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… into repeatable rental and sales locations. This allows users to try the devices in real outdoor settings before deciding whether to buy one.
Xu said this operating model helps reduce potential users’ hesitation while using real user testing data to support product iteration, creating a cycle of experience, validation, conversion, and improvement.
Beyond bringing exoskeletons into the mountains, ULS has also moved into Haglofs offline stores. Acknowledging that exoskeleton makers tend to lack outdoor experience, Xu said ULS chose to fill that gap by working with brands that understand outdoor users. “Learning from seasoned century-old outdoor brands can help us understand customers and use cases more precisely, and iterate and adjust our products.”
At the same time, as an exoskeleton technology company whose core capability is product R&amp;D, Viatrix aims to work with ecosystem partners to use technology to build the next generation of outdoor gear.
From one-time trials to recurring outdoor use, and from traditional retail outlets to experience-based locations, ULS is trying to build a model that can raise category awareness while converting trials into rentals and sales.
<h3>Extending human strength</h3>
Is wearing an exoskeleton to climb a mountain cheating? Xu is familiar with the question.
“An exoskeleton responds within milliseconds and mechanically amplifies force based on human movement and commands, ensuring that users can still maintain ideal technical movements when their physical strength reaches its limit.”
In other words, an exoskeleton does not make decisions for people. It conserves a person’s physical strength and makes correct movements easier to complete, extending endurance. Under the same physical limits, a person can walk farther while still exercising their body.
The floating 360-degree joint currently used in ULS Robotics’ exoskeletons can better match the flexibility of human movement, helping reduce falls and unnecessary movement restrictions during hikes.
Xu drew a clear line between consumer- and medical-grade exoskeletons. In his view, the difference between the two is not a reduction in technical capability, but a fundamental difference in use case. Medical-grade exoskeletons need to be deeply integrated with physicians’ clinical diagnoses and involve complex rehabilitation assessments and risk controls.
But for ordinary consumers, the boundary between the two types of products is often blurry. “Many people cannot clearly distinguish the actual functions of exoskeletons, or what is medical and what is for daily wear,” Xu said.
ULS places importance on proactive presales explanation, providing clear guidance and instructions when users inquire. “If users have hemiplegia, stroke, or related issues, we clearly do not recommend that they use consumer-grade exoskeletons. For older users, we also ask them to film a short video of themselves walking, then make some presales judgments based on their walking condition.”
Behind this restraint, and the decision to avoid certain use cases, is a clearer understanding of the boundaries of exoskeleton technology. Fortune Business Insights predicts that the global wearable robotic exoskeleton market will reach USD 2.49 billion in 2025, as interest in the field rises further. ULS and several other brands have completed multiple financing rounds, according to 36Kr.
The evolution of exoskeletons also raises another question: when technology can help people go farther, what defines the physical boundaries of the human body? In Xu’s view, unlike humanoid robots, whose goal is to replace people, exoskeletons are built around cooperation with people. They aim to preserve human agency while giving people greater strength and freedom.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3880770270425089">article</a> was written by Yang Yuexin for 36Kr.

