Avsnitt
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China's economy has maintained strong momentum in the first two months, while a comprehensive initiative was unveiled to boost consumption;
Guangdong holds high-tech focused job fair.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
China’s economic growth goal of around 5 percent is not an easy task, said the National Bureau of Statistics, adding that authorities will implement more proactive macro measures.
Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the NBS, said that the external environment is becoming more challenging and the effective domestic demand remains inadequate. He also noted that some enterprises have difficulties in production and operations.
On Sunday, China issued an action plan to vigorously boost consumption, stimulate domestic demand across the board, and increase households' spending power by increasing their earnings and reducing financial burdens, as well as to establish a childcare subsidy scheme.
Analysts believed the 30-point plan is the most comprehensive package of policies for boosting consumer spending that the country has released in over four decades.
The plan comes a week after Chinese Premier Li Qiang's work report to the National People's Congress which focused on boosting household spending.
The NBS on Monday released data of China's economy in the first two months of 2025, which showed industrial output, fixed asset investment and retail sales all growing at a faster pace than a year earlier.
In January and February, the value-added output of major industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5.9 percent year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate in 2024. Retail sales reached 8.37 trillion yuan in the period, up by 4 percent year-on-year, with online sales rising 7.3 percent to over 2.27 trillion yuan. Fixed assets investment in the first two months reached 5.26 trillion yuan, increasing 4.1 percent than a year earlier. Urban surveyed unemployment rate came in at 5.3 percent.
The national economy got off to a steady start with new and positive development momentum, as a combination of existing and new policies has continued to yield results, Fu said.
He added there are many favorable conditions for the economy to maintain steady and healthy development in 2025. The emerging economic drivers are reinforcing in themselves, thanks to the country's strong industrial basis, huge consumption and investment potential, and massive market potential, while the comprehensive reform and opening-up will continue to inject more steam to economic development.
GBA express
Guangdong Province on Sunday held a job fair that focused on emerging industries such as artificial intelligence. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Education and the Guangdong provincial government, the event offered more than 50,000 positions. Notably, nearly 10,000 roles targeted PhDs and postdoctoral researchers across education, healthcare, aerospace, AI and other cutting-edge fields, reflecting surging demand for high-end talent in innovation-driven industries. Major players in AI and aerospace, such as the southern branch of iFlytek and China Southern Air Holding Co, offered positions with annual salaries ranging from 500,000 yuan to 1 million yuan. China Southern Power Grid provided more than 1,000 mid-to-high-level positions, with annual salaries between 200,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan, in fields such as battery design and materials development. The job fair also featured opportunities in biopharmaceuticals, embodied intelligence, cell and gene technology, and deep-sea and space exploration.
Shenzhen raises the maximum housing provident fund loan to 2.31 million yuan for families and 1.3 million yuan for individuals, according to a new policy the city released yesterday. Shenzhen also cut the minimal down payment ratio for all home purchases to 20 percent.
Hong Kong registered 8.4 million visitor arrivals in the first two months of 2025, up 7 percent year-on-year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said. Among them, approximately 6.5 million visitor arrivals were from the mainland, up 4 percent from last year. Visitor arrivals from elsewhere jumped significantly, hitting 1.91 million and representing a 20 percent increase from last year.
Hong Kong's veteran actor Sean Lau Ching-wan won the Best Actor award for the family drama film “Papa” at the Asian Film Awards on Sunday night.
Industry and Company news
Nvidia’s artificial intelligence event will kick off on Monday in the United States, with the China session set to be attended by various Chinese tech giants. The China AI Day gathers tech giants ByteDance, Volcano Engine, Alibaba Cloud, Baidu, Ant Group, JD.com, Meituan, Kuaishou Technology and Great Wall Motor as well as startups BioMap and Galbot, covering trending topics such as cloud computing and internet, design and simulation, automotive and autonomous driving, robotics, finance, healthcare, retail and more.
Baidu released its new multimodal foundation model Ernie 4.5 and deep-thinking reasoning model Ernie X1 yesterday, two years after the Chinese search engine giant unveiled the LLM Ernie Bot. Ernie X1 costs 28 US cents per million tokens for input, half that of DeepSeek-R1.
IM Motors announced yesterday it will ally with Alibaba-backed intelligent mobility firm Banma and food delivery giant Ele.me to co-launch an AI-oriented smart cockpit featuring a “no touch, no app” interactive function today.
BMW China announced today it reached an agreement with Huawei to integrate the Chinese tech giant’s HarmonyOS into the German automaker’s digital ecosystem and introduce services, such as the BMW Digital Key, Huawei HiCar, and the My BMW App.
Baiya Sanitary Products and Winner Medical tumbled today after receiving regulatory letters from the Shenzhen bourse regarding their supply relations with a Shandong manufacturer exposed on the annual 315 gala's name-and-shame list for recycling discarded materials and making refurbished sanitary pads and diapers.
US entertainment firm Stars Collective today announced at the Hong Kong FilMart plans for an ambitious animation trilogy based on classic Chinese mythological novel “Journey to the West,” media reported. Titled “Bajie,” “Monkey King,” and “Nezha,” the trilogy aims to bring Eastern mythology to a global audience.
Asia-Pacific highlights
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand, the Xiamen Culture and Tourism Bureau launched business promotion fair in Bangkok Sunday. Under the theme of "Maritime Garden · Music Moves Xiamen," the event organized by the bureau in Southeast China's Fujian province aims to enhance communication and cooperation between China and Thailand in the terms of culture and tourism.
China and Laos signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly promoting cooperation on the Global Security Initiative on Thursday, vowing to step up the building of a community with a shared future.
Chinese coffee giant Luckin Coffee has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Banggai Islands Regency, Indonesia, designating the region as the exclusive premium origin for coconut milk used in its signature Coconut Latte, the company announced. The islands will be named "Luckin Exclusive Coconut Island."
Voices of ASEAN
In an interview with 21st Century Business Herald, Loh Wee Keng, President of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, highlighted China's advancements in high-tech fields like AI and renewable energy, urging Malaysian businesses to closely monitor these sectors. Loh said China’s 2025 government work report emphasized accelerating the "Digital China" initiative, aiming to raise the core digital economy’s contribution to 10 percent of GDP. Loh noted that under the RCEP framework, cross-border e-commerce and digital services between China and ASEAN could see significant growth. Loh emphasized the strategic role of the Greater Bay Area for Southeast Asian companies entering China, citing cultural affinity and proximity as advantages. With Malaysia set to chair ASEAN in 2025, Loh urged deeper cooperation in green energy, smart manufacturing, and digital transformation, leveraging China’s policy continuity and growth momentum to drive regional prosperity.
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Hello! Welcome to CBN Perspective. I’m Stephanie Li.
Imagine this: At 9 p.m. sharp, the lights dim at DJI’s Shenzhen headquarters, and employees are literally herded out by security guards; over at Midea, offices go dark by 6:20 p.m., with strict bans on after-hours meetings; and PowerPoints are getting the boot at MINISO, where reports must now fit on three pages max.
This isn’t a dystopian HR experiment—it’s China’s bold push against “neijuan”, which refers to excessive, cutthroat competition. Today, we’ll unpack why companies are trading overtime for efficiency, how policies are reshaping corporate culture, and what this tells us about the broader "neijuan epidemic" in Chinese society.
The poster children of this movement are tech and manufacturing titans. DJI, the world’s leading drone maker, now enforces a 9 p.m. shutdown, with employees joking about being “chased out” by reminders to “stop the rat-race”. Midea’s “18:20 rule” bans post-dinner desk returns, while Haier mandates double weekends—no sneaking into empty offices on Saturdays. And Trip.com has piloted hybrid work models, proving remote efficiency isn’t just a Western trend.
But why now?
China’s corporate world is used to slashing prices to oblivion, employees working “996 schedule” (that’s 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week), and everyone’s chasing the same shrinking slice of the pie. It’s like a never-ending game of musical chairs, but the music’s stuck on repeat.
Now China decides to put a stop to this self-defeating cycle of excessive competition in which companies are forced to invest ever greater resources without generating proportional returns.
Premier Li Qiang vowed to launch a “comprehensive crackdown on neijuan” during his work report to the National People’s Congress last Wednesday – the first time the premier has mentioned the concept in his agenda-setting annual address.
China’s leaders have begun to discuss the need to tackle “neijuan” with growing frequency in recent months as the country has come under increasing pressure from a string of Western nations over trade issues.
But this is the first time the term has been used in a government work report to the NPC. This follows 2024 Politburo calls to curb malicious competition.
Nevertheless, Beijing has been intensifying its efforts to curtail “neijuan.” Last July, the Politburo mentioned “neijuan” for the first time, stressing the need for industries to exercise self-discipline and prevent destructive “neijuan-style competition.”
A few months later, China’s top leaders reiterated this stance at the annual tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference. China’s market regulator last week also convened a meeting with seven major companies from the technology, solar and automotive industries to discuss how to stamp out “neijuan” in their fields.
He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of electric vehicle maker Xpeng Motors, said that the price war in China’s EV market was starting to wane.
“This year, it’s no longer about price wars – it’s about intelligence,” He said on the sidelines of the just-concluded “two sessions” in Beijing. “Many competitors, along with the entire auto industry, are making smart features the new standard, pushing them to be more advanced. As a result, China’s smart EV market is shifting from competing on price to competing on quality, and now, on intelligence.”
On the employee level, Gen-Z is behind the revolt of becoming corporate animals. Young workers are rejecting what they call the “performative overtime”. As one Midea employee quipped: “Why fake productivity when AI can automate reports?”
“Neijuan” isn’t new in the Chinese cultural context. Historically, it stems from resource scarcity—think farmers over-cultivating tiny plots. Today, it’s turbocharged by hyper-competition that had led to a toxic corporate culture which once deemed the infamous “996 schedule” a “blessing.”
“It is a prisoner’s dilemma—no one gains, but everyone fears stopping first”, said Zheng Zhigang, professor at Renmin University’s School of Finance. As Chinese companies become more globalized, they are increasingly influenced by international industry policies, and are entering a period of strategic adjustment.
The move from "996" grind to mandatory off-hours policies signals a cultural revolution. Tech firms are redefining productivity—prioritizing outcomes over hours, automating repetitive tasks, and envisioning a future where meaningful work coexists with personal fulfillment.
When building new quality productive forces, companies realize that extending the working day does not improve efficiency. Instead, boosting technological capabilities and improving the working experience are key to enhancing competitiveness.
Only by strengthening the scientific and technological content of products, and at the same time allowing employees to enjoy their work, is it possible to gain a competitive edge.
In mature, market-oriented industries, competition is fierce and companies should focus on organizational management, investing resources in improving core competitiveness, and establishing effective performance evaluation systems to motivate employees and foster a healthy corporate culture.
But challenges loom. At some firms, forced clock-outs may just mean to shift work to home offices. And for managers who are cling to “face time = loyalty” mindsets, turn to MINISO’s “3-page report rule” that slashes pointless paperwork and long meetings.
Yet, early wins are promising: DJI’s R&D efficiency jumped 15-18% post-policy, while Midea saw patent applications up by 18%.
Let’s zoom out. In Singapore—a majority-Chinese society—the term kiasu (Hokkien for “fear of losing out”) mirrors China’s “neijuan.” But here’s the twist: Singaporeans work smarter, not harder. Their government safeguards affordable housing to reduce survival anxiety, while employees flatly reject 996, as an Alibaba manager in cultural shock when their Singapore team killed the overtime culture.
Yet, Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore often clash with this chill ethos. As writer Ban Ni observed, successful firms thrive by respecting local culture, instead of exporting “neijuan.” It’s a lesson for Chinese firms: efficiency doesn’t require exhaustion.
So is China’s “anti-neijuan” movement a fleeting trend or a cultural reset? The answer lies in balancing policy muscle with mindset shifts. As DJI’s employees now joke: “The best innovation isn’t a drone—it’s leaving work at 9 p.m.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Chinese NEVs power up Southeast Asia through deepened partnerships;
Intel hires Malaysian-Chinese veteran as new CEO.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
Last November, Chinese automaker SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) rolled a compact electric vehicle model off the assembly line at its subsidiary in Indonesia. The sleek four-seater, the subsidiary's 160,000th vehicle produced in the country, was soon on its way to hit a showroom in Thailand.
From launching its first model in Indonesia to surpassing this milestone, SGMW, headquartered in the industrial city of Liuzhou in south China's Guangxi, took just seven years to build a reliable new energy vehicle (NEV) supply chain, driving its car sales in Southeast Asia.
As the first Chinese automaker to invest and establish a factory in Indonesia, SGMW has played a key role in expanding China's electric fleet and has gained over 50 percent of the local NEV market share.
China's increasing footprint in this rapidly growing market has been propped up by a legion of key domestic players, with manufacturers such as BYD, Chery and Great Wall Motor all taking their share of the pie.
Data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries shows that the five bestselling NEV models in the country in 2024 were from three different Chinese carmakers, with the BYD M6 leading the pack.
In Thailand, where the number of registered pure electric cars reached 70,000 to account for about 14 percent of total car sales in 2024, four out of the five bestsellers were from Chinese brands. The same goes for Cambodia, where BYD holds the pole position in the nascent NEV market.
Surging NEV sales have led to Chinese brands doubling their market share, which expanded from 5 percent to 11 percent in 2023.
Behind China's booming car export business are years of painstaking efforts to groom a vast network of locally based suppliers that are essential to building a resilient transnational supply chain.
In Indonesia, SGMW has helped guide 17 Chinese enterprises on the auto supply chain to venture abroad, developing over 100 local suppliers over the past seven years.
