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Consumer

Robotics

Fintech

… reproduce most human facial expressions. The robot features 29 active and several passive degrees of freedom for fine-tuned control of facial and neck movements.
Digit also developed an in-house emotional intelligence model that gives Xialan multimodal interaction capabilities. It comes equipped with high-definition cameras and microphone arrays to support face tracking, lip movement detection, and voice localization. Advanced motion-control algorithms allow it to navigate dynamic and unstructured environments autonomously.
The Xingxingxia robot, the company’s third flagship product, blends high aesthetics with emotional intelligence in a format designed for usability. It is touted as the first commercial bot in China to feature a dual-mode configuration: a humanoid body combined with a wheeled chassis. This enables it to switch modes freely depending on terrain. Notably, the robot can utilize a modular wheeled base that enables 3D mapping, path planning, obstacle avoidance, and guided following, ostensibly covering areas over 10,000 square meters across various flooring types, including tiles, wood, and carpet.
whereRelatedArticle
“The biggest challenge for bipedal robots remains stability and battery life, both of which are crucial in complex commercial settings,” Shen said. “The dual-mode design is our current best approach.”
According to 36Kr, Xingxingxia has a battery life of more than ten hours and supports automatic charging. It can also interface with elevators for multi-floor navigation, making it suitable for deployment in malls, convention centers, and office buildings.
Digit’s business model rests on three pillars: customized development for key clients, joint operations with systems integrators, and investment in its own culturally themed IP lines. One retail collaboration is with wig manufacturer Rebecca, which uses the Xialan humanoid bot in stores. The robot wears customized wigs designed by Rebecca, aimed at boosting in-store engagement and visibility.
Shen said the company has already secured orders totaling a nine-figure RMB sum this year, with customers including major tech firms, power grid operators, banks, state-owned enterprises, and universities. Pilot deliveries are underway, with more than 1,000 units expected to ship by year’s end.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3252533124702469">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Shenzhen’s Digit raises funding to scale humanoid robots built for both charm and chores

Artificial Intelligence

Deep Tech

China

… of content. If that works, the viewer becomes the creative spark.
It’s not just making creation easier. It’s a different starting point. AI becomes the tool that catches those fleeting sparks of thought and builds them into something that could inspire others.
<h3>AN: So you believe that just triggering a spark can unlock a new kind of creative productivity?</h3>
TK: Kuaishou and Douyin both started as tools. Eventually, they became massive content and social platforms. I believe whoever redefines what a creator is, defines the next generation of content platforms.
whereRelatedArticle
<h2>Quick takes</h2>
<h3>AN: What’s shocked you most in AI since 2025 began?</h3>
TK: The fact that AI agents have actually become viable.
It’s not just that the product format finally works, it’s reshaping how we build teams. At Nooka, we’re testing whether a team of 5–10 people plus 100 agents can outperform a setup of 50–100 humans.
We now run editing agents, synthesis agents, and tons of small AI tools. Think of them as freelance contractors. If they are cost-effective, they stay.
<h3>AN: What did you misjudge in AI last year?</h3>
TK: I underestimated general-purpose agents like MindOS and ChatDev.
I thought anything with less than 90% task success was useless. But users proved more tolerant. For slide decks or web builders, even 50–60% success is fine. People learn to work around the flaws.
So I've moved from thinking it needs to succeed broadly to recognizing that doing just one thing well might be enough for it to endure.
<h3>AN: What are you most looking forward to in 2025?</h3>
TK: My wedding!
Also, I’m excited about self-improving AI systems. Projects like Sakana AI’s Darwin Godel machine or DeepMind’s AlphaEvolve suggest that models may soon evolve themselves without needing pretraining data.
It’s fascinating, and a little terrifying. Like the start of a sci-fi apocalypse novel.
<h3>AN: Lastly, recommend three books you love.</h3>
TK: First would be Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason.” I haven’t finished it yet, but I’ve been reading it for years. Every time I return to it, I understand something differently.
The other two would be “Steve Jobs” and “Zhuangzi.”
<a href="/collections/100-ai-creators">100 AI Creators</a> is a collaborative project between AI Now! and KrASIA, highlighting trailblazers in AI. Know an AI talent we should feature? <a href="mailto:ainow@kr-asia.com">Reach out to us.</a>

What happens when AI rewrites Kant, and you get to argue with it?