ULS Robotics brings sci-fi mecha closer to consumers through hiking gear

Robotics

Deep Tech

China

Zelostech, short for Zelos Technology, and Eevie have launched an autonomous cargo vehicle deployment in the Changi Airport Free Trade Zone in Singapore. Zelostech is using its Z5 autonomous cargo vehicle to connect parts of Changi Airport’s logistics network, including ground handling, cargo consolidation, freight forwarding, and related operations.
The deployment supports driverless cargo movement across interconnected airport logistics operations and establishes an integrated model for landside logistics automation.
The Changi Airport project marks another step in Zelostech’s expansion across Southeast Asia. The company previously secured public road operating approvals in Singapore, enabling its autonomous logistics vehicles to operate in regulated urban environments.
Zelostech is also expanding in Malaysia. In January, it partnered with Autonomous Logistic Solutions (ALS) and Pos Malaysia to launch Malaysia’s first autonomous vehicle proof-of-concept dedicated to postal and logistics operations, according to Zelostech. The phased trial began at Pos Malaysia’s national mail center.
During the proof-of-concept phase, Zelostech and ALS completed more than 1,000 kilometers of autonomous operations in a controlled environment with Pos Malaysia. The project logged 36 consecutive days without accidents or operational incidents, the company said.
Based on those validation results, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport approved the country’s first dedicated public road trial license plate for a Level 4 autonomous logistics vehicle on June 30, according to Zelostech. Level 4 systems are responsible for driving tasks within limited service areas and do not require a human driver when engaged. Zelostech’s robovan is expected to begin public road testing in Cyberjaya over the next three to six months.
The Changi Airport deployment also gives Zelostech a foothold in airport logistics, where operating requirements are stricter than in urban delivery. By integrating its <a href="/industry/autonomous-vehicles">autonomous driving</a> system into a major aviation logistics environment, Zelostech is applying its urban delivery experience to air cargo. If the model proves scalable, the Changi project could serve as a reference for autonomous freight operations at other airports.
Unlike autonomous vehicle pilots that focus mainly on point-to-point cargo transport, Zelostech’s Changi Airport project is designed as a multinode logistics integration system. It connects core sites including air cargo terminal operations facilities, the logistics consolidation hub, and selected freight forwarder warehouse operations.
The company links aviation operations systems, ground handling systems, and its own autonomous driving system across the logistics chain. The aim is to reduce operational silos and improve coordination in the airport’s regulated logistics environment.
The value of autonomous driving in airports is often framed as a way to replace human drivers. Zelostech’s project points to a broader challenge: airport landside logistics depends on coordination among multiple participants and operating nodes, not just labor availability.
Cargo terminals, consolidation hubs, and freight forwarder warehouses often operate separately. Cargo flows between nodes still rely heavily on manual dispatching, while delayed information and disconnected systems can slow operations. Through system integration, Zelostech is trying to connect dispersed operating units into a centrally dispatched logistics network, making cargo transfers more coordinated and less dependent on manual dispatching.
Zelostech said its autonomous van operates under strict safety constraints in a controlled airport environment. The Changi project uses a shared operating framework that connects aviation operators, logistics service providers, and autonomous driving technology systems, offering a potential model for multiparty collaboration in airport logistics automation.

Zelostech expands in Southeast Asia with Changi Airport deployment, Malaysia license

Autonomous Vehicles

Logistics

Singapore

Malaysia

Southeast Asia

… suppliers, face weak market demand, significant overcapacity and massive drops in profit.
Reports of radical cost-cutting plans at Volkswagen caused a stir in late June. According to media reports and unions, up to 100,000 jobs worldwide are at risk. In Germany, four plants reportedly face closure.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/automobiles/the-unstoppable-rise-of-china-made-cars-in-europe-5-things-to-know">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: EUR figures are converted to USD at rates of EUR 0.88 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

The unstoppable rise of China-made cars in Europe: 5 things to know

Xpeng

East Asia

GAC Group

Leapmotor

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

… April that the company will take a conservative approach to domestic store openings but will actively pursue foreign ones, starting in Southeast Asia.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/companies/gold-slump-tests-chinese-brand-laopu-s-resilience-as-luxury-upstart">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.80 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 8, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Gold slump tests Chinese brand Laopu's resilience as luxury upstart

