBD, in Chinese]

On September 15, Huawei’s rotating chairman, Xu Zhijun, attended the 2023 World Computing Conference, emphasizing the importance of creating an independent computing industry ecosystem. China’s computing industry has faced many challenges in different basic fields, including servers, operating systems, databases, processors, memory storage chips, and RAID cards, according to his speech. He acknowledged the current gap in chips, servers, and PCs between domestic products and foreign competitors. He also suggested that Chinese customers should choose domestic products to drive progress in related advanced technologies. On August 29, Huawei finally unveiled the Mate 60 Pro with 5G connectivity, featuring a self-developed Kirin chip, processed with 7nm technology. This is a significant milestone for Huawei after three years of US sanctions, as it marks the company’s return to 5G. [IThome, in Chinese]

The Beijing municipal government has put forward a set of initiatives to promote the development of tech unicorns in the city, according to a September 14 report by South China Morning Post (SCMP). Eleven municipal agencies in Beijing, including technology promotion agencies and the development and reform commission, have collaborated on the policy package named “Ten Measures for Unicorns.” Unicorns, namely startups valued at over $1 billion, include companies like TikTok’s owner ByteDance, fast fashion firm Shein, and Hangzhou-based WeDoctor, in China, according to SCMP. The policy package covers various challenges faced by unicorns, including talent acquisition, marketing, innovation, fundraising, and the process of going public. Notably, it emphasizes streamlining the listing process for unicorns on both domestic and international stock markets. Unicorns will benefit from expedited application processing for listing on the Beijing Stock Exchange, which was established in mid-2021 to cater to innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises. Additionally, the measures pledge to provide unicorns with venture debt and direct investments facilitated through collaborations between financial institutions and venture capital (VC) funds. It offers up to RMB 100 million ($13.7 million) in funding for companies engaged in projects of national strategic importance related to original innovation and key technologies. There are currently more than 357 unicorns in China founded in the past 10 years, according to SCMP, citing data from market research firm Greatwall Strategy Consultants. [SCMP]

Indonesia has requested the assistance of Chinese automaker Geely in developing a domestic electric car brand by either 2025 or 2026, according to a September 14 report by Reuters, citing an Indonesian senior minister on Tuesday. “I asked Geely if they wanted to make cars in Indonesia, be an Indonesian brand, and do their research in Indonesia, and they said yes,” Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who oversees regulations on natural resources and investment, told a seminar. The proposal involves Indonesia supplying nickel ore for electric vehicle (EV) battery production, but the primary responsibility for research and development must remain in Indonesia, the minister said. Indonesia has been actively seeking investments from EV manufacturers, securing commitments from companies like China’s Hozon and Japan’s Mitsubishi. However, efforts to attract investments from major EV manufacturers such as Tesla from the United States and China’s BYD Group have not yet materialized, according to Reuters. [Reuters]

Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance, the consumer credit division of Chinese fintech firm Ant Group, has secured RMB 4 billion ($550 million) in credit from a bank consortium led by Japanese financial giant Mizuho Financial Group’s unit in China. Mizuho Bank and Bank of East Asia were the primary lenders in this credit round, Mizuho Bank said on Thursday, without disclosing specific details such as the interest rate. This transaction marks the largest consortium loan ever in China’s consumer credit industry, South China Morning Post said in a September 14 report. Consortium loans are a common financing method for consumer finance companies. Ant group stated that this agreement reflects the recognition of its consumer finance capabilities by the 14 banks involved in the consortium. [SCMP]

As of September 11 this year, ByteDance’s popular video editing app CapCut has surpassed $100 million in consumer spend across iOS and Google Play, according to a September 13 statement by market research firm data.ai. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance launched the app in 2019. As of August 2023, CapCut boasted 490 million users globally across both iPhone and Android devices, accounting for nearly 25% of TikTok’s 2.1 billion global user base, the research firm said. According to data.ai’s App IQ taxonomy, CapCut has emerged as the most profitable video editing app globally in the first half of 2023, with consumer spend reaching a record high $50 million, marking a 180% increase compared to the second half of 2022, the firm added. [data.ai statement]

German operators can still install technology components from China in their 5G networks, despite concerns raised by politicians and experts, according to a September 14 report by German news outlet Die Welt. The information is based on a previously undisclosed response from State Secretary Daniela Kluckert at the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport regarding the “status of the gigabit strategy implementation”. Since the enforcement of the IT Security Act 2.0 in May 2021, operators in Germany have reported their first critical component use to the Federal Ministry of the Interior eleven times, according to the government reply. Three of the 11 notifications involved components from Chinese manufacturers, and Section 9b of the Act on the Federal Office for Information Security currently does not prohibit the use of such components, the report said. The Federal Ministry of the Interior declined to reveal if companies like Huawei were mentioned, citing business and trade confidentiality reasons. Since spring, the German government has been conducting an investigation to identify components from manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE in the 5G network within the country to assess possible points of attack, according to Die Welt. Security authorities have not reported any findings yet, and the audit is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, the report said. [Die Wel, in German]

Moutai, popularly known as China’s national liquor brand, is set to unveil baijiu-infused chocolate in cooperation with Mars-owned Dove on Saturday, as part of the luxury brand’s ongoing efforts to draw in younger consumers. The co-branded chocolates will contain 2% alcohol, a far cry from the liquor’s 53% alcohol volume, and will be priced at RMB 78 ($10.8), according to its purchase page on the e-commerce platform Tmall. The announcement follows closely the luxury liquor maker’s recent partnership with Luckin Coffee which introduced the baijiu-fragranced latte, a viral success among Chinese consumers, earning Luckin RMB 100 million on the first day of release. [Moutai, in Chinese]

Nio may establish a joint venture with electric vehicle battery maker Svolt to develop large cylindrical batteries. Nio needs these for its new series of EVs due to hit the market as early as 2025, people familiar with the matter told 36Kr on Wednesday. The two companies are reportedly thinking of trialing production in Ma’anshan, a city in Anhui, Nio’s car manufacturing province, and pooling researchers in one team, the 36Kr post said. Nio changed its initial plans to build its own battery plant and start making 800-volt, fast-charging battery packs in the second half of 2024, according to Reuters. The EV maker confirmed media reports in July that it had delayed its battery production timeline to ease financial pressures. Svolt, controlled by Great Wall Motor’s chairman Wei Jianjun, became independent of the carmaker in 2018. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Chinese video-sharing site Bilibili notified content creators on Thursday that they need to label AI-generated content to avoid misleading audiences, several days after short video platform TikTok sibling Douyin introduced similar rules. Bilibili has also outlined six other specific tag requirements for users when uploading videos, including “risky behavior”, “rational consumption”, and “personal opinion”, with the policy set to take effect on Sept. 20. If a video meets the criteria for multiple creator declarations, the platform emphasized that the AI tag should be given the highest priority in such cases due to the ability to add tags currently being limited to one tag per video. [Bilibili, in Chinese]

The European Commission on Wednesday began investigating electric vehicles imported from China, a move that could lead to penalty tariffs above the standard 10% EU rate for vehicles in an aim to protect regional manufacturers. “Global markets are now flooded with cheaper electric cars. And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies,” Reuters reported European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as saying. Chinese carmakers exported roughly 350,000 EVs to nine European countries during the first six months of this year, including Germany, Sweden, and Belgium, according to figures from the China Passenger Car Association. China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a Thursday statement that the investigation “is a naked protectionist act that will seriously disrupt and distort the global automotive industry and supply chain.” [Reuters]

Chinese search giant Baidu unveiled a plug-in ecosystem platform called Lingjing Juzhen on Wednesday, which helps developers reduce threshold and cost in creating AI-powered plug-ins. According to the company, the platform offers a “convenient” visual arrangement feature, over a hundred sets of development components, and access to extensive industry data. Xiao Yang, the vice president of Baidu, described it as an era in which anyone can easily create plug-ins. [Baidu, in Chinese]

On Wednesday, Huawei and Xiaomi announced a global patent cross-licensing agreement encompassing multiple communications technologies, including 5G. Representatives from both companies expressed optimism about their collaboration in intellectual property, marking the resolution of a patent licensing dispute between these two Chinese tech giants. Earlier in March, Huawei filed a lawsuit against Xiaomi, alleging the infringement of four registered patents related to wireless communication, smartphone photography, and screen lock technology. Furthermore, in December of the previous year, Huawei entered into a similar patent cross-licensing agreement with Oppo and Samsung. Additionally, Huawei reported $560 million in royalty revenues in 2022 and stated in July that it had earned more in royalties than it had paid out over the past two years. [Huawei, in Chinese]

Taiwan-based TSMC decided to invest up to $100 million in the chip design company Arm, a subsidiary of Japan’s Softbank Group, as confirmed by its board of directors on Tuesday. British semiconductor company Arm, based in Cambridge, has as its core business the design of central processing units (CPUs). Arm’s NYSE IPO, scheduled for Thursday, is expected to bring the company’s valuation to approximately $50 billion, with shares going for between $47 and $51. TSMC also announced that Intel agreed to sell a 10% stake in IMS Nanofabrication to the company for $430 million. IMS plays an important role in chip manufacturing, developing the world’s leading multi-beam mask writers for advanced process chips. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

China’s foreign ministry denied that China has issued bans on the purchase and use of foreign phone brands on September 13, according to Reuters. The statement was in response to recent media reports that said some Chinese government agencies and firms had told staff to stop using Apple’s iPhones at work, the report said. “China has not issued laws, regulations or policy documents that prohibit the purchase and use of foreign brand phones such as Apple’s,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said when asked about the reports at a regular press briefing. However, the ministry did note that there were reports of security incidents related to Apple’s handsets, according to Mao. She further stated that China treats domestic and foreign companies equally in terms of cybersecurity and hopes all phone companies adhere to the country’s laws and regulations while strengthening their information security management. On the same day, the White House said it is watching bans on some Chinese government use of Apple’s iPhones with “concern,” according to another report by Reuters. [Reuters]

Sources close to Apple have denied that the iPhone 15 series manufactured in China is intended solely for the European and American markets while the India-made iPhone 15 lineup is exclusively for the Chinese market, according to a September 13 report by China Daily. Currently, approximately 7 percent of all iPhones are produced in India, with China accounting for around 90 percent of iPhone production, sources told the Chinese state media outlet. India’s production capacity falls short of fulfilling the demand in China as China is one of Apple’s largest markets, sources added. According to data from analyst firm Canalys, Apple shipped 54.3 million iPhones in China in 2022, accounting for approximately 24% of its total global shipment of the year. [China Daily]

Apple cut the prices of its iPhone 14 series and pulled the iPhone 14 Pro series off shelves on its official website in China after launching the iPhone 15 lineup on September 13. Prices for the 128, 256, and 512 gigabyte versions of the iPhone 14 were reduced by RMB 600 ($83), RMB 500 ($69), and RMB 300 ($41.5), respectively. Prices for the 128, 256, and 512 gigabyte versions of the iPhone 14 Plus were reduced by RMB 1,000, RMB 900, and RMB 700, respectively. When Apple launched the iPhone 14 lineup in 2022, it also cut the prices of the iPhone 13 by RMB 300 to RMB 600 in the Chinese market. [TechNode reporting]

Huawei has increased its shipment target for the Mate 60 series in the second half of 2023 by 20%, according to a September 12 report by Chinese news outlet Securities Daily. The market performance of the Mate 60 series handsets has exceeded expectations, sources close to Huawei told Securities Daily. As a result, Huawei has increased its shipment target, and the total shipment of new Huawei phone models throughout 2023 is expected to reach at least 40 million units, the sources added. [Securities Daily, in Chinese]

On September 14, Huawei officially announced that it would hold a product launch event on September 25. On September 25, 2021, Meng Wanzhou, then Huawei’s chief financial officer, arrived at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport after spending nearly three years under house arrest in Canada after she was detained due to a US extradition request; Meng had been accused of fraud by US authorities. Since late August, Huawei has launched a series of products for presale without any advance publicity, sparking a buying frenzy among consumers in the Chinese market. The upcoming launch event in September is expected to officially launch these new products, including the pre-sold Mate 60 Pro series smartphones. At its autumn launch event last year, Huawei unveiled a range of products, including Mate 50 series smartphones, the Huawei MateBook E Go laptop, and the Huawei co-developed Aito M5 electric vehicle, among others. [Huawei announcement, in Chinese]

Alibaba has opened its AI foundation model Tongyi Qianwen to the public, the company’s cloud division announced in a WeChat post on Wednesday. This move signifies that Chinese authorities have granted Alibaba approval to fully open its AI platform, following a path similar to Baidu and SenseTime in recent weeks. The cloud unit stated that it has established partnerships with Alibaba-owned Taobao, DingTalk, smartphone maker Oppo, and Zhejiang University. These partnerships aim to facilitate the training and development of their own models or applications based on Tongyi Qianwen. E-commerce platform Taobao is currently testing an ask-and-answer feature powered by Alibaba’s model, which can provide “more precise recommendations” to users, enhancing the online shopping experience. This tool is scheduled to be made publicly available ahead of Singles Day, China’s largest online shopping festival. [Alibaba Cloud, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, the cross-platform game engine Unity announced that it will begin charging game developers for the Unity Runtime service, starting on January 1, 2024. According to the announcement, Unity Personal and Unity Plus accounts will incur charges once they exceed $200,000 in revenue in a year and reach 200,000 lifetime installations. Meanwhile, Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise accounts have a threshold of $1 million in revenue in a year and one million lifetime installations. The standard rate for these charges ranges from $0.01 to $0.20 per new installation, depending on the monthly count. Unity claims that some 70% of mobile gaming titles are built using its engine, with major China-developed games such as HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact and Tencent’s Honor of Kings among them. The announcement of the new charges led to frustration and confusion among game developers, with negative comments quickly spreading across social media. Today, Unity provided further clarification on game developers’ concerns through X (formerly Twitter), stating that the platform will invalidate installations in the following circumstances: re-installs, fraudulent installs, trials, partial play demos, web streaming games, charity bundles, and in-game initiatives. [Unity]

Aito, a Chinese electric vehicle brand backed by Huawei, launched the redesigned version of its M7 sports utility vehicle on Tuesday. The updated model features Huawei’s latest HarmonyOS operating system for cars and is priced at RMB 40,000 cheaper than the initial version launched a year ago. The technology giant announced that future owners of the new six-seater crossover will have priority access to purchase its Mate 60 series of smartphones or its Mate X5 foldable device, following the sold-out success of its Mate 60 Pro flagship handset on September 3. Speaking at a press event in Shanghai, Richard Yu, the chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business group, emphasized that the M7’s infotainment system would provide “the same smooth experience” as the Mate 60 Pro. Priced from RMB 249,800 ($34,299), the extended-range electric vehicle can travel up to 240 kilometers (149 miles) in all-electric mode and 1,300 km on a full tank and charge. Furthermore, Yu said it is expected to be capable of navigating busy urban streets nationwide automatically as early as December, equipped with Huawei’s assisted driving software, ADS 2.0. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Xiaomi plans to load its flagship phone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, and launch by the end of October, according to a blog post published Tuesday. Snapdragon previously announced that its annual Snapdragon Summit 2023 to take place from October 24-26. According to the domestic phone launch schedule, Xiaomi 14 will be the first Android phone powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the blogger wrote on Weibo. The processor offers a prime Cortex-X4 CPU core at 3.7 GHz, five powerful cores for performance and two small cores for efficiency. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 achieved a single-core score of 1596 and a multi-core score of 5977, according to benchmark platform Geekbench. [IThome, in Chinese]

Following the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, more domestic phone manufacturers are expected to support the satellite call function by the end of this year, according to supply chain sources on Tuesday. This technological breakthrough, primarily developed by Huawei and China Telecom (a state-owned telecommunication company), will charge other domestic phone makers in the form of patent licenses. Compared to traditional terrestrial signals, satellite calls have an upper limit on concurrent communication capacity. The challenge of communication capacity may increase if more phone manufacturers offer satellite call functions in the future. Currently, China Telecom holds the exclusive right to operate the Tiantong-1 satellite, which means that domestic users need to purchase a Telecom phone card to use the satellite call function of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro. [China Star Market, in Chinese]

