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☆ Can China's economy reverse a sluggish 2023 in the last quarter? Here's what to watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In 2020, Beijing tried to rein in real estate developers' high reliance on debt with new restrictions on financing. "The decline in the real estate sector was the result of the government's intentional measures to correct the bubbles in the market," Yao said. But he and other economists mostly don't expect real estate to return to significant growth in the future. Morgan StanleyThis week, worries about China's real estate sector persisted with highly indebted Evergrande running into more liquidity problems — along with reports Wednesday its chairman has been put under surveillance. This month, weekly data from Nomura indicate the real estate sales slump has moderated.

Persons: Stringer, Yao Yang, Yao, Dan Wang, Morgan Stanley, Clifford Lau, William Blair, China's, Robin Xing, there's, Bruce Pang, Pang doesn't Organizations: Afp, Getty, National School of Development, Peking University, Hang, China Center for Economic Research, Communist Party, Financial Work, Communist Party of, Nomura, CNBC Locations: Chongqing, China, BEIJING, Covid, Beijing, Shanghai, Hang Seng China, Communist Party of China, JLL

☆ EU trade chief says the outcome of China EV probe cannot be prejudged
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

About two weeks ago, the European Commission announced an investigation into government subsidies for EV makers in China. watch nowChina's electric car exports have surged in recent months. Homegrown Chinese electric car companies Nio , Xpeng and BYD are among those that have started to expand to Europe, but in relatively small numbers so far. More than two-thirds of China's electric car exports to Europe were from Tesla and other international brands manufacturing in China, according to HSBC. China's Ministry of Commerce was quick to criticize the EU investigation and called it a "blatantly protectionist act" that would distort the global auto industry.

Persons: Dombrovskis, Cui Dongshu, Wan Gang Organizations: BEIJING —, European, European Commission, EV, EU, World Trade Organization, Moody's, HSBC, Volkswagen, VW, China's Ministry of Commerce, China Passenger Car Association, Audi, Wan, Science, Technology, Ministry of Finance Locations: BEIJING, BEIJING — Europe, China, Beijing, Europe

☆ The EU is focusing its China EV probe on production-side subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe EU is focusing its China EV probe on production-side subsidiesValdis Dombrovskis, EU trade commissioner, says the investigation is concerned with the "risk of injury" to the EU's electric vehicle industry, among other things. CNBC's Evelyn Cheng reports.

Persons: CNBC's Evelyn Cheng Organizations: China EV Locations: China

☆ Huawei stays silent on secretive 5G phone at high-profile product launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese telecommunications and smartphone giant Huawei didn't reveal any details about its new phone or reported advanced chip breakthrough during a high-profile launch event Monday. The product releases were part of Huawei's fall season launch event, which was livestreamed Monday afternoon in Mandarin. watch nowStill, many viewers, especially on the Bilibili video platform, left comments asking for details about the phone. It also included a short speech by Hong Kong celebrity Andy Lau around Huawei's launch of a luxury watch design. Huawei's silence on its new phone comes as Apple 's iPhone 15 started deliveries in China on Friday.

Persons: Richard Yu, Yu, —, Hong, Andy Lau Organizations: Huawei, Nurphoto, Getty, Kirin, bluetooth, Apple Locations: Shanghai, China, BEIJING, Huawei's, Hong Kong

☆ China's cutthroat competition hasn't been lost with the slowdown. EV companies fighting to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

I was in town for an event by Chinese electric car company Nio , which was vying with Huawei's big Connect conference for literal space and attention in a week of tech news. Electric car manufacturers are abuzz In the world of electric cars alone, Baidu -backed startup Jidu launched its car on Tuesday afternoon; Xpeng also unveiled its new G9 electric SUV. Nio, which had just wrapped its fifth car release in four months the prior week, launched a smartphone on Thursday. A competitive spirit, particularly in tech China's cutthroat competition hasn't been lost with the slowdown. While she hasn't had time to give the Nio phone a good look yet, she said she's a regular at the local Nio House, and invites family and friends there.

