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☆ China's economy reveals pockets of softness. Here's what to watch ahead of Friday's data
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The National Bureau of Statistics is due to release data on retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment for April on Friday. Some of the weakness speaks to genuine sluggish demand in China at present. The firm expects this week's economic data releases to show a "softening in economic momentum," affirming its forecasts for the central bank to cut rates by the end of June. "Some of the weakness speaks to genuine sluggish demand in China at present," said Hui Shan, Goldman Sachs' China chief economist, in a note Sunday. Businesses' loan demand fallsNew bank loans to businesses and government organizations dropped sharply in April from March, as did new loans to households, according to official data accessed through Wind Information.

Persons: Hui Shan Goldman Sachs, Louise Loo, Goldman Sachs, Hui Shan, Goldman, RRR, Pan Gongsheng Organizations: Visual China, Getty, BEIJING, National Bureau, Statistics, Reuters, Finance, Oxford Economics, People's Bank of, Information, Clocktower, CNBC Locations: Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, —, Beijing, People's Bank of China

☆ Baidu’s robotaxi unit expects to turn profitable next year
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A driverless robotaxi autonomous vehicle developed by Baidu Apollo driving along a street in Beijing. SHANGHAI — Chinese tech company Baidu said Wednesday its Apollo Go robotaxi arm expects to turn profitable next year. The projection comes as Elon Musk has emphasized his plans to build up Tesla's robotaxi efforts amid a decline in revenue. Baidu on Wednesday announced Apollo's 6th generation robotaxi will cost around 200,000 yuan ($28,169) — or less than half that of the prior generation, the company said. Others in the auto industry remain more skeptical about fully driverless cars, which require broad regulatory approval in order to operate.

Persons: Elon Musk, Apollo, Baidu, Brian Gu Organizations: Baidu, Wednesday, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xpeng Locations: Beijing, SHANGHAI, Wuhan, China

☆ ‘I feel like I've been tricked’: Some property buyers in China’s Tianjin have been waiting 8 years for their homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As is common in China, the apartment complex in Tianjin sold the units before they were completed. Their concerns are just one example of the wider challenges that persist in pockets of China's property sector. Following early efforts to recoup their money or to garner information about their property purchases, a few buyers said police visited their homes, sometimes in the middle of the night. "I feel like I've been tricked this whole time," one buyer said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. In all, Nomura estimated late last year that there are around 20 million unconstructed and delayed pre-sold homes in China.

Persons: Wu Qing, Fred Dufour, I've, Dan Wang, Evergrande, Nomura Organizations: Afp, Getty, BEIJING, CNBC, Hang Seng Bank Locations: Tianjin, Beijing, China

☆ No 'credible plan': U.S.' Blinken issues harshest criticism yet of Israel's Gaza operations
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"One, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven't seen. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over, and we still haven't seen that." The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities in the besieged enclave. We're seeing parts of Gaza that Israel has cleared of Hamas where Hamas is coming back, including in the north, including in Khan Younis," Blinken said. Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes in eastern Rafah, Gaza on May 07, 2024.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Mike Herzog, Evelyn Hockstein, Blinken, Biden, Joe Biden, Ashraf Amra, Benjamin Netanyahu, Khan Younis, Abed Rahim Khatib, We've Organizations: Ben, Reuters U.S, CBS, Israel, Administration, Anadolu, Getty, Hamas, State Department, NBC Locations: U.S, Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Deir, Balah, Palestinian, America, Egypt

☆ Chinese consumer stocks to buy even if the overall market rally fades
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's now focused on finding industry leaders with high free cash flow. Hong Kong-based AlphaHill Capital is looking specifically for Chinese consumer names with free cash flow growth, said Siliang Jiang, the firm's partner and portfolio manager. Jiang expects the Chinese consumer will start to turn around in the second half of this year or next year. China's "Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) edged up in the past 9 months, despite falling property prices and fears of 'household balance sheet recession '. Two of their picks based on positive free cash flow are Li Auto and New Oriental Education .

