Daily Buzz: 2 June 2026

Top News

Lebanon War Threatens to Derail Peace Talks, Trump Engineers Truce

Iran said it would halt indirect peace talks with the US because of the widening Israeli assault on Lebanon. US President Donald Trump stepped in to calm tensions, securing an agreement from Iran ally Hezbollah representatives that the group will cease attacks on northern Israel if Israel drops plans to resume strikes on Beirut. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call to back off threats to attack the Lebanese capital. However, attacks by both sides in southern Lebanon were reported following Trump's intervention, casting some doubt on the durability of the latest ceasefire.

The flare-up of tensions threatened to derail peace negotiations with Iran came after the Israeli army mounted its deepest penetration into Lebanon in 25 years, capturing Beaufort Castle, a fortress that dates back to the Crusades, and after Netanyahu ordered major strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut. Tehran has long insisted that any Middle East peace plan must include the conflict in Lebanon, which has killed more than 3,000 people, mostly civilians, injured up to 10,000 and left a million people displaced from their homes.

In the Gulf, the US said it struck Iranian military sites over the weekend, and Iran said on Monday that it targeted a US military base in the region in retaliation – possibly in Kuwait. The latest exchange of attacks comes amid a stand-off in agreeing to a peace framework mediated by Pakistan and other third-parties. However, Trump told ABC News that he expects a peace deal with Tehran "over the next week." The price of oil rose again on Monday. Benchmark Brent crude futures shot up 4.5 percent in New York to about US$95.25 a barrel.

Top Business

One Year into Fast Delivery War, Meituan Post Q1 loss

Beijing-based Meituan, China's biggest food-delivery platform, turned to a first-quarter net loss of 6.8 billion yuan (US$940 million) from a profit of 10.1 billion yuan a year earlier, largely on costs related to its on-demand food delivery business. Revenue rose 5.6 percent to 91.0 billion yuan. Meituan's core local commerce segment, which encompasses its food delivery and in-store businesses, showed a 0.1 percent rise in revenue and an operating loss of 2.1 billion yuan. Operating expenses in that segment rose to 22.8 billion yuan from about 15 billion yuan a year ago, driven by aggressive promotional campaigns to defend Meituan leadership from rival fast food-delivery services operated by Alibaba and JD.com and from higher benefits for deliverymen. On an earnings call with analysts, Chief Executive Wang Xing said the war in fast delivery services is moderating and will improve the company's performance in the second quarter.

Meituan's new initiatives segment, which includes its Xiaoxiang Supermarket grocery business and its overseas delivery brand Keeta in the Middle East market, showed a revenue gain of 21 percent, narrowing its operating loss to 2.1 billion from 2.3 billion a year. The company cited progress in deploying AI into its operations. Its AI assistant Xiao Tuan was upgraded to provide "more intelligent" decision-making for consumers, and it launched a Xiao Tuan health assistant that allows consumers to access medical consultation, purchase medicine and book medical appointments "seamlessly" on its platform. Its smart manager app served 700,000 merchants and restaurants. Meituan also has business interests in travel bookings, restaurant reviews, bike and power-bank sharing, drones and self-driving delivery vehicles.

Nvidia Chips Expand into Personal Computers

US chip giant Nvidia has expanded into personal computers with new RTX Spark superchips to be installed in Windows operating systems in Microsoft, Dell, HP, ASUS Lenovo and MSI computer, beginning this autumn. It is entering a realm long dominated by Intel, AMD, Qualcomm and Apple. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia's N1X processor is being incorporated into the RTX Spark chips. The fusion also includes 128 gigabytes of unified memory. The processor will be made using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 3-nanometer technology.

After the announcement, shares in Chinese computer maker jumped 5 percent to a record in Hong Kong. Chinese listed AI application shares also surged, with Shenzhen-listed iSoftStone jumping 20 percent and Shanghai-listed Kingsoft, which operates an AI tool rivaling Microsoft Office, climbing 7.4 percent.

BYD Snaps Sales Losing Streak, Chery Drives China Car Export Boom

Major Chinese automakers reported divergent sales results for May. Shenzhen-based BYD, China's largest electric carmaker, maintained its market dominance, with sales rising 0.26 percent from a year earlier to 383,453 vehicles, its first monthly rise in nine months. The growth was heavily supported by a near doubling of exports to 160,644 units. Chery Group posted a 21 percent jump in overall sales to 247,823 vehicles, powered by an 81percent surge in exports to 181,871 units.

The picture was more fragmented among other electric vehicle makers. Nio reported a 62 percent year-on-year surge to 37,705 vehicles, while Geely's premium Zeekr brand delivered a record 34,377 cars, up 81 percent. Xiaomi deliveries topped 30,000 units for the month, and Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance delivered 46,122 vehicles. However, Li Auto reported an 18 percent decline to 33,350 units, while Xpeng posted a 4 percent decline of 32,158 vehicles.

The China Automobile Dealers Association, estimating domestic car sales for the month at about 1.5 million vehicles, warned that the market is entering a seasonal lull in June, with consumer confidence expected to recovery somewhat but enthusiasm following splashy auto shows earlier in the year still having a tough time translating to sales on showroom floors.

Economy & Markets

Dreame Seeks Up to US$1 Billion in Pre-IPO Round

Chinese smart appliance maker Dreame Technology has launched a pre-IPO funding round seeking to raise up to 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion), which would value the company at about 70 billion yuan, Chinese media outlet Blue Whale Finance reported. The round closes in late June, with reports it is drawing strong demand from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and large corporations. Dreame, which started in tech giant Xiaomi's ecosystem, saw 2025 revenue top 40 billion yuan, with overseas markets contributing nearly 80 percent. The company said it plans to use high research and development spending to expand into humanoid robots and automotive sectors.