On September 11, Chinese luxury used car retail platform Kaixin Auto announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent with automaker WM Motor, with plans to acquire 100% of WM Motor’s equity held by its current shareholders. Lin Mingjun, Chairman and CEO of Kaixin Auto, said “WM Motor’s brand positioning aligns well with Kaixin Auto’s development plans. Through this acquisition, WM Motor will have stronger financial support to better promote its intelligent vehicle development.” Kaixin Auto entered the used car retail market in 2017 and went public on the Nasdaq in 2019. On September 10, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer WM Motor announced the voluntary termination of its RTO (Reverse Takeover) process with Apollo Future Mobility Group (AFMG) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Clearing, meaning that WM Motor’s plan to go public through a back-door listing fell through. [Kaixin Auto statement, in Chinese]

The recent releases of Huawei’s new smartphones may potentially lead to a decrease in Apple’s iPhone shipments in 2024 by 10 million units, according to a September 11 report by Chinese news site Sohu, citing analyst Martin Yang from US-based financial firm Oppenheimer. Apple shipped 224.7 million iPhones in 2022, data from Counterpoint Research showed. Since the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro handset on August 29, industry insiders have been reassessing market trends in the global premium smartphone market. “We believe most of the iPhone 15’s technical upgrades are already well known, so we don’t expect many major spec surprises,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a September 8 report, adding that they don’t believe sales of the iPhone 15 series will be “sluggish” despite Apple’s potential price increases. Additionally, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Huawei’s return to the smartphone market is actually beneficial for consumers as it can push Apple out of its comfort zone and induce more active innovations. [Sohu, in Chinese]

Douyin, TikTok’s sister company in China, will expand its group-purchasing and delivery services to 24 new Chinese cities, according to a September 11 statement by the short video firm. So far, Douyin has introduced these services in 30 Chinese cities including Wuhan, Beijing, and Shanghai, the company said. Douyin has reached agreements with regional agents in these cities to provide operational support to merchants who want to offer group purchasing and delivery services on Douyin’s platform. However, the newly established regional agents will not provide delivery services for merchants, Douyin said in a statement. Previously, Douyin had partnered with third-party delivery providers such as SF, Shansong Express, Dada, and UU Paotui in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu to strengthen its courier services. [Douyin statement, in Chinese]

Li Jiaqi, China’s top livestreaming sales anchor, earned RMB 1.855 billion ($2.5 billion) in 2021, according to a September 11 report by Chinese news outlet Shanghai Securities News. His income surpassed the performance of most A-share listed companies in China in 2021, the report said. In 2021, 93% of A-share listed companies recorded net profits attributable to shareholders that were less than Li’s annual income, according to the report. On the evening of September 10, Li aroused controversy by saying on a livestream that consumers should reflect on whether they have worked hard enough to improve their income instead of complaining about product prices. His comments have seen a major backlash from netizens. As of 1:00 p.m. on September 12, Li’s followers on the social platform Weibo had dropped from 30.43 million to 29.23 million. [Shanghai Securities News, in Chinese]

Correction: An earlier version of the article miscalculated the income of Li Jiaqi which is RMB 1.855 billion rather than the RMB 18.553 billion as mentioned.

Alibaba will focus on making customers its priority and AI its driving force in the future, the company’s new chief executive Eddie Wu said in his first corporate internal letter since taking up his new role on September 10. To achieve these aims, Alibaba will increase investment to expand its “technology-driven internet platform businesses, AI-driven technology businesses, and a globalized business network,” the CEO said. Additionally, Wu said Alibaba will continue its organizational reforms by using more flexible and open governance mechanisms, stating that the company will give each business unit more autonomy in decision-making. In the next four years, Alibaba will have more employees from the generations born after 1985 and after 1990 in its management layer by providing a cultural environment that empowers young talents to become core contributors, according to Wu. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Xpeng Motors is ramping up efforts to restructure its sales force, which includes the closure of underperforming direct-sales stores and the opening of new dealership stores, in a move to reduce costs and improve efficiency, as reported by the financial media outlet Jiemian on Monday. Several sources have indicated that Tesla’s Chinese challenger expects this strategic shift, led by President Wang Fengying, to significantly increase its market share, particularly in Chinese third- and fourth-tier cities. This decision follows the reported merger of its direct and channel sales teams earlier this year, a step toward achieving more centralized control over pricing. According to its earnings reports, the company also reduced the number of its retail locations to 411 as of June, down from 425 three months prior. Chief Executive He Xiaopeng conveyed to investors on Aug. 18 that the company would undergo a “drastic” optimization of its sales network and establish partnerships with new top dealers. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Ant Group, the owner of one-billion-user payment app Alipay, unveiled a financial-purpose large language model along with two AI-powered wealth management products on Sept. 8, joining the hottest current tech wave with a specific model that is aimed at the financial sector. Zhixiaozhu 1.0, an investment advice program that was one of the two applications showcased at the LLM launch event, is expected to open to the general public after receiving regulatory approval, according to the fintech giant. Zhixiaobao 2.0, which is designed to answer financial-related questions for consumers, is currently undergoing additional closed tests the firm said. [TechNode reporting]

In August, 40 Chinese game publishers obtained a total revenue of $2.07 billion, accounting for 39.3% of the global top 100 mobile game publishers, as reported by the analyst firm SensorTower. The leading three companies are Tencent Games, NetEase Games, and HoYoverse. Nuverse, ByteDance’s gaming arm, achieved sixth place for the first time, due to the favorable performance of its new mobile game Crystal of Atlanta. MapleStory: The Legends of Maple was launched in China on August 17, becoming the only new game among the top ten mobile games in terms of China’s iOS App Store revenue in August. The Legends of Maple is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game jointly published by South Korean developer Nexon and Chinese publisher Tencent Games. [SensorTower, in Chinese]

On September 10, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer WM Motor announced the voluntary termination of its RTO (Reverse Takeover) process with Apollo Future Mobility Group (AFMG) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and Clearing. The move means that WM Motor’s plans to go public through a back-door listing have fallen through, according to Chinese news outlet Caixin. In January this year, the Hong Kong listed AFMG said it planned to acquire a WM Motor subsidiary for approximately $2.02 billion. Following the acquisition, WM Motor would have held 31.1 billion shares of AFMG, representing a 68.26% ownership stake. Industry insiders saw this move as an ambitious attempt by WM Motor to go public in Hong Kong by making AFMG its shell company. WM Motor was once a leading electric vehicle startup in the Chinese market. In 2019, it ranked second among electric vehicle startups with an annual delivery volume of 16,876 units. In 2020, WM Motor delivered 22,495 vehicles, ranking fourth among EV startups including Nio, Xpeng, and others. In 2021, the firm slipped to fifth, delivering 44,157 vehicles. In 2022, WM Motor’s deliveries dropped significantly to 29,450 vehicles, representing a year-on-year decrease of 33.3%. [Caixin, in Chinese]

The Illinois state governor’s office has announced that Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion will establish a new electric vehicle battery gigafactory in Manteno in the state, according to a September 9 report by Reuters. The plant involves an investment of $2 billion, with production set to begin next year. According to the official statement, Gotion plans to produce 10 GWh of lithium-ion battery packs and 40 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells once the facility is completed. Gotion is expected to receive $213 million in tax incentives over the next 30 years and $125 million in capital funding from Illinois’ Reimagining Energy and Vehicles incentive package, the report said. “Gotion’s battery technology will help to boost e-mobility in North America and the economic and trade exchanges between China and the United States,” said Gotion chairman Li Zhen. During the first half of 2023, the company’s total revenue reached RMB 15.24 billion ($2.1 billion), a year-on-year increase of 76.42%, according to the firm’s financial report released in August. [Reuters]

In August, China’s passenger vehicle sales experienced a year-on-year growth of 2.2%, reaching 1.94 million units, according to a September 8 report released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This marks the first year-on-year increase in the Chinese auto market since May 2023, a September 8 report by Reuters said. Over the first eight months of the year, passenger vehicle sales in China reached a total of 13.38 million units, a year-on-year growth of 1.8%. In August, BYD, Faw-Volkswagen, and Geely sold 242,000, 156,000, and 128,000 vehicles, respectively, making up the top three firms by retail sales volume, according to the CPCA report. Notably, Tesla sold 65,316 units of its Model Y in August in China, making it the most popular model of the month. Additionally, sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which have been a key driver of China’s overall auto sales growth, surged by a year-on-year increase of 34.5% to 716,000 units in August, accounting for 36.9% of total car sales. The recovery in August in the automotive market was primarily attributed to national tax incentives and the discount activities carried out by various car manufacturers for electric vehicles, the CPCA said in its report. [Reuters; CPCA report, in Chinese]

BMW MINI will start producing pure electric models in China in 2024, with plans to export EVs overseas in the same year, according to a September 8 report by Chinese news outlet Caixin. Production will be managed by Spotlight, a joint venture co-founded by BMW Group and Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor, according to BMW. BMW MINI, known for its compact vehicles targeting the younger end of the driver market, achieved sales of 28,700 units in China in 2022. Currently, all MINI models available in the Chinese market are fuel-powered. In 2024, BMW will produce two pure electric MINI models in China, which will also be introduced to the Chinese market simultaneously, the report said. However, the company has announced that it will also continue production of its electric MINI in the UK after securing millions in government funding in the country. The firm had previously been expected to shift nearly all of its electric MINI production to China. [Caixin, in Chinese]

On September 9, Great Wall Motor (GWM) announced the launch of its first model, the Haval H6 HEV, in the Mexican market. GWM plans to open at least 40 stores in Mexico by the end of the year through partnerships with 24 local dealer groups, the firm said. By 2025, it aims to have a total of 100 stores in the country. Additionally, GWM has reached an agreement with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentari, a leading bank in the financial and automotive sector in Mexico, to provide customers with more convenient and innovative financial support when purchasing its vehicles, the firm said in a statement. [GWM statement, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s grocery unit Freshippo has postponed its Hong Kong IPO amid weak consumer share sentiment, according to Bloomberg. The unit was originally expected to be listed before May 2024. The report said Freshippo could be valued at around $4 billion after Alibaba conducted early talks with potential investors, which is lower than the $6 billion to $10 billion at the time the unit considered fundraising earlier last year. The Alibaba-owned new retail company has refrained from providing detailed comments on the matter, according to Chinese media outlets. [Bloomberg]

The Huawei Mate 60 Pro has generated significant buzz on both domestic and international social platforms in September as it is powered by the self-developed Kirin 9000S chip, featuring cutting-edge 7nm process technology. This technological breakthrough prompted multiple sources to confirm that Huawei has discreetly initiated a comprehensive strategy to reenter the global smartphone market, actively preparing its channeling and marketing teams for international markets. Currently, Huawei has ruled out a global launch for the Mate 60 Pro but has not made any statements regarding other phone models. In May, Huawei already introduced the Huawei P60 Pro and the Huawei Mate X3 (a foldable flagship) in foreign markets, including Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Mexico. This month, Huawei is also expected to launch a new smartwatch in Spain. [IThome, in Chinese]

Daniel Zhang quit his role as the head of Alibaba’s cloud division in a surprise move on Sept. 10, a day scheduled for the e-commerce giant’s top leadership transition. Zhang was expected to remain as chairman and chief executive of Alibaba Cloud while stepping down as Alibaba’s CEO as part of the transition. Eddie Wu, the company’s new CEO, will now oversee the cloud unit, according to an internal letter to Alibaba employees on Sunday. The firm’s co-founder and current chairman, Joseph Tsai, said that his predecessor achieved “remarkable results” in his 16-year career at Alibaba. The company has committed to investing $1 billion in supporting Zhang’s technology fund, aiming to build “a better ecosystem” for Alibaba’s strategy of investing for future growth. [Yicai, in Chinese]

On September 7, Chinese tech giant Tencent officially launched its Hunyuan large language model at the company’s Global Digital Ecosystem Summit. The move comes several months after fellow Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu launched their own AI products. Dowson Tong, the firm’s senior executive vice president, said the full stack self-developed Hunyuan LLM with over a hundred billion parameters is trained with 2 trillion tokens of pre-training data. It possesses strong capabilities in Chinese language comprehension, content creation, logical reasoning, and task execution, he said. In the future, the Hunyuan model will support Tencent Cloud’s MaaS products, with customers able to directly access it through APIs and use it as a foundational model to develop applications for various industry scenarios, Tencent said. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Chinese lithium battery manufacturer EVE (Energy Very Endure) has reached an agreement to build a joint venture with Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck, and Paccar, through its subsidiary EVE Energy US Holding LLC, according to a September 8 report by a Chinese media outlet IThome. The four entities plan to establish a company focused on battery cell production and the battery supply chain in the United States, the report said. Accelera, Daimler Truck, and Paccar will each hold 30% of the shares, while EVE Energy will hold 10% ownership and serve as the technical partner of the joint venture, contributing its battery cell design and manufacturing know-how, according to a joint statement by the firms. Total investment for their 21-gigawatt hour factory, which will specialize in manufacturing lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric commercial vehicles, is expected to be $2 billion to $3 billion, as per the statement. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese consumer electronics maker Haier Group is making a foray into the automotive industry, according to a September 7 report by Chinese news outlet Jiemian. Currently, Haier is collaborating with auto companies to build an industrial platform through its industrial Internet offering COSMOPlat, the report said. This move aims to empower the digital transformation of enterprises in the automotive industry, Haier told Jiemian. Additionally, Haier, with its experience in the smart home sector, plans to establish a new ecosystem for home-vehicle connectivity in partnership with automotive companies, the firm added. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Huawei launched two new smartphone models, Mate 60 Pro+ and Mate X5 smartphones, on September 8. The company started the first batch of pre-orders for both models at 10:08 am on the day, without disclosing specific information about their prices and processors; customers were able to pre-order with an RMB 1,000 ($136) deposit. Compared to the Huawei Mate 60 Pro released last week, the Pro+ handset sees improvements in camera capabilities, according to specification information available on Huawei’s online store Vmall. The plus version supports not only Tiantong satellite calls and messaging, but also Beidou satellite messaging, which allows users to send and receive messages through the Beidou satellite system without relying on conventional terrestrial signals. Huawei’s new foldable Mate X5 phones are equipped with a 5,060mAh high-silicon negative electrode battery and support 66W wired and 50W wireless super-fast charging, according to Huawei. [IFeng, in Chinese]

Several big tech firms in China will collectively work on security concerns related to the rise of artificial intelligence, according to a September 7 report by Chinese news outlet Jiemian. During a forum on September 7, CSA (Great China Region), a renowned international industry organization, announced the establishment of an AI Security Working Group, with Chinese tech giants such as Ant Group, Huawei, Baidu, and ByteDance as its founding members. The group aims to make a joint effort to address the security challenges arising from the rapid development of AI technology, as per the report by Jiemian. Apart from the big name firms, state-backed firm China Telecom, the National FinTech Evaluation Center, and public research university Xidian University are also among the group’s initiators. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Alibaba has added a suite of sourcing tools to its global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com, in an effort to expand its operations in the United States. The online wholesale marketplace now offers new features, including an enhanced image search tool and real-time translation capabilities in 17 languages, with the aim of catering to a broader user base. Alibaba.com has witnessed a 33% year-on-year growth in the number of active buyers in the first half of 2023. Online traffic in the United States has increased, though Alibaba does not disclose specific US customer and sales figures. Rah Mahtani, head of US Marketing at Alibaba.com, stated during an online media briefing on Wednesday, “We see a lot of demand coming from the US and we also believe in the vitality of the small and medium enterprises that are purchasing from us in the B2B space.” He emphasized that the platform would concentrate more on its strengths and buyers rather than on competitors. [TechNode reporting]

Xiaomi has been in the pilot production phase of bringing out its first electric vehicles for less than a month, according to a September 6 report by Jiemian. The company is currently producing around 50 prototype vehicles per week, sources familiar with the matter told Jiemian. The trial production period aims to test production line equipment, process integration, worker proficiency, and product consistency, the report said. Previously, Reuters reported that Xiaomi had obtained approval to manufacture the cars from China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). For full access to the industry, it still needs support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). “Xiaomi will obtain MIIT approval in two months, at most by the end of the year. Once Xiaomi gets this, it can start the full-scale production of its vehicles,” said sources. The Xiaomi car factory in Beijing is actively recruiting approximately 100 workers, the report said. Average monthly salaries are said to be in the range of RMB 6,000 ($819) to RMB 7,000 ($956) for an 8-hour workday with weekends off, according to Jiemian. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

