Business Brief (Sept. 17): Beijing to Expand Service Consumption

China’s Ministry of Commerce, along with eight other government agencies, has launched a series of policy measures aimed at boosting domestic service consumption. The measures focus on increasing financial support for consumer credit, expanding credit opportunities for service-related spending, making it easier for foreign personnel to participate in inbound consumption, and further relaxing access to markets related to mid- and high-end healthcare as well as leisure travel. These initiatives are part of the government’s ongoing efforts to stimulate economic activity and modernize China's service sector [para. 2].

During a rehearsal for the Changchun Airshow on September 16, an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft developed by XPeng AeroHT crashed and caught fire due to contact between two aircraft involved in a formation flight exercise. One plane landed safely, but the other suffered fuselage damage and ignited after landing. The incident highlights safety concerns as manufacturers race to commercialize new aerial mobility technologies [para. 3].

The US-China economic and trade talks recently concluded in Madrid, with Treasury Secretary Bessent—the lead US negotiator—describing the discussions as comprehensive and conducted in a spirit of mutual respect. The improved bilateral relations between the two nations’ leaders contributed positively to the dialogue. Details on the TikTok agreement reached during these talks will be released in the near future [para. 4].

Chery Automobile has formally applied to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, filing for an IPO of 297.4 million shares within an indicative price range of HK$27.75–HK$30.75 ($3.55–$3.94) per share. The offering price will be announced on September 23, with trading expected to commence on September 25. CICC, Huatai International, and GF Securities are the joint sponsors [para. 5].

Tencent Cloud announced that its heterogeneous computing platform is now fully compatible with domestic chips. Qiu Yuepeng, president of Tencent Cloud, emphasized that the company’s GPU computing resources are more diverse, and domestic chips continue to improve in computational performance, underscoring China’s push for technological self-reliance [para. 6].

Chinese-founded Dyna Robotics raised $120 million in a Series A financing round led by Robostrategy, CRV, and First Round Capital. Additional investors include Salesforce, Nvidia (via NVentures), the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Samsung, and LG. Dyna Robotics intends to use the funds to scale its team, accelerate next-generation foundational models, and deploy general-purpose robots in commercial settings [para. 7].

Construction has commenced on the Xizang-Guangdong ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) power transmission project, expecting to drive more than 200 billion yuan ($27.9 billion) in investment. The project aims to transfer electricity from southeast Xizang to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by 2029 and is projected to generate over 100,000 direct jobs at its peak [para. 8].

In international tech investment, leading U.S. technology and AI companies, including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, and CoreWeave, pledged £31 billion ($38.5 billion) to support the U.K.’s AI infrastructure as part of the newly signed Tech Prosperity Deal during the U.S. presidential state visit. The agreement covers data centers, computer chip investments, and enhancements to AI capabilities [para. 9].

Additionally, China has eased foreign investment restrictions by removing the purchase of non-self-use real estate by foreign-invested enterprises from its negative list [para. 12]. In business news, Vanke secured a loan of up to 2.06 billion yuan from Shenzhen Metro Group, while CATL invested in Aixing Smart Mobility Technology Co. Leadership changes include Wang Rui retiring as Intel China’s chairman, succeeded by Wang Zhicong [para. 13].

Internationally, President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. military sank a Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat, resulting in three deaths, raising bilateral tensions. The European Union has paused new sanction talks against Russia, and Spain has canceled its arms sales to Israel [para. 15].