China 11th in innovation index 🚀 Installs 51% of world's robots 🤖 GM unveils fastest-charging EV battery ⚡

2024-09-30 | subscribe | homepage

Welcome back to this week’s edition of the China Insights Weekly Newsletter!

As the National Day Holiday, also known as Golden Week, starts tomorrow, here are some key takeaways from China’s business and tech sectors.

• 200km in 5 Minutes: GM and CATL unveil the fastest-charging EV battery, delivering 200km of range in just five minutes.

• China Climbs in Innovation: China ranks 11th globally and leads with 26 of the top 100 science and tech clusters.

• Bayer Launches in Shanghai: Bayer opens its first Co.Lab in China, focusing on cell and gene therapy innovation.

• Huawei Tops Apple in Tablets: Huawei overtakes Apple with a 66% surge in tablet sales, leading the market in China.

Dive deeper into these stories and more by clicking the headlines below. We value your feedback—let us know your thoughts or suggestions on LinkedIn, X or Facebook.

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🚀 Headlines

China climbs to 11th in Global Innovation Index, leads in tech clusters with 26 in the top 100 (link)

China came 11th in the Global Innovation Index this year, moving up from 12th, and maintaining its spot as the only middle-income economy in the top 30. It also had the most science and technology clusters for the 2nd year. China ranks 1st in high-tech exports, 2nd in global corporate research and development investors, 2nd in labor productivity growth, and 3rd in gross expenditure on R&D financed by business. China boasted 26 science and technology clusters in the top 100, followed by the US with 20 and Germany with 8. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster kept its 2nd position behind Tokyo-Yokohama, while Beijing reclaimed the 3rd spot from Seoul. Shanghai-Suzhou rounds out the top five. China is also home to the two fastest-growing science and technology clusters, with Hefei growing at 22.7% and Zhengzhou at 18.9%.

Germany’s Bayer opens first Co.Lab in China (link)

German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has inaugurated a life sciences co-creation platform in Shanghai, its fourth Bayer Co.Lab globally and first in China. It is located in the Shanghai Innovation Park, or SH-INNO, in Zhangjiang Science City in the Pudong New Area. Bayer Co.Lab is a pioneering global network of life science incubators focused on disruptive innovation and scientific breakthroughs. With strategic locations in Berlin, Cambridge, Kobe, and Shanghai, it connects early-stage entrepreneurs with world-class expertise, resources, and global networks, and empowers startups by providing state-of-the-art facilities, expert mentorship, and a vibrant community. The facility is similar to the 3 other centers but focuses on cell and gene therapy and oncology, areas in which China has showcased cutting-edge innovation.

USA’s GM, its Chinese partner Shanghai Automotive, and CATL jointly launch the fastest charging EV battery to date (link)

General Motors' China joint venture SAIC-GM and power battery giant CATL have jointly developed the world’s fastest charging battery based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry that supports 6C ultra-fast charging. C refers to the battery's charging multiplier, and 6C means that the battery can theoretically be fully charged in one-sixth of an hour, just 10 minutes. The 6C battery can get a range of more than 200 kilometers or more on a five-minute charge. The battery will be operational starting next year on Ultium's quasi-900 V high-voltage battery architecture. Ultium is the fundamental basis for GM's next-generation EVs, which it announced in March 2020. The fastest-charging battery currently used in China's EV industry has a charge multiplier of 5.5C.

Korean chipmakers increase their reliance on Chinese raw materials and production supply chain (link)

The Korean chipmaker's reliance on Chinese imports for silicon used in silicon wafers rose from 68.8% in 2022 to 75.4% in 2023, while that of germanium, a key material for next-generation compound semiconductors, surged by 17.4% points to 74.3% during the same period. Only fluorite, a key material for hydrofluoric acid, showed a slight decrease from 49.9% to 47.5% during the same period. Korean chipmakers are also relying heavily on Chinese manufacturing. Samsung Electronics Xi'an plant accounted for 29% of the company’s total NAND flash production in 2021, but the number rose to 36% in 2022, 37% last year, and is expected to reach 40% this year. The ratio of SK Hynix’s DRAM production at its Wuxi plant declined from 49% in 2021 to 42% last year, though it is expected to remain significant at 41% this year.

