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Meituans KeeTa is attempting to lure more convenience stores like 7-Eleven to join its delivery platform in Hong Kong, according to Chinese media outlet Jiemian, as the firm looks to add more merchants and categories as part of its expansion efforts. Competitors such as Foodpanda and Deliveroo both deliver non-food items, which are still not available on KeeTa, the report said, adding that 7-Eleven, which joined KeeTa on July 19, currently supports users to order a range of hot food, snacks, and beverages. KeeTa became Hong Kongs second-largest food delivery player by order volume last November, less than half a year after it debuted. The platform has reportedly relocated some of its Hong Kong frontline staff to assist its Middle East operations amid an upcoming launch in Riyadh. [Jiemian, in Chinese]hads upOn Monday, Huawei released a preview video of its new foldable phone the Nova Flip on Chinese social platform Weibo, presented by TFBOYS band member Jackson Yee. The company will launch the phone in China on August 5, alongside other products including the new Matebook GT laptop, MatePad Pro 12.2, and MatePad Air 2024 tablets. At competitive prices, Huaweis Nova series is designed to abrasil x holanda 2010 escala莽茫oppeal to younger, fashion-conscious consumers. The Weibo poster for the Nova Flip reveals three key features, including a slim 6.88mm thickness when unfolded, HarmonyOS AI functionality, and a 50MP rear camera with hover selfie capability. The new flip phone will come in four colors: green, pink, white, and black, with a yet to be confirmed price tag. [TechNode reporting; Huawei Weibo]

Huawei is pushing for the wide release of its Advanced Driving System 3.0 in August, a move Richard Yu, chairman of the board of directors of the companys Intelligent Automotive Solution business unit, said would bring automated driving capabilities to the next level. Yu made the comments on Monday in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing where electric vehicle brand Aito announced it had produced its 400,000th EV, two and a half year after it was established by Huawei and its manufacturing partner Seres in December, 2021. Yu said the upcoming version of the companys advanced driver assistance system will feature a new strategy with end-to-end artificial intelligence, an approach championed by Tesla and utilizing sensors on a vehicle to input to a single neural network and produce control actions as output. Yu added that Huawei will continue to use lidar units, a relatively expensive sensor, in addition to cameras and radar to navigate the surrounding environment, and the systems next great leap in user experience will happen as soon as late October or November. [National Business Daily, in Chinese]Taobao said it would relax the half-year in operation refund-only policy that allows shoppers to get a refund without returning the product, citing as a reason optimizing the business environment while ensuring consumer rights. The policy, perceived as being preferential to customers over e-commerce platforms, was a lesson both Taobao and JD.com learned from the policys inventor Pinduoduo. Taobao merchants with good operating records will henceforth have more autonomy to deal with shoppers refund requests, according to Alibaba. Tmall, the Alibaba-owned retail platform that boasts the most brand merchants, announced it is set to erase its annual seller service fee beginning on Sept. 1, a fee that comes to between RMB 30,000 ($4134.7) and RMB 60,000 a year. [TechNode reporting]American video game company Blizzard announced on July 28 that the turn-based collectible card game Hearthstone will return to the Chinese market on Sept. 25. All Chinese server players, including new registrations, who log in will receive all the cards missed in 2023 for free, totaling 2,154 game cards. Last January, all Blizzard games on the Chinese server ceased operations due to failed agreement negotiations with Chinese game publisher NetEase. As a result, Hearthstone, which had been shortlisted for the esports event at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, was also removed in September 2023. In April of this year, NetEase and Blizzard announced their reunion by reaching a new game publishing agreement based on over 15 years of cooperation. [TechNode reporting; Hearthstone Weibo]High-profile Chinese influencer Dong Yuhui has left East Buy, the e-commerce unit of private tutoring giant New Oriental, due to his career aspirations, commitment to his other endeavors and personal arrangements, according to a filing by the Hong Kong-listed company on Thursday. The move highlights the complexity that livestreaming companies face when dealing with their top influencers. The filing said East Buy agreed to sell Dongs venture “Time with Yuhui” to the livestreamer for RMB 76.58 million ($10.56 million). “Time with Yuhui” was founded last December following the companys firing of CEO Sun Dongxu, which came after Dongs fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Suns management of the star. Michael Yu, the current CEO of East Buy, noted later in a public letter he would pay for the deal for Dong and that, the company was given to Yuhui [for free]. [Jiemian, in Chinese]Temu surpassed its 2023 total sales in the first half of this year to reach around $20 billion, according to a 36Kr report, underscoring the Pinduoduo sister apps surging momentum as it pursues global expansion. Fast fashion retailer Shein, which is also largely rooted in China-based manufacturing, reported generating over $20 billion for the first time in 2022. The report mentioned Brazil was second in terms of downloads for the Temu app in the last 30 days, with more than 5 million downloads, just after the US. However, the eye-catching sales figure still lags behind Temus goal to triple its sales to $60 billion globally in 2024. [36Kr, in Chinese]