Persons: Xpeng, Leapmotor, William Li, Li, that's, Meng Wanzhou, JD.com, JD, Peter Alexander, Alexander, Frank Fan, Nio, Angela Cai, Cai, hasn't, she's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Baidu, Wednesday, CNBC, Companies, Huawei, Netflix, Ben Advisors, ., Starbucks, Apple, China, Bank of America Locations: Beijing, Shanghai, Arcfox, U.S, China, China .

Hundreds of people lined up at a flagship Apple store in Beijing to pick up the new iPhone 15 when deliveries began on Friday. As of 10 a.m. Beijing time on Friday, iPhone 15 sales via JD 's Dada one-hour delivery app surged by 253% versus that of the iPhone 14 last year, Dada said. Zhao said he was planning to upgrade from his Huawei device to buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which has a list price of 9,999 yuan ($1,370). Strong iPhone 15 pre-salesApples' iPhone 15 pre-sales in China pointed to robust demand. Counterpoint Research's most optimistic outlook for Apple in China predicts a 4% year-on-year decline in Apple iPhone shipments in the fourth quarter.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng, JD, Dada, Zhao, he'd, China Zhao, Will Wong, Alibaba's Tmall, Pro Max, Tarun Pathak Organizations: Apple, CNBC, Huawei, Street Journal, Bloomberg, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IDC Apple, Pro, IDC, Counterpoint Technology Market Research Locations: Beijing, Evelyn Cheng BEIJING, China, Sanlitun, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Americas

☆ Nio's new smartphone will focus on connectivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNio's new smartphone will focus on connectivityNio is the first high-end Chinese electric car brand to release its own smartphone. CNBC's Evelyn Cheng reports.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng

☆ Chinese EV maker Nio releases a smartphone it expects at least half of its users to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio launches a smartphone at an event in Shanghai on Sept. 21, 2023. He told CNBC that among Nio users from which the company makes a profit, more than half are iPhone users, while the other half uses flagship Android phones from Huawei and other brands. Nio is the first high-end Chinese electric car brand to release its own smartphone, which Li said the company developed in about a year. Huawei also sells its in-car software to other electric car companies such as Avatr and BAIC's Arcfox. He pointed out that the Nio phone app has 600,000 active users a day, about 1.5-times the number of car users.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng, William Li, Li, Nio Organizations: CNBC SHANGHAI, CNBC, Huawei, Apple Locations: Shanghai, China, Europe, Germany

☆ China's capital city is letting the public take fully driverless robotaxis — and has bigger rollout plans, startup Pony.ai says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's capital city is taking swift steps to allow robotaxi businesses to grow. As of Tuesday, the suburban Beijing city district of Yizhuang is officially letting local robotaxi operators — primarily Baidu and startup Pony.ai — charge fares for fully autonomous taxis, with no human staff inside. "We have very high confidence ... maybe only in three years, our full driverless vehicles are going to be running over the whole Beijing city," he said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. Out of more than 200 robotaxis that Pony.ai operates in the region, only about ten are currently fully driverless, Zhang said. Beijing city did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

Persons: Ning Zhang, Beijing's, Zhang, Yin Yong, Pony.ai, Baidu, Alphabet's Waymo, Pony.ai's Zhang, —, Leswing, Lora Kolodny Organizations: Visual China, Getty, BEIJING, Baidu, CNBC, Daxing International, robotaxis, General Motors, California Department of Motor Vehicles, Beijing Daxing, Google Locations: Beijing, Yizhuang, Pony.ai, Yizhuang district, Daxing, U.S, San Francisco, California, China, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai

☆ China VCs have a big problem — and it’s not just a drop in U.S. investor appetite
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Among China-focused investment firms, only four U.S. dollar-denominated venture capital funds established between 2015 and 2020 have at least returned investors all the money they put in. Alternative assets include venture capital, but not publicly traded stocks and bonds. Preqin doesn't track every single China VC fund, and only included those with data as of the end of last year or more recently. In the world of early-stage investing, "limited partners" (typically institutions) give money to "general partners" (venture capital funds) to invest into startups. The outperforming funds were: Loyal Valley Capital Advantage Fund I, Hillhouse Fund II, Oceanpine USD Fund I and HighLight Capital USD Fund II.