Retail

Consumer Economy

… barley from Australia, so none was shipped. With the launch of CPTPP, Australia has displaced the US as Mexico's dominant barley supplier, and the grain has become Australia's biggest merchandise export to Mexico.
Thanks particularly to demand from Mexican beermakers, shipments last year reached AUD 138.7 million (USD 95.6 million). Reduced Mexican tariffs on beef and wine have also boosted imports from Australia.
Australia had preexisting trade agreements with many of the other members of RCEP and CPTPP, but the pacts still managed to lower barriers. A government review last year said that reduced tariffs had boosted iron and steel exports to Vietnam, shipments of wine to Malaysia and Canada, and beef sales to Japan.
Indeed, due to more favorable terms under CPTPP, 59% of Japanese imports from Australia last year utilized the regional pact, while 29% rode in on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement. Overall, according to calculations by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, Australia's annual goods and services exports to CPTPP member nations were 54.6% higher in the first five years of the agreement than during the previous five years.
"CPTPP is a steady anchor in a messy global trading environment," said Arnold Jorge, CEO of the Export Council of Australia, which represents companies engaged in international trade. "It is keeping high-quality rules intact and giving Australia and its partners a practical way to diversify and de-risk."
Both agreements have also begun to reshape supply chains. Under them, imports into one member state from another benefit fully from trade preferences even if the goods contain substantial inputs from third countries that are also members. The "rules of origin" in both agreements also allow for more inputs from nonsignatory nations than is often the case with bilateral preferential trade agreements.
"For companies, the strength is that there is a supply chain operating under a set of promises," said Ken Itakura, an economics professor at Japan's Nagoya City University who focuses on trade policy analysis.
This feature has been particularly beneficial for Cambodia, which has seen its exports to RCEP members grow 120.9% since the bloc's launch, according to data collated by the University of Hong Kong's Asia Global Institute.
Much of this increase has come in the areas of clothing, footwear, electronic equipment and components, electric wires, and automotive parts, with shipments to Japan and South Korea posting strong gains. Shipments to RCEP members now account for the majority of Cambodia's exports.
"RCEP's cumulative rules of origin let Cambodian apparel producers use inputs from China and still qualify for preferential tariffs in member countries," reads a website promoting investment in Cambodia's Manhattan Special Economic Zone.
Now that RCEP and CPTPP have been in operation for a few years, areas for improvement are becoming more evident.
Banh Thi Hang, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Asia Competitiveness Institute, said RCEP's rules of origin requirements could be adjusted to be more in line with those of CPTPP to make "the supply chain [optimization] effect of RCEP stronger." Electronic certificates of origin would be another possible reform, she said, along with strengthening the agreement's rules in newer areas like digital trade.
Participating governments also need to do more to make companies aware of the trade benefits available under the pacts and how they can access them.
"Lower tariffs on paper do not automatically produce stronger trade growth in practice," Heiwai Tang and Guanzheng Sun of the Asia Global Institute wrote in an analysis in May. "Firms need to know that these preferences exist, understand how to use them, and find it worthwhile to comply with the agreement's rules."
Consequently, while the macro impact of the trade pacts has so far been limited, observers like Denise Cheok, head of Southeast Asia economics for Moody's Analytics in Singapore, say more effects could emerge later.
"The benefits of trade agreements," she said, "are usually realized over years, even under the best circumstances."
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/policy-asia/asia-s-big-trade-pacts-soften-damage-from-trump-tariffs">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

