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CBN丨Chinese CES attendees double this year

21世纪经济报道 2024-01-10 20:04:00

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Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

CES kicked off with doubling Chinese participants;
Guangzhou’s Nansha is set to play key role in GBA prosperity.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world's largest consumer tech conference, officially kicked off in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Over 4,000 exhibitors from around the world are showcasing a variety of cutting-edge tech gadgets during the expo - which is dubbed as the barometer that sets the stage for trending technologies each year.

This year, "artificial intelligence (AI) in everything" is dominating the headlines, with AI-powered personal computers (PC), AI chips, AI-driven smart vehicle systems and AI home appliances taking center stage.

Over 1,100 Chinese exhibitors are expected to join the four-day event in 2024, more than doubling from last year, according to data released by the CES' hosting organization the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

The AI PC revolution is the centerpiece of this year’s fair. US chipmaker Nvidia is expected to showcase several new GPUs at the event, including the RTX 4080 Super, the 4070 Ti Super, and the 4070 Super, with more gaming and generative AI performance.

US semiconductor company AMD will reportedly debut what it claims to be the world's first desktop processor with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU), according to media report. The NPU is designed to handle AI-based tasks on the desktop computer without having to send data to the cloud.

Chinese PC providers are also the center of attention. Lenovo said on Monday that it will unveil a full lineup of more than 40 new devices and solutions powered by AI at CES. Chinese TV-maker Hisense announced that it will showcase a new line of ULED and ULED X TVs, some of which incorporate AI technology to further improve picture quality.

Another highlight of CES 2024 is vehicles, as a list of Chinese and foreign attendees are displaying new electric models, flying cars and autonomous driving technologies. Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng said it will debut its latest flying car at the event, equipped with foldable steering wheel and an intelligent cockpit.

Industry insiders said that the increasing number of Chinese participants represents a strong pushback against Washington's reckless tech "decoupling" targeting China. With Chinese tech companies expanding their international footprint and racing to the forefront of cutting-edge AI technology, the country is set to have a first-mover advantage in the next round of global tech race, observers noted.

China's economy is forecast to maintain steady growth in 2024, with an estimated GDP growth rate of around 5.3 percent, said a report released on Tuesday by the Center for Forecasting Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The report indicates that in 2024, the year-on-year growth rates for the primary, secondary and tertiary industries' output are expected to reach 4.5 percent, 4.5 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Consumption, investment and net exports are estimated to contribute 3.7, 1.9 and -0.3 percentage points to GDP growth, respectively.
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that the mainland authorities are considering ending tariff concessions for more products imported from Taiwan island as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have engaged in political maneuvering rather than taking effective measures to remove trade restrictions since the mainland suspended tariff cuts on 12 Taiwan products. The ministry said relevant departments from the Chinese mainland are studying further measures including suspending the tariff concession for products of the Early Harvest Program under the ECFA, covering agricultural and fishery products, machinery, automobile parts and accessories, textiles and other commodities.

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

China's macro-economic planner on Tuesday issued a 15-point document detailing measures for giving better play to Nansha's leading role in bolstering the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The NDRC, together with the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Market Regulation, announced to support Nansha district in the GBA to offer a 144-hour visa-free period for people transiting through the district and a visa-free policy for cruise travel. It is also encouraged to deepen services trade innovation by actively recruiting professionals from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs, establishing a recognized list of overseas professional qualifications and releasing more policies that support cross-boundary working and lodging. The district is also encouraged to accelerate the development of specialty finance. The Guangzhou Futures Exchange will expand the trading of more products in an orderly fashion to serve the high-quality development of the real economy, green and low-carbon development, GBA construction and the joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative. Meanwhile, authorities called for efforts to accelerate the development of GBA Cross-border Wealth and Asset Management Center in Nansha.
Hong Kong on Tuesday signed the First Protocol to Amend the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the SAR and ASEAN to update the Product Specific Rules (PSR) of origin under the FTA, enhancing the coverage of the PSR from more than 200 categories of products to almost 600.
Starting Wednesday, the frequency of high-speed trains between Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station and Shenzhen’s Futian Station will be increased from 74 to 98 trips each day, and the last trains on short-haul routes between Hong Kong and neighboring cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou will depart later. Both adjustments are aimed at addressing the growing demand for cross-boundary rail services.
New listings in Hong Kong are expected to raise up to HKD100 billion in 2024, allowing the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to reclaim its position among the top five IPO bourses in the world. Three of the big four global accounting and consulting firms — Deloitte, PwC and KPMG —expect Hong Kong’s IPOs to rebound to HKD100 billion, while Ernst & Young put its estimate at HKD50 billion.

Next on industry and company news

Some 21.7 million passenger cars were sold through retail channels in China last year, up 5.6 percent from the year before, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed yesterday. Among them, 7.7 million units were new energy vehicles, an increase of 36 percent. The Chinese automotive industry has not yet reached its peak, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA.
IFlytek, a Chinese developer of AI technologies, will spin off its AI medical service business for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Xunfei Healthcare Technology will issue up to 20.1 million shares to global investors, which will be no more than 15 percent of the company’s total shares after the issuance, iFlytek said in a statement yesterday.
WeCom, the workplace communication platform of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, will become profitable ahead of its two main competitors Alibaba Group's DingTalk and ByteDance's Feishu this year, according to its vice president. WeCom's number of daily active users rose last year, Li Zhifeng said at an internal exchange meeting yesterday, without disclosing any figures. WeCom added 1,399 new searchable applications and 3,734 new development application templates for users, producing over 214,000 new development apps last year, according to the company.
Foxconn, the world's largest electronic products manufacturer and a major Apple supplier, has recently set up a new-energy vehicle company in Central China's Henan Province. With registered capital of 500 million yuan, the new company's business covers research and manufacturing of auto components, NEV sales and wholesale of auto components, according to domestic enterprise information portal Qichacha.com.
Cainiao Group, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding, announced on Tuesday that it has begun offering concentrated freight services in the United States. The company said customers who buy products from Chinese e-commerce platforms will enjoy a more convenient delivery experience. It also pledged to provide both air and sea freight services, with the shortest delivery time being five days.
China State Railway Group said it expects to achieve a record transportation revenue of 1 trillion yuan this year. China Railway will likely transport nearly 3.9 billion passengers and over 3.9 billion tons of cargo in 2024, the state-owned firm announced yesterday. Meanwhile, the number of China-Europe Railway Express services operated in 2023 reached 17,000, up 6 percent year-on-year, with 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers shipped via the express, making it an important trade route across the Eurasian continent.

Switching gears to financial news

The early repayment amount for urban construction investment bonds in China soared to a new record high in December as the country vigorously pushed for local governments to resolve the implicit debt risk. Some 83.7 billion yuan urban construction bonds were paid in advance in the fourth quarter of last year, with the figure for December alone soaring 178 percent to 47.3 billion yuan from November, according to a report released yesterday by the Development Research Center of GF Securities.

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

Chinese stocks fell on Wednesday as the benchmark Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component each slid 0.5 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also shed 0.6 percent and the TECH index lost 0.8 percent.

Biz Word of the Day

The concentrated freight service refers to the cross-border delivery method combining orders from multiple e-commerce platforms or online stores into one package, which will be transported to overseas warehouses and distribution centers.