Persons: Preqin, —, Reuben Lai, “, Reuben Lai Preqin, they'd, Alex Shum, Preqin's Lai, there's, Lai, Jinjian Zhang, Vitalbridge, Zhang Organizations: Nurphoto, Getty, ., China VC, CNBC, Fengshion, Investment Fund, LYFE Capital, GGV, BioTrack, U.S, Capital, II, Sequoia, Sequoia Capital China Growth Fund, TPG NewQuest Locations: Shenzhen, China, BEIJING, That's, Preqin, Greater China, Beijing, IPOs, Vitalbridge, Shanghai

☆ China VC deals plunge, on track for worst pace in more than seven years
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Slowing growth and geopolitical tensions are stifling the Chinese startup world that once spawned unicorns such as ByteDance and Didi, according to a PitchBook report Monday. Chinese regulation in the last two years has also made it harder for companies to go public overseas. Venture capital firms in China invested $26.7 billion in 3,072 deals in the first half of 2023, PitchBook said. On an annualized basis, that indicates a 31.4% drop from 2022 levels — on pace to fall below that of 2016, the report said. The annualized value of mega-deals — $100 million or larger — were on pace for their lowest level since 2015, PitchBook said.

Persons: Didi, dampening, PitchBook Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Venture Locations: BEIJING, U.S, China

☆ China's AI applications are coming — where it matters for monetization
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Around the same time, Tencent announced it is integrating its AI model into advertising content creation, and its own Zoom-like video conferencing app. It's also not clear how powerful China's AI applications currently are, beyond demos and select business partnerships. "Overall we see generally Chinese language model[s] still lag behind the most advanced ChatGPT version 4," CLSA's Tony Zhang said in a phone interview in the last week. Now with Beijing's green light, public-facing AI applications such as Baidu's Ernie bot can be widely used in China. Generative AI and large language model-related revenue contributed to 20% of SenseTime' s revenue in the first half of 2023, Nomura analysts said, citing company management.

Persons: Nomura, Tencent, Coffee, Luckin, Joey Wat, It's, Tony Zhang, –, Ernie, Oliver Wyman's David Xie Organizations: Baidu, KFC Locations: Beijing, China, Taobao, TikTok

☆ Yum China says tech investments let it open more stores without needing more staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Pedestrians walk past a Pizza Hut restaurant and a KFC restaurant, both operated by Yum China, in Beijing, China, on Sept. 5, 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Yum China is spending more on tech, an investment that's allowed it to open more stores without having to hire more staff, CEO Joey Wat told CNBC in an interview Friday. Yum China operates KFC and Pizza Hut stores in China, among other brands. With technology, she said staff can be promoted to manage multiple stores and support the opening of new locations. This year alone, the company plans to spend about $700 million to $900 million.

Persons: Joey Wat, Wat Organizations: KFC, Yum, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, Yum China, U.S, Companies, Walmart Locations: Yum China, Beijing, China, BEIJING, Yum, Alibaba

☆ China’s retail sales surprise with faster growth, up 4.6% in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China's retail sales and industrial production picked up pace in August with better-than-expected growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Friday. Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago, beating expectations for 3% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July. Industrial production grew by 4.5% in August from a year ago, better than the 3.9% forecast and faster than the 3.7% increase reported for July. That missed expectations for a 3.3% increase and was slower than the 3.4% pace reported as of July.

Persons: Fu Linghui Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics Locations: Chongqing, China, BEIJING

☆ China's real estate sector is still in a period of 'adjustment,' says statistics bureau
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina's real estate sector is still in a period of 'adjustment,' says statistics bureauHowever, the National Bureau of Statistics of China said the country's advanced manufacturing and services sectors are growing. CNBC's Evelyn Cheng reports.