Entertainment

Creative

Once touted as the pinnacle of medical aesthetics, China’s hair transplant industry is now facing a period of reckoning. Capital once poured in, lured by projections that the market could exceed RMB 100 billion (USD 14 billion). Today, the industry is grappling with eroding consumer trust, aggressive price wars, inconsistent service quality, and a rising number of post-procedure disputes.
As the traditional “follicle relocation” model reaches its limits, clinics are faced with a choice: continue burning through marketing budgets or return to their medical foundations.
At the latest annual meeting of the Chinese Hair Research Society, Cui Shaofang, executive director at hair solutions firm Barley, spoke with 36Kr about the latest shifts in the field.
The following transcript has been edited and consolidated for brevity and clarity.
<h3>36Kr: What changes have you seen in the hair transplant and hair care market over the past year?</h3>
Cui Shaofang (CS): Two developments stood out to me. First, the number of providers—including major chains, public hospitals, and independent clinics—has now surpassed 3,000 across China.
Demand for hair transplants has been steady, but the influx of new players has intensified pricing competition. Today, many procedures are offered at prices even lower than pre-pandemic levels. Services that once cost RMB 20,000–30,000 (USD 2,800–4,200) are now marketed as all-inclusive packages for just a few thousand yuan, with no cap on grafts. That’s misleading and ultimately compromises professional standards.
Flat-rate pricing may simplify billing, but it obscures the value of medical care and pushes clinics to behave more like marketing operations than healthcare providers. At Barley, we’ve opted out of this race. We no longer attract customers with low entry prices only to upsell them later. Last year, we returned to a per-follicle pricing model.
This structure improves transparency. Every yuan spent is tied to a defined number of follicles. It removes the ambiguity of bundled pricing and reinforces our diagnosis-first approach. Patients receive a professional assessment before any treatment, ensuring they understand exactly how many follicles they need. It’s our way of practicing precision medicine.
The second trend is the rise and fall of consumer-grade hair care brands. Many shampoo and scalp care startups boomed last year but have since declined. With consumers more budget-conscious, people are sticking to essentials, leaving non-therapeutic products increasingly overlooked.
<h3>36Kr: Many clinics are expanding into hair retention products. Barley has its sub-brand, Xiaomai. How is it different?</h3>
CS: We’re not in the same category. Most competitors offer basic consumer products like shampoo and conditioner. Xiaomai, by contrast, operates under a medical license and focuses on therapeutic solutions for hair retention and regrowth. It’s what we’d call a semi-essential service.
We’ve recently opened Xiaomai to franchise partners, but we’re selective. We’re looking for operators who have experience in the hair care space and are willing to upgrade from retail-focused shops to licensed medical clinics. These partners usually have solid teams and operational know-how. What they lack are medical capabilities and brand credibility, which we can provide.
Our expansion is measured, not aggressive. Our goal this year is to open 50 Xiaomai locations. The pilot clinic in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district is already profitable, and we aim to replicate that success.
<h3>36Kr: What is Barley’s overall growth trajectory?</h3>
CS: Our performance last year was comparable to the year before. Our core business remains centered in first- and second-tier cities, with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou accounting for 50–60% of revenue. Hair transplant procedures still represent 65–70% of our income.
We currently operate 40 clinics globally, including one in Chicago. Domestic expansion is capped at 50 clinics, as we’ve already covered the major provincial capitals. Over the past three years, we’ve closed only one clinic, in eastern China, due to overlapping market coverage.
Most people undergo a hair transplant only once in their lifetime, so there’s little justification for unchecked expansion.
We’ve also seen average customer transaction values begin to climb again. Last year, we shifted our operational focus back to clinical integrity. Price wars can distort priorities. At one point, we were reacting to market pressure in a way that felt disconnected from Barley’s original mission.
A proper clinical journey begins with diagnosis, followed by treatment planning, and then a decision: surgery or retention therapy. When pricing is prioritized over medical judgment, the entire process is undermined.
The per-graft pricing model originally came from overseas, and it remains the norm there. So we’re not raising prices, but we’re also refusing to slash them unsustainably. We’re balancing post-pandemic consumer sentiment with the true value of medical services.
After a year of operating under this model, we’ve found that customers are actually more receptive. While they remain price-sensitive, they aren’t blindly chasing the lowest quote.
We’re also diversifying our offerings. Beyond traditional procedures, we now provide treatments such as female hairline adjustments, eyebrow transplants, facial hair procedures for men, and long-term care for chronic hair loss conditions. These additions help us address a broader spectrum of patient needs.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3314520982595587">article</a> was written by Hu Xiangyun for 36Kr.