During the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Munich on September 6, Chinese EV leaders highlighted the need for enhanced global cooperation and standardized policies to facilitate the technological shift away from combustion engines, according to Reuters. Wan Gang, the former science minister and a prominent figure in China’s EV development, said three critical technologies to boost the EV market were efficient batteries, better EV architecture and intelligent driving systems. Robin Zeng, the chairman of world’s largest battery manufacturer CATL, said that discrepancies in policies, industrial foundations, and technological advancements have resulted in varying levels of EV development across the globe. In recent years, Chinese EV brands have been expanding in the European market, leading to more interaction between Chinese and overseas automakers. “We want to invite partners from Germany to join us in promoting green transport,” BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu said. In 2023, about 8% of new EVs sold in Europe so far were made by Chinese producers, up from 6% last year and 4% in 2021, according to a September 5 report by Reuters. [Reuters]

Baidu’s fleet of robotaxis in the Chinese city of Wuhan has grown to 300 taxis since the service was launched in August 2022, a September 6 company statement said. Over the past year, Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, expanded its operation area from 100 square kilometers to 1,100 square kilometers in Wuhan, to reach a potential 4 million users. 70 million kilometers’ of safety testing has been carried out by Baidu, with the autonomous driving technology found to be almost ten times safer than human driving, said Zhang Yaqin, Dean of Tsinghua University’s Institute of Intelligent Industry. As of June 30, 2023, Baidu’s Apollo Go has provided over 3.3 million rides to the public across China, the company said. Li Zhenyu, senior corporate vice president of Baidu, said he expects the company will have rolled out Level 4 autonomous taxis widely by 2025. [TechNode reporting]

Chinese automotive chip manufacturer GTA Semiconductor has recently completed a financing round of RMB 13.5 billion ($1.8 billion), according to a September 6 report by Chinese news outlet Securities Times. Following this infusion of capital, the Shanghai-based auto chip producer had garnered more than $2.7 billion in total funding in less than two years, as reported by Securities Times. State-owned venture capital firms such as Spinnotec, the first to announce the fundraising round, have been supporting GTA Semiconductor. Other participating entities are as yet unknown. GTA Semiconductor’s recent success in seeking investments can be seen as a signal that Beijing is fully behind the domestic chip manufacturing industry, according to Securities Times. Currently, the share of automotive chips produced by domestic Chinese manufacturers is less than 10%, making it a focus for more investment in the future, the report said. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

The European Union has identified 22 “gatekeeper” services, operated by six major tech giants, as targets of its new Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a September 7 report by Reuters. The regulation will apply to services provided by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. DMA, seen as a companion to the Digital Services Act, is designed to create a level playing field between big tech companies and smaller competitors, and enhance service accessibility and compatibility in Europe, the report said. Under the DMA, companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization of 75 billion euros ($82 billion) are categorized as offering essential platform services. These designated businesses will be obligated to enable interoperability of their messaging apps with competitors and allow users to choose which apps to install on their devices. The tech giants have a six-month window to comply with the DMA’s provisions and their failure to do so could result in fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover, according to the report. Reuters said companies involved have given mixed reactions to the new rules. TikTok said it “fundamentally disagreed with this decision” and was “disappointed that no market investigation was conducted prior to this decision,” adding it was considering its next steps. [Reuters]

TikTok has established its first data center in Dublin, Ireland, the company said in a statement released on September 5. The data center is now operational and the migration of European (EEA countries, the UK and Switzerland) user data to the center has begun, the firm said. TikTok’s other two European data centers, in Norway and Ireland, are under construction. According to the TikTok statement, the company has engaged a third-party European security company, NCC Group, to independently audit data controls and protections, monitor data flow, provide independent verification, and report incidents. In the coming months, TikTok and NCC Group will engage with policymakers across Europe to explain how this comprehensive system will work in practice, the firm said. [TikTok statement]

Chinese search giant Baidu said on Tuesday it would release a new version of its large language model soon, a week after the company won approval from authorities to release its ChatGPT-like service to the general public. Robin Li, chief executive of Baidu, said that he hopes entrepreneurs will create “hit apps” in the AI era using the company’s large model. On the same day, Baidu also announced 11 AI-native applications based on its ERNIE model and its model-as-a-service cloud platform Qianfan, including Chinese Word processor WPS AI, the country’s first generative AI app for the collaborative office sector. More than 10,000 enterprises use Baidu’s Qianfan platform every month, according to the company. [TechNode reporting]

On Tuesday, market intelligence firm TrendForce released the list of the top ten wafer foundries in the global market, with TSMC maintaining the leading position with a market share of 56.4%. The other nine foundries include Samsung, GlobalFoundries, United Microelectronics Corporation, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Shanghai Huahong Group, Tower Semiconductor, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation, and Nexchip Semiconductor Corporation. The overall revenue of the top ten manufacturers decreased by 1.1% from the previous quarter to $26.2 billion. The foundries industry sustained a mediocre performance in the second quarter, as the market demand for electronics (smartphone and PC) remains sluggish, as stated in the report. Meanwhile, traditional sectors such as automotive, industrial control, and servers were undergoing inventory adjustments. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

The Chinese game market reached revenue of RMB 28.61 billion ($3.92 billion) in July, an increase of 37.49% year-on-year, as reported by the Chinese research institute Gamma Data. Mobile game revenue amounted to RMB 22.11 billion ($3.03 billion), accounting for 77% of the total domestic game market and representing a growth of 51.09% year-on-year. NetEase’s new game Justice secured the third place in terms of revenue in July, while ByteDance’s new title Crystal of Atlan ranked ninth. Additionally, according to research by China’s game industry association CGIGC, nearly 668 million people in China are active video game players, accounting for approximately half of the reported Chinese population of 1.4 billion. [Gamma Data, in Chinese]

High-end Chinese liquor brand Moutai is planning to introduce alcohol-infused chocolates in the near future, according to local media outlet Securities Times, in a further effort to target a broader and younger market. The move comes a year after the company’s initial foray into the youth market with baijiu-infused ice cream and follows the recent viral success of a baijiu-infused coffee drink created by Moutai in partnership with Luckin. On the one-year anniversary of the opening of the first Moutai Ice Cream shop, Moutai’s chairman Ding Xiongjun revealed plans to develop more baijiu-infused products, including chocolates and beverages infused with the iconic Chinese spirit, which typically features an ABV of 53%. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

WeChat will launch a new consumer credit product called Fen Qi, according to a September 4 report by Chinese news outlet Leishe Caijing. WeChat is currently testing the product on a small-scale basis and the official launch date is uncertain, sources familiar with the matter told Leishe Caijing. The new product allows users to make partial payments for the money they spend through WeChat Pay in a billing cycle. The amount of each partial payment is based on users’ installment plans, which can be one, three, six, or twelve months, according to the report. The service will be jointly supported by WeChat and its affiliated entities, covering institutions responsible for customer acquisition, risk assessment, and loans and finance. WeChat has so far been cautious in the consumer finance business sector, the report said. Its first self-operated consumer finance product named Fen Fu, which began testing in early 2020, is still not open to the general public. [Leishe Caijing, in Chinese]

Chinese tech giant Huawei has filed a lawsuit in a Lisbon court against a resolution by Portugal’s cybersecurity council CSSC which prevents operators from the use of its equipment in 5G mobile networks, according to a September 5 report by Reuters. Although the resolution did not name Huawei directly, it was seen as a challenge to Huawei’s efforts to enter Portugal’s 5G market and extend existing contracts on 4G platforms, the report said. “Huawei Portugal seeks protection of its legitimate interests and legal rights under the law as a company duly established in Portugal,” Huawei told Reuters, adding that it hopes the court will remedy the violations of its rights and the detrimental impact on the company and its partners from the resolution. The secretary of state for digitalization, Mario Campolargo, who chairs the CSSC, said the previous deliberation was based on a strict security assessment following EU guidelines and not aimed at Chinese suppliers. [Reuters]

China is preparing to launch a substantial state-backed investment fund for its semiconductor industry, aiming to raise approximately RMB 300 billion ($41 billion), according to a September 5 report by Reuters. The fund to be launched by the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (also known as the Big Fund) will primarily focus on chip manufacturing, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. It received approval from the Chinese authorities in recent months, with the Ministry of Finance planning to contribute RMB 60 billion ($9 billion), sources added. The fundraising process may take several months and specific details about the launch time and contributors remain undisclosed. SINO-IC Capital is expected to remain as a manager for the fund and Chinese officials have also reached out to state-owned China Aerospace Investment to discuss being one of the managers, sources told Reuters. [Reuters]

Tesla Shanghai has initiated legal action against a Chinese company for alleged violations of technology secrets and unfair competition practices, according to a September 5 report by Shanghai Securities News. The lawsuit, directed at Bingling Intelligent Technology, a firm specializing in chip design and automotive components located in the Chinese city of Changzhou, is scheduled for a hearing in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court on October 10, as per the report. An investment fund division of electronics manufacturer Xiaomi holds an 11.9% stake in Bingling, as indicated by information from the Chinese business data platform Tianyancha. [Shanghai Securities News, in Chinese]

On September 5, WeChat Pay announced that its palm payment service is now available at over 1,500 7-Eleven convenience stores in Guangdong province. Currently, users wanting to use the payment method can activate it on WeChat’s digital payment devices in offline 7-Eleven stores. Once activated, users will be able to pay by simply placing their palms above a palm-reading device in the participating stores. The payment technology, unveiled in May this year, is able to confirm consumers’ identities and complete their payments by scanning the vascular patterns on consumers’ palms. Its introduction into 7-Eleven stores marks its initial launch in the retail industry in China. [WeChat Pay statement, in Chinese]

Chinese game publisher NetEase Games announced on Tuesday that the company will unveil a new game for both consoles and PCs at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2023, marking its first time attending the celebrated Asian gaming event. NetEase did not disclose any detailed information but released a fuzzy preview poster of this new anime game. At the booth, NetEase plans to showcase a variety of gaming titles such as Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, Identity V, Knives Out, Project Mugen, Majyono Furo Life, Never After, and Where Winds Meet. Additionally, attendees can play the demo of Where Winds Meet, an open-world action role-playing game based on martial arts and the Chinese Tang dynasty, which is expected to be released in late 2023 or early 2024. [IThome, in Chinese]

Kweichow Moutai, producer of China’s most famous baijiu brand, Moutai, has told media outlet CLS that it will make its alcohol-infused latte collaboration with Luckin Coffee a regular offering after it became a viral sensation in China. The Chinese luxury liquor maker stated that sales figures for the drink have “exceeded our expectations,” while reassuring consumers that the beverage is not only a limited time offering. On Monday, the first day of its launch, more than 5.42 million baijiu-infused lattes were sold, setting a new sales record for Luckin Coffee and naming the drinks chain RMB 100 million. The unusual combination of fiery liquor and latte has taken social media by storm, especially among young people who traditionally have not been the main consumer group for such a potent spirit. A bottle of Moutai typically sits at 53% ABV, while the Luckin latte contains 0.5% alcohol. [CLS, in Chinese]

China-headquartered travel service provider Trip.com posted strong revenue growth of 180% to RMB 11.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in the quarter ended in June, 29% more than for the same period in 2019, before Covid-19 hit the industry. The growth was largely attributed to a recovery in the domestic travel market. Revenue from package tours saw the highest year-on-year increase within the company at 492%, with transportation ticketing and accommodation reservation revenue being the main drivers, contributing RMB 4.8 billion and RMB 4.3 billion respectively during the period. However, the firm’s outbound hotel and air reservations only showed a recovery of just over 60% compared to the figures from four years prior. Net income was 14 times that during the same period last year, amounting to RMB 648 million in the second quarter. [Trip.com]

On Monday, Chinese game developer HoYoverse announced its participation in the upcoming Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2023, which will run from September 21-24 in Chiba. As TGS represents one of the largest video game events in Asia, HoYoverse is gearing up to exhibit the company’s titles: Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Honkai Impact 3rd, Tears of Themis, and Zenless Zone Zero. The company plans to offer offline exhibitions, online programs, stage performances, and game demos at the annual event. Players will have the opportunity to experience Zenless Zone Zero, HoYovese’s highly anticipated urban fantasy action role-playing game. At the booth, a variety of onsite activities will give attendees the chance to win official game-related merchandise. [IThome, in Chinese]

Mobile app stores operated by Tencent, Xiaomi, and others have initiated restrictions preventing app publishers from launching new applications if they fail to provide the necessary disclosures as mandated by Chinese authorities, according to a September 4 report by Reuters. These measures are in accordance with China’s new regulations released last month, which required app publishers to submit documentation for filing and business details to regional authorities. “The Android app stores have confirmed that new apps require the app filings from Friday onwards, and existing apps must have it from March 31 onwards,” Rich Bishop, CEO of app publishing firm AppInChina told Reuters. Last week, Android-based app stores operated by major companies such as Tencent, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo issued notifications to app publishers, stipulating that new apps without sufficient paperwork would not be featured on their platforms. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has scheduled talks with industry participants about the new policy to enforce regulations on apps published in the country, according to Reuters. [Reuters]

Huawei Technologies has inaugurated a cloud data center in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, according to a September 4 report by Reuters. This marks Huawei’s 30th cloud data center globally, the report said. The facility in Riyadh will primarily support government services in Saudi Arabia and facilitate the use of AI applications and language models in Arabic, according to a company spokesperson from Huawei during a briefing. Steven Yi, the regional president of Huawei highlighted that the move aligns with Saudi Arabia’s objectives to develop its digital economy, adding that Huawei had established its regional headquarters in the Saudi capital. The country previously said it would not sign contracts with foreign companies that did not have regional headquarters in the kingdom after this year. In the global cloud services market for the first quarter, Huawei held the fifth position with a 2.4% market share, according to Reuters, citing data from research consultancy Canalys. In February, Huawei announced a $400 million investment plan in the Saudi Arabian cloud region over the next five years. [Reuters]

China was described as “very competitive” in the electric vehicle market by Renault’s chief executive Luca de Meo on Monday at the IAA Mobility motor show in Munich. “We have to close the gap on costs with some Chinese players that started on EVs a generation earlier,” he said, adding that when manufacturing expenses decrease, prices will naturally follow suit. As part of Renault’s pursuit of price parity with Chinese manufacturers, its R5 EV out next year will be 25% to 30% cheaper than its electric Scenic and Megane models, de Meo said. According to Reuters, the average EV in China cost less than 32,000 euros ($35,000) in the first half of 2022, compared to around 56,000 euros in Europe. In 2023, about 8% of new EVs sold in Europe so far were made by Chinese brands, up from 6% last year and 4% in 2021, the report said. [Reuters]

Chinese battery maker CATL plans to manufacture its high-speed charging Shenxing battery not only in China, but also at its facilities in Germany and Hungary, the company’s principal engineer Gao Pengfei said on Monday at the IAA Munich car show. Gao did not specify the timeline for European production and said that CATL has not yet finalized agreements for supply with customers in the region. On August 16, CATL unveiled the Shenxing superfast charging battery made with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and said that the battery could provide a 400-kilometer driving range with just a 10-minute charge and a 700-kilometer range on a full charge. LFP chemistry offers cost advantages compared to the nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries used in cylindrical cells by automakers such as BMW and Tesla, Gao said. CATL’s Thuringia plant in central Germany kicked off production in December 2022 and its battery plant in Debrecen, Hungary, is under construction with plans to begin production within the next 2 to 3 years. [Reuters]

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng is set to broaden its presence in European markets, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, by 2024, the company’s president Brian Gu said on Monday at the IAA Mobility motor show in Munich. Markus Schrick, the head of Xpeng in Germany, said that the company plans to distribute its vehicles through traditional dealership networks in Germany and is currently in discussions with several prominent retail chains. Additionally, the Chinese automaker will introduce its G9 and P7 electric vehicles to the Israeli market early next year and offer G6 as its first right-hand drive model, according to Gu. Currently, Xpeng already has a presence in the Netherlands and Norway markets in Europe. [Reuters; Jiemian, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s cloud backbone is considering seeking up to RMB 20 billion ($2.8 billion) in funding from state-owned firms before proceeding with a Hong Kong IPO, as reported by Bloomberg, citing sources on Monday. The report noted that state-owned telecommunications companies may be among potential investors; however, Alibaba Cloud later responded with “no comment” on the fundraising matter to Chinese media outlets. In May of this year, Alibaba announced its plans to spin off the division within 12 months by distributing dividends to shareholders, nearly two months after the tech giant split itself into six independent business groups. [Bloomberg]