Persons: CNBC's Evelyn Cheng Organizations: National Bureau of Statistics Locations: China

☆ What is shadow banking? Unpacking the risks for China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

China Photos | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's real estate problems have again drawn attention to the world of shadow banking and the risks it poses to the economy. Shadow banking — a term coined in the U.S. in 2007 — refers to financial services offered outside the formal banking system, which is highly regulated. Estimates of the size of shadow banking in China vary widely, but range in the trillions of U.S. dollars. Shadow banking and real estateChina's property sector, an estimated one-fourth of the economy, lies at the intersection of shadow banking, local government finances and household assets. "These trust companies were basically part of the shadow banking system in China."

Persons: —, Logan Wright, Wright, Shimao, PwC, Edward Chan, Nomura Organizations: Getty, BEIJING, Developers, Logan Wright Center for Strategic, Center for Strategic, Studies, PricewaterhouseCoopers, CNBC, CSIS Locations: Shanghai, China, U.S

☆ China can't just rely on boosting births to address aging population issues, Renmin University professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China can't just rely on increasing childbirths to address its aging population issues, said Du Peng, vice principal of Renmin University of China. Du is director of the university's Institute of Gerontology, which means relating to the elderly. China's population growth has slowed as births drop and lifespans increase. In the last ten years, Beijing has started to unwind strict policies that for about three decades had limited households to one child each. High education and housing costs, especially in the big cities where more jobs are located, has also discouraged households from having children.

Persons: Du Peng, Du Organizations: Renmin University of China, university's Institute of Gerontology, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing

☆ Walter Isaacson's new Elon Musk biography is already taking off in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Citic Press book stand advertises for the release of the Chinese version of Walter Isaacson's new Elon Musk biography. BEIJING — Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk hit the Chinese market Tuesday, several hours ahead of the U.S. release due to a time difference that puts Beijing 12 hours ahead of New York. A day earlier, publisher Citic Press Group raised the book's selling price to 79 Chinese yuan ($10.84), up from 59 yuan previously, according to Chris Sun, lead translator of Isaacson's book into Chinese. Citing conversations with the publisher, Sun said a rare, urgent additional printing was done during the pre-sale period and that the work was Citic Press' "highest-level confidential project" of the year. The Shenzhen-listed company reported revenue from operations of 872.65 million yuan for the first half of the year, up 2.9% from a year ago.

Persons: Walter Isaacson's, Elon, BEIJING — Walter Isaacson's, Elon Musk, Chris Sun, Sun, Citic Organizations: Press, BEIJING, Beijing, Citic Press, CNBC Locations: New York, Shenzhen

Long wait times for visa applications are keeping people in China from traveling internationally as much as they'd like to, Jane Sun, CEO of travel booking site Trip.com , told CNBC's Eunice Yoon. For example, applications for a Schengen visa take two to six months, Sun said, "which is too long." She claimed demand for international travel from China has "far exceeded" the 2019 level, before the pandemic. Demand for domestic travel has exceeded the 2019 level by 60%, she said. As of August, the U.S. only allowed 12 round-trip passenger flights a week from China to the U.S. That was slated to increase to 18 a week starting Sept. 1, and 24 a week starting Oct. 29.

Persons: Long, Jane Sun, CNBC's Eunice Yoon, Sun Organizations: U.S Locations: China, U.S

☆ What China slowdown? Three Chinese companies making big money globally
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

More Chinese companies are becoming global players. In all, BYD, state-owned SAIC and other Chinese companies gained 9% of the global electric car market in the second quarter, up from 5% in the second quarter, Counterpoint Research said. That's on top of the companies' share in the domestic Chinese market — the largest globally for autos. For the full year, XCMG has an export sales growth target of 50% growth, UBS stock analyst Phyllis Wang and a team said in a Sept. 4 note. Chinese companies have been trying to "go global" for years, with tacit encouragement from Beijing.