As China’s hair transplant boom fades, what comes next?

Consumer Economy

… subtler negotiation: who gets to define how shared space is used. One neighborhood official recalled a dispute over a Harmay window display that residents found too tall. After mediation, the brand agreed to lower it. These small compromises help maintain the street’s delicate equilibrium, which may be the key to its sustained commercial appeal.
“A heritage district isn’t a museum, and it’s definitely not a ghost town,” a local resident said. “It’s busy during the day, but come nightfall, the neighborhood is still calm and quiet.”
In Commonalities: Production of Behaviors, the author describes the ideal street as a mix of intimate zones that together create a vibrant public space. While most examples in the book focus on public parks or civic corridors, it also cites commercial developments. Anfu Road now feels like a real-world case study in that coexistence, though whether the balance can last remains to be seen. For now, the only thing to do is to keep walking, watching, and taking note.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3314584208140295">article</a> was written by He Zhexin for 36Kr.

Adidas lands on Anfu Road, joining the retail mix shaping Shanghai’s storied street

Retail

… tools are already being used in sectors such as construction digitization, renovation measurement, fire site modeling, traffic accident documentation, and industrial manufacturing.
In practice, drones and robots equipped with Odin 1 can enter disaster zones to deliver real-time 3D maps, helping emergency responders access accurate structural information. On construction sites, Odin 1 can log spatial changes, track progress, and assess build quality, streamlining project management and reducing labor demands.
Manifold is collaborating with several robotics manufacturers to lower the cost of smart sensing modules and offer integrated solutions for navigation, scanning, and localization. Odin 1 is scheduled to enter mass production in July and will be launched globally thereafter.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3300840875383303">article</a> was written by Huang Nan for 36Kr.

