CHINA | Pixr8 News

22May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China Cuts Down Auto Import Tariffs as Trade Fears Ease

China's Finance Ministry has announced to slash import tariffs for automobiles and car parts thus opening up greater access to the world’s largest auto market amidst easing of trade tensions with the US. The government will cut down imports to 15% from 25% which will be effective from 1 July as an effort to open up China’s markets and spur development of the local auto sector, as reported by Ministry of Finance. Interestingly, China had said last month that it would announce a timeline to remove long-standing caps on foreign ownership of automotive ventures by slashing auto tariffs soon. This move will particularly prove beneficial for overseas carmakers especially those that import premium-end cars to China like Tesla Inc, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Germany’s BMW. China's Hig...

21May By Gauri SinghNo Comments

CHINA

China’s Meitu Pacts with British Museum to Launch a Woman’s Smartphone

China’s leading mobile internet company, Meitu along with the British Museum is all set to launch a limited edition smartphone by and large for the women. It brings forth Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as beautification technology. It’s the first time that the British Museum has partnered with a smartphone company on a co-branded project. The design of the smartphone has been inspired by one of the best and famed Rococo artists named Antoine Watteau. The beautiful smartphone (a limited edition of Meitu’s V6) is priced at $1,101 (6,999 yuan). The sale of the phone starts from 20th May 2018. It is available from May 20 on jd.com and from May 30 at China Telecom retail stores. To add to the specifications, the smartphone has introduced Dual-pixel front camera fitted with Optica...

19May By Gauri SinghNo Comments

CHINA

COO Qi Lu walks away from Baidu

China’s top search engine Baidu stated that it’s former Microsoft executive Qi Lu will abdicate from his position and will no longer work for the same after July 2018. Talking about Baidu, it is a famous search engine based in China which is also known as the China's Google. They have rich experience in Chinese language searching and shares 80% of China search engine market. In a social media posting, Lu proclaimed that he joined the company in late 2016 and is now leaving the role in July due to some personal and family reasons. It’s been said that he is planning to spend more time with his family in the US. In this context, he stated, “For my next steps, I plan to work in research and investment areas, to help advance our shared mission to make a complex world simpler through te...

14May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

JP Morgan Appoints a New CEO in China

American Investment Bank, JP Morgan Chase has appointed Mark Leung as the new chief executive officer for its China's business. As per banks statement, it is also seeking to create a securities company in China and plans to take a majority stake in its local fund management. Mark Leung who has been serving the bank for past 21 years will manage onshore and offshore activities in the country. The veteran began his career in rates derivatives trading and has previously held roles in credit hybrids and equity derivatives. The new appointment will happen after Zili Shao stepped down to become the bank’s vice chairman in April 2014. CEO Jamie Dimon said, Our investment in China is a commitment to bring the full force of JPMorgan Chase and our resources to the country. We wil...

12May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China’s Ride Aggregator Didi Halts Domestic Services for a Week

China's Largest Ride Aggregator Service, Didi Chuxing has reported to halt one of its domestic services for over a week following a death of female passenger that sparked questions on safety this Friday. The killing of a 21-year-old flight attendant in the central province of Henan last week diverted attention leading to an intense debate over China's social media that became the most talked about topic microblog platform Weibo in no time. The case has given birth to questions over safety concerns challenging ride-sharing company, Didi as it takes on rivals such as Uber Technologies Inc. Didi is backed by Apple Inc and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. The company has also apologised as it is about to suspend its Hitch service- a pooling service for passengers and drivers going to the ...

10May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China’s ZTE Main Business Operations Cease after USA Ban

Chinese Multinational Agglomerate, ZTE was hit by a ban from Washington, forbidding U.S firms from supplying it with components and technology allegations of violating against U.S export restrictions by illegally shipping goods to Iran. The U.S ban which threatens to cut ZTE supply chain came amidst the heightened tensions over a possible China-U.S Trade War. The Chinese government too had raised the issue of the ban while visiting U.S trade delegation. In its exchange filings on Wednesday, ZTE said, "As a result of the Denial Order, the major operating activities of the company have ceased. As of now, the company maintains sufficient cash and strictly adheres to its commercial obligations subject in compliance with laws and regulations." The U.S. action which was first reporte...

