CX Daily: China’s ‘EV Battery Capital’ Turns to Solar
TOP STORIES
Solar?/
In the span of four years, Yibin went from a prefecture-level city known for coal and baijiu to the “Capital of Power Batteries,” on account of its large portion of China’s electric vehicle (EV) battery production.
But the local industry has become saturated, according to government officials. In search of a new growth engine, the city is trying to cultivate another clean energy sector: solar power. ?
Davos?/
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Beijing’s “strong” influence on Moscow could play a role in ending the almost three-year Russia-Ukraine war.
Stubb was speaking at a panel titled Peace Through Strength on Tuesday, held as part of the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting running this week in Davos, Switzerland.
Canal?/
Panamanian authorities have started an audit of a Chinese-linked company that operates two ports at either end of the Panama Canal, as President Donald Trump threatens to take back the waterway, citing China’s influence on the key U.S. trade route.
An audit team from the Office of the Comptroller General has begun a financial and compliance review of Panama Ports Co., which is controlled by a subsidiary of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the office said Tuesday on social media platform X. The action is “aimed at guaranteeing the efficient and transparent use of public resources,” the office said. ?
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Payments?/
UnionPay International Co. Ltd. has joined forces with the Indonesia Payment System Association (ASPI) to make their separate QR code payment systems work together, marking its latest effort to remove obstacles that hamper cross-border digital payments between China and Southeast Asia.
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The collaboration aims to ensure that Chinese visitors to Indonesia will be able to pay with UnionPay-supported online payment services by scanning QR codes under Indonesian standards, and vice versa. ?
BUSINESS & TECH
BYD?/
BYD Co. Ltd. became Singapore’s top car seller for the first time last year, overtaking Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Germany’s BMW AG, according to government data.
Just over 43,000 new cars were registered in Singapore last year, recent data from the country’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed. Of these, around 6,200 were made by the Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker, giving it a 14.4% market share and more than quadrupling its 2023 figure. ?
Fuel?/
Beijing’s recent removal of an export tax rebate on a key feedstock for biofuel has offered a glimmer of hope to those pushing for an increase in the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the country.
But aviation industry insiders told Caixin a significant rise in domestic SAF consumption is unlikely in the short term, mainly due to production constraints and high costs. ?
BRIEFING
A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:
Fentanyl tariffs: U.S. President Donald Trump turned his attention to tariffs on Tuesday. He said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports because fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. via Mexico and Canada is made using chemicals from China. Trump is also considering punitive tariffs on the U.S.’ two neighbors and the EU. The new leader had promised during his campaign to impose duties on his first day in office, but instead he has set a Feb. 1 deadline. In response to Trump’s tariff threats, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular press conference that China will always resolutely defend its national interest and believes there are no winners in trade and tariff wars. Trump also threatened Beijing with fresh tariffs if it does not approve a potential future deal between the U.S. and TikTok. The president delayed the app’s ban for 75 days to work out a way to keep it running and has proposed a joint venture as one option.
CATL revenue slip: Battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) expects revenue to have declined by up to 11.2% year-on-year in 2024 to between 356 billion yuan to 366 billion yuan ($48.6 billion to $50 billion). Although the company saw an increase in battery sales volume, prices of raw materials such as lithium carbonate fell, which it said were reflected in product prices, causing the income drop. But the earnings estimate, published Tuesday, also put net profit as high as 53 billion yuan, a 20.12% jump. CATL is the world’s largest battery-maker, with its market share edging up slightly to 36.8% in the first 11 months of 2024. The firm has been expanding overseas and launching new products in search of new revenue streams, having now cornered almost half of China’s EV battery market. ?
Long Read?/
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