Memory for machines: Manifold Tech’s Odin 1 brings spatial recall to robotics

Hardware

Internet of Things

Drones

… months.
Tencent recently upgraded its AI agent development platform to better enable companies to build their own smart AI agents, which can reportedly handle tasks from coding to data analysis without manual input. For its own AI agents, Tencent plans to transform them from quick response tools into tools that can ultimately interact with other applications and external APIs to offer comprehensive user support.
Alibaba launched its all-in-one AI assistant Quark in March. Its "super box" interface can perform a wide range of tasks, including deep search, content creation, image generation, and coding.
In April, ByteDance launched its latest thinking model Seed-Thinking-v1.5, which the company claims outperforms DeepSeek's R1 in generic tasks and is also more cost competitive. Its AI-powered productivity platform <a href="https://kr-asia.com/bytedance-launches-coze-its-new-ai-agent-platform-in-beta">Coze</a>, which is only available in China, meanwhile, can automatically analyze questions to generate output like web pages, power point presentations or text documents.
whereRelatedArticle
Not everyone is convinced that the era of AI agent is near, or that there are meaningful ways to rank where US and Chinese companies stand in the AI race.
"The posts I saw about agentic AI are primarily marketing hype," said the University of Michigan's Corso. "There has been little evidence that any new advances have been made, partially due to the lack of reasonable benchmarks available that map to meaningful user outcomes and the lack of actual understanding of the user needs."
And while the US-China tech competition continues to heat up, some still believe AI advancement should be a global effort.
"We're not in a world of zero-sum games," Yossi Matias, head of Google Research told Nikkei Asia in an interview.
Matias declined to comment on how Google's AI efforts compared to those happening in China.
"If we see innovation coming from various places, it'll actually lead to more advancements everywhere. So I'm really excited about what we see from everywhere," he said.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Tech-Asia/US-vs-China-Who-s-leading-the-race-to-make-AI-agents-a-reality">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>.

US versus China: Who's leading the race to make AI agents a reality?

Headphones are fast becoming a key area of innovation in the smart hardware sector. At the recently concluded Microsoft Build 2025 developer conference, Anker Innovations stood out as the only Chinese brand featured. Its audio sub-brand, Soundcore, showcased advanced audio features and shared its vision for the future.
A standout from the presentation was the AeroFit 2, an open-ear Bluetooth headphone that supports real-time multilingual features such as face-to-face translation and simultaneous interpretation. The product illustrates how <a href="/industry/ai">artificial intelligence</a> can extend the function of headphones beyond audio playback into broader communication and comprehension roles.
<figure id="attachment_154422" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-154422" style="width: 1920px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-154422" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup.jpg" alt="Image of Soundcore’s AeroFit 2." width="1920" height="1080" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup.jpg 1920w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup-720x405.jpg 720w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup-768x432.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Anker-Innovations-Soundcore-AeroFit-2-Mockup-480x270.jpg 480w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-154422" class="wp-caption-text">Image of Soundcore’s AeroFit 2. Image and header image source: Soundcore.</figcaption></figure>
Anker also announced a partnership with Microsoft to co-develop the next generation of smart headphones with generative voice capabilities. The collaboration marks a strategic push into intelligent voice terminals and signals Anker’s commitment to integrating AI more deeply into its hardware.