2May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

Apple Smartphone Sales Decline Sharply in China, says Analyst Report

Market Intelligence Company Canalys has demoted Apple Smartphone sales in China as a part of "Others category" sharply in contrast from the 2015 peak where its market share was somewhere between 40-50% range in Urban China. Many noted analysts have expressed concern over Apple's plunge in Chinese market including Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley predicting it as ‘continued weakness in China'. She predicts that the iPhone maker's market share in China might be as low as 18%. "Apple has always been limited to targeting customers in the so-called Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities- larger urban areas with a relatively well-off population.The Cupertino company’s problem in China is two-fold", says the analyst. From a broader perspective, China's current population today st...

30Apr By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China’s Baidu to sell majority of financial services unit for $1.9 bn

China's search engine major, Baidu Inc has raised more than $1.9 billion for its maiden spun off financial service division from TPG Capital Management LP and Carlyle Group LP as it seeks funding to take on established fintech firms in China. The deal has come in the wake of a scenario where China's government is tightening regulations on the loans market to rein in shadow banking and push banks to cut bad debt. The investment will give Baidu a much-needed push to narrow down the leads that its contenders Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. have grabbed in the financial landscape and will also help it expand beyond its core internet search business. Robin Li, Baidu Chief Executive Officer said, I feel proud to see the financial unit has graduated. This i...

25Apr By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China’s First Fully Automated Bank Opens in Shanghai

A state-owned bank in China has opened its first fully automated branch in Shanghai's Huangpu district that is being marked for country's first "unmanned bank". The automated branch is equipped with a facial scanning software, a hologram machine, a virtual reality room, talking robots and touchscreens for paying utility bills among a host of other functions. China Construction Bank, based in Beijing says that the high-tech branch is focused on bringing convenience, personalization, and efficiency to banking. It also works to face off competition from cashless payment systems that are giving the banks a run for their money. The bank has robots to greet customers at the entrance and work on voice recognition software. Clients need to swipe their national identification cards to ente...

21Apr By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China hits out at US after ZTE Ban

China on Friday hit out at the US for its perfectionist policies by imposing restrictions on its tech firms such as ZTE in the name of national security and said Washington was thinking and acting as a "bully". Hua Chunying, Foreign Minister said in her media interaction, We have noticed that the US has been making relevant moves "one by one" accusing China of technology theft and also exclaiming how Chinese products threaten its national security. Talking about the restrictions in high tech field Hua said that he believes that in the name of national security they are favoring protectionism.She further added, In China, a lot of people have iPhone. Do we think it poses a threat? But in the US, if some American consumers buy Huawei cellphone it is regarded as a national security threa...

11Apr By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

CHINA

China Vows to Open Economy, Reduce Auto Import Tariffs

Xi Jinping, President of China promised to lower down import tariffs on products including cars and open country's economy in a speech delivered on Tuesday over matters concerning around ongoing trade tensions between China and the United States. At present, a 25 percent import duty is levied on Chinese imports. In his address speech at Boao Forum for Asia, President said, "China's door of opening will not be closed and will only open wider." Going by the present market scenario, if a foreign company operating in China partners with a local manufacturer, former's stake will be limited to 50 percent of the joint entity. This can come off as a great news for Jaguar Land Rover, a subsidiary of Tata Motor's which are involved in selling Range Rover and other high-end models to China. ...

Chinese Premier Urges President Donald Trump Not to Start A Trade War

20Mar By Sheldan RungasamyNo Comments

CHINA

Chinese Premier Urges President Donald Trump Not to Start A Trade War

Li Keqiang, Chinese Premier said on Tuesday that China did not want to get involved in a trade war with the United States of America, stating that the conflict could only ruin the relationship between the two countries. “We hope that both parties can maintain reason, not act emotionally, and avoid a trade war,” said Mr. Li at a press conference. He further added that any trade war would make no winner between the two superpowers and he hopes both parties can stay “calm” at the present situation. ALSO NEWS: Trump’s Harley Davidson Vs Modi’s Royal Enfield- The Beginning of Motorcycle War Addressing at the end of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC, China's national legislature), Premier Li affirmed that Beijing only wishes to maintain a good and stable relationship w...