Persons: Ding Wenjie, Ding, It's, Siliang Jiang, Jiang, Li, Liqian Ren, Ren, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Citi, China Asset Management Co, CNBC, Investors, China Merchants Securities, Baidu, Bank of America, Li Auto, New Oriental, Speed Railway, WisdomTree, Reuters Locations: China, India, Hong Kong, Tencent, Beijing, Shanghai, Shanghai . State

☆ European companies in China are under pressure from slower growth, overcapacity
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesBEIJING — European companies in China are finding it harder to make money in the country as growth slows and overcapacity pressures increase, according to a survey released Friday by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. Only 30% of EU Chamber survey respondents said their profit margins were higher in China than their company's worldwide average — an eight-year low. Jens Eskelund EU Chamber of Commerce in China, presidentChina's economy is now far bigger than it was in 2015 and 2016. More than one-third of EU Chamber survey respondents said they observed overcapacity in their industry in the last year, and another 10% expect to see it in the near future. "This is not just European companies whining," Eskelund said.

Persons: Carlo D'Andrea, D'Andrea, Jens Eskelund, Eskelund, overcapacity Organizations: Nurphoto, Getty, EU Chamber of Commerce, EU, of Commerce, U.S, Bureau, Statistics, Cosmetics Locations: Minhou County, Fuzhou, China, BEIJING, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ China's imports jump 8.4% in April, exceeding expectations as purchases from the U.S. grow
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Aly Song | ReutersBEIJING — China's customs agency released data Thursday that showed exports rose in-line with expectations in April, while imports surged ahead of forecasts. Worldwide, China's exports rose by 1.5% year-on-year in April in U.S. dollar terms, while imports climbed by 8.4%, the data showed. China's exports to ASEAN rose by 8% in April from a year ago, while imports rose by 5%. In April, China's imports and exports of integrated circuits rose from a year ago, the data showed. By volume, China's exports of cars, LCD panel displays and home appliances rose, while exports of cellphones fell slightly.

Persons: Aly Song Organizations: Reuters, CNBC, U.S, Association of Southeast, ASEAN Locations: Yangshan, Shanghai, China, Reuters BEIJING, U.S, Union, Russia, Nations, Vietnam, Mexico

☆ Chinese EV maker Nio to launch its lower-priced brand Onvo on May 15
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Chinese electric car company Nio said Thursday it will launch its lower-priced brand called Onvo on May 15. The announcement comes amid a price war in China's highly competitive electric car market that's forced Tesla to cut prices. Nio said the first Onvo model, the L60, will be a "family-centric smart BEV priced around RMB 250,000, in the same segment as Tesla Model Y." Nio delivered 15,620 electric cars in April, up from 11,866 cars the prior month. The company sells cars to Europe, but didn't specify whether Onvo would be available outside China.

Persons: Nio, Tesla, BEV, William Li, Onvo, Le Organizations: Tesla, CNBC Locations: BEIJING, Europe, China

☆ TikTok sued the U.S. government to block a ban. Here’s what happens now
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Former President Donald Trump attempted to ban the platform through an executive order in 2020, laying out the path to a potential ban. Prior to the passage of the law, TikTok spent more than $2 billion on an initiative called "Project Texas" to better protect U.S. user data from foreign influence. It's also different from past attempts to ban TikTok since the bill has bipartisan support, which can influence the courts, Hans said. Regardless of what happens in the circuit court, Hans said there's a real possibility the case ends up getting elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court. WATCH: Here's what to know about TikTok lawsuit

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Online Harms, Evelyn Hockstein, Joe Biden, TikTok, Donald Trump, Gus Hurwitz, Hurwitz, ByteDance, Gautam Hans, Hans, It's, Hans said, there's, Shou Chew, Steven Mnuchin, CNBC's David Faber, Mnuchin Organizations: Energy, Commerce, Safeguard, Online, Capitol, Reuters, U.S, U.S ., Appeals, Circuit, Center for Technology, Innovation, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law, CNBC, Cornell Law School, Supreme Locations: Washington, Texas, U.S, TikTok, China

☆ Generative AI is speeding up human-like robot development. What that means for jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence is speeding up research and bringing humanoid robots closer to reality in China, home to many of the world's factories. What's changed with the emergence of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot is the ability of AI to better understand and generate content in a human-like way. While the U.S.-based tech is not officially available in China, local companies such as Baidu have released similar chatbots and AI models. In robotics, the development of generative AI can help machines with understanding and perceiving their environment, said Li Zhang, chief operating officer of Shenzhen-based LimX Dynamics. "It has accelerated our entire research and development cycle," he said.