Based on the sales history of the Mate series, Huawei Mate 60 series phones are expected to exceed 20 million units in shipments if the company can maintain its supply chain, as analyzed by Icsmart on Monday. Domestic customers across the country are eagerly lining up to purchase this self-developed 5G product. Previously, supply chain sources revealed that Huawei raised its smartphone shipment target in 2023 from 30 million units to 40 million units a few months ago. Huawei has developed an advanced 7nm processor to power the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, as indicated by a phone tear-down report from Canadian analysis firm TechInsights. The Mate 60 Pro is equipped with the new Kirin 9000s chip, manufactured by the Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), as reported by TechInsights in their lab report on Monday. [Icsmart, in Chinese]

Prominent figures from Chinese tech companies convened for an exclusive meeting hosted by Alibaba Cloud and Founder Park in Hangzhou on Aug. 23, which saw Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang in attendance, according to a report by tech media outlet GeekPark. The report added that Zhang “kept writing notes” throughout the discussion. Lasting for over five hours, the meeting featured founders from Mobvoi, Sinovation Ventures, and LangBoat, who shared their thoughts on the ongoing developments in the domestic AI field and around large models. Kai-Fu Lee, who founded a new AI startup just four months prior, reportedly stated that effectively harnessing limited GPUs is a crucial factor in the competition among LLM companies. The meeting also emphasized that entrepreneurs should not “feel ashamed of” utilizing open-source models as continuous optimizations of these AI models would ultimately contribute to further enhancements for companies that integrate large models into their operations. [GeekPark, in Chinese]

Hozon, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, has engaged China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and Morgan Stanley to assist with its IPO in Hong Kong, according to a September 1 report by Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter. Hozon could raise to $1 billion in the listing, the report said. On August 31, Hozon announced the completion of a crossover funding round of RMB 7 billion ($960 million). The exact scale of the public offering has not yet been confirmed, as the company is still in the early stages of preparation, sources told Reuters. The specific timetable has not been set, and more banks may join the syndicate overseeing the IPO as the process advances, the sources added. Established in 2014, Hozon currently operates two factories in China with a combined annual production capacity of 150,000 units. In the first seven months of 2023, the company delivered a total of 72,456 EVs. [Reuters]

BMW’s chief financial officer Walter Mertl said at the IAA car show in Munich that the company expects to sell more cars in China in 2023, according to a September 3 report by Reuters. BMW’s growth in China during the first half of the year was 3.7%, Mertl told Reuters. The CFO expressed confidence that this positive trend would persist, and said “We are assuming, and we are seeing that we will sell more this year than last year.” He also noted that the price war in the Chinese auto market primarily affected the lower-priced segments in which BMW was not heavily involved. In 2022, BMW’s vehicle sales in China declined by 6.4% to 791,985 units. The company plans to increase the proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) in its total vehicle sales to 15% in 2023 and 20% in 2024, up from approximately 9% in 2022, according to Reuters. [Reuters]

Huawei’s newly launched Mate 60 Pro sold out soon after online platforms such as Huawei VMall, Taobao, and JD.com kicked off the full-scale launch of the phone at 18:08 on September 3. Consumers who had pre-ordered the handset in Huawei stores could pick their phones in-store the same evening. Posts and photos online showed consumers forming long queues at Huawei outlets nationwide. On August 29, Huawei launched pre-sales of its Mate 60 Pro flagship phone on its official website without any advance publicity. One online KOL in the digital tech sector said that as of September 1, nearly 800,000 units of the Huawei Mate 60 Pro had been sold or pre-ordered through sales channels including Huawei VMall, JD.com, and Huawei offline stores in Shenzhen (excluding reserved orders from regional authorized dealers). [IThome, in Chinese]

The first phase of Xiaomi’s electric vehicle factory has completed construction, according to a September 1 report by Chinese news outlet Yicai. The factory is located in Beijing E-Town, a national level economic and technical development zone, the report said. Xiaomi plans to construct its factory in two phases, with the first phase starting in April 2022, covering an area of nearly 720,000 square meters. Phase two is expected to commence in 2024 and finish by 2025, according to the report. The four manufacturing facilities and one testing facility established in the first phase can carry out stamping, welding, painting, and battery assembly. Xiaomi president Lu Weibing previously said that the company has made more progress than expected in manufacturing electric vehicles, and its target for mass EV production is on target for the first half of 2024. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Chinese lifestyle app Xiaohongshu’s e-commerce platform Xiaolvzhou (the name translates as Small Oasis) said it will stop selling products from October 1 this year, and will officially cease operations on October 31. According to the announcement, the closure is attributed to its failure to meet demand related to outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, skiing, cycling, and trekking. In early 2022, Xiaohongshu launched the platform for consumer goods including beauty products, skincare products, fragrances, and household supplies. With the rising popularity of posts related to outdoor activities on Xiaohongshu, the e-commerce platform shifted its focus to outdoor and sports products, but failed to gain traction. Xiaolvzhou said in its announcement that its exploration in this sector had been underwhelming. [National Business Daily, in Chinese]

Tencent is set to release its Hunyuan large language model during its upcoming global digital ecosystem summit, scheduled for September 7th and 8th, according to tech outlet GeekPark. The tech giant noted in the summit’s introduction that Tencent plans to unveil “key digital tools” in cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, and SaaS at the main conference. A previous report stated that Tencent has integrated the AI model into its various business lines, including advertising, games, fintech, and meeting services, with achieving “initial outcomes.” [GeekPark, in Chinese]

Chinese grocery platform Dingdong Maicai’s revenue decreased by 27% year-on-year to RMB 4.8 billion ($667.6 million) in the second quarter, while non-GAAP net income reached RMB 7.5 million, the Shanghai-based company announced on Sept. 1. Dingdong has posted a profit for three consecutive quarters under the non-GAAP standard, with a senior vice president expressing the firm’s confidence in achieving non-GAAP profitability for the full year 2023 in the earnings report. The company meanwhile saw its costs of goods sold drop 26.4% from a year earlier to RMB 3.34 billion during the period. Downsizing operations in loss-making regions is the main way for Dingdong to maintain profitability in a highly competitive industry, with the company exiting from Southwest China in Chongqing and Chengdu city this May, redirecting its focus primarily to the Eastern China region where it has managed to achieve three consecutive quarters of stable profit. [Dingdong Maicai]

Xiaomi is set to launch its self-developed chip, operating system, and vehicle within the next two years, as revealed by a tech blogger on Thursday. The source asserts that Xiaomi’s smartphones and cars are both expected to incorporate its self-developed chip and operating system. In 2021, Xiaomi made significant investments in a series of automotive battery and autonomous driving companies, including Black Sesame Technologies. Black Sesame, a Chinese developer of self-driving computing chips, achieved a valuation of nearly $2 billion in 2021 after securing funds from Xiaomi. In August, the Xiaomi MS11 electric car was spotted undergoing road tests in Xinjiang, China. Furthermore, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun stated in March that the company’s electric vehicle unit is scheduled to commence mass production in the first half of 2024. [IThome, in Chinese]

China Mobile has unveiled a 5G super network for the metaverse industry with mixed reality internet social platform GTVerse, according to an August 31 report by Chinese tech news site IThome. The network is designed to cater to the substantial bandwidth, low latency, and high computational demands of metaverse-related operations, the report said. China Mobile has developed solutions including 5G base station service perception features, intelligent data offloading technologies, resource management capabilities, and edge-end collaborative rendering schemes to enhance the business environment for the metaverse industry, according to the report. The network is able to provide 5G mobile users with a network speed of up to 100 Mbps and a network transmission latency lower than 20ms, satisfying the requirements of immersive and interactive XR applications with 4K resolution and a frame rate of 90fps. The 5G super network has been deployed at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium, as per the report. [IThome, in Chinese]

Indian steel and energy conglomerate JSW Group is engaged in preliminary discussions with Chinese automaker Leapmotor about potentially licensing the latter’s technology to produce electric vehicles in India, according to a September 1 report by Reuters. Sources familiar with the discussions said that under the proposed agreement, JSW would utilize Leapmotor’s vehicle platform to manufacture EVs under its brand in India. JSW will employ a single platform capable of constructing at least three midsize SUVs and Leapmotor will also engineer the cars for JSW as part of the deal, one of the sources added. The exact commencement date for production remains undisclosed. “JSW wants to sell cars under its brand for which they need the technology more than an investment or joint venture in an existing carmaker,” a source told Reuters, adding that the Indian firm had been in talks with a few other Chinese automakers as well. For Leapmotor, a potential partnership with JSW presents an opportunity to generate revenue from the Indian market, which is a significant feat given the tightened foreign investment regulations in India, as per the report. [Reuters]

Zhipu AI, a company founded by Tsinghua alumni in 2019, launched its first generative AI assistant named Zhipu Qingyan on August 31. The AI product is developed based on the company’s self-developed dialogue language model (DLM) ChatGLM2, Zhipu AI said in a statement. Currently, users can access the product by downloading its application from app stores or by using its plug-in on WeChat. According to Zhipu AI, the AI assistant has capabilities including general question answering, long form dialogues, creative writing, and code generation. Zhipu AI is a company specializing in large language models. It began developing the GLM pre-training architecture at the end of 2020, and developed a bilingual trillion-scale pre-training model GLM-130B in 2022. [Zhipu AI statement, in Chinese]

China’s BYD will launch its Dolphin model in Japan on September 20 this year, according to a September 1 report by Reuters. This will be BYD’s second electric vehicle model in the Japanese market. Unlike its multi-powertrain approach in China, BYD plans to exclusively offer battery-powered cars in Japan, the report said. The Shenzhen-based automaker will offer Japanese consumers a regular and a long-range version of the Dolphin compatible with Japan’s CHAdeMO charging standard, and plans to introduce its Seal model later this year or in early 2024. Since the establishment of its first dealership in Japan this year, the Chinese automaker has sold approximately 700 ATTO 3 electric sports utility vehicles in the country. It aims to establish more than 100 dealerships in Japan by the end of 2025 and has partnered with Japanese trading house Sojitz to improve operations in the country, as per Reuters. [Reuters]

ERNIE Bot, Baidu’s AI chat service, has seen 1 million users rush to use it in less than 24 hours since it was made publicly available at midnight Thursday. Fueled by excitement over what is seen by many as China’s main challenger to ChatGPT, users across the country have been able to access the product for the first time after it was approved for general use by the authorities. Along with SenseTime and ZhipuAI, Baidu was among the first batch of companies to win government approval for their AI products, and the ChatGPT-like tool responded to more than 33.4 million user queries within the first day, according to data revealed by the company. [TechNode reporting]

TSMC’s monthly production of 3nm process wafers may decrease to 50,000-60,000 in the fourth quarter, down from the 80,000-100,000 wafers previously anticipated, due to Apple’s reduction in its 3nm orders, Chinese media outlet Techweb has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Currently, the monthly output of TSMC’s 3nm process amounts to approximately 65,000 wafers. Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 Pro‌ models are expected to feature the firm’s A17 Bionic processor, based on TSMC’s first-generation 3nm process. TSMC has reportedly been unable to accept new orders from major customers such as Qualcomm and AMD in the short term, as Apple’s orders occupy most of TSMC’s 3nm process technology capacity this year. Consequently, there has been speculation that Apple’s decrease in orders will lead to TSMC’s revenue declining in the fourth quarter. [Techweb, in Chinese]

The Chinese version of hit Japanese game Uma Musume: Pretty Derby was launched by major video platform Bilibili on Wednesday, rising to the top of the free-to-download games in China’s iOS AppStore immediately. Pre-registered domestic players exceeded one million even before the official launch, claimed the company. Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, developed by Japanese developer Cygames, is a simulation role-playing game that features anime girls competing with each other in a horse-racing tournament. Launched in Japan in 2021, the game earned approximately $1 billion that year. Anime series Pretty Derby, featuring the same characters, was viewed 110 million times on Bilibili, gaining a strong reputation among Chinese anime fans. [Tencent, in Chinese]

Xpeng Motors has quietly reappointed Ji Yu, a former vice president and long-time associate of chief executive He Xiaopeng, as an advisor coordinating US and Guangzhou-based research into autonomous driving. People familiar with the matter told Chinese media outlet 36Kr that Ji’s return follows an announcement on Aug. 2 that Wu Xinzhou, Xpeng’s former head of autonomous driving, had resigned. Ji first joined Xpeng back in 2016 and was in charge of the design and deployment of the company’s digital cockpit technologies until early last year, when the electric vehicle maker began streamlining its business amid management reshuffles and departures. The company recently made a number of significant moves, including joining up with Volkswagen to develop two EV models and acquiring Didi’s smart EV business. [36Kr, in Chinese]

China’s gaming regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, issued 31 licenses for imported games in the domestic market on Tuesday. These licenses, combined with the 27 foreign gaming titles approved in March, bring the total number of approved imported games this year to 58—surpassing the entirety of 2022. Both Tencent Games and NetEase Games received approvals for their new gaming titles, including an adaptation of the popular Japanese manga “One Piece” and the simulation game “The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War.” “The Lord of the Rings” is a strategy mobile game produced by Warner Bros and NetEase, which was released overseas in September 2021. According to the analyst firm SensorTower, it generated approximately $1 million in monthly revenue in July 2023. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On August 31, Baidu made its large language model-supported Ernie Bot publicly available for usage, following approvals from Chinese authorities. In July this year, China’s internet watchdog released a regulation requiring companies within the country to obtain a license before they release generative AI models. Users can download the Ernie Bot app or access its official website to use the chatbot, Baidu said. Baidu’s chairman Robin Li mentioned that, following the opening, Ernie Bot will be able to use a significant amount of feedback from hundreds of millions of netizens to enhance and update its foundational LLM and provide users with better experiences. [Baidu statement, in Chinese]

Huawei does not have plans to launch the new Mate 60 Pro smartphone outside China, according to an August 29 report by tech news site Android Authority. On the same date, Huawei started selling its Mate 60 Pro smartphone without any advance notice. Unlike previous product launches, the company did not provide details about the processor or network bands for the Mate 60 Pro on its website. Users who have conducted tests of the phone said the handset can match the network speeds of 5G chipset phones in their video tests. However, Huawei declined to comment on the specifics of this processor or its compatibility with 5G technology, according to Android Authority. [Android Authority]

On August 30, Chinese battery maker CATL denied reports of the European Commission investigating its battery factory in Hungary. The company’s Hungarian project has passed the environmental impact assessment by the Hungarian government and is currently progressing smoothly, CATL said. In August 2022, CATL officially announced the construction of a battery factory in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, with a planned production capacity of 100 GWh and an investment of 7.34 billion euros. This marks CATL’s second factory in Europe following its existing facility in Germany. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

On August 29, Chinese selfie and social app maker Meitu announced the launch of an AI-powered digital human generator called DreamAvatar. The AI Actor feature in the new app is designed for various application scenarios including video content creation, film processing, and editing, Meitu said. It can transform real individuals into AI avatars in video clips shorter than 10 seconds. Supported by 3D human posture estimation and driving algorithms, DreamAvatar generates digital actors that are able to identify, track, and replicate human movements. Additionally, DreamAvatar employs camera pose estimation and light estimation algorithms to seamlessly integrate these digital avatars into the video background, ensuring a natural presentation, according to Meitu. [Meitu statement, in Chinese]

In the first half of 2023, Huawei achieved a revenue of RMB 308.29 billion ($42.3 billion), compared to RMB 298.68 billion ($40.98 billion) in the same period the previous year, according to the company’s financial results released on August 30. The net profit was RMB 46.523 billion ($6.38 billion), a 218% year-on-year increase and a leap from the full-year net profit of RMB 35.6 billion ($4.88 billion) in 2022. During the first half of 2023, Huawei’s research and development expenses amounted to RMB 82.604 billion ($11.33 billion), representing a RMB 3.541 billion increase from the RMB 79.063 billion ($10.92 billion) in the same period last year. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

Chinese EV brand Avatr has closed an RMB 3 billion ($410 million) round of funding from existing shareholders including automaker Changan and new investors such as the Bank of Communications, the firm said on Wednesday. The funding comes despite months of lackluster sales of Avatr’s first model. The Series B fundraising round gives the EV maker, set up jointly by Changan, battery maker CATL, and tech giant Huawei, a valuation of nearly RMB 20 billion, with the proceeds to be invested in accelerating vehicle development and expanding its production and sales network. Chongqing-headquartered Avatr delivered 10,755 units of its Avatr 11 electric crossover from January to June after delivery began in late December, according to figures released by the China Automobile Dealers Association. Featuring Huawei’s advanced driver assistance system, the Avatr 11 comes with a starting price of RMB 319,900. The firm plans to launch its second model later this year, which will be a medium-to-large-sized all-electric sedan. [Avatr announcement, in Chinese]