Douyin, TikToks Chinese sibling, has recently shifted its e-commerce strategy to re-prioritize GMV growth over price competitiveness in an attempt to return to the GMV growth rate of over 50% it enjoyed last year. The move has been triggered by its previous low-price approach hurting sales growth, according to a report in local media outlet LatePost. The report said the growth rate of Douyins in-app shopping was down to less than 30% per month in the second quarter despite a more than 60% growth rate in the first two months of 2024. To compete with rival Pinduoduo, since the beginning of the year Douyin has given more traffic to merchants who agree to set lower prices, according to LatePost, but that tactic may gradually ease as the short video app now turns its attention back to GMV, the report cited a source close to Douyin as saying. [LatePost, in Chinese]Douyin, TikToks Chinese sibling, has recently shifted its e-commerce strategy to re-prioritize GMV growth over price competitiveness in an attempt to return to the GMV growth rate of over 50% it enjoyed last year. The move has been triggered by its previous low-price approach hurting sales growth, according to a report in local media outlet LatePost. The report said the growth rate of Douyins in-app shopping was down to less than 30% per month in the second quarter despite a more than 60% growth rate in the first two months of 2024. To compete with rival Pinduoduo, since the beginning of the year Douyin has given more traffic to merchants who agree to set lower prices, according to LatePost, but that tactic may gradually ease as the short video app now turns its attention back to GMV, the report cited a source close to Douyin as saying. [LatePost, in Chinese]The German Chamber of Commerce in China has called on Beijing and Brussels to seek a resolution through negotiation on EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, which it says offer no protection to German carmakers and foster tariff escalations that can only hurt the industry. The industry also made quite clear statements that tariffs, as suggested now by the EU, will not increase the competitiveness of the automotive industry, Maximilian Butek, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in East China, told the South China Morning Post. The comments come as Germanys vice-chancellor and economics minister Robert Habeck will meet Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss trade issues on Thursday, and after Brussels announced the imposition of extra duties of up to 38.1% on Chinese EV imports last week. In the latest sign of worsening relations between China and Europe, the Chinese government on Monday announced it has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imported pork and its by-products from the European Union, with Spain, the Netherlands, and France among the major pork exporters to China. [South China Morning Post, Reuters]

Chinese ride-hailing company Didi said on Tuesday it has no timeline set for when it will list again on public markets, amid rumors that it is preparing for an initial public offering in Hong Kong two years after being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The comments came after The Information reported on Monday that representatives from the Chinese ride-hailing giant have been approaching potential US-based investors over the past few months, joining meetings and calls organized by investment banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Bloomberg reported last October that the ride-hailing platform hoped to list shares in Hong Kong in 2024, although that was a year later than previously planned, according to The Information report. The company said it has been maintaining regular communication with investors to keep them updated on the progress of its business, although there is no timetable at present regarding a potential IPO. Didis revenue increased 14.9% year-on-year on the back of a 30.3% growth in total trips in the January-March quarter, as the firms business returns to normal following its delisting from the US and a major investigation into its practices in China. [The Information]Qcraft, a Chinese startup co-founded by four former engineers at Googles self-driving project Waymo, has raised several hundred million RMB (between $13.78 million and $137.68 million), more than a year and half after closing a Series B round where it attracted a similar amount of funding in late 2022. The investment was jointly made by Beijing-based investment firm Cuihu Capital and Beijing Zhongguancun Science City Construction Holding Co., Ltd, a conglomerate backed by the Chinese Academy of Science, according to a statement published on June 14. Best known for developing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for Li Auto based on Horizon Robotics computing platforms, Beijing-based Qcraft said it has facilitated a top Chinese electric vehicle maker to deliver nearly 400,000 cars with its Navigation on ADAS (NOA) technology. Among the existing investors in the five-year-old startup are Chinese tech giants Bytedance and Meituan. [Qcraft announcement, in Chinese]Qcraft, a Chinese startup co-founded by four former engineers at Googles self-driving project Waymo, has raised several hundred million RMB (between $13.78 million and $137.68 million), more than a year and half after closing a Series B round where it attracted a similar amount of funding in late 2022. The investment was jointly made by Beijing-based investment firm Cuihu Capital and Beijing Zhongguancun Science City Construction Holding Co., Ltd, a conglomerate backed by the Chinese Academy of Science, according to a statement published on June 14. Best known for developing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for Li Auto based on Horizon Robotics computing platforms, Beijing-based Qcraft said it has facilitated a top Chinese electric vehicle maker to deliver nearly 400,000 cars with its Navigation on ADAS (NOA) technology. Among the existing investors in the five-year-old startup are Chinese tech giants Bytedance and Meituan. [Qcraft announcement, in Chinese]At the Worldwide Developers Conference 2024, Apple introduced the DockKit accessory integrated with the DockKit protocol for phone stabilizers on June 14, demonstrating the latest AI-phone stabilizer from the Chinese camera brand Insta360. Engineers from the DockKit team showcased that the stabilizer can directly access the iPhone’s native camera on the iOS 18 system for auto-tracking, front/rear camera switching, and zoom control. With DockKit’s tracking technology, the Insta360 AI-phone stabilizer can lock onto and track subjects without requiring manual adjustments, the company claimed. Insta360 has said that the Insta360 Flow series AI phone stabilizer will be released in the coming weeks, despite not yet disclosing other product details or pricing. [TechNode reporting]

At the Worldwide Developers Conference 2024, Apple introduced the DockKit accessory integrated with the DockKit protocol for phone stabilizers on June 14, demonstrating the latest AI-phone stabilizer from the Chinese camera brand Insta360. Engineers from the DockKit team showcased that the stabilizer can directly access the iPhone’s native camera on the iOS 18 system for auto-tracking, front/rear camera switching, and zoom control. With DockKit’s tracking technology, the Insta360 AI-phone stabilizer can lock onto and track subjects without requiring manual adjustments, the company claimed. Insta360 has said that the Insta360 Flow series AI phone stabilizer will be released in the coming weeks, despite not yet disclosing other product details or pricing. [TechNode reporting]Tata Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates, is in negotiations to acquire at least a 51% stake in the Indian subsidiary of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo, according to Indian media outlet MoneyControl. A final deal has not yet been reached because Vivo is seeking a higher valuation than what Tata Group is currently offering, though Tata Group remains interested in the potential acquisition and plans to take control of the joint venture’s production and sales network for future localization, according to the report. Under continued pressure from the Indian government, Chinese smartphone manufacturers are being compelled to sell majority stakes in their Indian subsidiaries to continue operations in the country. Another Chinese smartphone brand, Oppo, is also in talks with local firms to divest its Indian subsidiary, the report added. [MoneyControl]