Persons: What's, Li Zhang, Li Organizations: BEIJING, Baidu, Dynamics, CNBC Locations: China, U.S, Shenzhen

☆ TikTok sues to block prospective US app ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

If it loses, TikTok could be banned from US app stores unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the app to a non-Chinese entity by mid-January 2025. But Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, an advocate for the TikTok legislation, said in remarks on the Senate floor in April that the briefings provided critical insight into the risk TikTok poses. US policymakers have described the law at issue as a forced divestiture of TikTok, not an outright app ban. Some US officials have been trying to ban TikTok from the United States since 2020, when former President Donald Trump moved to block the app by executive order. (Trump has since reversed his position, saying a TikTok ban would only help Meta, a company Trump blames for his 2020 election defeat.)

Persons: Washington CNN — TikTok, Joe Biden, TikTok, Bytedance, “, didn’t, Virginia Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, Warner, they’ve, They’ve, ”, Tuesday’s, ByteDance, TikTok’s, Berman, Evelyn Douek, Biden, Gautam Hans, Hans said, Jennifer Huddleston, Donald Trump, Trump, Douek, ” Douek Organizations: Washington CNN, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Justice Department, Oracle, Foreign Investment, Republican, Democrat, Virginia Democratic, Senate, Stanford University, Cornell University . Still, Apple, Google, Cato Institute, European Commission, Trump Locations: China, United States, TikTok, Israel, Ukraine, Montana, Canada, United Kingdom, India

☆ Massachusetts woman beats incredible odds to win $1 million lottery prize twice in 10 weeks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Christine Wilson from Massachusetts won her second $1 million lottery prize within 10 weeks. AdvertisementA woman has claimed her second $1 million lottery prize within 10 weeks, playing the Massachusetts State Lottery. Wilson's first $1 million prize was from Dubs's Discount Liquors, also in Mansfield. New Jersey native Evelyn Adams also won the lottery twice — in 1985 and 1986, earning her a total of $5.4 million. The odds of winning the lottery twice are 283 billion to one, according to UK National Lottery operator Camelot.

Persons: Christine Wilson, —, Wilson, Stuart C, aren't, Kevin Miller, Kenneth J Stokes, David, Kathleen Long, Evelyn Adams, didn't sate Adams, Juan Hernandez, he'd Organizations: Massachusetts, Service, Massachusetts State, Massachusetts State Lottery, Juan Hernandez of, New York, UK National Lottery, Camelot Locations: Attleborough , Massachusetts, Mansfield, Liverpool, Massachusetts, . New Jersey, Juan Hernandez of Nassau County , New York

☆ Autos analysts pick who can survive China’s cut-throat EV market
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Investment analysts are coalescing around a few potential winners in China's car market after a 10-day auto show in Beijing put the ferocious competition on full display. "This year, we notice[d] a meaningful amount of foreign visitors who are Chinese brands' overseas dealers or importers," JPMorgan analysts said. Open to the public After two days of restricting access only to business and media, the Beijing auto show opened to the general public. Jefferies' analysts estimate the policy could boost China's passenger vehicle sales by 1 million units this year, evenly split between electric and gas-powered models. The analysts highlighted their Chinese car stock picks as Leapmotor, Geely and BYD, all rated buy and listed in Hong Kong.

