A Weekly Business Briefing from Yicai Mar 7th

Yicai Chief Economist Confidence Index Edges Up in March on Chinese Gov't Policy Signals

Confidence in China's economic prospects inched higher this month, as chief economists surveyed by Yicai pointed to strong policy signals from the Two Sessions, the nation's key annual policy meetings.

((( Two Sessions )))

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First Briefing From National People's Congress Spotlights China's Economic, AI Strengths

At the first press conference of China's national legislature this year, spokesperson Lou Qinjian fielded questions on topics ranging from the economy and artificial intelligence to the country's first law aimed at supporting the private economy.

China to Make Timely Cuts to Reserve Ratio, Interest Rates, Premier Says

China will cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks and interest rates when it is appropriate, as part of its "moderately loose" monetary policy, Premier Li Qiang announced in the government's annual work report to the nation's top legislature today.

China Aims to Lift Consumption and Demand in 2025, Premier Says

China will continue to take steps to boost consumption, improve investment efficiency, and expand domestic demand as its main economic priorities for this year, Premier Li Qiang said in the government work report delivered to the nation’s parliament today.

China to Channel USD138 Billion Venture Capital Into Tech Firms Via National Fund

China will create a national-level venture capital guidance fund aimed at channeling nearly CNY1 trillion (USD138 billion) into innovative tech firms, according to officials from the National Development and Reform Commission.

((( NEV )))

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Xpeng Is Top Chinese EV Startup by Deliveries for Second Straight Month

Xpeng Motors delivered the most cars of any Chinese electric vehicle startup for the second month in a row, after the number it handed over surged 570 percent in February from a year earlier.

China's BYD, DJI Launch In-Car Drone System for Real-Time Aerial Travel Footage

Chinese carmaker BYD and drone producer DJI have launched an intelligent in-car drone system designed to provide drivers with real-time, vertical perspectives on their travel movements.?

((( AI Next )))

New Chinese AI Agent Manus Is Said to Beat OpenAI's Deep Research

Chinese artificial intelligence startup Monica.Im has launched a new AI agent called Manus, which reportedly outperforms OpenAI's advanced AI agent Deep Research.

Alibaba Soars on Releasing Upgraded Chatbot That It Claims Is as Good as DeepSeek-R1

Shares in Alibaba Group Holding surged today after the Chinese internet giant released its latest open-source Tongyi Qianwen inference model, claiming that its overall performance is on a par with artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek's large language model Deepseek-R1, which recently caused a global sensation.

((( Business Insights )))

Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Soars After Pulling Out of Panama via USD19 Billion Port Asset Sale

Shares of CK Hutchison Holdings, owned by Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing, surged over 20 percent after the conglomerate announced the sale of major port assets -- including two strategically significant ports for the United States in Panama -- to a consortium led by American asset manager BlackRock for USD19 billion in cash.

IBM Shuts Down China R&D Division

The research and development division in China of US computing giant International Business Machines has officially shut down.

China's Hisense, TCL Top Samsung, LG by Global TV Shipments for First Time in Fourth Quarter

Chinese television manufacturers Hisense Group and TCL Technology Group overtook their Korean peers Samsung Group and LG Electronics in terms of global shipments for the first time ever in the fourth quarter of last year.