Ant Group spent a record RMB 21.2 billion ($2.9 billion) on research and development last year, according to its 2023 sustainability report posted on Thursday. The figure rose 3.6% from a year earlier and 12.7% compared to 2021. The fintech giant said that spending was largely focused on artificial intelligence technology. Ant opened its Bailing AI foundation model to the public in November. In other key figures, the affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba said it had served more than 87 million small business enterprises by providing digital payment services as of 2023. As part of the companys overseas expansion effort, Ant Group has cooperated with 25 e-payment platforms, reaching over 1.5 billion accounts at home and abroad to boost cross-border payments. [Ant Group, in Chinese]Honor on Thursday launched its first flip foldable phone, the Magic V Flip, as the Chinese phone maker aims to intensify its competition in the high-end foldable market against leading players such as Samsung and its former parent company Huawei. The Magic V Flip features a 4-inch cover screen, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, a 50MP main camera with a Sony IMX906 sensor, and 66W fast charging. The new device combines an innovative flip design with high-speed performance, appealing to users seeking convenience in a compact, fashionable form, the company claimed. Currently, the Magic V Flip is only available in China, with a starting price of RMB 4,999 ($689). In the first quarter, Honor led China’s smartphone market with a 17.1% market share, according to market intelligence firm IDC. [Honor Weibo, in Chinese]A 17-year-old fashion design student has garnered widespread attention in China for making it to the final of an Alibaba-backed global math competition, with her background of studying at a Jiangsu-based vocational senior secondary school marking her out against the other finalists who hailed from prestigious schools such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and MIT. Ranked 12th out of a total of 801 finalists, Jiang Ping was also the only female in the top 30, according to Alibaba. Jiang spent two years self-studying partial differential equations, according to a video posted by the competition organizer, Alibabas DAMO Academy. She said she wanted to show what she could do and be seen by others. The annual competition allowed teams to use artificial intelligence to solve the math problems this year, but none of the teams who employed AI were successful in making it to the final. [DAMO Academy, in Chinese]In the first quarter of 2024, Huawei’s HarmonyOS surpassed Apple’s iOS in the Chinese market for the first time, making HarmonyOS the second most-used operating system in China behind Google’s Android, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research. The report indicated that the market share held by Huawei’s HarmonyOS in China rose from 8% in the first quarter of 2023 to 17% in the first quarter of 2024, while the share held by Apple’s iOS declined from 20% to 16%. The 5G adoption rate of HarmonyOS reached 50% in the first quarter of 2024, the report added. On Tuesday, Huawei updated its HarmonyOS with a new 4.2 version for its Huawei Mate 40 series smartphones. [IThome, in Chinese]

Japans Ministry of Finance trade statistics show that half of Japans semiconductor manufacturing equipment exports were heading to China in the first quarter, according to the Japanese media outlet Nikkei Asia. In the first quarter, Japans total exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, components, and flat panel display manufacturing equipment to China were valued at $3.32 billion, a 82% year-on-year increase, and a new record post-2007. Notably, the share of Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment exported to China has exceeded 50% for three consecutive quarters, the report added. Last July, Japan announced export controls on 23 semiconductor-related items used for chip making to align with US restrictions on Chinas ability to produce advanced semiconductors. [Icsmart, in Chinese]The US government is considering additional restrictions on China’s access to advanced chip technology used in AI, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The potential measures aim to limit China’s ability to utilize a cutting-edge chip architecture known as gate all-around (GAA), the report said. GAA transistor architecture enhances chip performance and reduces power consumption. The specifics of the proposed rules are still under discussion, and it is unclear when a final decision will be made, according to the media outlet’s sources. Major semiconductor companies Nvidia, Intel, AMD, TSMC, and Samsung are planning to begin mass production of GAA-designed chips next year, the report added. [Bloomberg]Apple is in the process of finding a way to bring Apple Intelligence, its system that integrates generative AI for iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, to all of our customers, the tech giants top software engineer Craig Federighi said in an interview with media outlet FastCompany. Though he did not directly mention China, Apples second-largest market, Federighi did note that in some regions of the world, there are regulations that need to be worked through, and that Apple has started the relevant procedures. Large models need to get approval from authorities before a public-facing launch in China, where US-based OpenAIs ChatGPT is not officially available. Apple has announced it forged a partnership with ChatGPT to power some of its AI Intelligence features at the companys developer conference on Tuesday. [FastCompany]Lilium, a German aviation firm backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, said on Monday it has established its regional headquarters in Chinas southern city of Shenzhen as part of a collaboration agreement with the government of the citys Baoan district. Lilium will set up its local entity (力翎航空) in the Baoan Low Altitude Economy Industry Public Service Center, becoming the first European manufacturer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) to base a regional office in the district. The company hopes its flying vehicles will eventually meet local safety requirements and receive airworthiness certification from China, a prerequisite for the commercial operation of eVTOLs in the country, making it an active and contributing industry player in the regions low altitude economy. The news comes as dozens of local governments in China have recently released their work plans to facilitate the development of eVTOLs, responding to Beijings call to bolster what it calls the low-altitude economy, as TechNode has previously reported. With Shenzhen-based Tencent being its largest shareholder with a roughly 22% stake, Lilium in April set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the city with a registered capital of €1.9 million ($2 million), according to the Chinese corporate database Qichacha. [Lilium release, TechNode reporting]