Persons: Nick Lai, BYD, Tesla, hasn't, Elon Musk, Nezha, Asensing, Zhang Haizhou, Morgan, Lei Jun, Xiaomi, Jefferies, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Leapmotor, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Asia Pacific, JPMorgan, Porsche, Apple Vision, Brands, Mazda, Auto, Morgan Stanley Asia Pacific, EV, Bank of America, Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Volkswagen, VW, Toyota Locations: Beijing, China, Asia, Europe, Nio, Zhejiang, Hong Kong

☆ Young Democrats face Gaza blowback as they try to mobilize students for Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Gregory Krieg | Michelle Shen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But the College Democrats insist their worries are also rooted in what they see as the Biden campaign’s unwillingness to grasp the scope of how difficult it is becoming to engage young voters. A mixed picturePolling of young voters on the Israel-Hamas War, specifically about its effect on Biden’s campaign, presents a mixed picture. Only 18% of young voters approved of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Harvard/IOP poll. Seth Schuster, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, touted its investment in engaging young voters. It is even hard for young people to talk to other young people about how to do this,” the Democratic strategist said.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, ”, Hasan Pyarali, ’ ”, Biden, “, Benjamin ) Netanyahu, Nicho Fernandez, hasn’t, haven’t, ” Fernandez, ” John Della Volpe, men’s, ” Biden, Santiago Mayer, ” Mayer, Joe Biden, Carolyn Salvador Avila, Biden’s, it’s, ” Salvador Avila, Allyson Bell, Bell, ” Bell, Seth Schuster, ” Schuster, “ It’s, Aidan DiMarco, It’s, DiMarco, they’re, we’re, Evelyn Schmidt, ” Schmidt, ’ ” Schmidt Organizations: CNN, Democratic, College Democrats, Wake Forest University, Muslim, Facebook, Biden, Democratic National Committee, Democrats, Harvard, Institute of Politics, Georgetown University, Harvard Institute of Politics, Trump, ”, University of Nevada, Meredith College, national College Democrats ’ Jewish, College Democrats ’, Democratic National, College Democrats of America, White, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater College Democrats, House Locations: Gaza, North Carolina, Israel, Washington , DC, “, Las Vegas, Biden’s Israel, Wisconsin

☆ China's automakers must adapt quickly or lose out on the EV boom in the face of regulatory scrutiny abroad and competition at home
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The automaker is the joint venture partner of Honda and Toyota in China, and has an electric car brand called Aion. Expanding outside ChinaLike other automakers in China, GAC is also turning overseas. China's overseas car sales surged last year, putting the country on par with Japan as the world's largest exporter of cars. Dyer expects that to drive overseas demand for Chinese electric cars. Chinese consumers placed almost twice as much importance on tech features compared with U.S. consumers, Dyer said, citing AlixPartners' survey.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng, Tesla, Feng Xingya, Feng, Wei Haigang, Wei, Stephen Dyer AlixPartners, There's, Stephen Dyer, AlixPartners, Dyer, BYD, Nio, CATL, Zhong Shi Organizations: CNBC, GAC, Labor, Huawei, Honda, Toyota, China Passenger Car Association, EU, U.S, Factories, Greater China Business U.S, Ministry of Commerce, Tech, Volkswagen, SAIC Motor, Battery, China Automobile Dealers Association, Automotive, Robotics, Lotus Technology, Geely Locations: Beijing, Evelyn Cheng BEIJING, China, East, Mexico, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, Brazil, Turkey, Amsterdam, Greater China, Asia, U.S, Europe

☆ Biden presents Medal of Freedom to key political allies, civil rights leaders, celebrities and politicians
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Michael Williams | Sam Fossum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden on Friday honored 19 Americans with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom - a diverse list that includes some high-profile Biden political allies, celebrities, civil rights leaders and even one of his former political rivals-turned-financial backer. The list included two of Biden’s core allies in the House of Representatives: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn. President Joe Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Democratic Rep. James Clyburn during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on May 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2024. They are the pinnacle of leadership in their fields,” the White House said in the statement.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Jim Clyburn, Pelosi, Donald Trump, “, ” Biden, “ Nancy, Paul, ” Clyburn, coalescing, Clyburn, James Clyburn, Kevin Dietsch, Jim, ”, Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Yeoh –, Barack Obama, Sen, Elizabeth Dole, Bob Dole, Al Gore –, John Kerry, George W, Bush, Gore “, Donald Trump’s, Kerry, Opal Lee, Medgar Evers, Frank Lautenberg, Jim Thorpe, Clarence B, Jones, Martin Luther King’s, Juneteenth, Judy Shepard, Matthew, Jane Rigby, Ellen Ochoa, Katie Ledecky, Phil Donahue, Greg Boyle, United Farm Workers Teresa Romero, Evelyn Hockstein, Simone Biles, John McCain, Gabby Giffords Organizations: Washington CNN, South Carolina Rep, Democratic, Representatives, Democratic Rep, White, New York, Bloomberg, Republican, Getty, Jesuit Catholic, United Farm Workers, Reuters “ Locations: South Carolina, Washington , DC, Florida, United States, North Carolina, Massachusetts, American, Delaware, Washington ,