Last November, the China-Indonesia Institute of Modern Craftsmanship of New Energy Vehicle, a training base established by Liuzhou City Vocational College, Indonesia's Anand Industrial Training Institute and SGMW's Indonesian subsidiary, was officially inaugurated in Indonesia.
For years, emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa have unlocked huge growth potential. In the next 10 years, six major ASEAN economies will see the compound annual growth rate of their NEV markets reach between 16 percent and 39 percent, according to forecasts from various market research firms.
Industry and company news
Manus AI said its AI agent Manus has two million people queued to use it over the past seven days, adding that its teams are excited and humbled to see the astonishing user demand and are working hard to make Manus available as soon as possible.
NetEase Cloud Music will integrate DeepSeek’s AI model and test its capabilities to enhance various aspects of the user experience, including music search, interactive communication, and services for creators, the Chinese online music platform said yesterday.
Chinese hotpot giant Haidilao said it would fork out as much as 10 million yuan to compensate over 4,000 diners who had visited one of its outlets in Shanghai after two diners urinated into their hotpot broth. Haidilao said the restaurant in question replaced all its cookware and tableware and carried out a thorough cleaning and disinfection on March 8. It will fully refund the meal costs to customers who visited the restaurant between February 24 and March 8 and provide additional cash compensation equivalent to 10 times the order payment, the statement said.
GBA express
Hong Kong authorities on Thursday relaxed rules to allow high net worth individuals to access an insurance product that has been gaining traction in Singapore and the United States. The so-called indexed universal life policy allows premium holders to pledge assets, such as equities and bonds, to the insurance company as a custodian in lieu of paying cash. The product, which has part of its cash value component tracking a benchmark index performance, was previously unavailable in Hong Kong due to regulation and risk concerns.
Hong Kong’s stock exchange is reportedly discussing options to lower the threshold for investors to buy some of the city’s most expensive stocks after Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced the review last month to boost trading. Currently the trading unit is set by each company and can range from 100 shares per trade to thousands. Other markets, including in the Chinese mainland, typically trade with a standardized unit of 100 shares and in some cases as low as a single share.
JD.com is in the process of choosing a place to open a JD Mall in Hong Hong featuring home appliances, marking the arrival of another Chinese e-commerce giant in the city, according to local media reports. The company has been offering high salaries to poach talent from retail rivals in preparation for the launch of the brick-and-mortar store.
Hong Kong suspended imports of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from the Bronx and Westchester counties in the US state of New York after the World Organization for Animal Health warned about a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak.
Asia-Pacific highlights
Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO to succeed Interim Co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, effective March 18, in an attempt to catch up in the AI race. As a 20-year veteran in the semiconductor industry, Tan will rejoin the board after quitting last August. Born in Malaysia, Tan graduated from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University before getting a master’s degree in MIT.
Singapore Airlines will ban the use of portable power banks on flights from next month, splitting from regional rival Cathay Pacific Airways, after batteries were suspected to have led to fires or smoke in planes. The Singapore Air group, which also includes budget carrier Scoot, said customers won’t be allowed to charge power banks via onboard USB ports or use them to charge personal devices throughout the duration of a flight starting April 1.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Asia-Pacific markets plummeted as U.S. tariff tensions spark recession fears;
South China’s Guangxi proposes China-ASEAN AI innovation cooperation center.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
Most Asia-Pacific stock indexes slid on Tuesday, following a plunge in US stock markets on Monday US time, as anxiety over the US government's tariff policy and a potential recession in the world's largest economy continued to spread, according to media reports.
On Tuesday, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index sank 2.1 percent to a five-week low before paring losses to close 0.72 percent lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day 0.64 percent lower, paring steeper losses earlier in the session, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.28 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.91 percent lower, reversing course from gains in the previous session.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was flat in its final hour, while the Chinese mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.41 percent. The Taiex index in China's Taiwan region closed down 1.73 percent, paring losses from an over 3 percent drop earlier in the session.
In Southeast Asia, Philippine shares led the declines by 2.42 percent, followed by Singapore (-1.88 percent) and Malaysia (-1.06 percent), while Vietnam’s VN-Index rose 0.17 percent and Thailand’s SET Index gained 0.87 percent.
The losses in most Asia-Pacific stock markets came after a sell-off on Wall Street on Monday, when the S&P 500 shed 2.7 percent, touching its lowest level since September at one point.
The widespread sell-off was "mostly driven by anxiety about the impact" of the US government's tariff policy. US president Donald Trump’s refusal on Sunday to rule out the possibility of a US recession has rattled investors in the world.
Some US financial institutions have also raised the alarm about the growing risk of an economic downturn in the US. Goldman Sachs recently hiked its odds of a recession in the US from 15 percent to 20 percent.
Notably, US-based multinational investment bank Citigroup on Tuesday downgraded US equities to neutral from overweight while upgrading China to overweight.
Chinese shares look attractive even after their recent rally, the Citi strategists wrote, citing DeepSeek's artificial intelligence technology breakthrough, the government's support for the tech sector and still-cheap valuations.
Meanwhile, concerns over adverse impact from the US tariffs came after the US administration imposed a series of back-and-forth tariff moves against its major trade partners since January, including 25 percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, another 10 percent tariff on imports from China and so-called "reciprocal" tariffs, moves that have drawn strong responses from other countries.
China’s Ministry of Commerce and other departments summoned Walmart on Tuesday for reportedly requiring some of its Chinese suppliers to slash prices significantly in an attempt to shift the burden of the US tariffs on China to Chinese suppliers and consumers, media reported on Wednesday. The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles has also urged major US retailers to address international trade issues fairly and reasonably, after receiving reports from some member companies that large US retailers are asking Chinese suppliers to lower prices. The chamber is currently verifying the situation. If confirmed, it will take proactive measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its members.
China is promoting university-enterprise collaboration on employment and education projects in “artificial intelligence”application. China's education ministry recently released a notice, calling for universities and local authorities throughout China to collect a range of AI application projects from businesses, organizations and industry groups. The collected projects focus on three key areas: targeted talent training, employment internship bases, and workforce development through university-enterprise collaboration. Emphasis will be placed on talent needs in fields such as AI algorithms, machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, intelligent robotics and the use of AI tools.
GBA Express
Hong Kong's investment promotion arm announced that its two flagship events will merge for their 10th anniversary in November. The Hong Kong FinTech Week and StartmeupHK Festival will take place from November 3 to 7, according to Invest Hong Kong. The convergence of the two events will create an expanded platform for technology and business impact, underscoring Hong Kong’s dedication to the digital economy.
Over 1,150 young talents from more than 20 countries, including Germany, Russia, and India, flocked to the Qianhai International Talent Hub during the weekend for the Greater Bay Area's largest international recruitment event. Organized under the guidance of the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Bureau and the Public Security Bureau, the fair saw 40 leading companies, such as Tencent, OPPO, SF Express, and Insta360, who offer 1,200 high-quality positions targeting foreign talent.
Guangdong has pledged to support the development of large models and application solutions in the industrial sector, selecting 10 benchmark cases at most annually for rewards of up to 8 million yuan each. Under the new policy framework, the province will prioritize funding for key technological breakthroughs. For instance, manufacturing innovation centers in AI and robotics that meet national or provincial standards will receive up to 50 million yuan and 10 million yuan in financial support, respectively. A maximum incentive of 30 million yuan will be granted to national champion enterprises and 20 million yuan for national "little giant" enterprises.
Chinese EV maker Avatr Technology, backed by battery giant CATL, state-owned Changan Automobile and technology giant Huawei, is reportedly planning to raise up to HK$7.8 billion through an initial public offering in Hong Kong, with a listing application expected as early as the second half of the year.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways reported a marginal rise in its full-year profit, following a stronger second half due to a holiday-season boost in travel demand and lower fuel prices. Hong Kong's flagship airline posted a 1 percent rise in its net profit of HK$9.89 billion for 2024. The company's revenue for the year jumped 10.5 percent to HK$104.37 billion, driven by elevated cargo demand and higher cost efficiencies.
Asia-Pacific Highlights
NPC deputies from the delegation of South China's Guangxi have put forward a motion to establish a China-ASEAN AI Innovation Cooperation Center in Guangxi during the two sessions in Beijing. It aims to foster a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future while driving high-quality economic and social development in Guangxi. The motion calls for strengthened policy guidance and support to establish an AI industry ecosystem oriented toward ASEAN. It suggests further increasing support for Guangxi's AI industry, particularly by providing more incentives for AI infrastructure development and fund allocation. These measures aim to lower innovation costs for enterprises and accelerate AI research, development and application.
Voices of ASEAN
Tan Kong Yam, professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University and former chief economist of the Singapore government, praised China's decision to set a 5 percent GDP growth target this year as a "confidence-boosting signal" amid external risks and domestic challenges.
Speaking to 21st Century Business Herald, Tan noted that the target reflects China's focus on balancing economic stability, financial risk management, and structural reforms. The Chinese government's emphasis on "more proactive fiscal policies" to sustain growth and address debt risks was also highlighted. Tan said China has sufficient tools to manage these challenges while fostering consumer and business confidence.
China's rapid AI development and focus on "new productive forces" were seen as pivotal to upgrading industrial capabilities and countering external technological pressures. Tan predicted that China-ASEAN collaboration in AI, robotics, and green energy would drive high-quality growth, helping ASEAN nations advance into smart cities and sustainable industries. "China's shift toward innovation-driven growth aligns with ASEAN's aspirations for industrial upgrading," he added.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Foreign institutions look forward to China's supportive policies to shore up economy and consumption this year;
South Korean investors' China stock trades reach 2.5-year high.
China’s Annual Two Sessions 2025
Overseas financial institutions have expressed enthusiasm for the Chinese government's upcoming policies to expand domestic demand, promote consumption, and stabilize the real estate market.
Consumption and real estate were the two keywords during this year's Two Sessions. For consumption, the Government Work Report submitted by Premier Li Qiang during the Two Sessions proposed vigorously boosting consumption, improving investment efficiency, and expanding domestic demand. While for real estate, the report mentioned "stabilizing the property market" for the first time.
China will expand its trade-in subsidies to 300 billion yuan this year from 150 billion yuan last year, which is in line with UBS expectations, said Wang Tao, head of Asian economic research at the Swiss banking giant.
UBS has also paid attention to the Chinese government calling for supply-side policies to support consumption, such as easing market access and reducing restrictions, Wang said.
The key to stabilizing the property market will be designing and implementing effective real estate supporting policies, she added.
The Government Work Report mentioned the acquisition of unsold properties, pledging to give more autonomy to municipal governments in terms of purchase, prices, and use, which is expected to improve the efficiency of such policy compared with last year, according to KPMG.
In a rare move, the Government Work Report sets a consumer price index growth target of around 2 percent, marking the first inflation target below 3 percent in two decades.
"We are encouraged by the new 2 percent target on consumer inflation," said Xiong Yi, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank. "We think this means the government has moved away from the previous approach of setting an inflation ceiling toward a formal 2 percent inflation target, which demonstrates its commitment to preventing deflation."
Meng Lei, China equity strategist at UBS Securities, said investor confidence in the capital market is also recovering, driven by a comprehensive set of policy stimulus, a recovery in corporate earnings and the impact of artificial intelligence advancements such as DeepSeek.
He estimated the earnings growth of CSI 300 Index components to reach around 6 percent this year, which will further attract global investors' attention.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
Deliveroo will end its operations in Hong Kong on April 7 and sell some assets to rival Foodpanda, the UK online food delivery giant said. Meituan-backed Keeta holds the largest market share in the city, followed by Foodpanda.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has added the Stock Exchange of Thailand as a recognized stock exchange, allowing companies primarily listed on SET’s main market to apply for a secondary listing in Hong Kong. Together with the other two recognized stock exchanges in Southeast Asia – the Indonesian Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange – there are now 20 RSEs across 18 countries, HKEX said in a statement on Monday.
Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways plans to hire more talents from the Chinese mainland, including flight attendants and pilot trainees. Cathay Pacific has already started hiring, having held a series of recruitment events for flight crew members in the Chinese mainland over the weekend.
Voices of ASEAN
"In promoting economic growth, China has always advocated for progress while maintaining stability," recently stated Ong Tee Keat, former Malaysian Minister of Transport and Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Belt and Road Coordination Council, in an exclusive interview with 21st Century Business Herald. Discussing China's 2025 economic growth target of around 5 percent, Ong highlighted the significance of China's "stabilizing foreign investment and foreign trade" strategy, noting that it provides confidence to global trade partners. He emphasized that China's economic stability serves as a driving force for boosting regional and global economies.
As China's largest trading partner and a key destination for Chinese investment, ASEAN has deepened economic ties with China. By July 2024, two-way investment between China and ASEAN exceeded USD400 billion, with China ranking as ASEAN's second-largest foreign investor. Ong stressed that ASEAN countries hope Chinese enterprises will not only expand overseas markets but also collaborate with local tech firms to enhance regional R&D capabilities, which could facilitate the global adoption of Chinese technological standards and "soft power." He identified digital and green economies as priorities for future China-ASEAN cooperation.
Marking the third anniversary of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), Ong proposed leveraging China's mature production capacity to establish localized manufacturing in RCEP member states under China’s smart manufacturing model. This approach, he argued, would reshape global supply chains, utilizing China's industrial strengths to empower Belt and Road/RCEP partners to develop self-reliant R&D capabilities.
Next on industry and company news
China's car sales inched up 1.3 percent in the first two months of 2025 from the same period a year earlier. Passenger vehicle sales rose 26.1 percent year-on-year to 1.41 million units in February, following a 12 percent fall in January, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday. The production, sales and export of new energy vehicles all increased by more than 50 percent, it said.