Lilium, a German aviation firm backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, said on Monday it has established its regional headquarters in Chinas southern city of Shenzhen as part of a collaboration agreement with the government of the citys Baoan district. Lilium will set up its local entity (力翎航空) in the Baoan Low Altitude Economy Industry Public Service Center, becoming the first European manufacturer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) to base a regional office in the district. The company hopes its flying vehicles will eventually meet local safety requirements and receive airworthiness certification from China, a prerequisite for the commercial operation of eVTOLs in the country, making it an active and contributing industry player in the regions low altitude economy. The news comes as dozens of local governments in China have recently released their work plans to facilitate the development of eVTOLs, responding to Beijings call to bolster what it calls the low-altitude economy, as TechNode has previously reported. With Shenzhen-based Tencent being its largest shareholder with a roughly 22% stake, Lilium in April set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the city with a registered capital of €1.9 million ($2 million), according to the Chinese corporate database Qichacha. [Lilium release, TechNode reporting]Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekrs aggressive global expansion drive is putting it on track to achieve its annual delivery target of 230,000 units for this year, executives said on Tuesday at its first-quarter earnings call. The company is planning to expand its footprint from 25 to more than 50 global markets by the end of this year, said Andy An, chairman of Geely Auto Group and chief executive of Zeekr. This would include 6-8 mainstream European countries, as well as those in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Australia. The updated plan is an acceleration of the one revealed by An at this years EV100 forum in April for selling Zeekr EVs in six Western European countries and 38 markets on Chinas south coast and in the Gulf region by year-end. Financial chief Yuan Jing said the Geely affiliate still has a very big ambition for Europe but will spend more effort on other locations outside of China this year, adding that its parent companys global manufacturing footprint would give it more flexibility than most competitors. The comments come as the European Commission is about to publish the results of a nine-month probe into Chinese EV subsidies. New York-listed Zeekr on Tuesday reported its first quarterly financial results as a public company. Revenue for the January-March quarter rose 71% year-on-year to RMB 14.74 billion ($2.04 billion), with a narrowed net loss of RMB 2.02 billion. Vehicle delivery more than doubled to 67,764 units for the first five months of this year. [Zeekr financial release]

Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekrs aggressive global expansion drive is putting it on track to achieve its annual delivery target of 230,000 units for this year, executives said on Tuesday at its first-quarter earnings call. The company is planning to expand its footprint from 25 to more than 50 global markets by the end of this year, said Andy An, chairman of Geely Auto Group and chief executive of Zeekr. This would include 6-8 mainstream European countries, as well as those in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Australia. The updated plan is an acceleration of the one revealed by An at this years EV100 forum in April for selling Zeekr EVs in six Western European countries and 38 markets on Chinas south coast and in the Gulf region by year-end. Financial chief Yuan Jing said the Geely affiliate still has a very big ambition for Europe but will spend more effort on other locations outside of China this year, adding that its parent companys global manufacturing footprint would give it more flexibility than most competitors. The comments come as the European Commission is about to publish the results of a nine-month probe into Chinese EV subsidies. New York-listed Zeekr on Tuesday reported its first quarterly financial results as a public company. Revenue for the January-March quarter rose 71% year-on-year to RMB 14.74 billion ($2.04 billion), with a narrowed net loss of RMB 2.02 billion. Vehicle delivery more than doubled to 67,764 units for the first five months of this year. [Zeekr financial release]Chinese food delivery giant Meituan on Tuesday announced a plan to buy back shares valued up to $2 billion, with the board saying it believes that the companys existing financial resources are sufficient to support share repurchases while maintaining a strong financial position. The move comes just days after the Beijing-based company reported solid first-quarter earnings, with revenue rising 25% from a year earlier and profit recorded around 60% higher than last year, landing at RMB 5.4 billion. Meituans shares have grown more than 80% from a January low of around HK$60, and the firm has already spent about $995 million on stock buybacks this year. [Meituan, in Chinese]

