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☆ Tesla owners in China protest against surprise price cuts they missed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] People protest at a Tesla showroom in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, released January 6, 2023 in this picture obtained by Reuters from social media. After Friday's surprise discounts, Tesla's EV prices in China are now between 13% and 24% below their September levels. 'RETURN THE MONEY'Other videos appearing to be of Tesla owners protesting were also posted to Chinese social media platforms on Saturday. Tesla does not plan to compensate buyers who took delivery before the most recent price cut, a spokesman for Tesla China told Reuters on Saturday. Analysts have been positive about the potential for Tesla's price cuts to drive sales growth at a time when it is a year from announcing its next new vehicle, the Cybertruck.

☆ As travel resumes, China's luxury shoppers ask: Paris or Hainan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"When I would go to Paris, I couldn't ask the Paris sales people to keep a bag for me, but now here we can," she said. Under pandemic travel curbs, China's domestic luxury sales boomed, doubling to 471 billion yuan ($68.25 billion) from 2019 to 2021, according to Bain & Co. Even so, Chinese consumers' share of the global market fell to 21% in 2021 from 25% in 2019. "It will be interesting to see how new luxury consumers will perceive the difference between domestic and overseas luxury shopping," he said. ALTERNATIVESInternational travel restrictions and local policies to spur spending also drove many consumers to China's tax-free island of Hainan as a luxury shopping destination.

☆ Honda to recall 200,000 hybrid vehicles made in China -regulator
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Honda (7267.T) will recall just over 200,000 hybrid vehicles due to issues with brake pedal sensors in some models, China's State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on Thursday. A total of 105,608 hybrid vehicles produced between Oct. 8, 2018 and Sept. 7, 2020 by the Japanese carmaker's venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co. (600006.SS) would be recalled, along with another 95,081 units from Honda's manufacturing partnership with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (601238.SS) made between August 27, 2018 and August 6, 2020. The issue relates to lubricating oil introduced into brake pedal sensors during the manufacturing process which could cause issues with the sensors over time, and the recall would begin from March 31, 2023, the statement added. Reporting by Casey Hall; editing by Uttaresh.VOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related. The holiday travel rush is expected to last for 40 days, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15, the Ministry of Transport said this week. China's official death toll of 5,246 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the United States. The United States, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan said they would require COVID tests for travellers from China. Omicron was still the dominant strain in China, Chinese health officials said this week.

Airlines are drawing up plans to expand their services but ordinary Chinese and travel agencies suggest that a return to anything like normal will take some time. But an immediate surge in international travel is not widely expected. According to VariFlight data, international flights to and from China are at 8% of pre-pandemic levels. Weighing on many people's travel plans is the wave of COVID-19 infections now sweeping China, Liu said. One of the fastest bouncebacks is expected to be in international business travel.

[1/3] An empty road is pictured at Shanghai Central Business District (CBD) as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Shanghai, China, December 23, 2022. Subway trains in Beijing and Shanghai were packed, while some major traffic arteries in the two cities jammed with slow-moving cars on Monday as residents commuted to work. An annual Christmas market held at the Bund, a commercial area in Shanghai, was also crowded over the weekend. Crowds thronged the winter festive season at Shanghai Disneyland and Beijing's Universal Studios on Sunday, queuing up for rides in Christmas-themed outfits. The city of Qingdao, in the eastern Shandong province, has estimated that up to 530,000 residents were being infected each day.

SummarySummary Companies COVID infections may peak next week- Chinese health officialChina reports no new COVID deaths for 3rd dayOverstretched health system braces for more severe casesBEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - China is expecting a peak in COVID-19 infections within a week, a health official said, with authorities predicting extra strain on the country's health system even as they downplay the disease's severity and continue to report no new deaths. China reported less than 4,000 new symptomatic local COVID cases nationwide for Dec. 22, and no new COVID deaths for a third consecutive day. Authorities have narrowed the criteria for COVID deaths, prompting criticism from many disease experts. Experts say China could face more than a million COVID deaths next year. NO DATAThe World Health Organization has received no data from China on new COVID hospitalizations since Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policy.

☆ In China, people are learning to live with COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Living in a post "zero-COVID" China, despite the anxiety about being infected and rapidly rising cases, hasn't been too bad, says Yang. "I wasn't too worried (when we tested positive), I was quite well prepared with food and medicine," she said. "When I think of this situation my feeling is just, wow, we are so lucky because now we can isolate at home," Yang said. "This wave is something we have to face, because it is impossible to stay closed forever," Yang said. "It may have some impact on the economy and cause some problems in people's lives, but many of us see hope in front of us now."

Experts say China could face more than a million COVID deaths next year. Authorities in Sanya on the southern Hainan island have lined up 18 pharmacies to distribute free drugs. mRNA VACCINES FOR GERMANSIn China, only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID are being classified as COVID fatalities. Germany said it has sent its first batch of BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID vaccines to China to be administered initially to German expatriates. China has nine domestically developed COVID vaccines approved for use.