This momentum is reflected in the company’s financial performance. According to Anker’s 2024 annual report, its smart audio and video segment generated RMB 5.692 billion (USD 796.9 million) in revenue, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 32.84%. Soundcore played a central role in driving that growth.
Founded in 2017, Soundcore has risen to become one of the top three brands globally in wireless headphone shipments. It has more than 52 million users worldwide and has received numerous international awards, making it a standout Chinese brand in the global market.
While headphone competition has traditionally focused on sound quality and noise cancellation, Soundcore is leading a shift toward AI-powered voice interaction. Unlike other smart headphones that rely on basic voice activation or simple  functions, Soundcore is developing more advanced conversational tools. These include multi-turn dialogue, context recognition, and natural language processing. The long-term goal is to transform headphones into personal assistants that can manage schedules, navigate routes, summarize meetings, and perform a range of daily tasks.
This approach expands the role of headphones within the consumer electronics ecosystem and highlights Anker’s edge in software-hardware integration. By investing in core technologies and aligning its product strategy accordingly, Soundcore is positioning itself to lead the next phase of smart audio innovation.
Soundcore’s hardware capabilities provide the technical foundation needed to fully leverage AI’s benefits. As of Q1 2025, the company holds 741 patents, many covering essential audio technologies. These patents reinforce its strengths in sound fidelity, noise control, and long-term user comfort.
Its proprietary coaxial dual-driver design aligns high and low frequencies on the same axis, delivering a balanced sound profile across the audio spectrum. An adaptive noise cancellation system further enhances performance by detecting ambient noise in real time and adjusting the cancellation curve accordingly.
Open-ear headphones have long faced challenges such as weak bass, sound leakage, and inconsistent fit. Soundcore addresses these through a comprehensive design approach that includes custom speaker tuning, optimized acoustic chambers, and adjustable wear components. The use of lightweight liquid silicone improves comfort for extended wear.
As global demand becomes increasingly segmented and specialized, Soundcore is building a competitive edge through scenario-based product design and technical differentiation. Notable products include the translation-enabled AeroFit 2, the Sleep A20 with integrated sleep monitoring, and the AeroClip, a clip-on sports headphone styled as a lifestyle accessory. Each is tailored to a specific use case, helping the brand stand out in a crowded market.
The rise of AI continues to open new avenues for headphone innovation. Within Anker, Soundcore leads R&amp;D efforts for intelligent terminal devices, forming the cornerstone of Anker’s broader push into AI-powered hardware.
Looking ahead, Soundcore plans to deepen its investment in two key areas: advanced acoustics and intelligent interaction.
On the acoustic side, the company is exploring multidimensional spatial audio, precision sound field modeling, and personalized tuning. Its next step involves applying reinforcement learning to dynamically optimize headphone performance in real time, tailoring sound to various listening contexts, from music playback to spoken dialogue and environmental noise suppression.
On the interaction side, Soundcore is building a voice assistant designed to understand both context and emotion. Features such as automatic recording-to-summary conversion aim to enhance productivity and simplify daily life. These developments are set to transform wearable audio products into multifunctional platforms with broader utility and deeper user engagement.
In this future, headphones won’t just be listening devices. They will become bridges for information flow and emotional connection.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3313467126834944">article</a> was written by Xiao Xi for 36Kr.