The stock price of Chinese livestreaming e-commerce company East Buy dropped 9% and closed at HKD 13.9 on Tuesday, fueled by its star livestreamer Dong Yuhui saying that he was very resistant to being a salesperson and that he doesn’t enjoy promoting goods for sales. The New Oriental subsidy’s Hong Kong-listed shares have fallen 15.5% in the past five days, marking a new blow after famous private tutor Michael Yu, also the founder of the two companies, said publicly that East Buy’s livestream sector is doing a messy job right now. The former tutoring firm has found success via its e-commerce transition since mid-2022 as Dong, a former English-language tutor who pitches products bilingually, helped East Buy attract a flood of viewers. Yet the companys latest earnings results showed its net profit had more than halved in the six months ending November 2023, making the achievement of stable profits a key challenge for East Buy. [Yicai, in Chinese]On June 10, Chinese developer Game Science started the pre-sale of its upcoming action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong, which sold out within seconds. Currently, reservations on the e-commerce platform JD have exceeded one million. The PC Deluxe and Collector’s Editions of Black Myth: Wukong are limited to 20,000 and 10,000 units, respectively, with prices of RMB 820 ($113) and RMB 1,998 ($276). Notably, the Deluxe Edition includes the Tightening Spell, a magical incantation decoration worn as a headband by the protagonist of the classical 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. The release date for Black Myth: Wukong is set for August 20, with the digital standard edition priced at RMB 268 ($37). [IThome, in Chinese]On June 10, at WWDC 2024 (the Worldwide Developers Conference), Apple CEO Tim Cook announced plans for the Apple Vision Pro to be launched in markets outside the US, with pre-orders in China beginning on June 14 and official sales starting on June 28. The Apple Vision Pro headset is finally arriving in mainland China after being on the market for four months. Japan and Singapore will also start sales on the same day. The 256GB version of the Apple Vision Pro is priced at RMB 29,999 ($4,135), the 512GB version at RMB 31,499 ($4,342), and the 1TB version at RMB 32,999 ($4,549). Optical inserts, which are needed based on the user’s vision, must be purchased separately, starting at RMB 799 ($110). [Jiemian, in Chinese]Chinese domestic travelers spent RMB 40.35 billion ($5.56 billion) during the Dragon Boat festival, three days in which 110 million trips were made, data from Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed. Per capita tourism expenditure rose 4.2% compared to the same period last year, though it lagged the 2019 figure. Consumer confidence remains damp on the second Dragon Boat Festival after China lifted its Covid-19 restrictions. The traditional June Chinese holiday sees people celebrate by eating sticky rice dumplings and racing dragon boats. Reports from mainstream local travel service providers showed bookings from smaller and county-level cities reached a fervor surpassing the popularity of travel experienced in Chinas megacities. [Xinhua, in Chinese]BYD on Thursday revealed plans to launch an electric shooting brake in July or August that will compete against luxurious offerings from German majors such as the BMW 5-series, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Audis A8 saloon. The Denza Z9 GT will feature an innovative electric drive system using three separate motors, among other new technologies, BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu told investors during the companys annual shareholder meeting in Shenzhen, as reported by Shanghai Securities News. Chinas biggest electric vehicle maker first showcased the Panamera-like model at the recent Beijing Auto Show in April, with the vehicle boasting a combined output of nearly 1,000 horsepower and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) within three seconds. BYD currently has three Denza models on sale and delivered 47,388 vehicles under the mainstream luxury brand for the first five months of this year, representing a 3.7% growth from last year and of which most were its multi-purpose van the D9. The automaker plans to launch three new models in the lineup in the second half of this year with an annual delivery target of 200,000 units, Zhao Changjiang, general manager of the Denza unit, told Chinese reporters in February. [Shanghai Securities News, in Chinese, TechNode reporting]Chinese food delivery giant Meituan has reported better-than-expected earnings for the first three months of this year, posting a 25% revenue increase to RMB 73.3 billion ($10.1 billion). Its core local business generated RMB 54.6 billion fueled by strong takeaway orders. Net profit for the quarter rose to RMB 5.4 billion compared to RMB 3.4 billion a year prior, partly as the companys new businesses narrowed losses by nearly half versus the same period last year. CEO Wang Xing attributed the first quarters earnings results to the firm’s reorganization that began early this year, which pushed for closer operating connections between food delivery and in-store services, a move that he said had increased the platforms overall efficiency. On the related earnings call, Wang also told investors that Meituan is taking steps to research the possibility of entry into European and Southeast Asian markets, while continuing to evaluate the Middle Easts market potential in terms of food delivery. [Meituan]

NIO said on Thursday it aims to deliver between 54,000 and 56,000 electric vehicles for the April-June quarter, which could represent a year-on-year growth of between 129.6% and 138.1%, after reporting a wider first-quarter net loss and a reduced revenue of RMB 9.9 billion. This means June deliveries could reach roughly between 18,000 and 20,000 units as the Chinese EV maker handed over more than 36,000 cars to customers in the past two months, partly thanks to a significant price reduction on its battery leasing program in March. The company attributed the 7.2% year-on-year revenue decline and the RMB 4.9 billion ($677 million) net loss to seasonal factors such as the eight-day Lunar New Year holidays in February as well as lower average selling prices due to promotions and discounts. NIO will begin delivering the first model under its third brand, codenamed Firefly, in the first half of next year, covering a price range of between RMB 100,000 and RMB 200,000, William Li, founder, chairman, and chief executive, told investors during an earnings call. [NIO financial report]Kuaishou on Thursday introduced a text-to-video model, “Kling,” which the short video platform operator says can generate “up to two minutes of video with 1080p high-definition.” In a demo the company released, the Sora-like model shows the ability to create a video featuring a cat driving a car through a busy downtown street based on simple text prompts, with Kuaishou saying Kling aims to “make imagination alive.” The Douyin rival also highlights Klings ability to produce videos following realistic motions and making people dance from full-body photos. The Kling video model is “self-developed” by Kuaishous LLM team and uses Sora-similar technology, according to its official website. It is available for an invitation test on the Kuaiying app, a video shooting and editing app of Kuaishou. [Kling, in Chinese]

Kuaishou on Thursday introduced a text-to-video model, “Kling,” which the short video platform operator says can generate “up to two minutes of video with 1080p high-definition.” In a demo the company released, the Sora-like model shows the ability to create a video featuring a cat driving a car through a busy downtown street based on simple text prompts, with Kuaishou saying Kling aims to “make imagination alive.” The Douyin rival also highlights Klings ability to produce videos following realistic motions and making people dance from full-body photos. The Kling video model is “self-developed” by Kuaishous LLM team and uses Sora-similar technology, according to its official website. It is available for an invitation test on the Kuaiying app, a video shooting and editing app of Kuaishou. [Kling, in Chinese]Chinas National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) on Wednesday announced the approval of the third batch this year of imported game licenses. This batch includes 11 mobile games, one PC-end game, and three console games (for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch). Notably, Black Desert, Daemon X Machina, and Valorant, three titles acquired by Tencent Games, have been approved. In 2020, the tactical first-person shooter game Valorant was launched by US developer Riot Games, the same company behind popular title League of Legends. Tencent Games, as a major shareholder of Riot Games, intends to release the mobile version of Valorant soon, though the specific date has not yet been confirmed. [NPPA, in Chinese]

