Daily Buzz 14 April 2025

Top News

China electronics face tariff confusion

Amid renewed confusion in Washington, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday it is evaluating the impact of the US exemption on global import tariffs for phones, computers, chips and related electronics products.

A day after President Donald Trump announced the exemption, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that the reprieve is temporary and that a separate, specific tariff on electronics is "coming soon" to protect national security.

Trump in subsequent online posts declared that "no one is off the hook," adding, "We are taking a look at semiconductors and the whole electronics supply chain in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations."

For China, which is under 145 percent US import tariffs, the electronics exemption, as it now stands, doesn't include a 20 percent nonreciprocal tariff levied earlier on all Chinese goods.

The electronics exemption "is a small step from the US to correct its mistake of the unilateral reciprocal tariffs," the ministry stated.

China has criticized Trump's tariffs as violations of global market principles and disrupting trade, reaffirming its stance that protectionism is self-defeating and urging the US to end the tariff war.

Xi visits Southeast Asia

Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a five-day state visit to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia on Monday, his first overseas trip this year. The tour, which comes amid renewed US tariff confusion and an escalating trade war, underscores China's deepening ties with Southeast Asia. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is China's largest trading partner. Xi recently called for the building of a "shared future" with neighboring countries. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the visits are key to strengthening ties with Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and the region as a whole.

Iran nuclear talks 'constructive'

Iran and the US have concluded a first round of indirect talks in Oman over Tehran's nuclear program. Both sides called the meeting "constructive" and scheduled a second round for April 19. The two-and-a-half-hour talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East. were the highest-level talks between the two nations since 2018, when President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

Top Business

Minimum price on EVs

China and the European Union are initiating discussions on prices of imported Chinese-made electric vehicles, according to the Ministry of Commerce. It is reported that preliminary talks are aimed at replacing tariffs with minimum prices. In October 2024, the EU increased tariffs on made-in-China electric vehicles, including 17 percent on models made by BYD and 35.3 percent on SAIC cars, on top of its standard car-import duty.

Shanghai Widens Car Subsidies

Shanghai expanded its trade-in subsidy policy to include residents with vehicles registered outside the city who buy new-energy or cleaner fuel cars. Buyers of electric vehicles priced over 100,000 yuan will receive a 15,000 yuan one-time subsidy. Gasoline-powered cars meeting stricter national standards will qualify for a 13,000 yuan subsidy. The policy, part of a larger government initiative to encourage more consumer spending, affects more than 1 million non-locally registered cars in the city.

Economy

Investment warming-up

China issued 9.78 trillion yuan (US$1.36 trillion) in new yuan-denominated loans in the first three months of 2025, according to the People's Bank of China. At the end of March, outstanding yuan loans totaled 265.41 trillion yuan, up 7.4 percent year on year. Analysts say the data, combined with industrial statistics, show "positive changes in loan demand from both enterprises and individuals amid more "effective financing."

Corporate

Q1 earnings

Over 170 listed companies have released earnings forecasts for the first quarter of 2025. Eleven stocks forecasted net profit increase of more than 500 percent compared with a year earlier. Ruijie Networks (stock ticker: 301165), an IT service provider, currently leads with a forecast of net profit growth of 414-531 times. The firm attributes the performance to the explosive growth of Internet data centers driven by AI demand in the first quarter.

Electric vehicle scrutiny

Xiaomi Automobile on Friday said a collision between one of its SU7 electric vehicles and an electric two-wheeler in Guangdong Province on April 3 resulted in a fire caused by the severe squeezing and deformation of the electric two-wheeler's lithium battery.

Two people on the two-wheeler were dead at the scene, police said. The driver fled the scene after the crash but was later arrested.

The safety of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and driver-assisted systems has been in the news the past month after a one-car accident in March involving another SU7 vehicle killed three people in Anhui Province.

ByteDance AI glasses

Beijing-based technology company ByteDance is planning to launch its own AI smart glasses, two people familiar with the matter told tech media publication "The Information." The glasses are expected to feature functions similar to its self-developed AI model DouBao. The insiders said ByteDance has started talks with suppliers on features, specifications, costs and launch plans.