Baidu announced it will offer USD2 billion of zero-coupon convertible bonds due 2032 that can be exchanged into Trip.Com Group's stock listed on the Hong Kong bourse at about 43 percent premium over the Chinese online travel giant's current share price.
JD.Com announced it has become the official e-commerce innovation partner of the UEFA Champions League. The Chinese firm will also partner with other UEFA events and open an official UEFA Champions League online shop in China, it added.
DeepSeek-R1 is now available in Amazon Web Services' AI platform Amazon Bedrock, making AWS the first cloud service provider to deliver DeepSeek-R1 as a fully managed, generally available model, Amazon’s web services unit announced today.
Leapmotor established a 10-member research team to study the prospects of robotics, according to Chairman and CEO Zhu Jiangming. Zhu believes that carmakers with self-develop capabilities have abundant resources in AI algorithm, computing, and motion control, so they should also be able to develop robots.
Switching gears to financial news
South Korean investors ramped up their trading in Chinese stocks last month, hitting a two-and-a-half-year high, fueled by a surge in tech companies. In February, South Korean investors traded USD782 million of shares listed in China's mainland bourses or Hong Kong, almost a threefold increase from January, hitting the highest level since August 2022. This far exceeded their transactions in European and Japanese stock markets during the same period, according to the latest data from the Korea Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks rose on Tuesday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.4 percent and the Shenzhen Component edged up 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed flat and the TECH index added 1.4 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China’s employment shows good start this year;
China's Feb inflation declines mainly due to holiday effects.
China’s Annual Two Sessions 2025
China's employment situation this year is expected to maintain overall stability with improvements, despite the challenging task of creating more jobs, Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security said in Beijing on Sunday.
Wang told a press conference on people's livelihood for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress that, from the first two months of the year, the post-Spring Festival resumption of work and production has accelerated, with migrant workers returning to work earlier than previous years, indicating a good start for the job market.
As China steadily advances high-quality development, the widespread application of a range of new technologies, products and scenarios, along with the continuous release of consumption potential, and the effective stimulation of various financial entities and entrepreneurial innovation, have laid a solid foundation for stabilizing and expanding the job market, Wang pointed out.
These initiatives align with the tasks set out in this year's government work report, released on Wednesday, which commits to pursue people-oriented macro policies, including channeling more funds and resources into serving the public and meet their needs, thereby help create more jobs.
The government will roll out new initiatives to ramp up job creation in key sectors. More efforts will focus on advanced manufacturing sector, new consumption hotspots, emerging jobs and major engineering projects, and targeting rural and urban grassroots areas as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, which are expected to unlock more job opportunities, according to Wang.
Moreover, existing employment policies will be fully implemented. "Last year, the balance of special loans for employment stabilization exceeded 300 billion yuan, and this year, the loan quota will be increased," Wang noted.
Efforts will also be made to promote entrepreneurship-driven employment, providing entrepreneurs with low-cost, convenient, and comprehensive support, Wang said, adding that China's guaranteed loans for startups amounted to 270 billion yuan last year, and the efforts will be further intensified in 2025.
Two Sessions Highlights
Chinese lawmakers submitted 269 proposals to the country's annual legislative session as of March 8, Xinhua reported. The NPC also received over 8,000 suggestions from deputies.
China’s average life expectancy reached 79 years old last year, 0.4 years more than in 2023, Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference during the Two Sessions. Over 90 percent of village clinics in China have services covered by the basic medical insurance, he added.
China will speed up the application of big data, AI, and other new technologies to improve elderly care, Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan said at the Two Sessions yesterday. The country will leverage new technologies and products in fields such as social assistance and services for people with disabilities, Lu added.
Lui Kin, a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, suggested launching pilot programs for cargo delivery by drones and electric vertical takeoff aircraft between designated locations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, potentially to and from Shenzhen’s Qianhai zone and the Hong Kong side of the Shenzhen Bay Port; and the Hong Kong and Shenzhen parks of the Hetao Cooperation Zone.
Hong Kong NPC Deputy Priscilla Leung Mei-fun proposed stronger, all-inclusive regulations for cross-border data flow within the Greater Bay Area, possibly through national legislation. She pointed to the differences in data protection laws and practices among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao as the reason for the need of better legal coordination and integrating a relevant legislative framework and rules across the three places.
Irons Sze Wing-wai, a national political advisor from Hong Kong, said during the “passage interviews” before the CPPCC closing meeting today that the city’s status as a global finance, shipping and trading hub is attributed to the nation’s development. Sze said the future of Hong Kong lies in resonating with the country’s advancement, and the city would continue to contribute to the nation’s development with its unique advantages.
Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, a national lawmaker and head of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), said on Sunday that the city’s tertiary education sector is proactively embedding AI with research and pedagogy, aiming to nurture more technology-savvy talent to fit in with the country’s national innovation-driven agenda. Ip said she believes that the city’s impressive research capabilities, bolstered by five high-ranked universities, and increasing fiscal inputs and additional resources, have readied Hong Kong to contribute to the nation’s AI initiatives.
Next on industry and company news
China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased 0.7 percent year-on-year while the Producer Price Index (PPI) declined by 2.2 percent in February. These fluctuations were primarily due to the Spring Festival date shift, holiday effects and fluctuations in international commodity prices, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sunday.
China will impose additional tariffs on some products imported from Canada, effective March 20, after conducting an anti-discrimination probe, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said on Saturday. Additional 100 percent tariffs will be imposed on Canadian rapeseed oil, oil cakes, and peas, while aquatic products and pork will be subject to additional 25 percent tariffs.
Chinese automaker Xpeng’s shares surged over 7 percent at one point on Monday morning as investors bet on its upcoming launch event on Thursday, where the company will unveil the new versions of its G6 and G9 models. The upgraded G9 will come with Turing AI smart driving and an AI chassis.
Changan Auto will launch a humanoid robot in 2027, which is expected to roll off the production line a year later, the Chinese automaker said, adding that it will complete the test flights of its flying car by the end of this year.
China's fixed-asset investment in railroad networks rose 5.1 percent to 68.5 billion yuan in the first two months from a year ago, the China Railway Group said today. The country had over 162,000 km of railroad in use as of the end of last year, of which 48,000 km were high-speed.
Several of China's top universities have announced plans to expand their undergraduate enrollment to prioritize national strategic needs. Peking University said on Saturday that it would add 150 undergraduate spots in 2025 to focus on areas of national strategic importance, fundamental disciplines and emerging frontier fields. Tsinghua University also plans to increase its undergraduate enrollment by about 150 spots and establish a new general education college, with a focus on cultivating interdisciplinary talent in AI and other fields. Renmin University said on Saturday that it would add more than 100 places in areas such as AI to improve innovation. Shanghai Jiao Tong University will add 150 spots focusing on "cutting-edge technologies" and emerging industries "urgently needed", in AI, integrated circuits, biomedicine, healthcare and new energy.
"Ne Zha 2” has raked in nearly 14.9 billion yuan at the global box office as of yesterday, surpassing “Avengers: Infinity War” to become the world's sixth highest-grossing film of all time, according to Beacon Pro.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks edged down on Monday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component each slid 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also closed 1.85 percent lower, and the TECH index dropped 2.5 percent.
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Hello! Welcome to CBN Perspective. I’m Stephanie Li.
Two decades ago, a modest restaurant in the middle of Northern China’s Henan province saw its business take off after selling cut-price soft serve for just 1 yuan per cone. Today, it has overtaken McDonald’s and Starbucks with over 45,000 stores worldwide, becoming the world’s largest food and beverage chain by store count.
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea has turned the tea game into a global phenomenon—and their recent stock market debut is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s dive into the story of how this budget-friendly beverage empire is shaking things up.
With its signature drinks priced between 2 to 8 yuan, a catchy theme song and a chubby snowman mascot, Mixue has attracted a massive customer base across China.
While other bubble tea brands have been focusing on premium positioning with prices above 20 yuan, Mixue successfully established its presence in lower-tier cities where competition is less intense.
Born into an impoverished family, Zhang Hongchao, the founder of Mixue, has said his strategy is simple: “Let people around the world eat well and drink well for just two American dollars.”
The capital market went wild with Mixue. Retail investors were so eager to get their hands on Mixue shares that the IPO was oversubscribed by a staggering 5,258 times. It’s no wonder people are calling it the “Pinduoduo of bubble tea,” after the popular Chinese discount e-commerce platform.
On its first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Mixue’s stock price surged by a whopping 43.2%, closing at HKD290 per share. The company raised HKD3.45 billion in its IPO, making it the biggest listing in Hong Kong so far this year, and the fifth-largest over the past year.
Zhang Hongchao and his younger brother, Zhang Hongfu, the chain's CEO, have now a combined net worth of USD8.1 billion after the share sale.
Following the surge on Monday, Mixue continued to rise over 77% throughout the first week of listing, with a market cap surpassing HKD130 billion.
Mixue truly deserves its crown of being “King of Snow.” Its net profit jumped 42% to 3.49 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2024 from the same period in the previous year, according to the prospectus. Its revenue increased 21% to 18.7 billion yuan in the period.
For comparison, Chinese premium tea chain Nayuki has been in the red except for 2023 since its listing in 2021. The brand has accumulated a loss of HKD5.6 billion as of the first half of 2024.
But Mixue’s story didn’t start with a bang; it started with a lemon. Yes, you heard that right—a lemon! Imagine this: you’re walking down the street, and you see a store selling lemon water for just 2 yuan. You think it’s a typo, but nope, it’s Mixue’s magic. They’ve turned lemons into gold.
How did they do it? The answer is actually as simple as it is: they grew their own lemons and tea leaves, and built a cold-chain logistics network that covers 97% of their stores. By cutting costs to the bone, they can offer drinks at prices that make your wallet smile. And with over 45,000 stores worldwide, they’ve pretty much cornered the market on affordable tea drinks.
Being more like a raw materials supplier than a traditional brand, Mixue’s money game involves a big chunk of franchising. With over 99% of Mixue’s stores being franchise, its model is indeed a “lemon-squeezing machine.” They make 97% of their revenue from selling equipment and raw materials to franchisees.
But let’s not forget the control freak side of Mixue. They’ve got cameras, standardized trash cans, and a 48-hour turnover requirement for ingredients to ensure every sip tastes the same, no matter where you are.
So, here’s the million-dollar question: can Mixue go the distance? They’ve got the supply chain down pat and a franchise system that’s hard to beat. But there are some hurdles ahead.
First, there’s the issue of scale. With over 40,000 stores in China alone, they’re pretty much maxed out. Competition in smaller cities is getting fiercer with more used-to-be premium brands joining the battle.
Then there’s the profitability problem. In 2024, their average daily sales per store dropped by 5%, and some franchisees are jumping ship.
And there’s Mixue’s global expedition. Mixue have set sights on Southeast Asia, with over 4,800 stores in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. But the market is a real jungle out there. Coffee heavyweights like Starbucks, with their super-high brand recognition and a global army of loyal fans, are now in the tea game too, making it a tough battle for Mixue to carve out a piece of the pie.
Then there’s the supply chain. Mixue's got a great setup at home, but overseas, finding the right ingredients can be a mission, either they're hard to come by or cost a fortune.
And brand recognition is a whole different ball game. Mixue's known for being down-to-earth in China, but overseas, that might not click right away. Mixue's got to figure out how to show off its unique charm while still keeping prices reasonable to win over international customers.
So it seems like Mixue’s future depends on how well they can juggle a few tricky challenges. Balancing expansion with rising costs would be one of the priorities, and not to forget adapting their model to different cultures while going global, to prove that low prices don’t mean low quality. It’s a tall order, but with their recent stock market success, they’ve got the capital to make some bold moves.
Mixue’s story is a rollercoaster ride, from humble beginnings to global domination, with a few bumps along the way. They’ve literally turned lemons into lemonade and shown that affordability can be a powerful weapon. But can they keep the momentum going? Only time will tell.
So, the next time you sip on a Mixue drink, remember: you’re part of a hundreds-of-billions business! And who knows? Maybe one day, Mixue will be as iconic as Starbucks.
Until then, keep sipping, and let’s see where this lemon water adventure takes us next!
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China’s Annual Two Sessions 2025
China’s top economic officials held a press conference on Thursday afternoon as part of the Two Sessions, with heads of China’s economic planner, finance and commerce ministries, central bank and securities regulator attending.
China is fully confident in achieving the economic growth target of around 5 percent this year as there is solid foundation, support and guarantee, said Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner.
Zheng said China’s GDP target was the result of a “comprehensive and scientific” process, with “solid preparation” undertaken to come to the final number. There is new momentum driving growth, he added, citing the new industries and business modes which have contributed to 18 percent of China’s overall economy.
An increase to domestic spending remains a priority, Zheng said, pointing to a 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be allocated to support the trade-in program for consumer goods and equipment in 2025.
China will establish a national venture capital guidance fund in the near future with the aim of strengthening the development of innovative enterprises, Zheng added.
Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said the trade-in program have been “bright spots” for China’s consumer market in the past year, adding that the categories will be expanded to include smartphones, tablets, smart watches and other consumer electronics.
Meanwhile, new measures to promote consumption by foreign tourists will be implemented, Wang said, which include improving visa procedures and online payments methods.
Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said China has “reserved” enough of its tools to counter whatever uncertainties may come about in the external environment. He said the effects of last year’s stimulus package will be sustained, and new policies that are “stronger and more targeted” will be rolled out.
Spending on tech, he added, will exceed 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025, an increase of 8.3 per cent over the year prior.
As for local debts, Lan said local governments had issued 2.96 trillion yuan in debt-swap bonds as of yesterday, and the interest rates of local debts has been lowered by 2.5 percentage points.