Chinas National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) on Wednesday announced the approval of the third batch this year of imported game licenses. This batch includes 11 mobile games, one PC-end game, and three console games (for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch). Notably, Black Desert, Daemon X Machina, and Valorant, three titles acquired by Tencent Games, have been approved. In 2020, the tactical first-person shooter game Valorant was launched by US developer Riot Games, the same company behind popular title League of Legends. Tencent Games, as a major shareholder of Riot Games, intends to release the mobile version of Valorant soon, though the specific date has not yet been confirmed. [NPPA, in Chinese]On Wednesday, Chinas leading drone maker DJI announced it has conducted a high-altitude transportation test with drones on the southern slope of Mount Everest, marking the first time that a civilian drone has completed a round-trip on a route at altitudes between 5,300 meters and 6,000 meters. From April 25 to May 1, DJI’s test team conducted a week-long test of the FlyCart 30 drone’s high-altitude flight and transport capabilities at and above the Everest Base Camp on the southern slope of the mountain, located at an altitude of 5,364 meters, according to the company. The test team claimed a new civilian drone flight record by reaching an altitude of 6,191.80 meters and achieved a round-trip at an altitude of 6,000 meters with a payload of 15 kilograms. The drone can transport oxygen cylinders up the mountain and bring back garbage on its return trip, DJI said. [DJI, in Chinese]

FinDreams Battery, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese automaker BYD, has won a contract to supply affordable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells to Tesla for the Elon Musk-led auto firm to make its Megapack energy-storage batteries, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. BYD is set to supply as much as eight gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cells annually from early 2025, if Teslas new Shanghai plant reaches full capacity, which could bring the Chinese manufacturer revenue of RMB 3.5 billion ($483 million) based on average industry prices. The move could give Tesla more bargaining power and avoid its reliance on CATL, which is currently the exclusive supplier of storage batteries for the US automaker in China, sources said. Last month, Tesla began construction of its first overseas Megafactory facility, scheduled for operation in Shanghai in the first quarter of 2025. It plans to initially make 10,000 Megapack units a year, equal to around 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, Chinese state media outlet Xinhua first reported on April 9, 2023. [LatePost, in Chinese]FinDreams Battery, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese automaker BYD, has won a contract to supply affordable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells to Tesla for the Elon Musk-led auto firm to make its Megapack energy-storage batteries, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. BYD is set to supply as much as eight gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cells annually from early 2025, if Teslas new Shanghai plant reaches full capacity, which could bring the Chinese manufacturer revenue of RMB 3.5 billion ($483 million) based on average industry prices. The move could give Tesla more bargaining power and avoid its reliance on CATL, which is currently the exclusive supplier of storage batteries for the US automaker in China, sources said. Last month, Tesla began construction of its first overseas Megafactory facility, scheduled for operation in Shanghai in the first quarter of 2025. It plans to initially make 10,000 Megapack units a year, equal to around 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, Chinese state media outlet Xinhua first reported on April 9, 2023. [LatePost, in Chinese]Chinas Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has been increasing efforts to adopt domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as China strives to end its dependence on US chip-making technology, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. While SMIC’s technology lags behind industry leaders such as TSMC and Samsung, at its new Jingcheng facility near Beijing, the firm is aggressively integrating domestic chip production equipment and reducing its reliance on American tools, according to a source. The push for local chip production aims to shield Beijing from US sanctions, with China increasing investment in research and development in related areas. A key example of a breakthrough in this direction is the Huawei Mate 60 smartphone launched last August, which is equipped with the Chinese tech giants self-developed Kirin 9000S processor, the report mentioned. [The Wall Street Journal]Chinas Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has been increasing efforts to adopt domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as China strives to end its dependence on US chip-making technology, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. While SMIC’s technology lags behind industry leaders such as TSMC and Samsung, at its new Jingcheng facility near Beijing, the firm is aggressively integrating domestic chip production equipment and reducing its reliance on American tools, according to a source. The push for local chip production aims to shield Beijing from US sanctions, with China increasing investment in research and development in related areas. A key example of a breakthrough in this direction is the Huawei Mate 60 smartphone launched last August, which is equipped with the Chinese tech giants self-developed Kirin 9000S processor, the report mentioned. [The Wall Street Journal]