☆ Musk makes surprise visit to Beijing as Tesla's China-made cars pass data security rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Local Chinese authorities have removed restrictions on Tesla cars after the company's China-made vehicles passed the country's data security requirements, the automaker said Sunday. Although Tesla's electric cars are some of the most popular vehicles in China, they have reportedly been banned from some government-related properties due to concerns about what data the U.S.-based automaker can collect. Tesla's press release did not specify which local authorities had removed restrictions on the cars. The Biden administration earlier this year announced a probe into whether imported cars from China pose national security risks due to their ability to potentially collect data about the U.S. and send it back to China. Tesla's vehicles were not the only ones that passed the data security rules.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Porte, Premier Li Qiang, Biden, Li Auto, Nio Organizations: Twitter, Viva Technology, Porte de, BEIJING — Local, Premier, Tesla's, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, National Computer Network, Coordination Center of China Locations: Paris, France, BEIJING, China, Beijing

BEIJING — Chinese electric car start-ups Nio and Xpeng are turning to a lower-priced segment of the market with plans to release newly branded cars this year. Nio's first such mass market car will be an SUV cheaper than Tesla 's Model Y, CEO William Li told CNBC's Eunice Yoon on Thursday. The Tesla SUV starts at 249,900 yuan ($35,197) in China. Like many early entrants to China's electric car market, U.S.-listed Nio targeted the premium market when it launched about a decade ago. The new cars come amid an intense price war in China's new energy car market, which includes battery-only and hybrid-powered vehicles.

Persons: William Li, Nio's, Eunice Yoon, Li Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Tesla, Volkswagen Locations: BEIJING, China, U.S

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he prepares to depart Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport en route to Beijing, on April 25, 2024. The U.S. and China will hold their first high-level talks on artificial intelligence within the "coming weeks," U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday, providing no update over the future of Chinese social media giant TikTok. During wide-ranging talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, Blinken said the two sides had agreed to the first U.S.-China intergovernmental dialogue on AI to discuss the risks and safety concerns surrounding the emerging technology. The U.S. imposed restrictions on Beijing's ability to access high-end tech and is moving close to banning social media app TikTok, unless its Chinese parent ByteDance sells it. Speaking at a press conference, Blinken said that TikTok "did not come up" in the talks.

Persons: Antony Blinken, State Anthony Blinken, Blinken Organizations: State, U.S Locations: Shanghai Hongqiao, Beijing, U.S, China

☆ Geely-backed luxury EV brand Zeekr says it's already beating Tesla in parts of China
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Pictured here is the Zeekr 001 electric car at a services trade fair in Beijing on Aug. 31, 2023. China News Service | China News Service | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese electric car brand Zeekr is selling more vehicles than Tesla in parts of China, and plans to expand in Europe and Latin America this year, Zeekr CEO Andy An told CNBC on Wednesday. For the first three weeks of April, Zeekr sold 500 more cars than Tesla in the province of Zhejiang, where Zeekr and its parent company Geely are based. Zeekr also slightly outsold Tesla in the province of Anhui, near Shanghai, and Guangxi, an autonomous region in southern China. The rapid rise of Chinese electric car companies, however, has also prompted the EU and U.S. to consider measures for protecting their own auto industries.