China Issues New Rules for Overseas Deals

China issued new rules on Monday tightening control of overseas deals that involve Chinese investors, technology, data and national security. The rules, published by the State Council, China's cabinet, take effect from July 1. One of the articles requires authorization for exports of restricted Chinese goods, technologies, services or related data, Reuters reported. For the first time, China is also establishing a formal legal basis for forcing the unwinding of completed overseas transactions. Under the new rules, if an investor engages in a prohibited overseas transaction, regulatory authorities will order the deal to stop. The investors will be forced to divest their shares and assets within a specified timeframe, and any illegal gains will be confiscated.

The rules come on the heels of heightened regulatory scrutiny over cross-border capital flows. In late April, Chinese authorities ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of Chinese-owned artificial intelligence startup Manus. The move is also seen as a significant regulatory signal to formalize outbound investment activity following Beijing's strict crackdowns on illicit cross-border brokerage operations by firms like Tiger Brokers and Futu Holdings.

South Korea Posts Fastest Export Growth in Four Decades

South Korea's exports in May surged 53 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace in four decades, as semiconductor shipments soared 169 percent. Overall exports to China rose 59 percent, but shipments to the Middle East dropped 7.7 percent because of the Gulf war. Imports rose 21 percent. The nation's benchmark Kospi stock index, dominated by chipmaking giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, jumped to a fresh record high on Monday, with Samsung shares rising 10 percent to an all-time high. The index has more than doubled this year on surging profits for memory chip makers. Separately, a survey of South Korean factory activity showed the strongest expansion in more than five years.

Japan PM Prepares Additional Spending, Bond Markets Skittish

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is preparing a 3-trillion-yen (US$19 billion) supplementary budget to help households cope with the rising cost of living, but it's raising questions about the nation's debt load amid bond yields at 40-year highs. Higher yields raise the cost of government borrowing. Market analysts are skeptical about Takaichi's ability to keep her promise of no new debt beyond her original budget. "Bond markets are a lot of things, but they're not stupid," Jesper Koll, a director at Tokyo-based financial services firm Monex Group told CNBC. "You cannot increase spending without increasing debt."

Corporate

Unitree to Provide Robots to Nvidia

Hangzhou-based robotics firm Unitree has been selected by chip giant Nvidia as its partner in the development of the US company's first humanoid robot, called the Isaac GR00T system. It will combine Unitree's nearly 1.8-meter-tall humanoid robot with Nvidia's Jetson Thor hardware, powered by Blackwell chips to support robotic functions. Unitree is pursuing a listing on Shanghai's STAR market, aiming to raise 4.2 billion yuan US$621 million. The company opened Asia-first embodied intelligence store on Sunday in Shanghai. The store sells Unitree's G1 humanoid robot, R1 humanoid robot and Go2 robotic dog, with prices starting at 8,999 yuan.

Huawei Launches New Nova 16 Smartphones

Chinese tech giant Huawei launched its mid-range Nova 16 smartphone series on Monday. The standard Nova 16 starts at 2,999 yuan (US$414), while the top-tier Ultra version begins at 4,699 yuan. The new pricing represents a hike of up to 500 yuan compared with previous generation phones due to soaring component and memory chip costs gripping the broader smartphone industry.

The new 5G-capable devices run on Huawei's in-house Kirin 9010S processor and proprietary HarmonyOS 6.1 operating system.

Akeso's Cancer Drug Cuts Mortality Risk by 34 percent in Trial

Chinese biotech firm Akeso reported its lung cancer drug ivonescimab significantly extended survival rates compared with established immunotherapy regimens. Data from a 532-patient Phase III trial presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showed that ivonescimab, combined with chemotherapy, reduced the risk of death by 34 percent, with survival extending to a median 27.9 months from to 23.7 months for the control group. The results were published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Geely's Volvo Cars Gets Approval to Keep Selling Cars in US

Geely-controlled Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars has received US approval to continue selling vehicles in America, despite a US ban on imports of cars made by Chinese-owned companies.

Volvo Cars sold 121,600 vehicles in the USA last year. The company exports cars to the US from European factories, except its electric SUV EX90, which it assembles in South Carolina. Hangzhou-based Geely holds a majority stake in Volvo Cars after Ford Motor sold the company more than 10 years ago.

Food Republic Closes Last Beijing Outlet

Singapore-based Food Republic said it is closing its last remaining outlet in Beijing as its food court operating model loses consumer interest. The exit ends more than two decades of operations in China, which peaked at more than 40 sites in 2016. The closure leaves only four outlets on the mainland, all in Shanghai.

Seres Teams Up with ByteDance to Launch New Brand

Chongqing-based automaker Seres has relinquished control of its subsidiary Chongqing Saidou Technology, following a 6.67-billion-yuan (US$921 million) capital injection from partners including state investors and battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). Saidou plans to officially launch its new auto model this year, targeting younger consumers with a pure electric and range-extended crossover vehicles. The company has teamed up with ByteDance's Volcano Engine on an in-car infotainment system.

China's 'Midas' Investor Donates US$41 Million to Alma Mater

Neil Shen, the Chinese investor widely regarded as having the "Midas touch" and the founding and managing partner of investment firm HongShan, has donated 300 million yuan (US$41 million) to his alma mater, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, to establish a new elite talent academy, the university said on Monday. The endowment will fund the HongShan Academy, an undergraduate program focused on personalized, AI-driven education across multiple disciplines. Shen, one of China's most prominent venture capitalists, will serve as the honorary dean. HongShan manages over 300 billion yuan in assets.