Nine major Chinese automakers, including BYD, SAIC, and NIO, have been allowed to proceed with a pilot program to test their production vehicles with medium-to-high levels of automation on public roads, according to a document jointly published by four central government departments on Tuesday. The initiative, launched in November by Chinas top industry, public security, transport, and housing authorities, is aimed at facilitating the deployment of intelligent and connected vehicles and sustaining the drafting of subsequent rules, regulations, and national standards for access to such vehicles. The nine companies are mostly state-owned manufacturers with some private EV makers also included, namely BAIC, BYD, Changan, FAW, GAC, NIO, SAIC, SAICs truck subsidiary Hongyan, as well as electric bus maker Yutong. They are now required to detail their proposed testing plans and safety evaluation methodology for autonomous vehicles as part of an application process for temporary permits to commercially operate their robocars with L3 and L4 self-driving functionality on select Chinese public roads. Some of the early movers with the technology, including Tesla, Xpeng Motors, and Huawei, did not join the program. [MIIT announcement, in Chinese, TechNode reporting]Nine major Chinese automakers, including BYD, SAIC, and NIO, have been allowed to proceed with a pilot program to test their production vehicles with medium-to-high levels of automation on public roads, according to a document jointly published by four central government departments on Tuesday. The initiative, launched in November by Chinas top industry, public security, transport, and housing authorities, is aimed at facilitating the deployment of intelligent and connected vehicles and sustaining the drafting of subsequent rules, regulations, and national standards for access to such vehicles. The nine companies are mostly state-owned manufacturers with some private EV makers also included, namely BAIC, BYD, Changan, FAW, GAC, NIO, SAIC, SAICs truck subsidiary Hongyan, as well as electric bus maker Yutong. They are now required to detail their proposed testing plans and safety evaluation methodology for autonomous vehicles as part of an application process for temporary permits to commercially operate their robocars with L3 and L4 self-driving functionality on select Chinese public roads. Some of the early movers with the technology, including Tesla, Xpeng Motors, and Huawei, did not join the program. [MIIT announcement, in Chinese, TechNode reporting]

Apple is in negotiations with leading mobile service provider China Mobile to launch its Apple TV+ streaming service in China, according to an exclusive report by US media outlet The Information. Insiders say Apple has substantial reasons to reach an agreement, which would extend Apple TV+ coverage to over 200 million China Mobile users. If negotiations succeed, Apple TV+ will be the only US streaming service available in China. Additionally, Apple has reached an agreement with Tencent to offer several popular applications in the Chinese market on Vision Pro, the report added, after Tim Cook confirmed that Vision Pro will be launched in China later this year. [The Information]Major Chinese e-commerce player JD has seen a flurry of consumers from lower-tier cities buy goods on its buy 9.9, enjoy free shipping channel, which attracted more than 100 times the number of shoppers year-on-year within the first hour of the 618 shopping festival, with over 75% of users from third tier and lower cities. The company posted the initial results on its official WeChat account, adding that big brands including Apple and Xiaomi topped RMB 100 million ($13.8 million) in transaction value soon after the beginning of the mid-year shopping festival. Rival Alibaba meanwhile said about 185 brands, also including Apple and Xiaomi, exceeded RMB 100 million in total merchandise volume on Tmall as of 9 p.m. on May 31. This year, Chinese online retailers have set different timelines for the ongoing shopping bonanza while tending to provide ambiguous data, which has made it harder to compare performance year-to-year. [JD; Jiemian, in Chinese]

Prosperity7, the capital fund of Saudi Aramco, has invested in Chinas GenAI startup Zhipu AI in the latest $400 million fundraising round, according to Bloomberg quoting anonymous sources. The investment valued the Tsinghua University AI spin-off at about $3 billion. Zhipu AIs backers include Chinese tech titans Alibaba and Tencent as well as food delivery giant Meituan. Fresh injections from the Saudi fund are flagged as the first well-known capital venture outside China to bet on the countrys AI industry to build an OpenAI alternative. A previous test conducted by Tsinghua University showed Baidus ERNIE Bot 4.0 and Zhipu AIs GLM-4 as top Chinas large language models in terms of overall capabilities. [Bloomberg]Li Auto is going to combine its sales and delivery divisions into a new group in the companys latest effort to revamp its operations and rev up sales, after reporting lower-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2024. The move is expected to bring consistency and spread resources across the two teams, people with knowledge of the matter told Chinese media outlet Meiren Auto on Monday. Performance evaluations had previously been measured by orders and deliveries respectively, which had the potential to lead to conflict when customers put down early orders but wanted their cars delivered the following month, the report said. The news comes after the Chinese electric vehicle maker announced on April 3 a reorganization to sharpen its focus on product development and a failed launch of its first all-electric model, the Mega, in March. The company on May 21 reported a 37% decline in first quarter profit, saying it had delayed plans to launch more battery-powered electric vehicle models to next year. [Meiren Auto, in Chinese]

Chinese phone maker Honor announced today that it will release its first small foldable phone, the Magic V Flip, on June 13. Pre-orders are now open in three color options: black, pink, and white. The new foldable phone features 12GB of RAM and comes with three storage choices 鈥 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB 鈥 according to the company. Honor has said it is procuring the largest external screen on the market for this new model, with this aspect expected to be a key selling point for the Magic V Flip, according to local media outlet IThome. Chinas foldable phone shipments reached 1.86 million units in the first quarter of 2024, representing an 83% increase year-on-year, as reported by market intelligence firm IDC in April. In the first quarter, Huawei maintained its leading position with a share of 44.1% in the domestic foldable market, while Honor ranked second with a share of 26.7%. [IThome, in Chinese]Chinese book publisher Motie Group has warned it has halted the shipping of all books to online retailer JD, as a dispute between the two companies over low-priced promotional books during the mid-year 618 shopping festival became increasingly heated. Shen Haobo, founder of Motie, issued a lengthy public post on his WeChat account urging JD to remove all Motie-published books and return them to the company. According to local media outlet Yicai, the source of the dispute is a model that allows JD to sell books at any price it wants, with the publisher effectively unable to control the price of its goods on the platform. E-commerce platforms relationship with merchants has deteriorated amid the escalation of the formers ongoing low-price strategy. Yicai quoted one of JDs sales and procurement staff who was responsible for the book category as saying that the platform only wants consumers to buy good books cheaply. Shen retorted by labeling the platforms behavior as “hooliganism. [Yicai, in Chinese]Amazon has announced that its Kindle China eBookstore will cease its cloud download service on June 30, 2024. Undownloaded eBooks will no longer be accessible and related customer support will be discontinued. Amazon recommends users download purchased eBooks to their Kindle devices and apps (including mobile and desktop versions), and remain logged into their Amazon accounts for continued access. In 2022, Kindle announced its withdrawal from the Chinese market and stopped operating the Kindle China eBookstore on June 30, 2023. Amazon has provided refund services to users, maintaining them until June 30, 2024. Additionally, Chinese users still have the option to use Kindle e-readers through third-party reading apps such as Tencents WeChat Read. [MyDrivers, in Chinese]Shein plans to file for a London IPO in the coming days as its stalled US listing shows no signs of making progress, according to a report from Sky News on June 2. The report said the listing is expected to value the online fashion giant at around 拢50 billion, less than the $66 billion valuation the business was given during its last funding round early last year. Filing a prospectus with UK regulators does not guarantee a successful listing for Shein, according to Sky News, and a previous report revealed that the China-founded fashion retailer would still prefer to go public in the US, however, uncertainty around its proposed US listing has forced the company to consider alternatives. [Sky News]