As the tablet market in China grows by 20%, Huawei tops Apple with 66% sales surge (link)

For the second straight quarter, Huawei has outsold Apple in tablet shipments. Huawei shipped a whopping 20.5 million tablets in Q2 2024 within China, translating to a dominant 26% market share, securing it the top spot with a 66% year-on-year growth. The success can likely be attributed to Huawei’s aggressive launch strategy. Their diverse MatePad lineup, including the recently released dual-layer OLED MatePad Pro 12.2, seems to be resonating well with Chinese consumers. Apple, despite holding a similar market share to Huawei (around 20.1 million tablets shipped), has experienced a 14% annual decline. This is despite despite the whole Chinese tablet market growing 20% and all Chinese players in the top 5 including Xiaomi and Honor growing their sales in the 2nd quarter.

China installed 51% of industrial robots in 2023, global robot population grew by 10% to over 4 million (link)

The number of industrial robots in factories worldwide rose by 10% last year to reach a total of 4,281,585 according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The number of new installations exceeded 500,000 for the third year, with 70% of the new robots deployed in Asia, 17% in Europe, and 10% in the Americas. The annual installation figure of 541,302 units in 2023 is the 2nd highest in history and only 2% lower than the record year 2022. China remains by far the world’s largest market for industrial robots, installing a further 276,288 in 2023 – representing 51% of all new installations around the globe. Domestic Chinese manufacturers accounted for 47% of all sales in 2023 – up from an average of around 28% over the past decade. The total number of industrial robots in use in China is now just under 1.8 million making up roughly 42% of the world’s total.

China's graduate student enrollment surged 62% in the past six years (link)

The number of Chinese students enrolling for graduate studies climbed nearly 62% in the past six years, with several higher education institutions now hosting more postgraduates than undergraduates. China admitted 1.3 million graduate students last year, up from 806,100 in 2017. Doctoral students soared 83 percent to about 153,300, while master's degree students rose 59 percent to around 1.15 million. At Fudan University in Shanghai and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, undergraduates now account for only 33% and 39% of the total student body.

China develops new entertainment genre, micro-dramas surge creates new international expansion opportunity (link)

Chinese creatives are refining a new trend in entertainment: the super-short streaming series. Each episode typically lasts less than 2 minutes, making them easily consumable on mobile devices. Each series consists of 20 to 100 episodes and covers genres such as comedy and romance. Key players in the sector include short video platforms operated by Kuaishou, BiliBili, and Tencent Holdings. Apps ReelShort, DramaBox, Sereal+, ShortTV, GoodShort, and FlexTV are also players in the super-short scene.

One of the major advantages of these mini-dramas lies in their low production costs and fast turnaround times. With just 7 to 10 days to shoot an entire series and costs ranging between 300,000 and 500,000 yuan (USD41,000-69,000), the most successful productions rake in tens of millions of dollars within a few days. The entire market for short dramas in China surpassed USD5 billion in 2023, with 100 billion yuan (USD13 billion) projected by 2027. Chinese platforms are already expanding the genre globally, in 2023, ReelShort was downloaded by over 7 million users in the US across Apple and Android devices.

🎁 Bonus Stories

China grants visa-free entry to citizens from Slovenia, Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus, European visa-free countries reach 22 (link)

Citizens from four European countries – Slovenia, Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus – can now travel to China visa-free for short-term stays, as announced by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The visa waiver decision was announced by Wang on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he held talks with leaders of these countries. Earlier in September China also announced that Norwegian travelers can now visit China for 15 days without needing a Visa. Since December 2023, China has granted 15-day visa-free travel to citizens of 17 European countries and 15 out of 27 European Union member states. With citizens of non-EU countries Norway, Switzerland, Serbia, Albania, Georgia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Belarus not needing Chinese visas, the total number of China visa-free European countries has reached 22.

Construction of core array of China's FAST telescope begins (link)

The construction of the Core Array of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) started last Wednesday. FAST the 500-meter diameter radio telescope is located in southwest China's Guizhou Province. It is used to achieve wide sky coverage and high sensitivity for astronomical observations. FAST is by far the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world. As a proposed extension of FAST, the Core Array integrates 24 secondary 40-meter antennas implanted within 5 kilometers of the FAST site. The Chinese-designed array will combine the unprecedented sensitivity of FAST with a high angular resolution, thereby exceeding the capabilities at similar frequencies of next-generation arrays in the world. The FAST Core Array is estimated to be completed and put into operation in 2027.

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