The number of local government financing vehicles, previously a source of the lion’s share of implicit government debt, has fallen since last year, Lan said. The next step, he added, will be transforming the business of those vehicles that still exist.
In terms of monetary policy, the People’s Bank of China will cut interest rates and the reserve requirement ratio at an “appropriate time” this year, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said.
He emphasized the need to keep the yuan’s exchange rate stable and cautions against overshooting.
In response to how innovation will be financed, Pan said more bond issuances and relending tools will be used to aid in the country’s tech development. A tech-focused segment of the bond market will be launched to back these issuances, he added.
The size of the relending tool for tech innovation will be doubled to 1 trillion yuan this year, Pan announced.
Wu Qing, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the unexpected success of artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has helped usher in a re-evaluation of China’s stocks, vowing to improve capital market support mechanisms for tech firms, with a focus on those sectors that are actively working on new breakthroughs.
On stock market regulation, Wu said China will redouble efforts to clamp down on irregularities in the stock market, and ensure that investors are protected.
Coordination and countercyclical adjustments will be strengthened between primary and secondary markets, Wu added, noting that this will drive listed companies to improve their ability to deliver stronger returns to investors.
Meanwhile, corporate mergers and acquisitions will be promoted among tech firms. He encouraged the use of “patient capital”, funding with an eye on the long-term, and said tools besides stock listings would be used to support scientific innovation.
In terms of foreign trade, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said the country’s service trade has surpassed 1 trillion yuan in value for the first time, and it now includes a more diverse range of partners. Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative now account for more than half of all imports and exports – a development he deemed a historic milestone.
Wang said there are “severe challenges” for Chinese imports, given global trends towards protectionism, and policies will be implemented to stabilize foreign trade, particularly in services.
Enterprises will be assisted in securing orders and keeping their exports stable, and cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses will be expanded.
Two Sessions highlights
Lin Long'an, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from the Hong Kong SAR, proposed to further promote the cross-border e-commerce development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) based on local industrial advantages as well as assistance with AI technologies. Lin, also the chairman of the GBA Importers and Exporters Association, said during the annual Two Sessions that the GBA, boasting abundant industrial cluster resources and a well-established cross-border e-commerce foundation, provides immense potential for the foreign trade development of the area, while noting that the construction of the GBA brings both opportunities and challenges for the foreign trade sector.
Xinjiang should leverage its strategic position as the gateway for China's westward opening-up, and continue expanding high-level opening-up efforts this year, several NPC deputies and the CPPCC National Committee members from Xinjiang have suggested. They also urged the region to ramp up economic exchanges with Central Asian countries as well as exploring markets in ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa.
Geely insists on not engaging in price wars, as it aims to compete over technology, quality, services, brand, and ethics, Li Shufu, CPPCC member and chairman of the Chinese automotive giant, told media during the Two Sessions yesterday.
Li Dongsheng, an NPC deputy and founder and chairman of TCL, suggested yesterday at the Two Sessions that Chinese regulators may develop financing policies that meet the needs of large technology manufacturers, as the sector is characterized by high-tech, heavy assets, and long payback period.
Next on industry and company news
Alibaba today released Tongyi Qwen QwQ-32B, a new open-source AI model focusing on advancing AI reasoning capabilities that can compete with DeepSeek-R1, the Chinese tech giant said.
Chinese AI team Manus released its homonym general AI agent product able to perform complicated tasks, such as resume screening, property research, and stock analysis. Manus achieved the State-of-the-Art level according to the GAIA benchmark and outperformed OpenAI DeepResearch in solving real-world problems.
China’s average daily AI model token usage surged 33-fold in the past eight months, of which paid token usage grew 15 times, Yang Chaobin, CEO of Huawei's ICT BU, said at the MWC2025. Huawei expects the token-driven traffic volume to exceed 350 percent of the total mobile internet data traffic by 2030, he added.
Xpeng Motors plans to enter the Polish, Swiss, Czech, and Slovakian markets in the second quarter with its P7 sedan, G9 SUV, and G6 SUV, the Chinese NEV startup said yesterday on Weibo. Xpeng hopes to be present in more than 60 global markets by the end of the year, with overseas sales accounting for more than half of the total.
Douyin has introduced a series of initiatives to support small- and medium-sized businesses joining the platform. The program includes subsidies, commission reductions, and free training programs, Douyin announced yesterday.
China Eastern Airlines will launch direct flights between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi starting April 28, becoming the first Chinese airline to run the route.
Hong Kong will charge HKD200 instead of HKD120 for departure tax per air passenger starting Oct. 1. The new measure will likely bring around HKD1.6 billion a year to the local government.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks rallied on Thursday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 1.2 percent and the Shenzhen Component added 1.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 3.3 percent and the TECH index rallied 5.4 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China sets major targets for 2025, including 5% GDP growth and 4% deficit-to-GDP ratio;
First “Ministers’ Passage” opens for interviews today at the Two Sessions.
China’s Annual Two Sessions 2025
China has set an economic growth target of "around 5 percent" for 2025, the same as last year's figure, as the world's second-largest economy emphasizes expanding domestic demand with more supportive policies, according to the Government Work Report released on Wednesday.
Premier Li Qiang, who delivered the report at the opening of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, pledged that the country will pursue a more proactive fiscal policy and exercise a moderately loose monetary policy this year.
Li said the government has set a projected deficit-to-GDP ratio for 2025 at 4 percent, up from 3 percent for 2024. The government started to release the annual projected deficit ratio in 2010, with the highest reading in 2020 at 3.6 percent as COVID-19 hit, according to market tracker Wind Info.
The work report also said China will issue 1.3 trillion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds this year, up from 1 trillion yuan for 2024. This year's quota of special local government bonds will be increased to 4.4 trillion yuan from a record high of 3.9 trillion yuan last year.
The government will launch special initiatives to boost consumption in 2025, including issuing ultra-long special treasury bonds of 300 billion yuan to support consumer goods trade-in programs, according to the work report.
This year, China, as laid out in the report, plans to target a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, the creation of over 12 million urban jobs, and consumer price index increase of around 2 percent.
Meanwhile, the report highlighted the development of new quality productive forces, with the aim to foster strategic emerging industries and future industries. Key initiatives include advancing commercial space, fostering the low-altitude economy, and establishing a funding mechanism for bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, AI, and 6G.
The report said authorities will unleash the digital economy under its AI Plus initiative, which will work to combine digital technologies with China’s manufacturing and market strengths.
As for the private sector, Li pledged to better support the private economy and bolster business confidence. The country would strengthen legal protections and policy support for private enterprises, ensuring their legitimate rights, as well as curbing profit-motivated law enforcement against private companies.
Also, China would persistently stick to its opening-up policy, which would lead to more reforms and development opportunities. The nation will encourage foreign investors to expand their investments in China and cooperate with companies up and down the industrial supply chain.
Two Sessions highlights
China has emerged as the world's busiest country in terms of passenger and cargo movements, thanks to the rapid growth of its transport, China's Transport Minister, Liu Wei, said on Wednesday after the opening meeting of the 14th National People's Congress' third session. "China's high-speed railways, roads, bridges, ports and express delivery services have become shining symbols of the country's modernization," Liu said, pointing to the country's remarkable achievements in infrastructure. China has built the world's largest high-speed railway network, expressway network, postal and express delivery network, and a world-class port cluster, Liu said. The country's high-speed railway network now spans 48,000 kilometers, and its expressway network extends over 190,000 kilometers, both ranking first globally.
China’s Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng said at today's "Ministers' Passage” on the sideline of the ongoing Two Sessions that DeepSeek and robots have attracted extensive attention at home and abroad in recent times, which also illustrates the effects of China's scientific and technological innovation and talent cultivation from one aspect. Huai said that a series of national special actions will be launched this year to better accelerate and strengthen talent cultivation in the process of serving national strategies and scientific and technological development.
China will optimize regulations to promote the healthy development of the platform economy, Luo Wen, Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said at today’s "Ministers' Passage”. Luo also vowed to regulate the live-streaming e-commerce sector by strengthening platform's review responsibilities and conducting more random inspections, as to maintain a fair and competitive order and improve the quality of online products.
Li Yunze, Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, said at the "Ministers' Passage” a total of 3.8 trillion yuan of non-performing assets were disposed of last year, reaching the highest level in history, and the bottom line of preventing systemic risks was firmly held. Li vowed to support the stable development of the real estate market, expand the "white list” and ensure the delivery of completed housing. Li also said the administration will encourage banks to increase credit limit and extend the term of consumer loans in order to support residents’ needs of long-term, large amount consumption.
Technological innovation plays a key role in transforming industries and expanding emerging ones, Xiaomi’s founder and NPC deputy Lei Jun said at the Two Sessions today. Five years ago, Xiaomi pledged to invest 100 billion yuan in core technologies, and now, after having invested 105 billion yuan, the company has experienced a significant transformation, driven by R&D, Lei noted.
Heightened efforts are needed to allow more households in townships and counties to enjoy consumption-friendly subsidies from the consumer goods trade-in program, and reinforce the dominant position of enterprises in technological innovation, said Jia Shaoqian, chairman of Chinese home appliance manufacturer Hisense Group, who is also a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress. In the fourth quarter of last year, sales of Hisense's home appliances surged more than 30 percent year-on-year fueled by the trade-in program, Jia said.
Many enterprises are accessing AI large language model platforms after DeepSeek released its DeepSeek R1 large model in January, said Yang Chengzhang, member of the CPPCC National Committee and chief economist of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities at the Two Sessions. He stated that the country should take science and technology as the driving forces, greening as the orientation, and strengthen the application of digitalization and artificial intelligence to promote the development of the private economy.
Promoting China's independent PV innovation and the development of original technology is the top priority in the country's green development, Zhong Baoshen, an NPC deputy and chairman of Longi Green Energy Technology Co said on Tuesday. The PV industry is still facing challenges such as supply-demand mismatch and involution-style competition, so strengthening the capability of independent innovation and developing original technology is an inevitable choice to break through the current bottleneck, Zhong said.
Next on industry and company news
Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance will release a revamped version of the Aito M9 this month and the Aito M8 next month, Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei's Smart Auto Solutions BU, said on Weibo today.
Liu Jiakun has won the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest honor in the field, becoming the second Chinese architect to receive the honor after Wang Shu in 2012. Based in Chengdu, Liu's career spans over four decades, with more than 30 projects ranging from academic and cultural institutions to civic spaces, commercial buildings, and urban planning throughout China.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks rose on Wednesday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.5 percent and the Shenzhen Component added 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.8 percent and the TECH index rallied 4 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Shenzhen aims to expand its AI terminal industry to a scale of 1 trillion yuan by 2026;
China will impose extra tariffs of 10-15% on various US imports from March 10.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
Shenzhen city, a technology hub in South China's Guangdong Province, on Monday released an action plan to propel the rapid development and application of AI technology, fostering a good number of AI-powered high-end industries.
The action plan aims to enhance the city's industrial competitiveness by leveraging latest AI innovations. By 2026, an extra output value of 800 billion yuan will be attained by making use of AI technology, with the ambition to reach 1 trillion yuan.
Additionally, it seeks to consolidate no less than 10 leading AI-powered industrial enterprises and launch over 50 innovative products across sectors such as smartphones, computers, and wearable devices, while working out more than 60 AI applications in smart finance, smart manufacturing and smart medical care.
The action plan prioritizes a few key products, including AI-powered smartphones, computers, and tablets.
The city plans to set up a comprehensive industrial ecosystem to transform smartphones from "smart tools" to "intelligent assistants" and upgrade computers from traditional devices to AI-powered work stations.
Meanwhile, large-model all-in-one machines and AI wearable devices will be developed, focusing on smarter home, health care, security, and industrial automation applications, which will offer customized services to boost businesses and consumers.
In addition to Shenzhen, other cities across China, including Beijing, Chengdu and Wuhan, have also introduced similar policies to support the development of AI-powered new industries. Wuhan, as a national AI innovation pilot zone, has launched the “AI+" action plan to integrate AI models into over 20 industrial lines this year.
Given the very positive stance of local governments, AI innovation and application in China is likely to scale up, especially since the launch of DeepSeek during the Spring Festival that upended the tech landscape.
Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, highlighted the significant progress made by DeepSeek at a press conference today.
The rise of Chinese tech companies like DeepSeek shed light on the innovative and inclusive approach of China's sci-tech development, Lou said, adding that DeepSeek's adherence to an open-source technological approach has contributed "Chinese wisdom" to the world.
China on Tuesday swiftly retaliated against fresh US tariffs, announcing a range of between 10 and 15 percent hikes to import levies covering a basket of American agricultural and food products, while placing 25 US firms under export and investment restrictions. An additional 15 percent tariff will be imposed on imported chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, while 10 percent tariff will be imposed on sorghum, soybean, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, per the statement. The US’s unilateral tariffs measures seriously violate World Trade Organization rules and undermine the basis for economic and trade cooperation between China and the US, the Commerce Ministry said in a separate statement.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
BYD said on Tuesday it had raised USD5.59 billion in a primary share sale that was increased in size, making it the largest of its kind in Hong Kong in four years and the largest equity follow-on offering globally in the automotive sector in the past decade. The company said it sold 129.8 million primary shares in the deal, up from the original 118 million shares planned when the deal launched on Monday. BYD's shares opened down 8 percent on Tuesday, in line with the discount the stock was sold at in the deal. The UAE-based Al-Futtaim Family Office was a key investor in the share sale.