On Tuesday, Chinese phone manufacturer Oppo introduced the Find N3 Flip in China. The device is being touted as the industry’s first clamshell foldable smartphone with a trio of cameras on its cover. The Hasselblad-branded camera setup includes a 50MP primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), a 48MP ultra-wide camera, and a 32MP telephoto camera. Apart from the camera module, the phone closely resembles the Find N2 Flip launched last year while offering minor internal upgrades over its predecessor. The new generation is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset and features a 3.26-inch outer display and a 6.8-inch AMOLED inner screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. In its folded state, the phone measures 16.4mm in thickness, slimming down to 7.8mm when opened. The device is expected to launch in international markets soon, with prices in China starting at RMB 6,799 ($932) for the 12GB+256GB storage model. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Gotion High-Tech posted a 296.7% year-on-year surge in overseas revenue for the first half of 2023 on Tuesday. The firm said its overseas business now accounted for a fifth of total revenue, up from only 8.94% a year ago. The Volkswagen-backed battery supplier attributed the growth to increased demand from overseas clients as it partnered with global auto majors such as the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance as well as Vietnam’s Tesla wannabe VinFast, in addition to its German shareholders. Hefei-headquartered Gotion said on Tuesday that its total revenue had risen 76.4% year-on-year to RMB 15.2 billion in the six months to June 30, buoyed by the growing adoption of green energy vehicles and batteries for energy storage worldwide. The gross margin of its EV battery business grew slightly to 13.2% from 12.5% a year ago, while that number for its energy storage business increased by 7% to 17.43%. [Gotion earnings report, in Chinese]

On August 29, Chinese automaker Neta (also known as Hozon) announced the completion of a crossover funding round of RMB 7 billion ($960 million), without disclosing specifics regarding investors. Neta has received over ten billion RMB in investments from 2017 to 2022, according to Chinese tech news site IThome. Notable companies such as SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Qihoo 360 are some of Neta’s investors. The Zhejiang-based automaker delivered 72,456 EVs in the first seven months of 2023, compared with 77,168 units in the same period last year. [IThome, in Chinese]

FAW-Volkswagen announced on August 29 the appointment of Oliver Grünberg as Deputy General Manager (Technical) from Volkswagen’s subsidiary in Slovakia. Grünberg takes over the position from Andreas Dick on September 1. This move aims to enhance FAW-Volkswagen’s capabilities amid a transformation to a digital and smart tech era, the joint venture said. Grünberg has extensive experience in vehicle production and technology management and has held important positions in Volkswagen’s Russian and Indian markets, according to FAW-Volkswagen. In his new role, he will be responsible for operations related to products, technology, and production to boost efficiency, innovation, and tech advances, the firm said. FAW-Volkswagen’s general manager Pan Zhanfu said, “Dr. Oliver Grünberg will bring us rich international experience. We believe his arrival will further our development of hybrid technology and accelerate our determined transition towards new energy and digitalization.” [China Economic Network, in Chinese]

On August 29, Lu Weibing, President of Xiaomi Group, clarified that the RMB 4.8 billion ($658 million) fund connected to a legal dispute in India has been frozen by the Indian government rather than confiscated. This clarification comes after Indian authorities alleged last May that Xiaomi’s local unit engaged in illicit money transfers under the guise of royalty payments, resulting in the seizure of the RMB 4.8 billion fund. Xiaomi is working to resolve the matter through legal channels, Lu said. Despite the lengthy legal process, Xiaomi believes in the independence and impartiality of the Indian judiciary, he added. [Securities Times, in Chinese]

On August 29, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Group) announced a new goal of selling 500,000 vehicles annually in its overseas market by 2030. In the coming years, GAC will introduce its electric vehicle models to Europe, with a focus on Western European markets. In the Asia-Pacific region, the company expects to sell fuel-powered (including hybrid) and pure electric vehicles and establish production bases in Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar. The company says it will improve operations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Mexico, while also keeping the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its sights. GAC achieved vehicle production and sales of 1.1969 million and 1.163 million units respectively in the first half of 2023, a year-on-year growth of 3.93% and 1.14%, according to a financial report released by the company on August 25. [GAC statement, in Chinese]

Xiaomi Group’s president Lu Weibing said on Tuesday that the company’s electric vehicles have finished summer testing and made more progress than expected. Xiaomi aims to be in the global top five in the future automotive market, Lu said at the company’s second quarter earnings call. To achieve this goal, the company has invested heavily in building its full-stack self-development ability and establishing its own manufacturing facility. Xiaomi’s R&D expenditure for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB 4.6 billion($631 million), marking a 21.0% increase from the RMB 3.8 billion ($521 million) it spent in the second quarter of 2022. In its financial results released on Tuesday, Xiaomi attributed this growth to work on its smart EV and other innovative business segments. Xiaomi’s target for the mass production of EVs in the first half of 2024 remains unchanged, said Lu. [The Paper, in Chinese]

Nio needs to expand its sales workforce and open new locations in a bid to catch up with rivals and sustain sales of its large product lineup of eight vehicle models, chief executive William Li said during an earnings call on Tuesday. The electric vehicle maker has been particularly enhancing its sales capabilities in lower-tier Chinese cities since June, with measures such as hiring experienced salespersons and setting up new showrooms, according to Li. Nio reported that its second-quarter losses more than doubled from a year ago and widened 27.8% quarter-on-quarter to around RMB 6.06 billion ($830 million), with the EV maker’s gross margin declining sharply to just 1% from 13% a year earlier. Revenue also decreased to RMB 8.8 billion on delivery of 23,520 cars, which was down from nearly RMB 11 billion in both the previous quarter and the same period a year ago. The company predicts vehicle delivery of up to 57,000 units for the current quarter ending Sept 30, and the company said that that number could reach 20,000 per month starting October. [Nio earnings report]

OceanEngine, ByteDance’s digital marketing platform, has introduced an AI-driven scripting tool for live-streaming to assist Douyin merchants in efficiently creating “high-quality scripts.” This official service aids sellers and short video creators in expanding their influence on Douyin. OceanEngine announced that the new feature is free and has the capability to identify “sensitive words.” This move underscores ByteDance’s incorporation of artificial intelligence technology across its diverse businesses. According to a statement on its WeChat account, merchants utilizing the script-generation tool have witnessed a 13% increase in the value of merchandise sold. [OceanEngine, in Chinese]

Pinduoduo’s parent company, PDD, reported a 66% increase in revenue to RMB 52.3 billion ($7.21 billion) for the quarter ending in June. The company attributed this growth to “a positive shift” in consumer sentiment. This surge in revenue allowed PDD to outperform its Chinese counterparts, with Alibaba experiencing a 12% rise and JD seeing a 4.85% increase in domestic retail business. Notably, earnings from online marketing and transaction services showed impressive growth of 50% and 131%, respectively. However, PDD’s expenses on sales and marketing also increased by 50% year-on-year to RMB 17.5 billion in the second quarter, largely due to investments in promotion and advertising activities. Zhao Jiazhen, co-CEO of PDD, emphasized the company’s close alignment with the overall consumption market. He stated that the quarterly revenue growth is “inseparable” from the implementation of various pro-consumption support measures. During the relevant earnings call, the company mentioned Temu, indicating that they are not currently focused on the financial metrics of the rapidly expanding operation. Instead, they prioritize creating unique value. The net income of the Nasdaq-listed company rose by 47% from the previous year to RMB 13.1 billion during the period. [PDD]

Self-driving truck startup Inceptio announced on Tuesday that it has reached 50 million kilometers (31.1 million miles) of public autonomous driving with zero accidents on Chinese highways in a commercial trial with local couriers such as JD Logistics and ZTO since late 2021. Autonomous rigs enabled by Inceptio’s NOA (Navigation on ADAS-advanced driver-assistance system) perform 75% better than those operated by humans in avoiding crashes and preventing lane departures, according to figures jointly released by the company and China Pacific Insurance, one of the country’s largest insurers. Meanwhile, Inceptio stated that its autonomous trucks, with a safety driver behind the wheel at all times, reduce oil consumption by up to 7% compared to those operated by veteran drivers. In 2021, Inceptio closed a $270 million funding round from Chinese tech giants Meituan and JD Logistics, the online retailer JD’s delivery arm, and has been backed by Sequoia China (now Hongshan), the Chinese unit of the US venture capital firm. [Inceptio announcement, in Chinese]

Beijing has issued several measures to further boost the “cultivation and utilization of young scientific and technological talents”, aiming to give young people prominent roles in national-level sci-tech research tasks, according to an August 27 report by state-owned Xinhua News Agency. The move hopes to encourage young talent to be more devoted to the country’s technological advancement by addressing challenges that they face in their early careers, such as a lack of research environments, platforms, and opportunities, according to Xinhua News Agency. The new directive pledges to eliminate obstacles linked to job titles and educational backgrounds, and loosen age limitations for individuals applying for pivotal research and development initiatives. It also promises to raise the proportion of young talents under the age of 40 serving as project leaders and key members to no less than 50%. Additionally, it suggests capable universities and research institutes should gradually raise their financial support ratio for researchers under 35 conducting independent research to no less than 50% of the annual budget, to encourage them to focus on national strategic needs and engage in cutting-edge scientific research. In 2022, China’s expenditure on research and development hit a record of RMB 3.09 trillion ($426 billion), up by 10.4% from 2021. [Xinhua, in Chinese]

As of June 2023, the number of China’s netizens reached 1.079 billion, according to a statistical report released on August 29 by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). The figure represents an internet penetration rate of 76.4% and an increase of 11.09 million people compared to December 2022, according to the report. By June of this year, the numbers of instant messaging and online video users reached 1.047 billion and 1.044 billion, with penetration rates of 97.1% and 96.8%, respectively. Of the total online video users, users of short video clips reached 1.026 billion. Additionally, number of online car-hailing, online travel booking, and online literature users grew by 34.92 million, 30.91 million, and 35.92 million, respectively, compared to December 2022. The growth rates for the three sectors were 8.0%, 7.3%, and 7.3%, making them the three fastest-growing Internet application segments in terms of user base. [CNNIC report, in Chinese]

On August 28, Alibaba’s vice president Yan Qiao denied reports that the company plans to acquire its former executive’s startup HHO. Earlier that day, Chinese tech news site Leiphone reported that, driven by Alibaba’s newly appointed CEO Wu Yongming, the Chinese tech giant was in discussion with the cross-border digital e-commerce company. HHO was established by Chen Hang, the founder of Alibaba’s corporate communication platform DingTalk, and the potential acquisition aims to incorporate Chen and his team into Alibaba’s International Digital Commerce Group, according to the report by Leiphone. Chen founded HHO in 2021 after leaving DingTalk. On August 23 this year, He appeared at the DingTalk 2023 Ecological Conference as an entrepreneur and shared his thoughts on the workplace communication tool he founded. The move was seen as a sign of Chen’s return to Alibaba, the report said. [Jiemian, in Chinese; Leiphone, in Chinese]

On August 29, Chinese express giant SF Holdings released its interim report for 2023, which showed that the company achieved a total revenue of RMB 124.366 billion ($171 billion) in the first half of the year, marking a 4.38% year-on-year decrease. The net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 4.177 billion, representing an increase of 66.23% year-on-year. Of the total revenue (net of taxes), the time-definite express business sector earned RMB 56.07 billion, a 13.8% year-on-year growth. The economy express sector achieved a revenue of RMB 12.13 billion, a 2.7% year-on-year growth. Revenue from the freight business was RMB 15.12 billion, a 15% year-on-year growth. The firm’s cold chain and pharmaceuticals delivery business saw a remarkable growth of 31.3% with RMB 5.34 billion. Intra-city on-demand delivery service achieved a revenue of RMB 3.34 billion, a growth of 16.2%. However, the company’s supply chain and international business segment experienced a year-on-year decline of 38% with RMB 28.86 billion. Last week, SF Holding, which has already gone public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, submitted an application to seek another IPO in Hong Kong. [SF Holding filing]

Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) announced its entry into the Indonesian market on August 28. As a result of the move, GWM now has a presence in every country in the ASEAN region except for East Timor, the carmaker said in a statement. GWM began its ASEAN market expansion in 2021 and entered Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia in August 2023. In the ASEAN regional market, it has established a complete product lineup, covering hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles, with its auto brands Haval, Ora, and Tank, the company said. Official data from GWM shows that the company’s overseas sales reached 27,007 units in July this year, representing year-on-year growth of 83.6%. [GWM statement, in Chinese]

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has launched limited numbers of its new Mate 60 flagship phone two weeks early after images of the device were leaked online on Monday. The Mate 60 Pro is the world’s first phone with a satellite phone-call function, allowing users to make and receive calls even when a terrestrial network signal is absent, Huawei claims. The 12GB+512GB Mate 60 model is priced at RMB 6,999 ($960), however it has not been disclosed on the official website whether the processor the device runs on is 4G or 5G. The official product launch was originally scheduled for September 12th, but following the online leak Huawei announced a limited number of the devices would be sold via what it called the Huawei Mate 60 Pro Pioneer Program. The phone maker said the offer was also to mark the sale of 100 million Huawei Mate smartphones since the series’ launch in 2013. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme introduced the Buds Air5 earphones in China on Monday, priced at RMB 299 ($41). Users can choose from two color options: blue and white. The Buds Air5 earphones feature 50dB active noise cancellation, utilizing three microphones on each earpiece to ensure clear call quality. With the inclusion of 4000Hz ultra-wideband noise cancellation, users can enjoy an immersive audio experience free from unwanted background noises. The earphones are equipped with a 12.4mm mega titanizing driver, dynamic bass boost, and an individual rear cavity design. In terms of battery life, the company asserts that the Buds Air5 offers a total of 38 hours when combining the case and earbuds. According to the analyst firm Canalys, Realme secured the fifth position in Southeast Asia’s smartphone market for the first quarter with 2.2 million shipments and an 11% market share. [IThome, in Chinese]

On Monday, Chinese smartphone maker Realme unveiled its latest offering, the GT5, which boasts a budget-friendly smartphone featuring 24GB of RAM and 240W fast-charging technology. Notably, the expansive configuration of 24GB RAM and 1TB storage comes at a price of just RMB 3,799 ($521). The Realme GT5, available in green and silver, incorporates four light strips on the back that provide light effects when notifications are received. The phone offers two battery variants: 150W+5240mAh and 240W+4600mAh. The company asserts that the former can be fully charged in just 18 minutes. Under the hood, it runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and boasts a 6.74-inch 1.5K AMOLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, 2160Hz PWM dimming, support for 1.07 billion colors, and brightness levels of up to 1400 nits. [IThome, in Chinese]

BYD reported a 204.7% year-on-year jump on Monday, reaching RMB 10.95 billion ($1.5 billion) in net profit for the first half of this year. The gross margin of its electric vehicle and related businesses also increased by 4.36% to 20.67% from the previous year. These numbers reflect a noteworthy achievement for the Chinese automaker, as competitors like Tesla and Geely have experienced declining profit margins over the past six months due to repeated price reductions in the country’s competitive market. Notably, BYD significantly increased its spending on research and development, more than doubling from RMB 6.5 billion to RMB 14.25 billion compared to the previous year. This Warren Buffett-backed EV maker has been on a hiring spree to acquire research talent starting this year. Additionally, the revenue from its EV and auto parts businesses saw a remarkable 91.1% year-on-year increase, reaching RMB 208.8 billion, driven by the sale of 1.25 million EVs. These sales constituted a third of the country’s total green vehicle sales during the first half of this year, as indicated by official figures. [BYD filing, in Chinese]

SparkDesk, a large language model developed by Chinese voice-recognition company iFlytek, is expected to be benchmarked against GPT-4 in the first half of next year, according to the chairman of iFlytek Liu Qingfeng. Liu made the remarks during an address to the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum, which is sometimes seen as China’s answer to the Davos World Economic Forum. Liu added that he is “very happy” to share that Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, a strategic partner with iFlytek on the LLM, has already matched Nvidia’s cutting-edge A100 chips in terms of GPU ability. Liu stated that Nvidia had held a dominant position in computing power despite the effectiveness of algorithms in China to date, but that the Huawei development would change that dynamic. [IThome, in Chinese]