From audio to assistant, Anker’s Soundcore wants to redefine what headphones can do

East Asia

Music

“We believe the bottom has been reached in the first quarter. Starting from the second quarter, we’re entering a recovery phase,” said William Li, CEO of <a href="/company/nio">Nio</a>, during a June 4 investor call.
His remarks came just a day after Nio posted a weak Q1 2025 earnings report. The company delivered 42,000 vehicles during the quarter, up just 4.1% year-on-year (YoY). This figure includes 27,000 units under the Nio brand and 14,700 under its new Onvo label. The average selling price across the portfolio was RMB 236,000 (USD 33,040) per vehicle.
By contrast, <a href="/company/li-auto">Li Auto</a> and <a href="/company/xpeng">Xpeng Motors</a> both delivered more than 90,000 vehicles in the same period. Their average selling prices were RMB 266,000 (USD 37,240) and RMB 153,000 (USD 21,420), respectively. While Xpeng still posted a quarterly loss of RMB 660 million (USD 92.4 million), it edged closer to breakeven. Li Auto, despite a sharp drop in profit, reported a net income of RMB 647 million (USD 90.6 million).
<a href="/company/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a>, which entered the <a href="/industry/ev">electric vehicle</a> market recently, sold over 75,000 cars in Q1 at an average price of RMB 238,000 (USD 33,320). It narrowed its quarterly loss to RMB 500 million (USD 70 million).
Nio’s finances were more concerning. It posted a net loss of RMB 6.7 billion (USD 938 million), and its cash reserves fell from RMB 41.9 billion (USD 5.9 billion) to RMB 26 billion (USD 3.6 billion) by the end of the quarter. However, the company raised more than HKD 4 billion (USD 509.7 million) in April through a share placement in Hong Kong.
Despite the numbers, Nio’s leadership maintained a confident outlook, projecting a rebound in Q2. The company expects to deliver between 72,000 and 75,000 units in the second quarter, a 25–37% increase from the year prior.
Li said Q2 2025 could mark a new single-quarter delivery record. Co-founder Qin Lihong was more optimistic, forecasting over 70% growth from the previous quarter.
That confidence stems from recent delivery performance. In April and May, Nio delivered 23,900–23,200 vehicles, respectively. To meet its Q2 target, it needs to ship between 24,900–27,900 vehicles in June.
Breaking down May’s figures: the Nio brand delivered 13,270 units, Onvo contributed 6,281, and Firefly added 3,680 in its first full month on the market. For the first time, all three brands made substantial contributions in a single month.
Nio’s ambitions stretch further. During the earnings call, Li floated a new target: delivering 50,000 vehicles per month by Q4, evenly split between the Nio and Onvo brands.
“50,000 [cars] a month isn’t a fantasy,” Li said.
Reaching that number is key to a larger goal: achieving profitability by Q4. Li simplified the math: “Profitability is simple: multiply sales by gross margin, and deduct expenses.” To improve margins, Nio is trimming nonessential R&amp;D and cutting back on low-return initiatives. It plans to reduce quarterly R&amp;D spending from over RMB 3 billion (USD 420 million) to RMB 2–2.5 billion (USD 280–350 million).
Still, questions remain over whether the 50,000-unit target is realistic.
On the Nio side, the company’s core “5566” lineup—comprising the ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, and EC6—was fully available by May and is expected to ramp up deliveries in June. Li said the ES6 could achieve gross margins above 20%, with the EC6 even higher. The ET5 series is expected to improve margins by 10%, lifting the brand’s overall profitability.
A next-generation ES8, designed with global markets in mind, is due out in Q4. While Li noted it has more conservative dimensions than its predecessor, he suggested a bolder redesign is in the works for the third-generation model.
Onvo, the company’s mass market brand, is expected to supply the other half of Nio’s Q4 delivery volume. After a sluggish start, a leadership shake-up in April led to operational changes: “We cut 40% of Onvo’s staff and boosted sales by 40%,” Li said. The brand sold over 6,000 vehicles in May.
According to Li, Onvo will have three models on the market by year’s end: the L60, L80, and L90. He expects the L60 to stabilize at 10,000 monthly deliveries, with the L80 and L90 adding another 15,000 combined.
Qin said the company’s strategy includes opening more stores and using battery swap stations to boost test drives and outreach in underserved markets.
Still, even with momentum building, competition is intense. Xiaomi’s second model, the YU7, along with Li Auto’s i8 and i6 and Xpeng’s G7, are all slated to launch later this year. Xiaomi has reportedly begun stockpiling YU7 units in preparation for rapid delivery.
Nio’s competitors are also targeting profitability. Xpeng aims to break even in Q4, while Xiaomi could hit that milestone even earlier.
For Nio, the path is steeper. It’s aiming to erase a nearly RMB 7 billion (USD 980 million) deficit in just two quarters. “We’re in catch-up mode,” Li acknowledged. “Operationally, we need to close the gap.”
Reflecting on the company’s darkest hour in 2019, Li noted that survival back then depended on external bailouts. This time, he said: “We have to generate our own blood.”
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This <a href="https://36kr.com/p/3321938441153026">article</a> was written by Li Anqi for 36Kr.