From its original epicentre in the north, including the capital Beijing, COVID-19 infections are spreading throughout the country and cases are impeding workforces in manufacturing belts, including the Yangtze River Delta, near Shanghai. With mass testing halted after China abruptly dropped its zero-COVID policy this month, official data no longer reliably captures new case numbers. Some estimates, however, predict the wave currently sweeping the country could infect up to 60% of China's 1.4 billion-strong population. LOGISTICS LOGJAMLeading automobile chipmaker, Renesas Electronics Corp (6723.T) suspended production at its Beijing plant last Friday due to COVID-19 infections, but said it would re-open Tuesday. For now, however, that impact is being limited in part by economic hardships elsewhere in the world denting demand for products from China.

☆ Beijing braces for surge in severe COVID cases as world watches with concern
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Bernard Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] People wearing face masks commute in a subway station during morning rush hour, following the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) outbreak, in Beijing, China January 20, 2021. China, which uses a narrow definition of what can be classified as COVID fatalities, reported no new COVID deaths for Dec. 20, compared with five the previous day. Severe cases rose by 53 across China on Tuesday, versus an increase of 23 the previous day. China does not provide absolute figures of severe cases. Blood clots, heart problems and sepsis - an extreme body response to infection - have caused countless deaths among COVID patients around the world.

☆ Lanvin Group to open stores, hunt buys after U.S. SPAC listing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chinese luxury fashion conglomerate Lanvin Group, owner of the eponymous French fashion brand, said it is scouting for buys and will open new stores, after a New York SPAC listing on Thursday that raised $150 million and valued it at $1.31 billion. U.S.-listed shares of Lanvin opened about 4% higher at $10.25, and more than doubled to $20.25 in early trade. However, we still feel quite happy about what we have achieved in such a challenging environment," Lanvin Group Chairman and Chief Executive Joann Cheng told Reuters in an interview. Group revenue for the company, which was originally known as Fosun Fashion Group before it rebranded as Lanvin Group in October last year, grew 73% year-on-year to 202 million euros ($215 million) in the first half of 2022. Lanvin Group's listing will test investor appetite in less-established luxury groups.

☆ Chinese consumers wary of splurging after Beijing relaxes COVID strictures
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"On the other hand, we don't know who is safe, we don't know who has the coronavirus. "Moving from isolation facility quarantine to home quarantine will not increase retail sales significantly," said Iris Pang, chief economist for greater China at ING. A spa at a mall in downtown Beijing that resumed business on Friday said most staff had returned but customers were far fewer. Luca Solca, a luxury analyst with Bernstein, said the end of the curbs was good news for the luxury industry, heavily dependent on Chinese spending. "My base-case scenario is that the softening should prompt Chinese consumers to go back to enjoying life and spending money – benefiting, among others, top luxury brands," he said.

☆ Tesla offers additional discount to Chinese buyers on some models
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Tesla is offering a limited time discount of 6,000 yuan ($859.20) to Chinese buyers on some models from Wednesday through to the end of 2022, a company representative said on Wednesday. This comes in addition to a previously announced 4,000 yuan insurance subsidy, but is only applicable for customers buying a current car model and completing delivery by the end of December. Local media outlet Wallstreetcn first reported the discount. The move is the latest by the U.S. automaker to adjust its prices in China. Reporting by Zhang Yan and Casey Hall; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Inside China's fight over the future of zero-COVID
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

After nearly three years, a significant loosening of zero-COVID measures has been signalled by senior government officials and public health experts. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said on Thursday that China's health system had "withstood the test" of COVID, allowing further adjustments to state policies. "You can have zero-COVID, but you can't have a healthy economy, and you can have a healthy economy, but you can't have zero-COVID." Laura Yasaitis, a public health expert at the Eurasia Group think-tank who follows China's zero-COVID policies, said fear of the virus likely varied widely across the country, as well as within cities or provinces. Officials have repeatedly said that China's health system would be unable to cope with a surge in cases, with medical resources unevenly distributed across the country.

U.S. shoppers spent $35.27 billion online overall during Cyber Week, the period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. But the modest pickup trounced the paltry 2.9% increase in sales during China's Singles Day, an 11-day shopping festival ending November 11, hosted by Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce firms. Originally, Singles Day was an unofficial Chinese holiday on Nov. 11 (11/11) to celebrate people who were not in relationships. These days, brands use Singles Day to clear inventory and experiment with new products. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in China, "it wont be fair to can compare" Singles Day with Cyber Week, Chernev said, as Americans are shopping with fewer restrictions.

☆ China police out in numbers to prevent more COVID protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Epidemic-prevention workers in protective suits stand guard at a residential compound as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China November 28, 2022. Simmering discontent with COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into broader protests in cities thousands of miles apart throughout the weekend. COVID in China keeps spreading despite significant sacrifices made by most of the country's 1.4 billion people to prevent its transmission, adhering to a zero-COVID policy of eradicating all outbreaks that has isolated China from the rest of the world. The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the steepest growth slowdowns China has faced in decades, disrupting global supply chains and roiling financial markets. In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, videos on social media which Reuters could not independently verify showed hundreds of police occupying a large public square on Monday night, preventing people from congregating.

