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French AI firm Mistral has launched Magistral, a reasoning model it says rivals OpenAI’s o1 and DeepSeek’s R1. Unveiled at the London Tech Week, the n…

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French <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> firm Mistral has launched Magistral, a reasoning model it says rivals <a href="/company/openai">OpenAI’s</a> o1 and <a href="/company/deepseek">DeepSeek’s</a> R1. Unveiled at the London Tech Week, the new model is reportedly designed for math, coding, and step-by-step logic in European languages.

<a href="/company/tiktok-shop">TikTok Shop’s</a> Japan operations posted first-month GMV of just JPY 207,000, led by beauty and personal care categories. Despite access to 33 million monthly <a href="/industry/e-commerce">e-commerce</a> users, the modest launch highlights the challenge of entering Japan’s market, where high consumer expectations require sellers to test demand and tailor content for visibility.

<a href="/company/xpeng">Xpeng</a> unveiled the G7 SUV on July 3, offering up to 702 kilometers of range and 800-volt fast charging across three trims. The top-tier Ultra model includes three in-house <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> chips supporting Level 3 processing and future vision-language-action (VLA) capabilities. VLA features will roll out in September, with cockpit upgrades to follow. Pricing starts at RMB 195,800.

Mexico has rejected <a href="/company/byd">BYD’s</a> plans to build an <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> factory near the US border, declining to provide land or subsidies amid pressure from Washington and ongoing trade talks. The project was expected to rival the scale of BYD’s Brazil plant and could have employed up to 10,000 people. The move stalls the Chinese automaker’s LATAM strategy despite surging sales and dealer expansion in Mexico.

China will bar online platforms from forcing vendors to cut prices below cost under an amended unfair competition law taking effect on October 15. The move reflects concern over deflation, shrinking margins for small businesses, and growing pressure on <a href="/industry/e-commerce">e-commerce</a> platforms to reform pricing and fee structures.

<a href="/company/lazada">Lazada’s</a> Vietnam site will fully subsidize last-mile delivery fees for LazMall cross-border packages under 15 kilograms starting July 2. The policy applies nationwide across all categories and fulfillment types, with labels shown on eligible items.

China is signaling a crackdown on the destructive <a href="/industry/ev">EV</a> price war, as officials warn of long-term risks to the domestic automotive sector. <a href="/company/byd">BYD’s</a> deep discounts in May drew backlash from rivals and regulators, prompting 17 automakers (including BYD) to pledge supplier payments within 60 days, a move aimed at easing supplier financial strain and curbing excessive competition.

<a href="/company/geely">Geely</a> will debut in Italy in Q4 with the all-electric EX5 and a plug-in hybrid SUV, partnering with Jameel Motors to expand its European footprint. While pure <a href="/industry/ev">EVs</a> made up just 6% of Italy’s vehicle market in June, adoption is climbing, according to 2024 sales figures.

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Apple’s iPhone sales in China are expected to slow in the second half of 2025 amid muted iPhone 17 upgrades, weak consumer demand, and rising competition from Huawei, according to Counterpoint Research. This follows an 8% YoY rise in Q2, driven by discounts and subsidy-backed promotions.

France’s antitrust agency has fined <a href="/company/shein">Shein</a> EUR 40 million for misleading discount practices, finding that 57% of advertised deals on its French site between October 2022 and August 2023 misled consumers. Shein accepted the penalty and said the issues were resolved in 2023.

<a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> and <a href="/company/ant-group">Ant Group</a> are urging China’s central bank to approve stablecoins pegged to the offshore yuan, proposing a Hong Kong pilot to support yuan internationalization and counter US dollar dominance in digital trade. Both firms are already planning Hong Kong dollar-backed tokens under new local rules taking effect on August 1.

Some cities have suspended programs earlier than expected.

China races to calm worries over end to USD 42 billion consumer subsidies

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Baidu leads Chinese search engines, voice assistants, autonomous driving research, and AI platforms connecting users with information and services.

What guides machine-led insights? Uncover AI applications, language models, and decision-making systems transforming sectors worldwide.

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Its new search interface is part chatbot, part creative tool, and part concierge, but whether users will embrace it at scale remains an open question.

Baidu reimagines search as the race to build the first AI superapp continues

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The Hong Kong-listed firm is advancing its pipeline using an mRNA system it says can compete with the industry’s best.

Everest Medicines targets global expansion with proprietary, AI-driven mRNA platform

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Mistral launches AI model for reasoning

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China races to calm worries over end to USD 42 billion consumer subsidies

Baidu reimagines search as the race to build the first AI superapp continues

Everest Medicines targets global expansion with proprietary, AI-driven mRNA platform