Persons: Andy, Elon, Tesla, Zeekr Organizations: China News Service, Getty, CNBC, EU Locations: Beijing, BEIJING, China, Europe, Latin America, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanghai, Guangxi, Sweden, Netherlands, America, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore

☆ Xpeng's Gu says robotaxis won’t be a real business for at least five years
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A Xpeng G9 is displayed at a store in a mall in Beijing on Feb. 29, 2024. BEIJING — Self-driving taxis won't be a significant business for at least five years, Xpeng Vice Chairman and Co-President Brian Gu said Thursday. While robotaxis will be transformative for mobility if they become prevalent, "to have a real, full-fledged commercial operation. I think it's more than 5 years away," Gu told reporters on the sidelines of the Beijing auto show. "Right now it's not something that we are considering when we are launching and planning the sales," he said.

Persons: Brian Gu, Elon Musk, Tesla, Gu Organizations: BEIJING — Locations: Beijing, BEIJING

☆ China may have to brace for a new wave of bond defaults, S&P says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China's state-directed economy may be creating the conditions for a new wave of bond defaults that could come as soon as next year, according to an S&P Global Ratings report released Tuesday. It comes against a backdrop of extremely few defaults in China amid concerns about overall growth in the world's second-largest economy. China's corporate bond default rate fell to 0.2% in 2023, the lowest in at least 8 years and far below the global rate of about 2.6%, S&P data showed. "We've seen directives or guidance from the government in the past year to discourage defaults in the bond market." "The question is: When the guidance to avoid the defaults in the bond market [ends], what happens to the bond market?"

Persons: Charles Chang, that's, Chang, We've Organizations: Country Garden Holdings Co Locations: Phoenix, Heyuan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING

☆ Tech companies are heavily exposed to China, putting gains at risk, Piper Sandler says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tech stocks are heavily exposed to China, which could put gains at risk, according to Piper Sandler. Tech companies are especially vulnerable to any weakness in China, with semiconductor businesses notably generating more than 30% of their sales in the country, the note read. In April, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) has dropped about 7%, underperforming the S & P 500's more than 3% decline during the same period. "S & P large caps have near-record exposure to a China that is wobbly economically, with an increasingly authoritarian Heavy Hand of regulation," Lazar wrote Wednesday. S & P Global Ratings this week noted the country could be in for a new wave of bond defaults that could come as soon as next year, further fueling those worries.

Persons: Piper Sandler, Nancy Lazar, Lazar, — CNBC's Evelyn Cheng Organizations: Tech, Street Journal, VanEck Semiconductor, Devices, Intel Locations: China, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ China's Xiaomi is selling more EVs than expected, raising hopes it can break even sooner
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Xiaomi SU7 on display at the Mobile World Congress 2024. Arjun Kharpal | CNBCBEIJING — Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi 's new electric vehicle is selling better than expected, putting it closer to break-even despite undercutting Tesla 's Model 3 on price. For context, Tesla China sold more than 600,000 cars last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Li Auto had a gross margin of 23.5% in the fourth quarter last year, while Nio's gross margin was 7.5%, both up from the year-ago period. Tesla's gross margin has successively declined over the past five quarters to 17.4% in the first three months of this year.

Persons: Arjun Kharpal, undercutting Tesla, Xiaomi, Lei Jun, Li Auto, Nio, Lei Organizations: Mobile, CNBC BEIJING, Citi, China Passenger Car Association, Li, CNBC Locations: Beijing, China

☆ China's 'Netflix' iQiyi pivots toward an aging population in an AI era
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi is turning its attention to the country's aging population, while using artificial intelligence tools to bolster content production. One of iQiyi's near-term goals is to improve the product offering for older users, CEO and founder Gong Yu said Tuesday at the company's annual conference. Gong also pointed to estimates that predict about one-fourth of China's population will be considered elderly in 2033, rising to one-third in 2053. Fewer children, Gong said, means each child becomes more important. He said iQiyi would improve the quality of its content for children.

Persons: Gong Yu, Gong Organizations: Netflix, CNBC Locations: China, U.S, BEIJING, iQiyi's

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