Two protesters told Reuters that callers identifying themselves as Beijing police officers asked them to report to a police station on Tuesday with written accounts of their activities on Sunday night. "We are all desperately deleting our chat history," said another person who witnessed the Beijing protest and declined to be identified. Simmering discontent with stringent COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into protests in cities thousands of miles apart over the weekend. Officials say the COVID policy has kept the death toll in the thousands, avoiding the millions of deaths elsewhere. In an editorial that did not mention the protests, People's Daily, the Party's official newspaper, urged citizens to "unswervingly implement" COVID policies.

☆ Louis Vuitton picks Shanghai for first furniture and homewares store
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Louis Vuitton on Friday announced plans to open a dedicated furniture and homewares store in Shanghai, a world first for the French luxury brand as it aims to expand further into lifestyle offerings to affluent Chinese clients. Louis Vuitton, part of LVMH (LVMH.PA), said in a statement the showroom will be trialled for several months as a pop-up and if successful will then become a permanent feature. A smaller side building is dedicated to showing designs by Frank Chou, the first mainland Chinese designer tapped by Louis Vuitton to collaborate on the Objet Nomades collection, as the furniture and homewares ranges is known. Louis Vuitton dipped its toes into a more lifestyle-oriented offering in China last month when it opened a store in the southwestern city of Chengdu that included an exhibition space and restaurant. Verghese sees homewares as a good bet for Louis Vuitton, especially in China.

☆ New "Avatar" film gets rare China release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The long-awaited sequel to James Cameron's blockbuster "Avatar", will be released in mainland Chinese cinemas on Dec. 16, 20th Century Studios announced on Wednesday on its official Weibo account. "Avatar: The Way of Water" is one of the few foreign films to get access to the Chinese market in recent months, with others including the latest film in the "Minions" franchise and Sony Pictures' "Where the Crawdads Sing". Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Camden Hauge, who owns the Egg cafe, poses in her cafe in central Shanghai, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 16, 2022. Their Lost Plate company, which has been hosting food tours in several Chinese cities since 2015, will instead veer to Southeast Asia. With COVID outbreaks getting worse, it is unlikely that China's economy can shift into a higher gear in the near term. Local authorities in some Chinese cities eased restrictions, while others tightened. At its core, the problem reflects authorities' failure to prioritise the interests of consumers, who are often the punching bag in China's investment-driven economy.

☆ Alibaba mum on Singles Day sales tally, says in line with 2021
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Singles Day growth this year had been widely predicted at flat to low single digits. Alibaba did not respond to requests for comment on its decision to avoid releasing figures on the 11-day sales event ended that ended on Friday. [1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song 1 2 3 4Consultancy Syntun on Saturday estimated Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce firms holding Singles Day shopping events together logged 934 billion yuan in sales, up 2.9%. The company's Tmall marketplace offered Singles Day deals on more than 17 million products, 3 million more than last year, with a record-matching 290,000 brands participating.

[1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) and other Chinese e-commerce firms holding Singles Day shopping events together logged a 4.7% decline in sales for the first 12 hours of the final day, a research firm said. Citi analysts said this week they were conservatively forecasting Alibaba's GMV for the event to range between 545 billion yuan and 560 billion yuan ($75 billion-$77 billion), growth of 0.9% to 3.6%. Yang Zengdong, 40, a teacher in Shanghai, said she had second thoughts about participating in Singles Day at all this year, but when the final sales period started on Thursday evening, she ended up purchasing about the same amount as last year. "I think it's something deep in the mind of Chinese people that if you don't buy on Singles Day, you are missing out on an opportunity," she said.

[1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) and other Chinese e-commerce firms holding Singles Day shopping events together logged a 4.7% decline in sales for the first half of the final day, a research firm said. Chinese consultancy Syntun said it was estimating a combined 223 billion yuan ($31 billion) for the 12-hour time period. The Singles Day shopping festival, which despite its name has evolved into a multi-week event, is a key barometer of Chinese retail demand. Citi analysts said this week they were conservatively forecasting Alibaba's gross merchandise value (GMV) for the event to range between 545 billion yuan and 560 billion yuan ($75-77 billion), growth of 0.9% to 3.6%.

☆ Alibaba's Singles Day shopping event set to end with subdued sales and no fanfare
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Casey Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. The Singles Day shopping festival, which despite its name has evolved into a multi-week event, is a key barometer of Chinese retail demand. But Citi predicts rival e-commerce giant JD.com (9618.HK), which also holds a Singles Day shopping event, to fare somewhat better as it is strong in consumer electronics and home appliance offerings which are expected to remain popular. Singles Day has also had contend with the absence of one its two live-streaming mega sales gurus, Viya, who has been offline since being fined for tax evasion. "Alibaba has tried to make (the event) less about just dropping prices," said Mark Tanner, chief executive of Shanghai-based consultancy, China Skinny.

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