Shanghai cheetahs lead 🐆 Zeekr & Waymo team up 🚗 China’s AI super-network 🚄

2025-01-13 | subscribe | homepage

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

Here are the top stories shaping China’s business and tech landscape:

• Shanghai tops list with 68 cheetah companies

• Zeekr to export EVs to the US in 2025

• China becomes world’s 2nd-largest lithium holder

• Roborock unveils vacuum with robotic arm

Dive deeper into these stories and more by clicking the headlines below.

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🚀 Headlines

Shanghai tops 2024 Hurun list with 68 cheetah companies, China 2nd with growth of 4% (link)

Shanghai is the leading city for global cheetah companies, with 68 enterprises featured in the Hurun Future Unicorns — Global Cheetahs Index 2024. Cheetahs are high-growth firms founded after 2000 that are most likely to achieve unicorn status, valuation of USD 1 billion, within the next 5 years. Following Shanghai, San Francisco ranked second with 65, Beijing with 56, New York with 39, and Shenzhen with 35. This year's list identified 928 cheetah companies worldwide. Biotech and health technology are the most popular sectors, with 144 and 123 enterprises, respectively. The USA and China account for 71% of the world’s Cheetahs, with the US leading with 359. China follows with 304, up 4% from the previous year, and saw the addition of over 70 new cheetah companies in the past year, primarily in biotechnology, health technology, robotics, semiconductors, and new energy.

Despite sanctions, Zeekr to be first Chinese electric car brand to export to US, deliver custom Mix version to Waymo (link)

Zeekr, the all-electric brand of Geely, will start mass production of the Zeekr RT, a Waymo-customized version of Zeekr Mix, in 2025, with deliveries to US-based Waymo beginning later this year. The Zeekr RT minivan is touted as the first mass-produced vehicle purpose-built for autonomous driving. It will become the first Chinese electric car brand to enter the US market. The Zeekr Mix minivan, which features 3 sliding doors and has a rear-axle electric motor with a peak power of 310 kW (415 hp), accelerating to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds. It is equipped with a 76 kWh LFP battery, offering a 550 km range under CLTC conditions, and supports 5.5C charging technology, enabling a 10% to 80% charge in 10.5 minutes. The Zeekr Mix is priced at 279,900 yuan (39,000 USD) in China.

Korean semiconductor equipment manufacturer Nextin to set up subsidiary invest USD 200 million in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province (link)

South Korean semiconductor equipment manufacturer Nextin has signed a cooperative agreement with Wuxi High-Tech Zone and Wuxi Industrial Group to establish a high-end semiconductor testing and measurement equipment production and research center in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. The project, with a total investment of USD 200 million, will focus on advanced testing and measurement equipment for silicon wafers and include a technology research and development center. The newly established production subsidiary Wuxi Nextin, will be three times the size of its Korean factory and will increase production capacity tenfold. The production of the Nextin factory in Wuxi will begin in October, and some of the assembled equipment will be transported from South Korea.

China’s Asieris strikes deal with US CDC to supply novel drug for free-living ameba infections (link)

Chinese pharmaceutical company Asieris Pharmaceuticals has entered into an investigational medication supply agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This agreement allows Shanghai-based Asieris' experimental drug APL-1202, for the treatment of free-living ameba (FLA) infections, to be used in special research cases. The CDC has submitted an expanded-access investigational new drug application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for APL-1202 to treat laboratory-confirmed or suspected non-keratitis FLA infections. Currently, there are no other effective treatments available in the US for FLA infections, which have a mortality rate higher than 90%. APL-1202 has been used under emergency conditions in the US since 2021, with both patients treated making a full recovery. The drug also received approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration in June last year.

Chengdu ranks 3rd after Beijing and Shanghai as China’s largest air hubs, leaving Guangzhou again in fourth place (link)

For the second consecutive year, Chengdu has handled more air passengers than Guangzhou, solidifying its position as China's third-largest aviation hub. Chengdu's two airports, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, recorded a combined passenger throughput of 87.3 million in 2024, a 17% increase from 2023. In contrast, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport reported 76.4 million passengers, up 21% from 2023. Chengdu's growth is largely attributed to its new Tianfu Airport, which has become the fifth-busiest airport in the country and the busiest in central and western China since its opening in 2021. The airport is projected to maintain annual growth of about 10%, reaching its designed capacity of 60 million passengers by 2026. However, Chengdu’s lead over Guangzhou may not last as Guangzhou started construction on its second airport in December 2024.