Asia's big trade pacts soften damage from Trump tariffs

Chinese tea chain GoodMe will soon bring its ready-to-drink beverages into retail channels. Its first launch cities will be Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Wenling, and Hangzhou.
GoodMe launched ready-to-drink beverages in December 2025, though sales were limited to its own stores. It has introduced four products so far: apple juice, kale juice, Thai mandarin orange juice, and seven-ingredient fruit and vegetable juice. All use HPP technology.
HPP, short for high-pressure processing, is a nonthermal preservation method used in juice production. It is designed to preserve a taste closer to freshly squeezed juice without relying on heat treatment. But HPP equipment requires significant upfront investment, and the process requires products to be kept refrigerated at a constant temperature throughout the supply chain. Most HPP juice brands in China rely on third-party contract manufacturers.
A person familiar with the channel told 36Kr that GoodMe’s retail-bound products will be HPP apple juice in a 260-gram format and HPP seven-ingredient fruit and vegetable juice, also in a 260-gram format. Their wholesale procurement costs are RMB 108 (USD 15.9) per case, or RMB 4.5 (USD 0.7) per bottle, and RMB 132 (USD 19.4) per case, or RMB 5.5 (USD 0.8) per bottle, respectively. The final retail prices will be RMB 9.9 (USD 1.5) and RMB 11.9 (USD 1.7) per bottle. Compared with GoodMe’s stores, both products will cost RMB 2 (USD 0.3) more in retail channels.
36Kr has also learned that GoodMe plans to enter channels including Laopo Daren, Yonghui Superstores, and Shizu, spanning snack discount stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Like GoodMe, Laopo Daren and Shizu both originated in Zhejiang and have deep roots in the province.
It is not unusual for freshly made tea beverage companies to move into ready-to-drink products. What sets GoodMe apart, according to 36Kr, is that it makes HPP ready-to-drink products and operates its own HPP production line. The ready-to-drink products launched by Heytea and Nayuki are shelf-stable products with longer shelf lives and are made by contract manufacturers rather than on self-built production lines. At present, GoodMe’s HPP juices are produced through both outsourced manufacturing and its own production lines. Its factory is operated by Zhejiang Guoru Food Technology.
HPP products must remain refrigerated throughout the supply chain and have short shelf lives, placing heavy demands on cold chain logistics. For freshly made tea brands, HPP juice is more often used on the business-to-business side as a drink base supplied to stores, serving as an upgrade option for fruit tea and fruit-infused coffee products. Heytea’s seasonal fruit drinks and fruit and vegetable specials, as well as GoodMe’s “big orange Americano” and other fruit-infused coffee products, all use HPP juice bases.
GoodMe is taking a different approach. By launching HPP ready-to-drink products in its stores, it can reuse its in-house cold chain and HPP production capacity, putting the same assets to work across both store operations and packaged retail products. Among freshly made tea companies, GoodMe is also the only one that has made a heavy-asset investment in a self-operated cold chain network, according to 36Kr.
Now that the products are moving into retail channels, GoodMe’s HPP ready-to-drink beverages will shift from an in-store add-on to a standalone retail business.
In terms of end-market pricing, the two HPP ready-to-drink products GoodMe is preparing to launch in retail channels sit in the RMB 9.9–11.9 (USD 1.5–1.7) price band. Compared with HPP products in the same 260-gram format, VCleanse and Per Se are positioned higher, with prices above RMB 14 (USD 2.1). Nongfu Spring and Beibingyang only offer 300-milliliter formats. Converted to a 260-milliliter basis, their prices fall in the RMB 11–13 (USD 1.6–1.9) range, placing them in the mainstream midrange segment.
GoodMe is pricing its HPP apple juice at RMB 9.9, below competing products in distribution channels. The pricing suggests a familiar strategy: just as GoodMe has sought to build a reputation for quality at accessible prices in freshly made drinks, it is applying the same approach to ready-to-drink beverages.
Choosing HPP, a niche category, as its entry point is apparently a strategic move for GoodMe. It allows the company to avoid direct overlap with its peers while using its own factory and cold chain to build a pricing advantage. This may also explain why GoodMe has chosen to launch first through distribution channels in Zhejiang and Guangdong. These are the two regions where its store density is highest and where its cold chain is most developed, lowering marginal costs.
In recent years, GoodMe has moved into new businesses including coffee, bakery products, and ready-to-drink beverages. The company is using its store network and cold chain capability as the foundation for new revenue streams beyond its core milk tea business. As of December 31, 2025, GoodMe had 13,554 stores, according to 36Kr’s estimate.
But stores and retail channels are two different systems. By putting ready-to-drink products into distribution, GoodMe will face a new set of tests: moving from using spare capacity to meeting stable external demand, absorbing higher channel costs, coordinating inventory and supply chains once products leave its stores, managing longer turnover cycles, and controlling product loss for short-shelf-life HPP beverages.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3868265993016580">article</a> was written by Zhong Yixuan for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.80 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 10, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