William Li, the chief executive of Chinese electric vehicle brand Nio, recently provided an update about the company’s smartphone devices in the firm’s users chat group, according to IThome. Nio smartphones are comparable with Android flagship devices and are more than sufficient to serve as users’ backup devices to their iPhones, Li said. The upcoming smartphone boasts good basic performance including heat dissipation, power efficiency, and standby time, he added. However, he also mentioned that certain minor features might not meet everyone’s expectations as anticipated. In July of this year, Nio obtained permission to distribute its N2301 phone model from the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese phone maker Meizu announced Sunday a customized Lynk & Co 08 version of Meizu 20 Pro, with pre-sales to start the following day. The phone is currently priced at RMB 5,288 ($725). The specially designed device interacts with the Lynk 08 car via the Flyme Link software, reportedly featuring China’s first intelligent car key, the CCC 3.0 UWB (Ultra Wideband). The phone enables users to easily spot, unlock, and start their vehicle without a traditional key. Inside the car, drivers can use the new phone for smart navigation, camera control, and music play. Compared with the standard Meizu 20 Pro, the customized version comes in violet with an “8” car logo on its back. Other hardware specs remain the same. [China Daily, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s grocery subsidiary Freshippo has undergone restructuring amid a price war in the new retail market in China, according to an August 25 report by Chinese news outlet 21CBH. The company has consolidated its in-house brand business team, global sourcing team, and category procurement team, with a strong focus on leveraging its in-house brands, as per 21CBH. Additionally, Freshippo will gradually phase out the traditional key account (KA) model and replace it with a direct procurement strategy. Product costs from other distribution channels are 20 to 30 basis points lower than in the KA business model, Freshippo’s CEO Hou Yi told 21CBH. Freshippo will establish operational systems focused on local market forecasting, planning, and pricing, to build its differentiation strategy, Hou added. Since late July, major players in the Chinese new retail market, such as Freshippo, Sam’s Club, Meituan, and Rt-Mart, have been cutting the prices of their fresh and bakery products. [21CBH, in Chinese]

Chinese premium electric vehicle brand Zeekr has applied for Chinese government approval for its proposed IPO in the United States, according to publicly available information on the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) website. ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding Limited intends to issue no more than 926,074,300 common shares and list them on the New York Stock Exchange, as per the filing notice released on August 25. If the company does not complete the overseas issuance and listing within 12 months from the date of the filing notice, and intends to proceed, it will have to update the filing materials and submit them again, the notice said. In the first seven months of 2023, Zeekr’s parent company Geely Auto sold 832,200 units. Among them, the Zeekr brand achieved a cumulative delivery of 54,700 vehicles, showing a year-on-year increase of approximately 127%, according to the company’s financial results released on August 22. [CSRC notice, in Chinese]

On August 26, Chinese AR device maker Rokid launched its latest product: AR Studio. The set, complete with AR glasses and a computing mainframe, is priced at RMB 8,998 ($1235). Users can interact with the system via glasses, gestures, and voice, eliminating the need to use extra hardware or remote control. Weighing just 76 grams, the Rokid Max Pro glasses refresh at 90Hz and feature a 9-axis IMU gravity sensor with 6DOF (degrees of freedom). The 50-degree field of view (FOV) offers a 215-inch projection area from a maximum distance of 6 meters. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen1 processor, the Rokid Station Pro mainframe comes with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of storage. The mainframe boasts a 48MP Sony IMX586 rear camera, 7620mAh battery, NFC support, and Wi-Fi 6 technology. [IThome, in Chinese]

BYD subsidiary BYD Electronics reached an agreement with US-based printed circuit board manufacturer Jabil Circuit’s Singapore subsidiary on August 26, according to Reuters. BYD Electronics will acquire the latter’s mobile electronics manufacturing business in the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Wuxi for RMB 15.8 billion ($2.2 billion). Following the agreement, Jabil Circuit will transfer the operations in both cities to its newly-established entity called Juno Newco Target Holdco Singapore Pte. Ltd., and BYD Electronics will then acquire all shares of the new company. The move will enlarge BYD Electronics’ market share of products, enhance its overall competitiveness, and ensure long-term sustainable development, BYD said in an exchange filing, without divulging any further details about the acquisition. [Reuters; BYD filing, in Chinese]

On August 25, Alibaba Cloud launched an open-source Large Vision Language Model (LVLM) named Qwen-VL. The LVLM is based on Alibaba Cloud’s 7 billion parameter foundational language model Qwen-7B. In addition to capabilities such as image-text recognition, description, and question answering, Qwen-VL introduces new features including visual location recognition and image-text comprehension, the company said in a statement. These functions enable the model to identify locations in pictures and to provide users with guidance based on the information extracted from images, the firm added. The model can be applied in various scenarios including image and document-based question answering, image caption generation, and fine-grained visual recognition. Currently, both Qwen-VL and its visual AI assistant Qwen-VL-Chat are available for free and commercial use on Alibaba’s “Model as a Service” platform ModelScope. [Alibaba Cloud statement, in Chinese]

Chinese AI company SenseTime has reportedly reduced staff across various departments. Affected individuals have been notified to leave within a week at the earliest, marking the firm’s second large-scale downsizing in less than a year. According to local media outlet Caixin, the company’s smart city group division experienced a workforce reduction ranging from 10% to 15%, as cited by multiple sources on Monday. This comes amidst a race among local tech firms to develop and launch their own large language models. In April, SenseTime introduced SenseNova, a competitor to ChatGPT. Hong Kong-listed SenseTime remains under US sanctions and has not yet turned a profit. Over the past five years, the company has incurred losses exceeding RMB 40 billion. Additionally, the company observed a decrease in employee count, with over 1,000 fewer staff members at the end of 2022 than the previous year, signifying a decline of 16.6%. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Short video platform TikTok plans to prohibit e-commerce links from external sites such as Shopify starting on September 12. This move follows the example set by its Chinese counterpart Douyin, which banned links to third-party retailing sites, including Taobao, in 2020 to enhance in-platform shopping. According to a report from Chinese media outlet Caixin on Thursday, TikTok has already updated the notice on its Business Help Center page. This change implies that external e-commerce platforms will no longer be able to drive traffic to their individual stores and products through TikTok unless they opt to establish online stores on TikTok Shop. A previous report by The Wall Street Journal stated that TikTok is preparing to officially launch its e-commerce business in the US in August. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Zeekr, an electric vehicle maker owned by Volvo’s parent Geely, ranked highest in overall customer satisfaction among Chinese brands, followed by Changan Auto’s EV subsidiary Deepal, and Nio, according to a new study issued by J.D. Power on Thursday. Zeekr reached 792 on a 1,000-point scale in the J.D. Power rankings, while Mercedes-Benz and Tesla took first and second positions in the international brand section with 794 and 788 points respectively. The study surveyed over 5,000 EV owners from 81 major Chinese cities, measured service satisfaction throughout their purchase processes, and assigned a score to each brand based on a combination of benchmarks such as information collection, showroom experience, and recharging services. For 2023, overall customer satisfaction for EVs fell year-on-year with a score of 770, a 26-point drop compared to 2022, despite the growing adoption of EVs in the country. [J.D. Power release]

The combined retail volume of sedans, MPVs, and SUVs (passenger vehicles in a narrow sense in China) in the Chinese market for August is expected to reach around 1.85 million units, according to an August 24 statement by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The figure reflects a year-on-year decrease of 1.3% and a month-on-month increase of 4.7%. Within these figures, the sales of new energy vehicles are estimated to be around 700,000 units, showing a month-on-month growth of 9.2% and a year-on-year growth of 31.5%, with a market penetration rate of about 37.8%. The extreme rainfall caused by typhoons in northern and northeastern China in late July and early August has made an impact on the sales performance, the CPCA claimed. During the first week of August, the average daily retail sales of major manufacturers are expected to be approximately 40,100 units, a year-on-year decrease of 0.8%. After that, the auto market is estimated to have seen a gradual recovery with average daily retail sales reaching around 49,100, 51,900, 60,700, and 128,200 units, respectively, from the second to the fifth week in August, 2023. [CPCA statement, in Chinese]

On August 24, NetEase’s Cloud Music released its financial results for the first half of 2023, showing that the company’s revenue was RMB 3.91 billion ($537 million) in this period, an 8.2% year-on-year decrease. The adjusted net profit for the same period was RMB 332 million ($46 million), marking a year-on-year turnaround to profit from the adjusted net loss of RMB 217 million ($30 million) in the first half of 2022. According to NetEase Cloud Music, the company adjusted its business strategy in 2023 by enhancing online music services and controlling the costs of social entertainment services such as livestreams. During the first half of 2023, the monthly active users of Cloud Music’s online music services reached 206.7 million, representing a 13.7% year-on-year growth. Its revenue from the online music service sector was RMB 2.021 billion ($278 million), a 13.3% increase, with subscription sales revenue reaching RMB 1.71 billion ($235 million). Revenues generated by social entertainment and other services accounted for RMB 1.89 billion ($260 million), reflecting a 23.9% year-on-year decrease, according to the company’s financial report. [NetEase Cloud Music filing, in Chinese]

Chinese drone maker DJI’s automotive division DJI Automotive is currently seeking external financing, according to an August 24 report by Chinese tech news site IThome. If successful, this would mark the first time that DJI’s auto business has sought external funding. The division believes that its valuation could reach $1.5 billion after two rounds of financing, according to IThome, citing an investor. In April 2022, DJI established its automotive business to focus on the research, development, production, and sales of intelligent driving systems and related core components. In July this year, the company launched its L2 intelligent driving solution named Chengxing. [IThome, in Chinese]

China-founded fast fashion company Shein has reached an agreement with US clothing producer and distributor Sparc Group, according to an August 24 report by Reuters. Sparc Group is a joint venture established by Authentic Brands, the owner of Forever 21, and mall operator Simon Property. Under the partnership, Shein will hold a one-third stake in Sparc Group and will establish shops-within-shops in offline Forever 21 stores across the US to test product displays and provide more convenient return and exchange services, Shein said in a statement. The deal also allows Forever 21 to sell products on Shein’s platforms, which have approximately 150 million customers. Sparc Group will become a minority shareholder in Shein after the deal, according to Shein. The Chinese fast fashion giant has been setting up pop-up stores in various locations in Europe and the US in recent months. However, Shein has no plans to launch physical locations in the US or other regions, a company spokesperson said on August 24. [Reuters]

Meituan, the Chinese food delivery giant, recorded RMB 67.97 billion ($9.3 billion) in revenue for the quarter ending in June, marking a 33.4% year-on-year growth, the highest surge in nearly two years. The Hong Kong-listed company achieved a net profit of RMB 4.69 billion during the period, compared to a loss of RMB 1.12 billion a year earlier. However, Meituan’s financial reports over the years do not consistently demonstrate its sustained ability to generate profits. Revenue from Meituan’s core local commerce, including delivery, online marketing services, and commission, remains the firm’s backbone, accounting for over 70% of total earnings. This segment experienced an almost 40% increase, reaching RMB 51.2 billion. The surge in core revenue is primarily attributed to a 31.6% rise in on-demand delivery transactions, surpassing 5.4 billion orders in the second quarter. Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan, expressed confidence in China’s economic growth during the follow-up earnings call, despite the ‘temporary negative impact from the macro environment.’ He also forecasted a ‘slowdown’ in food delivery volume for the upcoming quarter. [Meituan]

Changan Auto has completed the registration of its subsidiary in Thailand, as required by the country’s Department of Business Development. The Chinese automaker announced on Thursday that it is intensifying its recruitment efforts to establish local sales and service networks. The company plans to commence local sales by the end of this year, following its recent decision to construct a $285 million regional factory. This factory will have an annual capacity of 100,000 electric vehicles, as announced by Thailand’s Board of Investment on April 20. Additionally, the Thailand factory will serve as the primary vehicle export hub for foreign countries such as Australia and South Africa. This is part of the state-owned carmaker’s goal to achieve annual sales of 1.2 million cars in the overseas markets by 2030. [Changan announcement, in Chinese]

Short video platform operator Kuaishou on Tuesday posted revenue growth of 27.9% as it took in RMB 27.74 billion ($3.8 billion) in the second quarter, as the company’s online advertising and other services showed robust growth during the period, increasing 30.4% and 61.4%, respectively. Kuaishou categorizes e-commerce under its other services. The quarter marks “the first-ever group-level net profit in a quarter since our listing in Hong Kong in 2021,” Kuaishou said in its financial report, with operating profit reaching RMB 1.3 billion, compared to a loss of RMB 3.06 billion in the June quarter last year. While Kuaishou’s domestic operations have been profitable for five consecutive quarters, its overseas business is still in the red, though its loss narrowed by almost half year-on-year to RMB 780 million according to the results. [Kuaishou]

The United States is seeking to extend its existing Science and Technology Agreement (STA) with China, the US State Department said on August 23. The agreement, signed in 1979 when Beijing and Washington established diplomatic ties and renewed every five years since, is set to expire on August 27, 2023. “This short-term six-month extension will keep the agreement in force while we seek authority to undertake negotiations to amend and strengthen the terms of the STA. It does not commit the United States to a longer-term extension,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters. Washington said that the agreement provides consistent guidelines for scientific collaboration between governments, and in its absence, each agency would need to negotiate separate arrangements with Beijing. Over the past four decades, China and the US have signed more than 30 protocols and deals on health, engineering, climate change, and environmental protection, under the framework of the agreement, according to China Daily. [Reuters]

Chinese online question-and-answer platform Zhihu released its unaudited financial results for the first half of the 2023 fiscal year on August 23, showing that in the first half of the year, Zhihu’s revenue reached RMB 2.04 billion ($281 million). The figure reflects a year-on-year increase of 29%, a lower growth rate than the 41% year-on-year increase during the same period of 2022. Of its total income, revenue generated from marketing reached RMB 800 million ($111 million), a 13% year-on-year decrease. The company’s revenue from paid membership reached RMB 900 million ($125 million), marking an impressive 83% increase year-on-year. In an additional income stream, Zhihu offers vocational online training to users. Revenue from this sector reached RMB 250 million ($35 million), showing 194% growth year-on-year compared to the RMB 85.67 million ($11.8 million) it earned in 2022. In the second quarter of this year, average monthly active users on the Zhihu platform totaled 109.4 million, according to the company’s financial report. [Zhihu filing, in Chinese; 36Kr, in Chinese]

TikTok’s plan to enter e-commerce in the US will cost $500 million by the end of this year, according to The Information, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. In 2021, the short video platform introduced TikTok Shops, enabling creators and third-party vendors to operate virtual storefronts and sell products within the app. A July 26 report by the Wall Street Journal said that the social platform is creating an inventory to offer made-in-China items to American consumers. To provide a complete service, the company made investments heavily in hiring, building delivery networks, subsidizing merchants, and offering free shipping, The Information wrote. Despite its soaring costs, TikTok Shop is generating around $3 million to $4 million daily in the US, a significant rise from less than $1 million in June, said the report. Additionally, to boost sales on TikTok Shop, the company is considering prohibiting sellers on TikTok Shop from posting links to external e-commerce websites. [The Information]

On August 23, China-based overseas internet company Kunlun Tech launched its own large language model-powered search engine called Tiangong AI Search. According to the company, the search tool, similar to Microsoft’s New Bing, is now open for user testing. According to Kunlun Tech, Tiangong AI Search is the first LLM-supported search engine in China. The company said traditional search engines that conduct searches based on keywords provide users with too much information. In contrast, LLM-supported search engines can save users from receiving redundant information by operating as generative search tools that offer well-organized and refined answers based on questions posed in natural language. Tiangong AI Search can converse long-form and in-depth with the information it finds on the internet, attaching links to its sources for users to review, the firm said. [Kunlun statement, in Chinese]

Stellantis is exploring cooperation possibilities, which could include an investment deal or strategic partnership, with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers like Leapmotor. The European automaker aims to reclaim its market presence within China’s thriving EV market. Individuals familiar with the situation shared this with Bloomberg on Wednesday, noting that discussions are ongoing and no determinations have been reached thus far. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is reportedly engaging in discussions with Leapmotor, based in Zhejiang and listed in Hong Kong, to potentially acquire the company’s EV platform for its budget-oriented Jetta brand. This development followed an announcement of a partnership with Xpeng Motors on July 26, as reported by Reuters on August 2. As Europe’s second-largest automaker, Stellantis possesses a solitary joint venture in China alongside partner Dongfeng Motor Group. For the first half of this year, the company’s reported sales of Peugeot and Citroën vehicles amounted to approximately 44,200 units, reflecting a 21.6% decrease from the previous year. [Bloomberg]