Two Sessions highlights
China should make efforts to enhance the market-oriented application of new energy storage, including fostering the market participation mechanism and establishing a regular safety inspection system, CATL's founder and Chairman Robin Zeng suggested during the Two Sessions.
iFlytek's Chairman and CPPCC member Liu Qingfeng proposals for the Two Sessions are about new quality productive forces brought by AI. China should be alert to LLM hallucinations, construct a trustful information environment from the perspective of technical research and management, and extend trade-in policies to promote the development of the AI terminal industry, he suggested.
Xiaomi’s founder and NPC deputy Lei Jun submitted five proposals to the Two Sessions, including accelerating the mass production of autonomous driving vehicles, fostering the intelligent EV ecosystem, and optimizing the NEV license plate design.
Zhong Zheng, a deputy to the NPC and VP of Midea Group, suggested at the Two Sessions to enhance the legal protections for copyright and privacy for original content and using AI to review AI-generated videos for more efficient and accurate content oversight.
The PBOC handled 736 proposals and suggestions from NPC and CPPCC members, the central bank said yesterday. “Five major articles” (digital, green, inclusive, pension, and technology finance), financial regulatory framework, high-level financial opening-up, and improvement of financial service capabilities were the main focus.
Next on industry and company news
BAIC Group and iFlytek announced that the Chinese automaker and AI giant yesterday signed a deal on human-vehicle interaction, in-car intelligence, and AI technologies, big data analysis, and smart vehicle networking platforms.
Huawei unveiled its AI-centric 5.5G solutions at #MWC2025 to help operators tap into AI-driven opportunities, enhance network autonomy, and drive business monetization, Cao Ming, VP of the tech giant and president of Huawei Wireless Solution, said yesterday.
The number of tourists in Harbin, China's popular winter destination in northeast Heilongjiang province, jumped 9.7 percent to over 90 million during the winter season from Nov. 8 to Feb. 28 from a year earlier. The tourism sector raked in 137.2 billion yuan, up 16.6 percent from a year ago.
China's manned space program will focus on the use of space stations, carrying out two manned and one cargo resupply missions this year while also aiming to conduct a manned lunar landing before 2030, the China Manned Space Agency announced yesterday.
Chinese animated film “Na Zha 2" raked in USD2 billion globally, including presales, becoming the first Asian film to reach the milestone, according to movie data platform Maoyan.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks rose on Tuesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite up 0.2 percent and the Shenzhen Component adding 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.3 percent and the TECH index closed flat.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China's largest bubble tea chain Mixue soared 43% on Hong Kong trading debut;
China's manufacturing PMI rises to 50.2 in February.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
Shares of China's largest bubble tea and drinks chain Mixue Group jumped over 40 percent by midday on their first day of trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today after the firm raised HKD3.46 billion in an initial public offering.
The shares started trading at HKD262 each and closed 43 percent higher at HKD290, with a market cap nearing HKD110 billion.
Retail investors subscribed for over 5,000 times more shares than were on offer in that tranche, according to Mixue's filings, making it one of Hong Kong's most popular ever IPOs. Investors applied for a record HKD1.8 trillion worth of margin loans to buy Mixue stock during the book-building process.
The debut is a positive start for Mixue compared to its rival Guming whose shares slumped 10 percent on their first trading day in Hong Kong on February 12.
Mixue is often seen as China's largest chain of iced drinks, milk tea, and ice cream. However, it operates more like a raw-material supplier than a traditional beverage brand.
Founded in 1997 as a small ice shop in Zhengzhou, Henan province, Mixue has grown into a franchise giant with over 45,000 stores globally by September 2024, surpassing Starbucks' 40,576 stores worldwide.
Unlike Starbucks, which operates 53 percent of its stores directly, Mixue relies heavily on franchising, with more than 99 percent of its stores run by franchisees.
Mixue's prospectus showed sales of goods and equipment accounted for 97.6 percent of Mixue's total revenue in the first nine months of 2024, while franchise fees contributed a mere 2.4 percent.
China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.2 in February, up 1.1 percentage points from January, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. The NBS said that the resumption of work and production across enterprises following the Spring Festival holiday in February has revitalized business operations, improving economic vitality. The country's non-manufacturing PMI in February stood at 50.4, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the previous month.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
Forty-one companies from the Chinese mainland have filed to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the first two months of this year, up about three times from a year earlier, due to tightening domestic regulations on initial public offerings and more supporting policies. Twelve of the 41 companies applying to list in Hong Kong are listed on the mainland, according to the latest data from Wind Information.
Shenzhen released yesterday three new work plans to create a superior business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized. As per the plans, the city will further expand its high-level opening up by offering more opportunities for foreign investors to engage in the telecommunications, internet, education, healthcare, big data, and AI sectors, aiming to achieve an actual use of more than 50 billion yuan of foreign investment this year. The city will enhance services and support for foreign-invested enterprises, streamline registration and establishment procedures for those enterprises, and provide them with the latest preferential policies.
Next on industry and company news
Sales of Chinese electric vehicles rose last month as XPeng led the charge with a more than fivefold increase in sales. XPeng delivered 30,500 vehicles in the month, topping the 30,000 mark for a fourth consecutive month. BYD sold 322,846 cars, up 164 percent from the same period a year ago while Nio's sales rose 62 percent to 13,192, bringing total sales since its launch to 698,600 vehicles. Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology delivered 25,287 cars, up 285 percent. Zeekr sold 14,039 cars, up 87 percent, Li Auto delivered 26,263 cars, up 29.7 percent and Xiaomi sold more than 20,000 SU7 electric sedans in the month.
Honor unveiled its Alpha strategy, which will transform the smartphone maker into an AI-centric firm, newly-appointed CEO James Li said at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2025. Honor will spend USD10 billion over the next five years to team up with global partners to build an AI terminal ecosystem, he added.
In a groundbreaking move for industrial automation, UBTECH has successfully executed the world's first collaborative practical training program for humanoid robots at ZEEKR's state-of-the-art 5G-Intelligent Factory. This initiative represents a key advancement in developing a general-purpose Swarm Intelligence system for humanoid robots, marking a major leap from single-agent autonomy to swarm intelligence (SI), the Shenzhen-based company said in a press release today.
The theoretical cost-profit ratio for DeepSeek's V3 and R1 models reached 545 percent based on data from Feb. 28, according to the first cost and revenue data the Chinese AI startup released on March 1. The theoretical daily profit of V3 and R1 is 3.5 million yuan but the firm’s actual revenue is significantly lower, DeepSeek warned.
Firm orders for Xiaomi's new SU7 Ultra have reached 19,000 units, while locked-in one topped 10,000 units, exceeding the Chinese tech giant's expectations and completing this year's tasks ahead of schedule, Chairman Lei Jun said on Weibo yesterday. Meanwhile, Li Auto is scheduled to release its first pure electric SUV in July, the Chinese NEV maker said today. The i8, which CEO Li Xiang defined as a travel version of the Tesla's Model X, is expected to debut around the Shanghai Auto Show next month.
Chinese AI startup Zhipu recently raised over 1 billion yuan in strategic financing, with government-backed Hangzhou Urban Investment Industry Fund among investors. The proceeds will support innovation and ecosystem development for Zhipu’s GLM model.
Switching gears to financial news
China's central bank and four other regulators discussed financial measures to boost private firms’ development during a meeting on Feb. 28. The PBOC will guide financial institutions to increase investment in the private economy and adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy to maintain ample market liquidity, Governor Pan Gongsheng said.
Shanghai Futures Exchange will expand the range of tradable products for QFII and RQFII to include stainless steel, fuel oil, pulp futures, and silver and rebar options contracts from tomorrow, after having got approval from China's securities regulator.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Monday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1 percent while the Shenzhen Component added 0.4 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.3 percent while the TECH index slipped 0.6 percent.
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Stephanie: Hello! Welcome to the new CBN x ASEAN Watch. I’m your host Stephanie Li.
Sharon: Hello, I’m Sharon Hu, your ASEAN correspondent.
Stephanie: Thank you Sharon for joining the CBN as a regular guest. So, you know I’m a heavy user of Xiaohongshu, and recently I came across so many posts by users from Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, etc, and they all feature a super-adorable toy named Labubu.
For example, a couple of TV stars from Hong Kong that I follow have posted photos with the fluffy rabbit, some with captions saying it's almost impossible to get their hands on the toy. This cheeky, toothy rabbit has apparently became a highly sought-after, must-have item, taking the region by storm.
Sharon, since you’re the ASEAN expert, could you unpack the cultural and commercial success story of Labubu for us?
Sharon: My pleasure. Let me first introduce this viral toy for the audience in case they haven’t got the chance to know it.
Labubu is an elf character recognizable for several notable features: the pointy ears, the sharp teeth that protrude from its mouth, small stature, and mischievous smile. It is part of a group of creatures called “The Monsters.” Its creator was inspired by the fairy tales of Europe and created Labubu along with the other Monsters first as characters in a children’s book. The character is featured in a number of items sold by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company.
Stephanie: Who created Labubu?
Sharon: The creator is Kasing Lung, a Belgium-based artist. Originally born in Hong Kong, Lung moved to the Netherlands at a young age. It was in 2015 that he published “The Monsters” story series. Lung has since become a prominent artist and has had exhibitions all over the world.
Stephanie: That kind of explains the enormous enthusiasm among fans in Hong Kong.
Sharon: But there’s so much more to that. Labubu’s rise is a perfect storm of design, celebrity power, and strategic localization. Let’s start with its iconic look. Its “evil yet innocent” persona—those pointy ears, sharp teeth, and mischievous grin—create a “cute-cringe” effect that resonates with young people across the region. Unlike traditional plush toys, Labubu feels fresh and rebellious, which is a breath of fresh air in a market saturated with cutesy characters.
Stephanie: That’s a great point! I remember seeing Labubu hanging from bags in Bangkok and even in temples. What role did celebrity endorsements play?
Sharon: Massive! When BLACKPINK’s Lisa posted photos of herself with Labubu, it became a social media sensation. Her massive following in Southeast Asia, combined with the royal seal of approval from Princess Srirasm of Thailand, turned Labubu into a status symbol overnight. Even the Thai tourism board named it the “Magical Thailand Experience Officer,” which further amplified its appeal.
Stephanie: Southeast Asia seems to be the top destination for Chinese toy brands. Is that so?
Sharon: It’s true. And there are three factors to that end. First, cultural proximity. Southeast Asia’s large Chinese diaspora and historical ties to Chinese culture make it a natural testing ground for IP localization. Second, demographic dividend. 60% of Southeast Asia’s population is under 35, with massive spending power on youth-driven products. Third, strategic positioning. Brands like Pop Mart use Southeast Asia as a springboard to Europe and the U.S., leveraging its lower entry barriers compared to mature markets. The “Magical Thailand Experience Officer” is a prime example, merging cultural ambassadors with commercial appeal.
Stephanie: And the economics! I’ve done some research, and found that one doll can cost upwards of about HKD118 while a collection of six can cost you above HKD700 but these are conservative estimates. Collections can go above HKD2,300 sometimes. Some second-hand vintage or limited edition is even selling for HKD10,000 apiece, which was originally sold for about HKD600. Why did consumers go wild for these?
Sharon: It’s a mix of scarcity, collectibility, and emotional investment. Pop Mart masterfully played the scarcity card with hidden editions, driving up demand. For many young people, owning Labubu isn’t just about the toy—it’s a form of self-expression and a hedge against the pressures of modern life. Plus, the secondary market frenzy turned it into a “financial asset,” with some rare pieces soaring 50-100 times in value.
Take the Labubu x PRONOUNCE-BE FANCY NOW collaboration: Officially priced at 599 yuan, it sold out in minutes and prices tripled on secondary markets, peaking at 1,900 yuan—partly thanks to its debut at Milan Fashion Week, which introduced the brand to global collectors.
Stephanie: Labubu really ignites the frenzy of Chinese cultural IPs in Southeast Asia, showing our growing cultural confidence.
Sharon: Absolutely! Labubu’s global appeal isn’t just about “cool design”—it’s also tied to cultural confidence. Companies like Pop Mart are betting big on Chinese originals. Take the recent collaboration with “Ne Zha 2.” The film’s global box-office success—over 1.35 billion yuan—and its tie-ins with Labubu mystery boxes have sparked frenzy across Asia. Even in Southeast Asia, fans are lining up for limited-edition Ne Zha toys, proving that “Made in China” IPs can dominate global markets when paired with storytelling and quality.
Stephanie: So, what can other Chinese designer toy brands learn from Labubu’s success?
Sharon: For one thing, deep localization is key. Pop Mart didn’t just translate their products; they tailored them. For example, they released Labubu-themed clothing in Thailand and collaborated with local influencers. They even fusion Thai boxing into exclusive collections, resonating with local culture. And in Singapore, they created a Merlion edition that spoke directly to the community.
Another lesson is leveraging digital platforms. Shopee and TikTok became key battlegrounds. Pop Mart ran targeted ads and live streams during peak shopping events, turning mystery boxes unboxing into a cultural phenomenon. In Vietnam, Labubu’s sales on Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop surged 665% in Q2, from 52 million VND to over 145 million VND.
Last but not lease, embrace emotional consumption. Young Asians are increasingly seeking“soft commodity”s—products that provide comfort and identity. Labubu’s storylines, which include complex character relationships and “evil-good” dualities, offer endless fodder for fan theories and social media sharing.
Stephanie: It’s fascinating how a simple toy can become a cultural touchstone. What about the challenges ahead for Chinese designer toys?
Sharon: Balancing “Made in China” with “Created for the World” will be crucial. While Labubu’s success is heartening, many brands still struggle with intellectual property and regional cultural nuances. But if they can replicate Pop Mart’s blend of creativity and data-driven strategies. Pop Mart’s recent move to set up a regional headquarters in Singapore highlights their ambition to scale globally.