GoodMe takes ready-to-drink beverages beyond its own stores

… compromises over the technical route for humanoid robots, and disagreements over team size and management methods. After winning the turnaround battle for the Xpeng P5, he suddenly chose to leave.
In September 2023, Xpeng spent USD 98.96 million to fully acquire Pengxing Intelligence. Zhao gave up his equity in exchange for freedom from noncompete restrictions, left, and founded EngineAI. Mi was the person parachuted into the robotics business from autonomous driving at that time, serving as vice president as the independent company was transformed into a business unit.
whereRelatedArticle
Still, Xpeng has its own distinctive positioning. Compared with robot-native companies such as Unitree Robotics and Agibot, automakers have a natural advantage in data feedback. Xpeng does not need to rely on users or third-party companies. It can build its own data collection system and database through an automaker’s physical industrial scenarios.
Xpeng’s rivals also include other automakers moving across industries.
According to Stella Li, <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> executive vice president, BYD’s self-developed humanoid robot has been developed in secret for four years, and the in-house development rate for core components exceeds 80%. However, BYD has denied online rumors that it would internally deploy 20,000 units in 2026.
<a href="/company/li-auto">Li Auto</a> has completed an organizational restructuring, setting up three major departments: embodied engineering, embodied interaction, and embodied behavior.
<a href="/company/nio">Nio</a> continues to refine its world model.
<a href="/company/chery">Chery’s</a> Mornine has completed batch delivery of 220 units, making Chery the first automaker in the world to achieve batch deployment of humanoid robots.
For now, Xpeng clearly feels pressure, but it still has certain advantages compared with these cross-industry companies. Amid the wave of automakers moving into embodied intelligence, most companies’ robotics businesses take the form of a business unit or subsidiary, led by a vice president or general manager. He Xiaopeng personally serving as CEO of the robotics business is unusual among mainstream automakers.
“Xpeng’s automotive team has been eyeing the robotics team for a long time, wanting to absorb it,” a former employee quipped when asked to assess the new organizational structure. In any case, after the departure of the key trio, He has not, at least for now, chosen to give up or scale back.
What kind of people will Xpeng bring in next? Will there be a new leader for its robotics business? With less than half a year left, He has compared Iron’s current stage to the eve of the launch of Xpeng’s first car, the G3, eight years ago. For him, that moment was not an easy memory. After the G3, Xpeng went through production capacity and quality crises, as well as organizational turmoil. He himself also transformed from chairman into CEO.
If greater challenges follow mass production, Xpeng will need capable lieutenants alongside him to face them.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3875691543179267">article</a> was written by Fang Tingyu for 36Kr.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 9, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Mi Liangchuan’s exit deepens pressure on Xpeng’s robotics push