During Gamescom 2023, one of the world’s premier events for computer and video games, the Chinese game publisher HoYoverse unveiled a new trailer for its upcoming urban fantasy action role-playing game, “Zenless Zone Zero.” Set in a cyberpunk metropolis, players engage in battles against supernatural disasters. This marks the game’s inaugural update since its initial reveal last year. Alongside these new releases, HoYoverse also presented fresh videos for its two popular titles, “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai: Star Rail.” In “Genshin Impact,” the open-world adventure expanded to include a fifth nation known as Fontaine, a water-land locale introduced in version 4.0, released on August 16. Although HoYoverse hasn’t yet disclosed a release date for “Zenless Zone Zero,” the PS5 version of “Honkai: Star Rail” is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2023. [IThome, in Chinese]

Zeekr, a reputed electric vehicle brand under Chinese automaker Geely, plans to engage in discussions with global investors across multiple cities later this month regarding its intended stock market debut in the US, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The company aims to secure $1 billion through the share sale, valuing itself at over $13 billion—an appraisal achieved during a $750 million venture capital round in February. The final deal size remains unconfirmed, according to insiders. Headquartered in Hangzhou, Zeekr confidentially submitted an initial public offering application in New York in December, targeting a possible launch as early as the second quarter of 2023, as per Reuters on December 12th. Notably, Zeekr witnessed its deliveries surge by over twofold year-on-year, reaching 54,672 all-electric vehicles for the initial seven months of this year. The brand presently offers three models for sale: the 001 hatchback, the 009 multi-purpose vehicle, and the X compact crossover. [Reuters]

Huawei’s forthcoming flagship, the Mate 60 series, might incorporate satellite phone-call capabilities via the Tiantong-1 mobile communication satellite system, according to supply chain insiders. A digital blogger shared this information on Weibo on Wednesday. This anticipated series is poised to include power amplifier (PA) chips developed by Chinese chipmakers, although the specific manufacturer’s name remains unconfirmed. These PA chips are specially designed for the Tiantong-1 mobile communication satellite system, offering voice communication, image transmission, precise positioning, and data reporting. Unfortunately, the Mate X3 (Huawei’s foldable device) and the P60 series, both released in the first half of the year, won’t be able to support this satellite phone-call feature through future updates due to their lack of PA chips. Furthermore, there have been reports suggesting that both Huawei and Apple plan to hold their launch events on September 12th, potentially resulting in the Mate 60 series release coinciding with Apple’s iPhone 15 series. [IThome, in Chinese]

BYD is aiming to establish an electric vehicle battery plant in South Korea, with local manufacturer KG Mobility’s assistance, to commence volume production by January 2025, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. An individual familiar with the matter provided this information. This step is anticipated to aid the Chinese EV giant in solidifying its market presence, capitalizing on its expertise in producing lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries—a skill that local battery producers like LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI have struggled to master. Moreover, BYD would be capable of manufacturing batteries in compliance with the US Inflation Reduction Act, which mandates that 40% of battery component value must originate from the US or an applicable free trade partner to qualify for a $3,750 tax credit. Notably, BYD holds the second-largest market share in global battery supply, trailing only CATL, with a 15.7% stake during the first half of 2023, according to data from SNE Research.[Reuters]

Xiaomi has secured the green light to make electric vehicles in Beijing, making it one of few companies that won similar approvals from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in late 2017, Reuters reported Wednesday. The Chinese smart gadget maker stepped up recruitment for factory workers last week, as it prepares for a production ramp-up that will enable its Beijing plant to make up to 200,000 EVs a year from December. NDRC, China’s state planner, released in late 2018 regulations that banned new investment in combustion engine vehicles while tightening its control over investment in green energy vehicles, as the country faced car production overcapacity amid slowing demand. Xiaomi’s chief executive Lei Jun said in March that the company is on track to produce its first consumer car in the first half of 2024, with a price tag of between RMB 100,000 and RMB 300,000 ($14,437 to $43,311). [Reuters]

Xiaomi is secretly developing a self-made operating system akin to Huawei’s HarmonyOS that will be compatible with AOSP (Android Open Source Project), as per a Weibo source on Tuesday. AOSP is a Google-maintained project for open-source OS development. Through AOSP, developers can craft an OS that is installable on Android-compatible devices. Xiaomi’s forthcoming system is anticipated to function on various devices such as smartphones, tablets, cars, and watches. Concurrently, sources have noted Xiaomi’s registration of the domain name mios.cn on November 11, 2022. Currently, mios.cn is in a 403 state. [IFeng, in Chinese]

China’s Geely achieved “double-digit” gross margins for its premium electric vehicle brand Zeekr in the first half of 2023, beating rivals with similar sales volumes, Geely Auto Group chairman Andy An told an investor meeting on Tuesday. An, also chief executive of Zeekr, added that the company will introduce an electric sedan under the Zeekr marque by the end of this year and expand its three-model lineup in 2024, bringing out two new sports utility vehicles. Gross margins for Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., which operates Geely Galaxy, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr, fell to 14.4% as of June 30, down from 14.6% a year ago and 17.2% in the first half of 2021. The Zhejiang-based carmaker earned RMB 1.6 billion ($216.8 million) in net profit on RMB 73.2 billion in revenue during the first six months of this year, representing a 26% increase year-on-year compared to RMB 58.2 billion in revenue over the same period last year. [Geely’s announcement]

Tesla is set to resume production at its Phase 1 battery assembly facility within the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory in September to ensure production capacity for its upcoming revamped Model 3, according to an August 22 report by Chinese publication 36Kr. “Currently, some workers are returning to the production line, while others are not going back. It’s not clear to what extent the Phase 1 battery production line will ultimately be restored,” a source familiar with the matter told 36Kr. In early July, Tesla laid off workers at the assembly line and outsourced a portion of battery pack manufacturing work to external suppliers to control increasing costs, as the report stated. Currently, the US carmaker is providing an insurance incentive of RMB 8,000 ($1,098) for orders of the current Model 3, and an additional RMB 3,500 ($481)  discount to customers referred by current Tesla owners. “Our primary task now is to sell the discounted Model 3 and Model Y. However, many customers insist on waiting for the new model, even if it’s more expensive,” Tesla sales staff told 36Kr. [36Kr, in Chinese]

In the second quarter of 2023, Chinese search giant Baidu achieved a revenue of RMB 34.1 billion ($4.7 billion), marking a 15% year-on-year growth, according to the company’s financial results released on August 22. Additionally, the net income attributable to Baidu (non-GAAP) reached RMB 8 billion ($1.1 billion), reflecting a 44% year-on-year increase. Both revenue and profit surpassed market expectations. Baidu’s online marketing business saw a 15% year-on-year increase, with its revenue reaching RMB 19.6 billion ($2.7 billion) in the second quarter, becoming the main driver of the company’s recovery. During the company’s earnings call, Baidu CEO Robin Li highlighted that in the second quarter, the company’s AI cloud business achieved consecutive quarters of profitability (non-GAAP), and experienced a 5% year-on-year growth, reaching RMB 4.5 billion ($618 million) in revenue. “As we look ahead, we remain steadfast in investing in AI, in particular, large language models and generative AI in the upcoming quarters,” Baidu CFO Rong Luo stated during the company’s earnings call. [Baidu filing]

Washington-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has issued a warning regarding Huawei’s establishment of semiconductor fabrication facilities across China, according to an August 23 report by Bloomberg. Huawei entered the chip production sector last year, and is believed to be receiving around $30 billion in state funding from the government and its home town of Shenzhen, according to Bloomberg, citing the SIA’s presentation to its members witnessed by Bloomberg. The association noted that Huawei has acquired at least two existing plants and is constructing at least three more, according to the report by Bloomberg. Both Huawei and the Semiconductor Industry Association have not responded to the news. [Bloomberg]

Xiaomi has finalized CALB and CATL as its primary and secondary electric vehicle battery suppliers, according to an August 22 report by Chinese news outlet Jiemian. Previously, CATL was reported to have been chosen as the primary supplier for Xiaomi EVs. However, as a newcomer in the EV market, Xiaomi has made recent adjustments to reduce manufacturing costs. A battery pack costs at least RMB 80,000 ($10,984), accounting for approximately 50% of the total cost of an electrical vehicle, according to Jiemian. Xiaomi’s EV model, set to be launched next year, is tentatively priced at RMB 199,000 ($27,323) for the low-end version, and at RMB 299,000 ($41,053) for the high-end version, as per Jiemian.[Jiemian, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s workplace communications platform DingTalk announced on August 22 that it has seamlessly integrated a large language model across its 17 product lines and 55 application scenarios. The new version of DingTalk with LLM-supported functions is expected to launch by the end of September. In terms of functionality, the updated DingTalk is capable of generating digital employees to assist in drafting job advertisements, screening candidates, and scheduling interviews, among others. Additionally, an AI teaching assistant in the new version can aid teachers in evaluating and analyzing student performance and creating PowerPoint presentations. In terms of pricing, customers using the professional version of DingTalk, priced at RMB 9,800 ($1,344), will need to pay an additional RMB 10,000 ($1,372) to access LLM-supported functions for an annual usage limit of 200,000 instances. Customers of the exclusive version, priced at approximately RMB 100,000, would need to pay an additional RMB 20,000 annually for a usage quota of 450,000 instances. DingTalk also offers an add-on service package priced at RMB 3,000 that enables 50,000 instances of use. [Caixin, in Chinese]

In response to the recent report about resuming business in India, Chinese phone maker Honor issued a statement saying it would continue to sell its phones through local distributors and had no connection with the Indian firm Honor Tech. Currently, Honor is cooperating with PSAV Global, a local firm that offers a network of over 5,000 retailers and distributors across India. Last July, Honor announced its retreat from India after Indian authorities began scrutinizing several major Chinese smartphone brands. In the second quarter, Indian smartphone sales stabilized at 36.1 million units, a decline of 1%, signaling a slight recovery after three-quarters of the decline, according to analyst firm Canalys. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Hozon Auto said on Monday it will open an auto components factory in September, able to produce 100,000 domain control units for assisted driving and 150,000 hybrid powertrain systems annually. The automaker is looking to supply its proprietary auto parts and systems to other industry players in a bid to become a leading supplier of core EV components worldwide, chief technology officer Dai Dali said at a press event in Shanghai. The news comes shortly after Xpeng Motors announced its partnership with Volkswagen to jointly develop EVs for the Chinese market on July 26. Rival Leapmotor is also in talks with Volkswagen to offer its vehicle platform for the latter’s budget Jetta brand, according to an Aug. 2 report by Reuters. Zhejiang-based Hozon, also known as Neta, delivered 72,456 EVs in the first seven months of this year, compared with 77,168 units in the same period last year. [TechNode reporting]

On Tuesday, Chinese game developer Game Science unveiled the latest trailer for its upcoming action role-playing game, “Black Myth: Wukong,” during the Gamescom 2023 Opening Night Live event. Adapted from the classical 16th-century Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” the new 2-minute trailer highlights protagonist Sun Wukong’s encounters and battles with mystical monsters as he continues his adventurous journey. Currently, the trailer on IGN’s YouTube channel has garnered 396K views, with overseas players expressing anticipation for this potential oriental fantasy game. The game is scheduled to launch on the PC Steam, Xbox, and PS5 platforms in the summer of 2024, as confirmed by Game Science. Additionally, on August 20, the company selected 1000 experienced players to participate in a trial-play event in China, providing a first look at the detailed gameplay. [TechNode reporting]

Alibaba-owned Taobao Tmall Group has set up a logistics unit to coordinate its work with external delivery companies, according to a Monday report by LatePost. The step aims to establish an effective and low-cost supply chain system for e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall as they see an influx of cost-sensitive smaller merchants. LatePost cited a source saying the unit is now “hiring in large numbers,” as part of the company’s overall plan to add 15,000 new employees this year. [LatePost, in Chinese]

Google is recruiting a strategic business development manager for its smart home automation unit Google Home in China, with the role set to be located in Shanghai or Seoul, TechNode’s Chinese language sibling publication reported on Tuesday. At time of writing, there were 65 applicants for the position on LinkedIn, one week after the opening was posted. The Google Home app allows users to automate their home via a list of smart compatible devices, including TVs, speakers, Wi-Fi hubs, door locks, nest cameras, lights, and thermostats. The service is available for both Android and iOS devices. According to product review platform Tom’s Guide, the top five Google Home compatible devices in 2023 are the Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) speaker, August Smart Wi-Fi Smart Lock, Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium, Wemo WiFi Smart Plug, and the Nest Doorbell. [TechNode, in Chinese]

Chinese video streaming site Bilibili has undergone a restructuring that involves the spin-off of its organization-generated video (OGC) division. The move has led to the establishment of three first-tier divisions at the company: animation, entertainment shows, and documentaries, as reported by local media outlet LatePost. The objective behind this reorganization is to provide greater autonomy to the newly formed divisions, enabling them to independently launch or acquire higher-quality content. Specialized content plays a pivotal role in driving users to enhance their memberships on Bilibili. However, the company’s value-added services, including premium subscriptions and livestreaming, experienced only modest single-digit growth in the first two quarters of this year, in contrast to the year-on-year growth of more than 15% that was achieved in every quarter of the previous year. [LatePost, in Chinese]

SF Express’s parent company SF Holding has submitted an application for a listing on August 21, according to publicly available information from the Hong Kong stock exchange. If the listing in Hong Kong is successful, SF Holding will become the first company in the express delivery industry to be listed on both the mainland China stock market (A-share market) and the Hong Kong stock exchange (H-share market). Established in 1993 and headquartered in Shenzhen, SF Holding went public on the Shenzhen stock exchange through a reverse merger listing in 2017. In July of this year, the combined revenue from the company’s express logistics, supply chain, and international business amounted to RMB 19.581 billion ($2.8 billion), reflecting a 14.68% year-on-year decrease. [IThome, in Chinese; SF Holding filing]

In the first quarter of 2023, China dominated the global market for new energy light vehicles with sales reaching 1.33 million units, according to an August 21 report by Chinese news agency Jiemian, citing data from research firm Canalys. In the first quarter, global sales of new energy light vehicles reached 2.67 million units, with China accounting for 49.4% of the global total. During the same period, the penetration rates of new energy light vehicles exceeded 20% in the Greater China region and Western Europe, with the Greater China region surpassing 28%, the report stated. Pure electric vehicles were the primary driver of the new energy market, accounting for 71% of sales, according to the report. However, the penetration rate of pure electric vehicles in the Chinese market was at 67%, slightly below the global average. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Beijing has released draft regulations aimed at regulating online medical consultations in the city, according to an August 21 report by Chinese new agency Beijing Daily. The regulations prohibit the use of artificial intelligence or other means to automatically generate prescriptions. The guidelines state that medical institutions engaged in online medical diagnosis must strengthen their medication management, and prescriptions should be made by physicians in person with pharmacists’ review and approval, the regulations stated. Currently, the draft proposal is open for feedback, and citizens can provide their suggestions to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission by September 16. [Beijing Daily, in Chinese]

Nissan’s automobile brand co-founded with Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor, Venucia, will utilize Dongfeng’s electric vehicle platform to manufacture new energy vehicles, according to an August 21 report by Chinese news agency CLS. Previously, reports said that Nissan would use the S pure electric platform of the quantum intelligent electric architecture developed by Dongfeng to produce electric vehicles. In response, Nissan China clarified that the brand set to utilize the platform is not Nissan itself, but rather its joint venture in China. In April of this year, Dongfeng unveiled its quantum intelligent electric architecture, an underlying structure that supports various powertrains, such as pure electric, extended-range, and plug-in hybrid. This architecture covers different vehicle sizes from small to large, and is suitable for sedans, SUVs, and MPVs. Sino-Japanese joint venture company Dongfeng-Nissan established Venucia in 2010. Currently, it aims to transition to the new energy vehicles market through Venucia, as stated by Dongfeng-Nissan during its 20th anniversary event in June this year. [CLS, in Chinese]

On August 17, NetEase Games announced it had opened a new game studio in Austin, Texas called T-Minus Zero Entertainment, seeking to extend its reach globally with a world-class creative team. The studio will be run by industry veteran Rich Vogel who wrote Meridian 59, Ultima Online, Star Wars: Galaxies, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Vogel’s career also included BioWare studio, Certain Affinity, and Sony Online Entertainment. Mark Tucker, design director at Bethesda for 22 years, has joined T-Minus Zero as its game director. The team also tapped art director Jeff Dobson and producer Scott Malone, each with over 20 years’ experience in games. NetEase Games revealed that the new studio is working on an online third-person multiplayer action game set in a sci-fi universe. [NetEase Games]