China becomes world’s second-largest holder of lithium reserves (link)

China has significantly increased its lithium reserves, jumping to the second-largest holder globally. As of last year, China's lithium reserves accounted for 16.5% of the global total, up from 6% the previous year. The new deposits are primarily located in Jiangxi, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia. Notably, the spodumene metallogenic belt contributes 6.5 million tons of proven reserves and potentially exceeds 30 million tons. New salt-lake lithium deposits top 14 million tons, making it the world's third-largest source after the Lithium Triangle (Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia) and the western United States. Additionally, technological advancements have overcome extraction challenges in Jiangxi, adding over 10 million tons in reserves. China is the world’s top consumer of Lithium, used in rechargeable batteries in electronic vehicles and storage systems.

Roborock unveils world's first robot vacuum cleaner with arm that picks up socks, toys to tidy up (link)

Chinese consumer goods firm Roborock introduced the Saros Z70, the world’s first mass-produced vacuum equipped with an intelligent and foldable robotic arm, OmniGrip. This five-axis foldable mechanism, housed within the vacuum’s compact 7.98 cm body, can move objects up to 300 grams, such as socks and towels, using precision sensors, a camera, and an LED light. The Saros Z70 also integrates Roborock’s advanced StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 for enhanced navigation and mapping, featuring a traditional Laser Distance Sensor (LDS) tower with dual-light 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors and AI-powered RGB cameras. With 22,000 Pa suction power, the Z70 is among the industry's highest, and its dual anti-tangle system ensures uninterrupted performance. Launching in the first half of 2025, the Saros Z70 redefines robotic cleaning by addressing areas traditional vacuums cannot reach.

China’s 8,080-mile network delivers lightning speed, 0 data loss, ultra-low delays (link)

China has completed the China Environment for Network Innovations (CENI), a super-fast computer network that spans 8,080 miles (13,000 km) across 13 provinces. This high-tech network, likened to "high-speed rail for computers," achieves zero packet loss and ultra-low latency, with delay jitter under 20 microseconds even under full network load. CENI's novel architectural approach merges optical communication with deterministic networks, ensuring stability regardless of traffic volume. CENI will significantly speed up artificial intelligence development, facilitate massive datasets transfer for AI model training, and enable efficient data transfer from eastern regions to western data centers powered by renewable energy. The CENI backbone optical cable currently spans 34,000 km, with plans to expand it by 10,000 km. The initial phase includes 9 cities, and the next phase will connect 100 leading universities and enterprises.

🎁 Bonus Stories

Shanghai tops Paris as the top travel destination for Asian travelers (link)

Shanghai has been recognized as the fastest-growing destination for international travelers from Asia, according to Agoda's 2025 New Horizons ranking. This annual ranking, which compares accommodation booking trends over two years, highlights Shanghai's significant rise in popularity. The city's re-emergence as a travel favorite is attributed to China's recent tourist visa waivers, making it more accessible to international visitors. Shanghai offers a blend of modern architectural marvels, historic landmarks, and vibrant cultural experiences, attracting travelers seeking diverse adventures. Following Shanghai, the other top five destinations are Jeju (South Korea), Paris (France), Nha Trang (Vietnam), and Fukuoka (Japan).

Stem cell therapy marks a breakthrough in China’s fight against Parkinson’s Disease (link)

Shanghai East Hospital, affiliated with Tongji University, has achieved a breakthrough in treating Parkinson's disease with China's first induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapy. After a 12-month clinical trial, the therapy showed good safety and efficacy in improving patients' motor abilities and life quality. The trial shows that iPSC therapy could reverse Parkinson's progression, offering a new treatment strategy. Parkinson's is a common neurodegenerative disorder affecting middle-aged and elderly people. By 2030, China may have 4.94 million patients, nearly half of the global total. iPSC therapy involves converting somatic cells into stem cells that can differentiate into various functional cell types for cell replacement therapy. This marks a significant step in China's medical innovation and offers hope for treating other challenging conditions.

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