Xpeng Motors

Embodied Intelligence

… models stop being open source, or if licensing terms change, its core supply could be affected.
Judging only by operating data, SiliconFlow is growing quickly. At the end of 2024, the end of 2025, and the end of April 2026, it had 127,000, 9.197 million, and 10.282 million registered users, respectively. From December 2024 to April 2026, average daily token throughput increased about 12 times. It rose 241.1% from 2024 to 2025, then grew another 254.7% from December 2025 to April 2026.
But all that traffic translated into only RMB 55.33 million in revenue in 2025, and it did so at a negative gross margin. In 2025, SiliconFlow’s cost of sales reached RMB 68.632 million, equivalent to 124% of revenue, resulting in an overall gross loss margin of 24%. Between the rapid growth in users, throughput, and paying customers, and the thin, negative-margin monetization that followed, lies a wide gap.
The prospectus also acknowledges that serverless token services are aimed at developers and small and midsize enterprises, and are mostly prepaid, low-priced consumption products. This kind of traffic is large in scale and low in unit price, while supply must be provided close to cost, or even below cost.
<h3>Valuation rises to RMB 7.7 billion</h3>
From December 2023 to June 2026, SiliconFlow completed seven financing rounds in two and a half years. It has used only about 32% of its net financing proceeds.
Its post-money valuation rose from RMB 280 million (USD 41.1 million) in the angel round to RMB 7.74 billion (USD 1.1 billion) in the Series B+ round. That was a 27.6-fold increase in two and a half years, while cost per share rose 13.4 times.
In 2026 alone, SiliconFlow completed three rounds, with its valuation rising from RMB 3.1 billion (USD 455.2 million) in the Series A+ round to RMB 5 billion (USD 734.2 million) in the Series B round, and then to RMB 7.74 billion in the Series B+ round. Notably, the Series B+ round was completed just one month before it filed its listing application. Based on the Series B+ post-money valuation of RMB 7.74 billion, equivalent to about HKD 8.4 billion (USD 1.1 billion), SiliconFlow just met the listing threshold for pre-commercial companies under Chapter 18C.
In its shareholding structure, the controlling shareholder is Jinhui Yuan, who directly holds 14.35%. Through employee incentive platforms, Yuan controls about 44.48% of voting rights in total. <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba Group</a> holds 7.42% and has appointed Chen Yingjie as a director. <a href="/company/huawei">Huawei</a> holds 4.07%, Sinovation Ventures holds 4.01%, Suzhou’s Glory Ventures, a semiconductor venture capital firm, holds 3.01%, Nanjing Lvyong holds 3.01%, Wang Huiwen holds 2.06%, Puhua Capital holds 1.81%, Guotai Junan holds 1.56%, SenseTime holds 0.64%, Biren Technology holds 0.39%, while Kingdee and <a href="/company/meituan">Meituan</a> are also shareholders.
Yuan is 45 years old. He holds a doctorate in computer science from Tsinghua University and a bachelor’s degree from Xidian University. From OneFlow to SiliconFlow, he has held multiple roles, including board chair, CEO, general manager, and finance chief.
From 2013 to 2016, Yuan was a principal researcher at Microsoft China, where he led the development of LightLDA, described in the prospectus as the world’s fastest large-scale topic model training system at the time. From 2017 to 2023, he founded and led OneFlow, a deep learning framework company, which was later acquired by Light Year and ultimately folded into Meituan.
In August 2023, Yuan started SiliconFlow with OneFlow’s core team. CTO Juncheng Liu and COO Zhao Zhen were both OneFlow veterans, while deputy general manager Zeng Hua previously served as a vice president at <a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a>.
Nonexecutive director Chen Yingjie, 49, is managing director of Alibaba’s strategic investment department. He also serves as a nonexecutive director of MiniMax.
KrASIA features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3879814941437956">article</a> was written by Peng Xiaoqiu for 36Kr.
Note: HKD, RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of HKD 7.84 = USD 1 and RMB 6.81 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 9, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.

Surging users, widening losses, and leased compute: Behind SiliconFlow’s IPO filing