Nio says the worst is over after a bruising Q1. Now it has to prove it

Transportation

Electric Vehicles

Mobility

<blockquote>China Recap is a weekly roundup tracking Chinese companies expanding abroad, covering market entries, funding rounds, product launches, and global partnerships.</blockquote>
China’s corporate globalization strategy is evolving fast. Industry giants are rewriting the global playbook, while a new generation of companies charts fresh paths overseas.
China Recap tracks both—focusing on strategic expansion, brand building, and localized operations—to help readers make sense of shifting trends and understand how Chinese firms are reshaping their global approach.
Here’s what made headlines last week:
<h3>China powers ahead in green and EV tech</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Talent New Energy unveiled its “cold core” battery technology to improve fast charging and thermal management in cylindrical electric vehicle cells. Its 4695 and 50190 series support 6C charging, reaching 80% charge in nine minutes, and operate across extreme temperatures, addressing limitations of the cylindrical format.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Power prices in China’s industrial provinces have fallen to regulatory floors as coal costs plunge and renewable energy floods the grid. Jiangsu’s rate dropped 24% year-on-year (YoY) while Guangdong saw an 8.3% cut, offering relief to export-heavy industries amid US trade pressure. —<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-05/china-s-power-prices-nosedive-in-relief-to-tariff-hit-factories">Bloomberg</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Marubeni signed its first long-term deal to purchase green ammonia from China’s Envision Energy, sourcing from an Inner Mongolia plant set to start commercial output in late 2025. The Japanese firm aims to supply clients across Northeast Asia as it scales low-carbon fuel offerings. —<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Energy/Marubeni-signs-green-ammonia-deal-with-China-s-Envision-Energy">Nikkei Asia</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Botree Recycling Technologies raised additional Series B funding from the Taiping Science and Technology Innovation Fund to support global expansion and R&amp;D. Building on an earlier RMB 100 million (USD 14 million) investment, the Suzhou-based firm is scaling localized battery recycling projects, including a joint venture in Spain, and advancing tech for efficient metal recovery from EV and storage batteries.</li>
<li aria-level="1">BYD is partnering with Xiaoju Charging and Xindiantu to co-build 15,000 megawatt-level fast chargers across China, expanding its existing network of over 500 stations and accelerating the nationwide rollout of high-speed EV charging. —<a href="https://www.cnstock.com/commonDetail/448252">Shanghai Securities News</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">China accounted for more than 60% of global renewable energy additions in 2024, driven by advances in offshore wind, solar cell technology, and energy storage, according to CREEI. The sector is now shifting from rapid expansion to high-quality development, with grid integration and coordinated planning emerging as key priorities. —<a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-05-30/Report-China-s-new-energy-sector-continues-high-quality-growth-1DNT4aTvMmQ/p.html">CGTN</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Ant unveils AI platform for fintech firms</h3>
Ant International launched a platform under Alipay+ to help fintech firms build artificial intelligence-native services. The solution supports workflows such as fraud detection, onboarding, and dispute resolution, with client deployments beginning June 2025 in South and Southeast Asia.
<h3>Naixue opens in Chiang Mai mall</h3>
Chinese tea chain Naixue opened its first store in Chiang Mai, inside Central Festival mall, marking its eighth location in Southeast Asia. Featuring staples and new drinks tailored to Thai tastes, the outlet recorded nearly THB 3.5 million (USD 107,000) in first-month revenue, with daily sales topping 2,000 cups. A New York store is now in the pipeline as it eyes the US market. —<a href="https://daoinsights.com/news/naixue-pulls-in-nearly-thb-3-5-million-in-first-month-in-chiang-mai/">Dao Insights</a>
<h3>Chagee boosts Q1 sales, but margins narrow</h3>
Chagee’s Q1 2025 revenue rose 35.4% YoY to RMB 3.39 billion (USD 474.6 million), driven by a 63.6% jump in store count to 6,681. Net income grew 13.8% to RMB 677.3 million (USD 94.8 million), though net margin narrowed to 20% as same-store GMV fell 18.9% YoY. Operating margin declined to 24.2% amid rising marketing and administrative expenses.
<h3>Ningji expands overseas with 15 stores signed</h3>
Chinese lemon tea brand Ningji launched an international expansion anchored in Hong Kong, signing 15 overseas stores across Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Cambodia. Stores are already open in Malaysia and Cambodia, with three more in key Kuala Lumpur locations expected to open in July. —<a href="https://36kr.com/p/3316386906269961">36Kr</a>
That wraps up this edition of China Recap. If your company is expanding internationally, we’d love to hear about your latest milestones. <a href="mailto:changweiqian@global.36kr.com">Get in touch</a> to share your story.

China Recap | Chinese firms power ahead in green and EV tech