Persons: Lei Meng, That's, Xiao Feng, BYD, UBS's Meng, XCMG, Phyllis Wang, Mingyang, JPMorgan's Helen Zhu, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Car, UBS Securities, China Equity, SAIC, Research, Hong, Toyota, General Motors, Britannica ., Xuzhou Construction Machinery, Central, UBS, Beijing ., JPMorgan Locations: Hong Kong, Britannica, China, Shenzhen, Xuzhou, West Asia, North Africa, Central America, Europe, Central Asia, North America, Beijing, Beijing . State, Shanghai

☆ China's exports drop by 8.8% in August as trade slump persists
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Cargo ships dock at the Longtan Container Terminal of Nanjing Port to load and unload containers in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, Sept 6, 2023. BEIJING — China reported Thursday another monthly decline in imports and exports, albeit less steep than expected. Exports in U.S. dollar terms fell by 8.8% in August from a year ago. Imports in U.S. dollar terms fell by 7.3% in August from a year ago, better than the 9% decline forecast by Reuters. Exports have fallen year-on-year for every month since April as global demand for Chinese goods wanes.

Organizations: Exports, Reuters, Imports Locations: Nanjing Port, Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China, BEIJING — China

Tencent has said it was internally testing its Hunyuan AI model on advertising and fintech. Tencent is integrating Hunyuan's capabilities with its existing products for video conferencing and social media, Tong told CNBC. The company operates WeChat, a widely used messaging and payments app in China, and video conference platform Tencent Meeting. Baidu and several other Chinese companies received the green light in the last few weeks to release AI-powered chatbots to the public. "The constraint that we're facing will hinder the progress, the speed of development," Tong told CNBC in response to a question about U.S. restrictions.

Persons: Dowson Tong, Tencent, Tong, Ernie, ChatGPT Organizations: CNBC, Baidu Locations: China, Beijing

☆ Chinese EVs are now seen posing a 'real threat' to Europe's auto industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChinese electric vehicles pose "a real threat" to the European car industry, according to Christian Kames, managing director at financial advisory firm Lazard. Kames spoke from the IAA Mobility Conference in Munich, where the number of Chinese companies has soared since the last event. watch nowThe increase in Chinese companies in attendance shows that these firms "really have the European market … as the next market they want to conquer," Kames said. European companies are 'ready to engage'European auto manufacturers are well aware of the competition brought about by Chinese companies, Christian Kames told CNBC. "[European carmakers] get it now, that the Chinese [automakers] are a real threat.

Persons: Christian Kames, Lazard, Kames, Warren Buffet, carmaker BYD, Xpeng, Brian Gu, Luca De Meo, Monday, De Meo, China's, Chris Reitermann, CNBC's Evelyn Cheng, Reitermann Organizations: Munich, Bloomberg, Getty, IAA, IAA Mobility, CNBC, UBS, Renault, Ogilvy Asia Pacific Locations: Munich, Germany, Asia, Europe, Hangzhou, China, Swiss, European, Greater China

☆ Baidu launches a slew of AI applications after its Ernie chatbot gets public approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Baidu has launched a slew of AI applications after its Ernie chatbot received public approval. BEIJING – Chinese tech giant Baidu announced more than 10 new AI-based applications on Tuesday, just days after its ChatGPT-like Ernie bot was released for public use. The company built the tool using the AI model on which Baidu's Ernie bot is based, as well as Baidu's "Qianfan" cloud platform for AI models, according to a release. Nearly 10,000 businesses are actively using Baidu's Qianfan cloud platform each month, the company claimed. Baidu also announced that more than 6 million users have used an AI-powered tool that sits inside its Google drive-like cloud product.

Persons: Ernie chatbot, Ernie Organizations: Baidu Locations: BEIJING, Shanghai

☆ Li Auto reports record deliveries for August; Chinese EV brands on track to hit third-quarter guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING — Chinese electric car companies Nio , Xpeng and Li Auto delivered enough vehicles in August to keep pace with their third quarter guidance. That's according to announcements from the three companies, which are all listed in the U.S.Li Auto again remained ahead of the pack with deliveries of 34,914 cars in August. That's above the range of 33,333 to 34,333 monthly deliveries forecast for the third quarter. The company also delivered about 800 more cars in August than in July. Its vehicles are not pure electric cars since they come with a fuel tank to extend the battery's range.

Persons: Li, Li Auto, Nio Organizations: Li Auto, Li Locations: BEIJING, U.S, That's

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