Artificial Intelligence

Hong Kong

There are many stories around the world, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, where close friends or siblings, precisely because they are so close, are confronted with a crisis that drives them apart. Perhaps Canada and the US, staring down China's massive <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> sector, should be added to that list.
Chinese EV giant <a href="/company/byd">BYD</a> is reportedly planning to establish a dealer network in Canada. Considering that Chinese vehicles are subject to a 100% tariff in the US and Canada, effectively creating an embargo, the natural question upon hearing this is, why?
In the background is the disagreement between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Canadian government over tariffs. In January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would stop aligning its tariffs on Chinese cars with the US, setting an import quota that took effect in May lowering the duty on Chinese vehicles to 6.1%.
The import quota is 49,000 units in the first year, a small number compared to Canada's annual market size of 1.9 million units. Moreover, the first to raise their hands were US automakers Tesla and General Motors, apparently looking to import EVs produced in China.
But the Canadian government has said that it will gradually widen the import quota, with BYD, <a href="/company/chery">Chery Automobile</a>, and <a href="/company/geely">Geely</a> preparing to export. These companies see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to crack open the North American market.
A trilateral meeting was held on July 1 to decide whether to renew the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, six years after its launch. The US declined to renew the deal, taking the three countries back to the negotiation stage to try to come to a new agreement.
Considering the benefits to the three countries, especially to US companies, the agreement itself is unlikely to collapse entirely. But individual policies and strategies toward China outside of the agreement, like Canada's import quotas, may continue to diverge.
What kind of consequences could that have? The US and Canada have shared the world's longest border, stretching 8,891 kilometers, for about 200 years. With the similarities in their language, lifestyles, and values, if inexpensive Chinese EVs gain popularity in Canada, the psychological barrier against Chinese cars in the US could start to break down.
A similar phenomenon is occurring in Australia, where BYD has largely caught up with Tesla in just three years since its entry into the market. This was after Chinese EVs gained popularity in Europe, where values are similar, lowering the psychological barrier for Australia.
The discord between Canada and the US stems from a misunderstanding between their leaders. If The Lord of the Rings doesn't help you conjure an image of their dynamic, how about the biblical story of Cain and Abel, two brothers pulled apart by the differences between them?
But it's worth thinking about where Canada is headed as it seeks to reduce its trade dependence on the US. As China waits with arms open, an examination of why its EVs are so cheap is called for.
BYD, Chery, and Geely all boast high technological standards, and their efficient management, evidenced by their short development cycles, is highly rated. But it is also said that their rapid rise and low-cost operations have been possible thanks to China's domestic industrial policies.
According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, China provides approximately eight times more subsidies to businesses than European and Asian member states. This includes national and local government grants, low-interest loans from government-affiliated financial institutions and tax incentives.
The Chinese government said these are things that every country does, but a detailed analysis by US think tank Rhodium Group revealed that in addition to the government subsidies and loans, companies are able to secure significantly more favorable contracts through state-owned enterprises in areas like steel and other raw material procurement, electricity, and logistics services than companies in other major countries. This appears to be government policy.
By continuously exporting inexpensive final products overseas, China is cornering competitors worldwide and narrowing the scope of competition, wrote Rhodium partner Agatha Kratz.
In the EV sector, both in finished vehicles and batteries, it has become difficult for companies outside of China to grow. China, which holds a dominant share of key raw materials, has tightened export restrictions to countries like Japan, effectively weaponizing its supply chain.
The starting point to all of this may have been 2013, when Xi Jinping became president. China began tightening restrictions on US tech companies, politically entangling companies like Apple—which manufactured most of its products in China—and seizing their technology.
US journalist Patrick McGee wrote in his book "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company" that, without intending to, Apple helped Beijing acquire technology comparable to that of the US.
China has since dominated most manufacturing sectors through its "Made in China 2025" policy, which began in 2015. From 2026, China is adding <a href="/industry/autonomous-vehicles">autonomous driving</a> and next-generation solar cells to its five-year plans, as Xi reportedly secretly advocates for total industrial dominance.
It would be fine if the progress of industrial development was a fair and even thing. But if the goal is to distort competition and crush competitors in other countries, then supply chain bottlenecks will increase everywhere.
Unity is crucial to confront China's business practices, sometimes referred to as the "red supply chain." The "One Ring" in The Lord of the Rings symbolizes both destruction and human bonds, but Germany, whose automotive sector heavily relies on China, has been slow to act.
Can the US and Canada unite based on their shared values and achieve a grand, epic conclusion, like Frodo and Sam?
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/comment/byd-spots-north-america-foothold-amid-us-canada-tariff-discord">Nikkei Asia</a>. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/">Nikkei</a>.

BYD spots North America foothold amid US-Canada tariff discord

Opinion