Beyond logistics and IP protection, there’s the risk of “cultural appropriation” backlash. While Labubu’s “evil-yet-innocent” design resonates, other brands might struggle to balance Chinese heritage with local sensibilities. Take Weishi Culture, a Dongguan-based toy manufacturer for example, its metal puzzle toys fuse Chinese intangible cultural heritage craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, but overly traditional designs could alienate younger, trend-focused consumers.
Another hurdle is building sustainable IP ecosystems. Pop Mart’s reliance on single-hit IPs like Labubu and Molly raises concerns about long-term growth. To counter this, companies are investing in content creation—like cartoon adaptations—and collaborating with local artists to foster organic cultural integration.
Stephanie: It’s clear that Southeast Asia is no longer a frontier but a core battleground for Chinese toy brands. What’s your take on their future?
Sharon: The key is to move beyond “Chinese elements for export” and embrace true hybridization. Look at how Pop Mart tailored Labubu’s Thai editions with Thai boxing motifs or partnered with Singapore’s Merlion legend—it’s not just about slapping on a dragon; it’s about co-creating meaning with local cultures.
As one Indonesian fan put it: “Labubu isn’t foreign to us—it’s part of our street culture now.” If brands can replicate this balance of global creativity and hyper-local relevance, the sky’s truly the limit.
Stephanie: Wow, there’s so much to look forward to! Thank you so much again for sharing your wonderful thoughts and observations with us today. For more exchanges on the fascinating business world in ASEAN, stay tune for the next episode of CBN x ASEAN Watch. Until then, keep it crunchy!
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
“Ne Zha 2” becomes the highest-grossing Chinese IP on Taobao, bringing surging orders to Chinese toy factories;
Barrier is lowered for HK, Macao firms to invest in mainland insurers.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
“Ne Zha 2” merchandise sales have exceeded 300 million yuan on Taobao, breaking a two-year record set by “The Wandering Earth II” as the highest-grossing Chinese film and television intellectual property on Alibaba Group Holding's e-commerce platform.
More than 2 million people have bought “Ne Zha 2” merch on Taobao, staff from the site's public relations department said. Sales of trendy action items, including mystery boxes, figurines, and trading cards, have topped 200 million yuan, they noted.
“Ne Zha 2” raked in over 13.7 billion yuan at the global box office as of yesterday, ranking it as the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time.
Chinese toy firm Pop Mart, trading card company Kayou, and Citic Press Group all have IP collaborations with “Ne Zha 2”. The Natural Bond series mystery boxes on Pop Mart's Tmall flagship store have sold over 100,000 units, with the items scheduled to be shipped before Jun. 30.
It took one and a half years to create the “Ne Zha 2” products, a person in charge from Pop Mart said. Due to the long development process of trendy figurines, the company started communicating with relevant staff from the movie early, allowing for products to be released with the film, the person added.
Upper up in the industrial chain, many of these products are made in Dongguan, known as China's "capital of designer toys." Established toy manufacturers are turning the film's characters into highly sought-after real-world collectibles through innovative designs and craftsmanship.
WoFactory, a cultural and creative company in the city, said total orders of its Ne Zha miniature figurines exceeded 100 million yuan. As demand skyrockets, the company partners with dozens of local toy makers to maximize production capacity and fulfill orders efficiently.
Henglitai, anther designer toy maker in Dongguan and an official partner of the blockbuster, saw its first batch of 300,000 Ne Zha-themed acrylic posters, transparent cards, badges, and filmstrip all sold out even before the film’s official release on the first day of the Chinese New Year. The company has since received orders ten times that size.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
Hong Kong and Macao financial institutions will no longer be required to have assets of at least USD2 billion at the end of the previous year to invest in Chinese mainland insurance companies from March 1, the National Financial Regulatory Administration announced yesterday.
An AI-powered translation device, developed by Shenzhen-based tech start-up LAiPIC.AI, provided "zero-latency" translation services at the ongoing two sessions in Shenzhen, marking the country's first government-level AI large model simultaneous interpretation software in service.
Next on industry and company news
Enterprises in China's national high-tech industrial development zones contribute around 50 percent of the nation's research and development expenditure and invention patents, the country's top industry regulator said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the zones have become critical hubs for artificial intelligence development, hosting 60 percent of China's listed AI-related companies and 50 percent of AI unicorns, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
China's car exports exceeded 6.4 million units last year, ranking first in the world, customs data showed. Auto shipments through ro-ro vessels from Shanghai Port reached 3.63 million in 2024, becoming the largest global port by this metric.
Xiaomi's stock rose 4.3 percent to a record high in early trading today, bringing its market cap to nearly HKD1.5 trillion. The Chinese tech giant began selling its new EV, the SU7 Ultra, on its Tmall flagship today.
JD.Com's food delivery service will start handing out two catering coupons, 10 yuan off 15 yuan, and 20 yuan off 40 yuan, to certified university students and JD Plus members every day at 8 p.m. from today.
The skill requirements at 70 percent of jobs will transform by 2030, Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer of LinkedIn said at the Talent Connect 2025. People will have to pay attention to firms' learning culture as AI will make jobs completely different in one or two years, he noted, adding that communication, creativity, compassion, courage, and curiosity will become the core competitiveness of humans in the AI era.
AmCham South China on Wednesday released its 2025 Special Report on the State of Business in South China, which highlighted China's leading position in global investment priorities, with 58 percent of foreign companies surveyed ranking it among their top three investment priorities. Looking ahead to 2025, 76 percent of the companies intend to reinvest in China, with a notable 74 percent of the American companies planning reinvestments, up 11 percentage points year-on-year.
Chinese Customs, together with two other authorities, on Wednesday released a plan to encourage Chinese airlines to expand all-cargo aircraft operations. It will expand routes connecting major international aviation hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou as well as the dedicated air cargo hub in Ezhou, Hubei Province. It will also encourage airlines to increase their dedicated cargo capacity, increase regular international all-cargo aircraft routes, and expand international air cargo capacity.
Switching gears to financial news
Firms’ tax cuts, fee reductions, and tax refunds resulting from China’s supportive policies topped 2.63 trillion yuan last year, according to data from the State Taxation Administration. Taxpayers from the private sector enjoyed over 60 percent, or about 1.59 trillion yuan, of the total.
After media reported that Ping An Insurance plans to acquire three logistics assets in southern China of Blackstone for 1.8 billion yuan, Ping An Asset Management said it would not comment on market speculations and assured that any necessary information would be disclosed to the public.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Thursday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.2 percent while the Shenzhen Component slid 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index retreated 0.3 percent and the TECH index fell 1.2 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Hong Kong will set aside HKD1 billion for R&D in AI and HKD3.7 billion in Hetao Cooperation Zone in new budget;
China is set to cement legal protection for private sector.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
Hong Kong stocks rallied on Wednesday after the Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po proposed multiple measures to support the city's tech sector and set up a new channel to fast track tech listings in his latest budget speech.
As the nation affirmed the positioning of scientific and technological innovation as a core area of development, the edge of “one country, two systems” and the city's internationalized characteristic will be leveraged to develop Hong Kong into an international artificial intelligence (AI) exchange and cooperation hub, Chan said on Wednesday while delivering the 2025-26 budget.
Chan announced that HKD1 billion had been set aside for the establishment of the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute as he referred technological innovation as the city's “core engine.”
Total HKD100 million had been set aside for a scheme benefitting some 400 enterprises. Chan said funding of up to HKD250,000 each on a one-to-two matching basis will be made available to enterprises to introduce smart and advanced technologies into existing production lines.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong seeks to leverage its strategic positioning as the "three centers and a hub" with a special focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Middle East with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) set to step up promotion there.
Chan said the government will regularize the issuance of tokenized bonds. The linkage of faster payment systems between the mainland and Hong Kong is expected to be launched in the middle of this year.
The third InnoHK cluster is envisaged, he said, focusing on research in advanced manufacturing, energy and materials development. This apart, HKD3.7 billion has been allocated to the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone, which upon completion is expected to generate 52,000 job opportunities and contribute HKD52 billion to the Hong Kong economy annually.
Chan also proposed a a dedicated "technology enterprises channel" on the stock exchange to expedite listings of tech companies. The channel will facilitate specialist technology and biotechnology companies' listings in Hong Kong, particularly those already listed in the mainland, Chan said.
The market's watchdog Securities and Futures Commission is working with the exchange to enable a smoother application process, he added.
As for the city's economy, Chan announced a "reinforced version" of the government's fiscal consolidation program.
With the city’s budget deficit in the red for the third year in a row, the financial secretary said the level of deficit will decline year‑on‑year from 2026‑27 onwards. He said the 2024‑25 revised estimate on total government revenue was HKD559.6 billion, lower than the original estimate by 11.6 percent. Hong Kong will record a deficit of HKD87.2 billion for 2024-25, Chan said, with fiscal reserves estimated to drop to HKD647.3 billion by the end of March.
Chan forecast that Hong Kong's economy will continue to grow moderately this year, rising by 2-3 percent in real terms for the year and by 2.9 percent a year in real terms from 2026 to 2029. The average underlying inflation rate was forecast to be 2.5 percent a year.
Chinese lawmakers advanced the draft private economy promotion law during a recent National People's Congress Standing Committee session, in a move to reinforce fair competition, improve financing conditions, foster technological innovation, and strengthening legal protections. The proposed legislation, set to become China's first fundamental law dedicated to the private sector, stipulates that private enterprises, like all market participants, may operate in any industry unless explicitly restricted by a negative list. It also mandates regular reviews to eliminate market entry barriers, prohibits discriminatory bidding practices, and ensures fair competition. China’s market regulatior held a seminar yesterday on fair competition and solicited advice from seven companies, including Longi Green Energy, Alibaba, JD.Com, Mercedes-Benz, and BAIC Group.
Chinese lawmakers will review a draft revision of the Civil Aviation Law this week to enhance safety in the civil aviation industry, and a draft amendment has been proposed suggesting that airspace allocation should consider the development of low-altitude economy to support the high-quality growth of the civil aviation industry.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
The Greater Bay Area is home to 108 companies among the nation’s top 500 non-State-owned enterprises, according to the latest Hurun China 500 ranking released on Tuesday. Of those 108 companies, 49 are based in Shenzhen, 29 in Hong Kong, and 13 in Guangzhou.
Hong Kong’s first homegrown artificial intelligence large language model, HKGAI V1, was unveiled on Tuesday, with capabilities like interactive dialogue, content generation, meeting summarization, legal case referencing, and environmental analysis. The model, developed through collaborative research among five local universities and the SAR government’s InnoHK research and development platform, had been pilot-tested at more than 70 government departments, and could be ready for public use by the end of this year.
Next on industry and company news
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea’s IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which wrapped up today, was oversubscribed by more than 5,125 times, with margin loans taken out by retail investors reaching HKD1.77 trillion, setting a new record for the Hong Kong stock market. The Chinese bubble tea chain is seeking to raise HKD3.5 billion through the IPO.
Avatr Technology, the smart EV brand of Changan Automobile, and Huawei Technologies have strengthened their partnership, as Huawei will take part in the complete development cycle of new autos, from defining products and doing user research to marketing and launch, according to Chen Zhuo, president of the carmaker. He added that Avatr and Huawei have also set up a joint project team, with about 300 employees from the latter.
Chinese cloud and tech firms, including ByteDance, Alibaba Cloud, Baidu, Ant Group, JD.Com, Meituan, and Kuaishou, will participate in ChinaAIDay, a special online session of the GTC2025 held on March 19, to share their progress on LLM, multi-modal model, and data science.
ByteDance is testing a deep thinking model in its AI assistant Doubao, where a small number of selected users will see a chain of thought prompting after question inquiries, media reported today, adding that the tested model is not DeepSeek’s.
The Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University will collaborate with the Shanghai Academy of AI for Science to jointly release the test version of Guanxin, China's first heart AI model, today, media reported. Meanwhile, public hospital doctors in Hong Kong will start using generative AI to help them draft medical reports from next month.
The Hurun China 500 Most Valuable Private Companies in 2024 was released on Tuesday, with high-tech firms making up the majority of the list. The ranking shows that 26 percent of the private firms are involved in software or services. Many companies specialize in AI, robotics or smart manufacturing.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks rallied on Wednesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component each up 1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also jumped 3.3 percent, hitting a near 3-year high, and the TECH index soared 4.5 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Private sector continued to lead China’s foreign trade last year;
Shenzhen will double down on AI, robotics and low altitude economy.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
China's private enterprises remained the leading category of foreign trade operators in the country for a sixth straight year, making notable achievements in foreign trade in 2024, according to the General Administration of Customs.
These achievements include the number of private enterprises that conducted import-export activities surpassing 600,000 for the first time in 2024, reaching 609,000 last year. Chinese private enterprises also emerged as the country's largest traders of high-tech products, with their share rising by 3 percentage points to 48.5 percent of total high-tech trade in 2024.
Additionally, private firms for the first time accounted for more than half of China's consumer goods imports, with their share climbing 2.8 percentage points to 51.3 percent -- notably exceeding 60 percent in categories such as cosmetics and fruit.
Chinese private enterprises continued to lead the country's foreign trade with transactions totaling 24.33 trillion yuan (US$3.4 trillion) last year, posting an 8.8 percent year-on-year increase and contributing 55.5 percent of the country's total foreign trade value.
Meanwhile, foreign-invested companies recorded 12.8 trillion yuan in trade last year, an increase of 1.5 percent, with momentum picking up in the second half of 2024. State-owned enterprises contributed 6.61 trillion yuan to foreign trade, playing a vital role in importing strategic commodities, including grain and energy resources.