East Buy, an online retail spin-off of former private tutoring giant New Oriental, is reportedly preparing to begin selling on the livestreaming service Taobao Live by the end of August. Following its debut on the Alibaba-owned app, the e-commerce newcomer will be able to engage with consumers across three distinct platforms: TikTok sibling Douyin, its standalone app, and Taobao. According to a 36Kr report, East Buy is currently in the process of forming a team to establish its presence on Taobao Live and has been seeking potential suppliers. However, the company declined to comment when asked about the issue directly. Taobao boasts the highest user activity level among Chinese retailing platforms, with the app’s average daily active users increasing by more than 6% every month since April. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Starbucks has announced the establishment of the Starbucks China Innovation and Technology Center (SITC) in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, according to an August 18 report by Chinese news agency 36Kr. The move aims to enhance the company’s technological capabilities and data infrastructure to further drive the digitalization of its stores and multiple channels in China, the report said. This center will be located in Shenzhen’s Futian District and is planned to commence operations in September of this year, as per 36Kr. SITC will invest approximately RMB 1.5 billion ($205 million) to improve its market pattern and services in China over the next three years. [36Kr, in Chinese]

On August 18, Chinese ride-hailing platform OnTime submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong stock exchange, as reported by Chinese news site Sina. Initially co-founded in 2019 by Chinese automaker GAC Group and tech giant Tencent, OnTime offers ride-hailing and Robotaxi services, AI data and model solutions, as well as high-definition (HD) maps within the Chinese market. Apart from GAC Group and Tencent, OnTime is also backed by autonomous driving solution provider Pony.ai and asset management and investment company SPARX Group, among others. According to data from the company’s prospectus, OnTime’s total revenue for 2020, 2021, and 2022 reached RMB 400 million ($55 million), RMB 1.014 billion ($139 million), and RMB 1.368 billion ($187 million) respectively. [Sina, in Chinese]

The world’s largest PC maker Lenovo announced on August 18 that John Thornton has been appointed as the company’s independent non-executive director and a member of its Nomination and Governance Committee for a three-year term, according to Chinese news agency Caixin. This marks the 69-year-old Thornton’s singular presence as an incumbent on the board of a Chinese company. Formerly the co-president and director of Goldman Sachs until 2003, Thornton is recognized for his deep ties with China spanning over 30 years, Lenovo said in a statement. In recent years, Thornton has been an active intermediary in fostering communication between Chinese and US societies. During the press conference on August 18,  Lenovo’s chairman Yang Yuanqing stated that Thornton’s extensive background across various domains, including global partnerships, risk management, government, and regulatory affairs, would provide the company with a substantial reserve of global leadership, perspectives, and insights. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Alibaba’s Decision Intelligence team has developed an AI mathematical tool named MindOpt Copilot, which is based on its large language model Tongyi Qianwen, according to an August 18 report by Chinese media outlet 36Kr. This AI tool has the capability to build computer models, generate code, and use solvers to provide mathematical solutions in response to user inquiries presented in natural language. MindOpt Copilot is designed to address challenges in resource allocation and optimization across various business scenarios, including catering, retail, logistics, freight transportation, and manufacturing. It will be available for external use on the Alibaba Cloud platform in the near future, according to 36Kr. [36Kr, in Chinese]

The Apple M2 chip-powered MacBook Air, manufactured by WingTech at its Kunming factory, has obtained the China Compulsory Certification, a mandatory product certification in China, according to an August 20 report by Chinese news agency CLS. The development indicates that Apple will start producing the M2-powered MacBook Air in mainland China, CLS said in its report. In the past, Apple has cooperated with companies in Taiwan, such as Quanta and Foxconn, for the manufacturing of its MacBook Air products. However, WingTech, a semiconductor and product integration company, stands out as its sole laptop manufacturer within mainland China. With the mass production of the M2 chip, the volume of Apple laptops produced by WingTech is expected to expand further, according to the report. [CLS, in Chinese]

Alibaba founder Jack Ma stated that his years of experience in agriculture have highlighted the significance of knowledge and creativity. During a video speech to several headmasters from rural schools on August 20th, Ma emphasized, “I’ve found that places where agriculture developed well do not directly link to areas with the best resources, but rather there must be innovative techniques, unique thinking, and creativity.” Ma drew from his diverse experiences, which include cultivating vegetables, fish farming, and winemaking across various global locations. Ma’s insights coincide with a pivotal period for Alibaba, as the company is undergoing its most extensive restructuring since its inception. [Jack Ma Foundation, in Chinese]

Voyah, an electric vehicle brand launched by Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Group, on August 19 unveiled a redesigned Free crossover with a RMB 266,900 ($36,532) starting price, almost 15% lower than that of the previous version launched back in early 2021. The plug-in hybrid SUV is all-wheel drive, comes with air suspension, and has a driving range of 210 kilometers (130 miles) in all-electric mode and 1,201 km on a full tank plus full charge. In addition, the all-new five-seater is the first mass-production model equipped with Baidu’s Apollo Highway Driving Pro system, a feature similar to Tesla’s navigate on autopilot (NOA) that allows autonomous lane changes on highways. The state-owned automaker has also introduced a way for customers to subscribe to Baidu’s more advanced Apollo City Driving Max for unassisted driving on Chinese urban roads for RMB 25,000 permanently or RMB 600 a month. [Caixin, in Chinese]

Li Auto is offering a generous package of discounts and benefits, including a car maintenance subsidy of RMB 5,000 ($684) to buyers of its electric vehicles, joining the latest wave of a ferocious price war among Chinese automakers that began late last year. Several salespeople told the Chinese financial media outlet Yicai on Aug. 18 that customers are also eligible for other special offers, such as a RMB 10,000 subsidy provided by the municipal government of the southwestern Sichuan province. This could result in substantial savings on vehicle purchase prices for buyers nationwide, as Li Auto showrooms located outside the Sichuan province can issue invoices offsite, the report said. The eight-year-old EV manufacturer faces increased competition from larger rivals like BYD and Great Wall Motor, which launched similar family SUV models – the Denza’s N8 and the Blue Mountain, respectively – earlier this year. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Kuaishou, the Beijing-based short video platform operator of the popular app, made its own self-developed large language model KwaiYii publicly last week, beta-testing a ChatGPT-like service for Android from Aug.18. The dialog service, equipped with 13 billion parameters based on KwaiYii, “approaches OpenAI’s GPT-3.5” in terms of sophistication of content creation, consulting, and problem-solving, according to KwaiYii’s GitHub page. Search is the main scenario handled by Kuaishou’s AI chatbot so far, observers say, leveraging original content on the platform to solve AI “hallucinations”, a term for inaccurate output stemming from insufficient data training. [KwaiYii in GitHub; Shanghai Securities Journal]

On Thursday, Lenovo Group reported a revenue of $12.9 billion in its first fiscal quarter (from April to June), reflecting a 24% decline year-on-year. The report stated that the revenue decline was attributed to the sluggish global market. However, Lenovo maintained its leading market share position in PCs (23.2%) worldwide. Lenovo’s CEO, Yuanqing Yang, announced a $1 billion investment in AI development and application over the next three years, with expectations of implementing AI upgrades to the company’s smart devices as early as next year. Additionally, Intel plans to launch the Meteor Lake 14th-gen Core processor for AI PCs in the third quarter of 2023, as indicated by the company’s second-quarter earnings report in July. [Lenovo]

Intelligent photo management app Everphoto will discontinue its services effective November 15 of this year, according to Chinese news site NetEase. The app, launched on the App Store in October 2015, features intelligent facial recognition and categorized photo storage functions. Before November 15, users can still browse and download their previously backed-up photos and videos within the app. However, they are no longer able to store or share any new photos and videos via the app from August 17, the app said in its announcement. The latest version of Everphoto has introduced a new feature that allows users to download all their photos with a single click. In 2017, Everphoto was acquired by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance. Apart from Everphoto, several other photo-related apps backed by ByteDance, such as Uoka Camera and Qimiao Camera, have also ceased operations in recent years, as reported by NetEase. [NetEase, in Chinese] 

China’s internet regulatory authority is engaging with foreign companies, including Walmart and PayPal, to discuss strategies for navigating the new data-security regulations imposed by Beijing, according to an August 17 report by Bloomberg. This effort aims to reassure multinational corporations that have concerns about their operations within the country under the latest regulatory framework. Officials from the Cyberspace Administration of China had held meetings with executives from numerous international companies to address concerns related to the upcoming implementation of the new data regulations by the November deadline, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The regulators fielded queries, provided guidance on how to adhere to the regulations, and acknowledged the complexities associated with obtaining approvals for cross-border transfers of sensitive data. One of the sources mentioned that discussions included the possibility of establishing an expedited approval process for routine data transfers and the potential creation of a curated “white-list” that categorizes data types or specific companies. [Bloomberg]

Doubao, an AI robot launched by ByteDance’s subsidiary, is now open for invitation testing, according to an August 17 report by Chinese tech news site IThome. Users can register for the AI robot using their phone numbers, Douyin accounts, or Apple IDs. Currently, Doubao offers a range of features including a chatbot, writing assistance, and support for English learning. It is available on the web page, and can be downloaded in both iOS and Android operating systems, with installation on the iOS system requiring the use of TestFlight. [IThome, in Chinese]

Chinese video site Bilibili released its financial report for the second quarter of 2023 on August 17. The report shows that Bilibili’s second-quarter revenue reached RMB 5.3 billion ($731.5 million), marking an 8% year-on-year growth, slightly exceeding the market’s expectation of RMB 5.2 billion. Among the revenue streams, value-added services accounted for RMB 2.3 billion, showing a 9% year-on-year growth, and advertising revenue stood at RMB 1.6 billion, indicating a 36% year-on-year increase. However, mobile game revenue was RMB 890 million, a 15% year-on-year decline. Additionally, revenue generated from IP derivatives and other businesses totaled RMB 538.7 million, marking a 10% year-on-year drop. Bilibili attributed its downward revision of full-year revenue expectations, ranging between RMB 22.5 billion and RMB 23.5 billion, to the delayed release of several mobile games and lower-than-expected contributions from non-core businesses. In the second quarter, Bilibili’s net loss was RMB 1.5 billion ($213.5 million), a 23% year-on-year drop. During the second quarter, the daily active users on the video platform reached 96.5 million, marking a 15% year-on-year growth, while monthly active users reached 324 million. The daily average usage time of users was 94 minutes, driving a 22% year-on-year increase in total usage time. [Bilibili filing, in Chinese]

Chinese tech giant Baidu and automaker Changan have reached a partnership to build a computing center that will facilitate the development of smart and connected vehicles with self-driving capabilities, the companies said on Wednesday. The facility will carry out 1,420 quadrillion operations per second in terms of computing power. Rival automaker Xpeng Motors said last August that it had trained its deep neural network for autonomous driving capabilities at a supercomputing capability of 600 petaFlops, which equals to 600 quadrillion floating-point operations per second, enabled by Alibaba’s cloud computing platform. Great Wall Motor and Geely also launched computing facilities earlier this year, with 670 and 810 petaFlops respectively. Baidu is also developing an artificial intelligence chatbot service for an upcoming new vehicle from Changan, based on its ChatGPT-like tool called ERNIE Bot, according to an announcement. [Baidu announcement, in Chinese]

Chinese drone maker DJI has been working on the development of a high-end e-bike, internally referred to as project EB, sources familiar with the matter have told tech media outlet 36Kr. The project is currently intended to be confidential, and DJI has declined to comment publicly on it. The 36Kr report revealed that the project leader, Alex Jia, previously managed the development of the DJI Ronin product, a handheld 3-axis camera gimbal designed for professional filmmakers. The development of the e-bike project dates back to 2020, the report added. The DJI e-bike is expected to target the high-end market segment, offering advanced sports features and a self-developed system. The company’s focus will be on overseas regions such as Europe and the US. According to the report, annual e-bike sales in Europe are projected to surpass 10 million units by 2025, while the US currently boasts a cycling population of 59 million. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Chinese phone maker Honor may soon announce a return to Google Mobile Services (GMS), as revealed in a Thursday blog post on the social media platform Weibo. This would imply that Honor may switch from using Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system to Android for its China market phones. From October 2021, overseas models of the Honor50 series have come pre-installed with GMS as the company resumed cooperation with Google, according to Honor’s Twitter account. GMS is a package of Google applications including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, and Google Play Store. On Tuesday, Honor India’s CEO Madhav Sheth confirmed on Twitter that the company expects to soon launch its first smartphone in India in over three years. [IThome, in Chinese]

Tesla has begun taking non-refundable deposits of RMB 1,000 ($137) on orders for its revamped Model 3, which is set for launch as early as September, a Tesla salesperson told financial media outlet Yicai. The US automaker said on Monday that it is offering an RMB 8,000 insurance incentive to orders of the current Model 3 placed before the end of September. Customers receive a further discount of RMB 3,500 if they are referred by an existing Tesla owner, reducing the starting price of the popular sedan to RMB 220,400 ($30,262), about 5% lower than its sticker price, the report said, citing an employee. The company is currently in the final stages of making a revamped Model 3 in its Shanghai factory for showroom display and will begin mass production as early as next month, according to an Aug.17 report by Bloomberg. [Yicai, in Chinese]

Chinese search giant Baidu has incorporated three new plug-ins into ERNIE Bot, its service similar to ChatGPT, in a recent upgrade aimed at enhancing user experience. Wu Tian, Vice President of Baidu, announced during a state-sponsored deep learning summit on Wednesday that the AI chatbot can now simultaneously utilize three plug-ins. These newly integrated plug-ins offer the ability to automatically convert prompts into videos, generate various types of charts, and produce textual content using images. These details were disclosed by the company. [IThome, in Chinese]

Tencent announced on August 16 that it plans to introduce a proprietary artificial intelligence model later this year, and it believes the AI model will rank among the finest in China, according to Bloomberg. Tencent has been conducting tests on its large language model named Hunyuan on services such as cloud computing and search. Martin Lau, the company’s president, said the LLM stands as one of the foremost foundational models developed in China during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on August 16. Tencent is making continuous efforts to upgrade and refine the model for a prospective launch in the latter part of this year, he added. [Bloomberg]

On August 16, China’s largest battery maker CATL unveiled the world’s first 4C superfast charging LFP battery, the Shenxing superfast charging battery, according to Chinese media outlet 36Kr. The battery can support vehicles to run 400 kilometers after a 10-minute charge, and offers an extended range of over 700 kilometers after being fully charged, the firm said at its product launch event. Shenxing is set to achieve mass production by the end of this year and EVs equipped with Shenxing are expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2024, according to the company. From January to July this year, the cumulative shipment of LFP batteries in China reached 125.6 GWh, accounting for 68.1% of the total shipment of all batteries, with a year-on-year growth of 59.6%. In July, CATL’s shipment volume for LFP batteries reached 6.86 GWh, capturing a market share of 31.69%, lower than BYD’s 43.18% market share with a shipment capacity of  9.35 GWh, according to data from China’s battery industry association CABIA. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Madhav Sheth, former CEO of Oppo’s sister brand Realme in India, confirmed on August 15 that he had joined the Chinese phone brand Honor. He shared a post on Honor’s official account on social media and mentioned that new Honor smartphones will soon be launched in the Indian market. Currently, Honor hasn’t released the specific date or product details of its launch event in India. The last time Honor introduced new products in the Indian market was in 2020. In 2022, Honor’s CEO Zhao Ming said that the company had withdrawn its operational team in the Indian market due to regulatory reasons, and expected to do business in the country in a safer way in the future. [Jiemian, in Chinese]

Alibaba Cloud has introduced a digital human video creation tool called Live Portrait, according to an August 16 report by Chinese media outlet 36Kr. Users can generate a video of a digital human with speech capabilities by uploading a photo along with a piece of text or voice input. Live Portrait can be applied in various scenarios including livestreaming, chatbots, and corporate marketing, the report said. Currently, Live Portrait is available for trial on the Alibaba-backed open-source community ModelScope, and its underlying technologies have been featured at top international AI conferences such as CVPR and ICCV, as per 36Kr. [36Kr, in Chinese]