In the first quarter, global shipments of wearable wristband devices totaled 41.2 million units, with Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei ranking as the top three brands, according to market research firm Canalys. Apple saw a 12% year-on-year decline in global shipments but maintained its leading position with an 18% market share. Xiaomi took second place with a 15% market share, while Huawei secured third spot with a 13% market share. The Canalys report claimed that Xiaomis 38% year-on-year growth was driven by a diverse product lineup and rapid overseas expansion, while Huaweis 46% year-on-year growth was driven by strong domestic sales of the Watch GT4. [Canalys, in Chinese]Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor has made the decision to shut down its European headquarters in Munich, Germany, and will dismiss about 100 employees before Aug. 31, when the closure will take effect, Automotive News Europe reported on Wednesday. A company spokesperson attributed the move to tough market conditions and the very concrete threat of punitive taxes on Chinese imports, adding that the automaker will supervise its regional operations remotely to sell cars via local distributors in countries such as Germany and the UK. The automaker, headquartered in the northern Chinese city of Baoding, is still planning to build a factory in Europe with Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic among the possible locations, although it sold only 1,621 vehicles on the continent in the first four months of this year. The European Commission is supposed to inform Chinese exporters of whether it intends to impose punitive tariffs by early June and they could come into effect within a month or so, Bloomberg reported on May 22, citing consulting firm Eurasia Group. [Automotive News Europe]

Developed by Korean firm Nexon and published by Tencent Games, the mobile version of Dungeon and Fighter has held the top spot on both the free and top-grossing games charts in the iOS App Store in China for ten consecutive days since its May 21 launch. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the game’s first-week revenue exceeded $140 million, citing data from consulting firm Niko Partners. “If the game maintains this momentum, it could continue to generate around one billion dollars in annual sales for Tencent Games,” Niko Partners analyst Xiao Feng Zeng said in the Bloomberg report. Dungeon and Fighter was first published by Nexon in South Korea in 2005, featuring fast-paced 2D side-scrolling action gameplay with a focus on cooperative multiplayer dungeon crawling and PVP (player versus player) combat. [Bloomberg]Tesla is looking to meet regulatory registration requirements for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in China and begin testing the latest version of it on Chinese public roads, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. If the US automaker manages to gain approval from Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it may roll out version 12 of the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) in China this year, and allow owners to subscribe to the service at about $98 per month. The service now charges Chinese buyers a one-time fee of RMB 64,000 ($8,828), according to the report. The news comes after Tesla chief executive Elon Musk met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing last month and China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), a top auto industry group, confirmed that Teslas China-made vehicles are compliant with the countrys data security requirements. [Reuters]

NIOs power infrastructure network has continued to secure partnerships, as the company said on Thursday that it now offers owners of IM Motors vehicles access to more than 22,500 proprietary fast chargers across China. They can find the nearest NIO fast chargers in their locations and pay for charging by using their own apps, according to an announcement, in a similar arrangement to those with Changan, Geely, and Xpeng, among others. IM Motors, a premium electric vehicle brand launched by Chinas SAIC, has four models on sale with a price range between RMB 199,900 and RMB 459,800 ($27,586-$63,452). It reported deliveries of 38,253 units last year and that number was roughly 12,300 from January to April. NIO is also working with several major automakers and state-owned utilities, including GAC and Southern Power Grid, on battery swapping and operates 2,427 battery swap stations nationwide as of Thursday. [NIO announcement, in Chinese]Chinese ride-hailing platform Didi on Wednesday posted a 14.9% year-on-year growth in first-quarter revenue as total trips increased 30.3% to 3.75 billion. Specifically, the number of trips taken reached record highs of 32.5 million and 8.7 million per day in China and overseas markets, respectively, compared with the 31.9 million and 8.5 million the company achieved in the previous quarter. Didis January-March comparable operating profit also improved to RMB 900 million ($124 million), although it reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of RMB 1.4 billion due to a reduction in investment income from its stake in Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng. Chinas biggest ride-hailing service said last August that it would become a strategic investor in Xpeng with a stake of 3.25%, while the EV maker was set to acquire its smart EV business. The Beijing-based ride-hailer has targeted 10% growth in daily trips in 2024, which refers to the completion of 33 million rides on average per day, according to a March 21 report by Chinese media outlet LatePost. [Didi filing]