The total number of companies with import-export activities across private, foreign-invested and state-owned sectors reached a record high of nearly 700,000 in 2024.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
Shenzhen vows to double down on industrial upgrade in artificial intelligence, robotics, low-altitude and aerospace by 2025, according to Mayor Qin Weizhong today in his government work report. According to the report, in 2024, the added value of these three industrial clusters increased by 12.7 percent, 15.9 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively. In 2025, Shenzhen will promote the acceleration of industrial upgrading towards high-end, innovative, and advanced implementation of the "AI+" action, and accelerate the core breakthroughs in fields such as algorithm, intelligent computing chips, embodied intelligence, high-level intelligent driving, and end-to-side lightweight models. In addition, Shenzhen will speed up the construction of the national low-altitude economic and industrial comprehensive demonstration zone, and to become the world's first city to achieve full coverage of integrated low-altitude network.
Hong Kong’s “new industrialization” drive is taking shape as the first project approved under the SAR government’s industrial acceleration program was launched on Monday. This will invest HKD600 million in building 10 smart pharmaceutical production lines in the city.
Next on industry and company news
Alibaba on Tuesday unveiled a preview of its next reasoning model QwQ-Max, which could rival industry-leading competitors including OpenAI’s o1 and DeepSeek’s R1. The Qwen team said that QwQ-Max-Preview displayed stronger and more versatile reasoning and problem-solving skills. The preview model has been made available for free on the Qwen chatbot website.
Tesla announced today that it has begun rolling out software updates for Chinese Tesla car owners in stages, introducing an Autopilot feature for urban roads, to offer driver-assistance capabilities similar to those marketed as the Full Self-Driving in the US market. With the updates, it will guide Tesla cars to exit ramps and intersections according to the navigation route.
WeRide announced yesterday that the Chinese autonomous driving technology startup was approved to launch its latest generation of Robotaxis, the GXR, for fully unmanned paid ride-hailing services in Beijing. This is the GXR's first large-scale commercial deployment in China, following its launch on Uber in Abu Dhabi last December.
Chinese eVTOL taxi maker EHang said today it inked a deal with JAC Motors and Guoxian Holdings to set up a joint venture in China's Hefei to build a manufacturing base for low-altitude aircraft, producing intelligent and autonomous eVTOL vehicles.
TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin became the first non-gaming app to surpass USD6 billion in annual in-app purchase revenue last year, according to a report by app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. TikTok generated USD1.9 billion in gross IAP income in the fourth quarter alone.
Li Auto unveiled its first pure electric SUV, the i8, today, the Chinese NEV startup announced on Weibo. The new i series is the firm's third after the L and Mega.
China's ocean economy rose 5.5 percent to 10.54 trillion yuan last year from the previous one, exceeding the 10-trillion-yuan threshold for the first time, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. The service sector contributed 60 percent of the total gross ocean product (GOP).
Harbin Ice-Snow World in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province, the largest theme park of its kind in the world, is set to close tomorrow night as temperatures rise, organizers announced yesterday. The park had welcomed 3.47 million guests by Feb. 23, the 64th day of its 26th edition.
Earnings reports express
China’s biggest travel management platform Trip.com Group said earnings jumped more than expected last quarter, with some parts of its business surpassing pre-pandemic levels, as international travel recovered. Fourth-quarter net income rose 69 percent to 2.2 billion yuan, while revenue increased 23 percent to 12.7 billion yuan, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Tuesday. For the full year, revenue climbed 20 percent to 53.4 billion yuan while earnings surged 72 percent to 17.1 billion yuan.
Hong Kong Disneyland on Tuesday said it enjoyed its strongest ever business performance in the last fiscal year, with a record net profit of more than HKD830 million and highest ever attendance figure of 7.7 million. The theme park said its revenue grew by more than 50 percent year-on-year to HKD8.8 billion. To mark the 20th anniversary of Disneyland this year, the firm will roll out several initiatives for a year-long celebration starting in June, including a Pixar-themed entertainment show and a special edition of the Momentous show.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks fell on Tuesday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite slid 0.8 percent and the Shenzhen Component lost 1.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also closed 1.3 percent lower, and the TECH index dropped 1.6 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
China's tech hub Shenzhen will launch 10 billion yuan fund to accelerate AI industry growth;
More than 9 billion passenger trips estimated during China's 2025 Spring Festival travel rush.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
The south China tech hub of Shenzhen will launch a 10 billion yuan industry fund to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, focusing on AI software, hardware and embodied intelligence, local authorities said Sunday.
The fund is part of the city's broader push to strengthen its position as a global hub for AI innovation.
City officials revealed the plan at a press conference, announcing an additional 4.5 billion yuan in funding to be raised this year. This funding will cover up to 60 percent of computing power costs for businesses, with a maximum of 10 million yuan per enterprise, provided through vouchers and subsidies.
According to Lin Yi, head of the city's AI industry department, Shenzhen plans to launch a special policy for humanoid robots, designed to promote breakthroughs in key technologies, database and large-scale manufacturing.
The government will support companies through measures such as ranking, which aim to drive collaboration and accelerate technological advancements. A total of 4.5 billion yuan will be allocated to the initiative this year, with company applications set to open in March.
Shenzhen's AI ambitions go beyond financial support. The city plans to expand its AI application base with an additional 100 scenarios set to roll out in 2025, focusing on sectors like municipal sanitation, emergency response and health care. This follows the introduction of nearly 200 AI-powered application scenarios already in place across the city.
Shenzhen aims to create a highly systematic, complete and collaborative innovation ecosystem, accelerate the development of a globally influential industrial and technological innovation center, and build itself into a city of innovation, said Zhang Lin, director of the Shenzhen municipal bureau of science and technology innovation.
Shenzhen, once a small fishing village in Guangdong Province, has transformed into one of China's most dynamic and innovative cities. It is home to more than 2,200 AI companies and boasts a comprehensive AI industry chain that spans from smart chips and algorithm frameworks to large models and software-hardware applications, according to data from the Shenzhen AI industry office.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 grossed more than HKD6.57 million upon its debut in Hong Kong and Macao on Saturday, achieving the highest first-day box office revenue for an animated film in the SARs. Over 92,000 people in the two cities showed up on Saturday to watch the movie, which has raked in over 13.7 billion yuan around the world and ranked eighth in terms of global box office revenue. This prompted distributors in the SARs to increase the number of screenings on day one from 500 to more than 800 in 2D and IMAX formats, also a record in the history of Hong Kong's and Macao's film industries.
Next on industry and company news
Record 9.02 billion inter-regional passenger trips were completed in China during the 40-day Chinese New Year travel rush ended Feb. 22, up 7.1 percent from a year earlier, according to official data released yesterday. The number of rail passenger trips rose 6.1 percent to record 513 million, and over 902 million people traveled by air in the period.
A delegation of Chinese enterprises led by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade began a three-day visit to Germany's Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria to promote ties between the two countries' businesses today. The delegation includes nearly 30 firms and industry associations, such as CRRC Group, Citic Group, and China General Technology.
Alibaba announced on Monday that it will invest more than 380 billion yuan in building cloud and AI hardware infrastructure in the next three years. The announcement came after the company reported that its revenue from its cloud business rose 13 percent year-on-year during the October-December period, with AI-related product revenue achieving triple-digit growth for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Xiaomi will launch its new flagship smartphone series, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and its latest EV model, the SU7 Ultra, on Feb. 27, the Chinese tech giant announced today. According to an earlier report, the car will be priced at 814,900 yuan. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun referred them as “the two most high-end products of Xiaomi in the fifteen years since its founding,” signifying the beginning of Xiaomi’s move towards ultra-high-end.
Unitree Robotics showcased its humanoid robot G1 and robot dog Go2 at the 2025 Global Developer Conference in Shanghai, leaving the audience astonished when the humanoid robot actually walked the robotic dog around the venue.
Mixue Group, operator of the Chinese mainland’s largest bubble-tea chain, plans to raise HKD3.45 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering. The company is selling 17.06 million shares at HKD202.50 apiece, with an option to increase the number of shares depending on demand. Trading is scheduled to begin March 3.
China approved 110 domestic online games in February, including titles from NetEase, G-bits, and Kingnet Network, with the total for the year reaching 233. Three imported games were also greenlit this month.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks fell on Monday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite dipped 0.2 percent and the Shenzhen Component slid 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also closed 0.6 percent lower, and the TECH index dropped 1.2 percent.
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Hello! Welcome to the new CBN Perspective. I’m Stephanie Li.
Roughly a week before this year's Spring Festival, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek released its latest open-source model R1, which boasts a technological breakthrough in leveraging pure deep learning methods to allow AI to spontaneously emerge with reasoning capabilities.
The surge of DeepSeek, a two-year-old Hangzhou-based startup creating open-source large language models at much lower costs than foreign peers, has not only led to rising global investor interest in Chinese artificial intelligence companies, but also their bullish outlook on the Chinese tech sector in general.
Soon after DeepSeek roaring across the horizon, the so-called “Hangzhou six small dragons" have made a even bigger splash. These six innovative enterprises - Yun Shen Chu Technology, Unitree Robotics, DeepSeek, Game Science, Qunhe Technology and BrainCo - are making waves not only in the domestic market but also on the global stage.
The question then arises: why did these "small dragons" emerge in Hangzhou? The answer lies in a confluence of favorable factors, with the city's tolerance and patience for innovative enterprises standing out prominently.
In the realm of technological innovation, the gestation period for groundbreaking ideas to translate into market-viable products can be protracted. Take, for example, BrainCo, which is dedicated to brain-computer interface technology. Developing high-precision and portable brain-computer interface products demands substantial investments in both capital and technological R&D over extended periods, with minimal short-term economic returns in sight. However, Hangzhou has provided a nurturing environment for such enterprises.
Local pro-innovation policies play an indispensable role. For companies like BrainCo, Hangzhou offers preferential tax policies. They are exempt from certain local taxes in their initial years of operation, allowing them to allocate more resources towards research and development.
Moreover, Hangzhou has established a series of innovation parks and incubators, such as the renowned Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City. Here, innovative enterprises can enjoy rent-free or highly subsidized office spaces for the first three to five years. This not only reduces their operational costs but also provides a collaborative ecosystem where they can exchange ideas with other like-minded companies and research institutions.
In terms of financial supports, Hangzhou provides low-interest loans specifically tailored for technology-intensive startups. These loans have a longer repayment period, typically extending up to 10 years, which eases the financial burden on enterprises during their formative and R&D-intensive stages.
But more importantly, Hangzhou's academic-industry collaboration is a driving force behind its success. Institutions such as Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (ZUST) work closely with local firms, bridging talent gaps and promoting applied research. Through alumni networks and strategic partnerships, a steady pipeline of skilled professionals is ensured, providing the human capital necessary for sustained growth in AI and robotics.
While Hangzhou captures all the spotlights as a burgeoning center for AI and robotics, challenging the long-held dominance of Shenzhen, China's traditional tech and innovation powerhouse.
Shenzhen, where Tencent and Huawei are based, came under even harsher social scrutiny. Has the southern tech hub “lagged behind” in the latest AI boom?
This development is not merely a local phenomenon but a significant chapter in China's broader narrative of technological advancement. As Hangzhou's influence grows, it offers both competition and opportunities for collaboration with Shenzhen, providing valuable lessons for the future of China's tech industry.
Shenzhen has long dominated sectors such as consumer electronics, semiconductors, and fintech, with global leaders like BYD, Tencent, and Huawei driving innovation. And Hangzhou's emergence introduces a new dynamic of complementary competition.
Shenzhen's strength in hardware manufacturing could synergies with Hangzhou's advancements in AI software, creating new opportunities for collaboration. At the same time, Hangzhou's focus on AI-driven industrial automation may push Shenzhen to innovate further, maintaining its competitive edge.
This development also signals a shift in China's tech landscape towards a multi-hub model. While Shenzhen retains its leadership in scale and diversity, Hangzhou excels in specialized domains. This regional balance encourages both cities to focus on their respective strengths while fostering collaboration to drive overall technological progress.
For Shenzhen, Hangzhou's success offers valuable lessons. First, strengthening academic-industry ties is crucial. Shenzhen should emulate Hangzhou's model of university-alumni-industry collaboration to cultivate talent tailored to emerging fields.
Second, investing in niche innovation could be a game-changer. Shenzhen's broad tech base could benefit from supporting specialized clusters, similar to Hangzhou's robotics firms. Expanding initiatives like the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science Zone to include AI and robotics incubators could provide a fertile ground for innovation.
Additionally, Shenzhen could adapt its fintech regulatory sandbox for AI and robotics, offering startups flexible testing environments while ensuring ethical standards.
While Shenzhen's position as a comprehensive tech hub remains strong, it must adapt by fostering deeper specialization, enhancing R&D ecosystems, and embracing cross-regional collaboration. The emergence of tech hubs like Hangzhou ultimately strengthens China's overall technological competitiveness, pushing cities to innovate rather than merely compete.
As China's tech landscape continues to evolve, the interplay between competition and collaboration will be crucial in shaping the future of the industry.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
An increasing number of Chinese localities and enterprises adopt DeepSeek as application of AI accelerates in China;
China's market regulators issue three-year action plan to optimize consumption climate, eliminating scams and price gouging.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
The day has finally arrived when we work alongside AI. Shenzhen's Futian District has introduced 70 AI-powered digital employees, driven by China's rapidly advancing DeepSeek model, to enhance government efficiency.
Local officials say these AI agents are significantly improving tasks such as document processing, law enforcement, and public services.
Unlike traditional AI tools, the digital workers are customized to handle 240 specific government functions.
An increasing number of Chinese localities have adopted DeepSeek's AI model in various areas. Cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Foshan, and Changsha, among more others, have also implemented DeepSeek, integrating it into various government, financial, and other key systems.
Among the latest developments, the 12345 hotline in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, which serves as the primary channel for residents to voice their concerns, has integrated DeepSeek to provide more intelligent analysis and answers.
Foshan in Guangdong Province has also deployed DeepSeek into its city governance system, to improve service efficiency and the intelligent level of decision-making. For example, it will build knowledge bases in various fields like urban management, the environment, and government affairs according to different needs.
Changsha, in Central China's Hunan Province, has also embraced DeepSeek with the launch of CS-DeepSeek to support efforts to build a smart city
In addition to its government applications, the DeepSeek model is making waves in the tech industry.
On February 16, the popular Chinese social media app WeChat announced the launch of a gray-box test integrating DeepSeek-R1 into its search function, promising more precise and comprehensive results.
Meanwhile, China's tech giant Baidu has also integrated DeepSeek into its search engine and AgentBuilder platforms, allowing developers to create intelligent agents with the model.
Beyond tech, DeepSeek is also making strides in healthcare, the automotive industry, and finance. For example, South China Hospital of Shenzhen University uses DeepSeek to optimize clinical care, cutting patient waiting times.
Five national departments, including the State Administration for Market Regulation, on Wednesday issued an action plan on optimizing the consumption environment from 2025 to 2027. The 19-point action plan prioritizes work in five sectors: improving quality of consumer market supply, regulating market order, enhancing consumer rights protection, consumption market co-governance and setting leading roles to improve the consumption market. Specifically, the action plan vows to enhance quality, standards, and brand development in fields such as automobiles, home appliances, home furnishings, and electronic products, as well as service quality in livelihood areas such as eldercare, nursery and tourism. In terms of market regulation, the action plan emphasizes safety in foods and medicines, and vows to rectify issues including measurement fraud, price fraud, false advertising, and other issues.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has completed a public Hong Kong dollar-denominated bond offering, raising HKD4 billion, the multilateral development bank said on Thursday. The three-year senior unsecured fixed-rate sustainable-development bonds pay an annual coupon of 3.847 percent and attracted a final order book reaching HKD9 billion.
The first commercial flight linking Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region and the Hong Kong SAR started operation Wednesday morning. The flight, operated by Tibet Airlines and using an Airbus A319, runs twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays. It departs Lhasa at 8:10 am, stops over in Chengdu city of Southwest China's Sichuan province, and arrives in Hong Kong at 2:35 pm.
Humanoid robot maker Ubtech Robotics has announced plans to place new shares at a discount of over 8 percent to raise HKD880 million. The Shenzhen-based company proposed on Thursday to place more than 10.15 million new shares at HKD90 each, 8.54 percent cheaper than their closing price on Wednesday.
Next on industry and company news
China issued an action plan yesterday to stabilize this year's foreign investment, expanding its pilot programs to open up the telecommunication, education, medical services, and other fields, lifting restrictions on domestic loans for foreign-invested firms, and encouraging foreign equity investment in the country to attract more high-quality foreign direct investment in listed companies.
As of the end of 2023, the total number of existing foreign-funded enterprises in China was 465,000, an increase of 46,000 compared to 2019, before the pandemic, and in 2024, 59,000 foreign-funded enterprises were newly established in China, marking a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.
DeepSeek denied a news report claiming that the Chinese AI startup is considering outside funding for the first time and has drawn interest from Alibaba and state funds, including China Investment and the National Social Security Fund. Meanwhile, High-Flyer, the AI quantitative hedge fund behind DeepSeek, said the current scale of funds it manages is above 20 billion yuan, media reported today citing a staff member, after reports said yesterday the scale dropped to over 10 billion yuan, as opposed to its highest in 2021 of 100 billion yuan. The person stressed that the change was “normal operation.”
Earnings reports express
Lenovo’s net profit more than doubled to USD693 million in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, the Chinese PC giant said in its latest earnings report today. Revenue climbed 20 percent to USD18.8 billion, marking the third consecutive quarter with double-digit growth.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Thursday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite ended nearly flat while the Shenzhen Component added 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.6 percent and the TECH index dropped 3 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
The NDRC vows to widen market access for the private sector after a high-profile symposium held in Beijing;
China's NEV output and sales surged in January.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Tuesday pledged to further remove market access barriers and revise the market access negative list for private enterprises in a timely manner, in a bid to accelerate the development of the private economy.
The new moves aim to encourage greater private sector participation in major national projects and programs, including those aligned with major national strategies, building up security capacity in key areas, as well as the large-scale renewal of equipment and the trade-in of consumer goods.
The announcement came after a top-level symposium on Monday on private enterprises in Beijing attended by representatives of private entrepreneurs. The symposium called on promoting the healthy and high-quality development of the country's private sector.
Huawei Technologies' Ren Zhengfei, BYD's Wang Chuanfu, New Hope Group's Liu Yonghao, Will Semiconductor's Yu Renrong, Unitree Robotics' Wang Xingxing, and Xiaomi's Lei Jun were among the private entrepreneurs attending the symposium. Representatives from CATL, Chint Group, Alibaba Group Holding, and DeepSeek were also present.
The proportion of technology entrepreneurs has increased at this symposium compared with the one in 2018, as the position of the tech sector in the industrial ecosystem advanced, said Zhang Jun, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities.
This shift reflects a stronger push toward high-end technology, acknowledges the breakthroughs made by private enterprises in areas related to new-quality productive forces, and highlights the policy support for technological innovation, Zhang noted.
Official data has revealed that the share of private enterprises among all high-tech enterprises in the country has increased to more than 92 percent.
In addition, the NDRC stated that it will implement targeted measures to address the concerns raised by private enterprises, and provide them with effective support.
In October 2024, the country published a highly-anticipated draft law on private sector promotion to solicit public opinion, which will be reviewed by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress at its upcoming 14th session to be convened in late February.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
A group of US tourists has departed from Los Angles to embark on a first-ever themed trip to China's Greater Bay Area (GBA), during which they will experience a "technologically advanced, safe and open, and vibrant and beautiful" China firsthand. The group was taking an Air China flight. The tourists are traveling to Beijing, Shenzhen, as well as Hong Kong and Macao. The themed trip is a new product launched by the Los Angeles Office of the China National Tourist Office and the US Tour Operators Association, following the rollout of the "Hello! China" tourism promotion project launched by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Tencent has donated 500 million yuan to the National Natural Science Foundation of China to fund basic research projects of young doctoral students. The funds will mainly go to female researchers, as well as those resident in West China and the Greater Bay Area.
The public debut of Hong Kong’s first locally-born giant panda twins on Sunday drew a record-breaking crowd of 5,000 visitors to Ocean Park. The park plans to extend visiting hours and introduce additional panda-themed activities in the near future to take advantage of the current wave of enthusiasm.
Next on industry and company news
China's new energy vehicles (NEVs) performed strongly, with production surging 29 percent year on year to 1.02 million units in January, industry data showed on Monday. NEV sales grew rapidly by 29.4 percent year on year to 944,000 units in January -- accounting for 38.9 percent of total new vehicle sales last month. Total passenger car output reached 2.15 million units last month, up 3.3 percent year on year, while sales grew 0.8 percent year on year to top 2.13 million units. Meanwhile, China's auto exports rose 6.1 percent year on year last month, totaling 470,000 units in January.
Xiaomi Auto's second model, the YU7, will come with two battery packs of 96.3 kWh and 101.7 kWh, for a maximum CLTC range of 820 km, according to information released by the MIIT. The electric SUV is expected to hit the market in June.
Geely Holding and Renault have teamed up to jointly produce and sell zero- and low-emission vehicles in Brazil through Renault do Brasil, the Chinese and French carmakers announced yesterday.
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.Com recently launched a car-hailing service, integrating several third-party providers, including Caocao and Feidi. Users can search for ‘ride-hailing’ on the homepage of JD.Com’s app to access the service, which includes real-time, scheduled, and airport pickup options.
Switching gears to financial news
A total of 12 fund management firms on Monday started the issuance of STAR Market Composite Index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and STAR Market Composite Price Return Index ETFs, supporting the development of new quality productive forces with additional capital inflows.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks fell on Tuesday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite dipped 0.9 percent and the Shenzhen Component lost 1.6 percent. While Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended 1.6 percent higher, and the TECH index rallied 2.5 percent.
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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
Coming up on today’s program
Control of four Chinese financial institutions is set to be transferred to Central Huijin Investment;
"Ne Zha 2" joins all-time global box office top 10.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
The A-share market rose on Monday as news that Central Huijin Investment, an arm of China's sovereign wealth fund, is set to take control of four major State-owned financial institutions, further strengthening investor sentiment.
The move, according to analysts, will enhance the ability of State-owned distressed asset managers to resolve risks and improve the performance of the so-called "national team" — a group of State-backed financial institutions acting as a stabilizer of the stock market — to better perform its role, while igniting hopes of potential mergers among relevant investment banks.
On Friday, three State-owned bad debt managers — China Cinda Asset Management, China Orient Asset Management and China Great Wall Asset Management — along with China Securities Finance Corp, which provides margin financing to securities firms and supports the “national team,” announced that their controlling shareholder, the Ministry of Finance, will transfer its shares to Central Huijin Investment at no cost.
The announcements caused relevant stocks to surge on Monday, as Dongxing Securities, a subsidiary of China Orient Asset Management, went up 5.91 percent on Monday morning while Cinda Securities rose 8.99 percent.
This equity transfer marks a step in implementing the 2023 institutional reform plan, which calls for the separation of market-oriented entities managed by central financial regulatory authorities. As part of this reform, the Ministry of Finance will shift its focus from management to a supervisory role.
"The centralized and market-oriented management of asset management companies by Central Huijin would enhance the efficiency of State-owned financial capital allocation and strengthen risk control capabilities," said a CITIC Securities report.
With China Securities Finance also included in the equity adjustment, the "national team" is expected to achieve better coordination in making unified actions, the report said.
Following the equity transfers, Central Huijin will control six securities firms, including China International Capital Corp, China Galaxy Securities, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, Cinda Securities, Dongxing Securities and Great Wall Glory Securities.
Greater Bay Area, Greater future
China has issued a new document aimed at leveraging the functions and advantages of arbitration system, to create a first-class business environment of the Greater Bay Area. The document clarifies the "Hong Kong (Macao) capital, Hong Kong (Macao) arbitration" system, proposing that Hong Kong and Macao-funded enterprises in the nine mainland cities in GBA can designate either the mainland or the two SARs as the arbitration venue for resolving commercial disputes. The document also emphasized that pilot construction of the international commercial arbitration centers in Guangzhou and Shenzhen should be integrated with the development of the Hong Kong and Macao international legal and dispute resolution service centers.
The GDP of 27 Chinese cities surpassed 1 trillion yuan in 2024. In the GBA, Shenzhen and Guangzhou each exceeded 3 trillion yuan in GDP, while Foshan and Dongguan surpassed 1 trillion yuan last year. Shanghai and Beijing took first and second positions with respective GDPs of 5.39 trillion yuan and 4.98 trillion yuan in 2024. The Yangtze River Delta claimed the championship as a region, with 9 cities entering the trillion-yuan club, followed by the GBA with four and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region with three.
Alpha Lau, the director-general of investment promotion at InvestHK, will commence an official visit to Tokyo and Seoul on Monday to promote the city's latest business opportunities. Lau is set to meet with representatives of prominent Japanese and South Korean corporations, business associations and incubators in various sectors, including financial services, business and professional services, fintech, and innovation and technology, according to the SAR government's official website.
Next on industry and company news
The box office including presales of Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 topped 12 billion yuan as of 2 p.m. today, moving to 10th in the global box office chart, according to ticket info tracker Beacon. Its box office in North America reached USD8.3 million as of today. China’s 2025 box office exceeded 20 billion yuan as of 9 p.m. yesterday, a record short time to reach the milestone.
Xiaomi may maintain a growth of over 30 percent this year and is expected to spend 30 billion yuan in R&D in 2025, said Chairman Lei Jun today. Also, Xiaomi will launch its first central air conditioner at the end of this month to compete with Japan's Daikin and enter the high-end large home appliance market, President William Lu said on Weibo today. The new product leads in energy-saving technology, Lu added.
Baidu said yesterday that it will fully integrate its search engine to DeepSeek and its AI model Ernie to enrich and diversify the search experience. Tencent also announced the same day that its messaging app WeChat allows some users to search via DeepSeek’s LLM DeepSeek-R1. The function is in beta test now.
Tencent’s Honor of Kings jumped six spots to became the world's highest-grossing mobile game in January, data from Sensor Tower showed today. Chinese New Year promotions boosted player spending to the second-highest monthly revenue in the game’s history. Meanwhile, the gaming giant has linked arms with the Esports World Cup Foundation, with Tencent Esports becoming EWCF’s China strategy partner. The Chinese tech giant will offer marketing expertise, consulting, and operational support to bring the Esports World Cup closer to China’s 490 million eSports fans.
Around 824,000 Chinese tourists visited Dubai last year, up 31 percent from the year before, according to the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. The city saw record 18.72 million international overnight visitors, an increase of 9 percent in the period.
Sixteen Chinese cities, including the first-tier city of Guangzhou, will launch a pilot program aimed at enhancing data sharing to optimize logistics and lower costs. The 16 cities, mostly key transportation hubs located in eastern or central China such as Tianjin, Chongqing, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Zhengzhou, will focus on increasing data openness, including multimodal transport data and the integrated application of data from manufacturing, commerce, and logistics industries, the National Development and Reform Commission wrote in a recent notice.
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
Chinese stocks rose on Monday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.3 percent and the Shenzhen Component went up 0.4 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed almost flat while the TECH index dipped 0.5 percent.
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