Daily Buzz: 15 May 2026

Top News

Chinese, US Presidents Seek Reset of Bilaterial Relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting US President Donald Trump, "China and the US both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals." He said a major question is whether the two countries can avoid the "Thucydides Trap," a concept that describes how tensions between a rising and ruling power often result in war. He also warned Trump that mishandling the issue of Tawain could spark conflict. Beijing wants Washington to stop or slow arms sales to the island. Trump praised Xi as a "great leader" and said bilaterial relations are going to be "better than ever before." He announced Xi would be welcomed on a state visit to Washington in September.

Trump was greeted in Beijing with pomp and fanfare. The two leaders held talks and later attended a state banquet in the Great Hall of the People. Trump is scheduled to meet Xi again today before leaving for home. Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with a delegation of to US business executives traveling with Trump, promising a steady opening of China's market to foreigners.

Russia Intensifies Missile Attacks on Ukraine

Russia sent a barrage of drones and missiles into Kiev, damaging residential buildings and trapping people under rubble. At least one person was killed and 31 injured. One strike set a 12-story block of suburban apartments on fire. The attacks followed a similar barrage a day earlier that targeted ​critical infrastructure in western regions of the country, killing ​at least six people. US attempts to mediate an end to the four-year war have fallen by the wayside as Washington turns its attention on the war against Iraq.

UK Political Turmoil Heightened by Potential New Challenger

UK parliamentary turmoil that has fixated the media and public for a week over how and when to replace unpopular Prime Minister Keir Starmer after devastating Labour Party losses in last week's election took a new twist. Parliament back bencher Josh Simons said he will resign his seat to make way for Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to run in a by-election and secure a return to Parliament. Polls show Burnham the most popular candidate to win a leadership challenge, but he can't do that unless he has a seat in Parliament. The Starmer faction earlier this year blocked Burnham's attempt to run for another vacant seat.

Top Business

SMIC Posts Modest Profit Growth in First Quarter

Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, Chinese mainland's largest chip foundry, said first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders edged up 0.4 percent to 1.4 billion yuan (US$201 million), missing market forecasts. Profit was constrained by cost pressures and pricing competition. Revenue rose 8.1 percent to 17.6 billion yuan, in line with expectations. Gross margin dropped 2.4 percentage points to 20.1 percent. Driven by China's semiconductor self-sufficiency policies and order diversification amid geopolitical tensions, SMIC continues to see expanding demand for its mature-node technologies. The company said it expects a revenue increase of up to 16 percent in the second quarter, citing demand for chips and orders in hand. However, analysts cautioned that the company still faces constraints from US export controls on advanced-node development equipment and competition from chipmakers in Taiwan and South Korea. SMIC's Shanghai-listed shares closed down 3.25 percent on Thursday

Honda Reports First Annual Operating Loss

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, reported its first-ever annual loss in its fiscal year ended March 31, weighed down by heavy restructuring costs at its electric car business and the effects of US tariffs. The company posted an operating loss of 414 billion yen (US$2.6 billion) on a 0.5 percent gain in revenue to 21.8 trillion yen. Honda booked total electric-car related losses of 1.45 trillion yen and said it expects to face additional costs of 500 billion yen for the year just started. However, strong motorcycle sales in India and Brazil sent that segment of Honda business to record-high sales volumes and operating profit. The company said it expects to return to profitability this year. Annual revenue was hurt by weaker sales in China, where it sold 145,065 vehicles in the first four months of the year. The company said it will continue its program of tapping local components in Chinese production. Honda dropped its target for electric vehicles to comprise a fifth of new car sales in 2030 and indefinitely suspended a US$11 billion investment in a Canadian electric-car project.

Alibaba Stakes Growth Future on AI

Alibaba Group is stepping up the pace of spending on AI, in lockstep with the biggest tech company in the US. The China conglomerate told investors and analysts on a post-earnings call that the company will exceed its earlier forecast of up to 380 billion (US$56 billion) spending on AI amid signs of investment in the technology flowing to the bottom line. Company officials said annual recurring revenue from AI models and applications are forecast to hit 30 billion yuan by the end of 2026. Like other tech ​giants, Alibaba has benefited from soaring business demand for AI. Revenue from its Cloud business surged 38 percent in the company's fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 to 41.6 ​billion yuan from a year ago. "Return on our investments in AI + Cloud are beginning to pay ​off commercially," Chief Executive Eddie Wu said on the call. "We aim to maintain growth that is faster than the market average in order to gain larger market share and firmly cement our absolute market leadership position." The company said it expects AI-related revenue to contribute more than 50 percent of revenue in about a year from now.

Metis TechBio Surges in Hong Kong Trading Debut

Shares in China's Metis TechBio rose 12 percent in their listing debut in Hong Kong this week after an initial public offering that raised HK$2.1 billion (US$270 million) – becoming the world's first publicly listed AI-powered drug-delivery developer. It's also the largest AI large-molecule biopharma company to list in Hong Kong. The company said it wants to become the "SpaceX of pharmaceuticals." The Hong Kong IPO was oversubscribed more than 6,900 times by retail investors, the highest subscription rate for a HK healthcare share sale. The institutional portion of the sale was 82 times oversubscribed. Chinese biotech companies are rapidly following tech companies to Hong Kong listings to raise international capital for research and development and market expansion.

Economy & Markets

TSMC Forecasts US$1.5 Trillion Global Chip Market by 2030

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, told a symposium that it expects the global semiconductor market to exceed US$1.5 trillion in value by 2030, topping ‌its previous forecast of US$1 trillion. AI and high-performance computing are expected to account for 55 percent of the market, followed by smartphones with 20 percent and automotive applications with 10 percent. Predicting an 11-fold surge in AI accelerator wafer demand this year, the company said it has hastened capacity expansion, with plans to build nine phases of wafer fabs and advanced packaging facilities ‌this year.

UBS, Morgan Stanley Cite Strengths in China Stocks

Global investment banks UBS and Morgan Stanley remain upbeat on prospects for Chinese mainland stocks, according to recent comments. The banks noted that China has showed stronger-than-expected resilience facing shocks from higher oil and commodity prices triggered by the more than two-month Middle East conflict. Their assessments come as mainland stock markets are pushing ever higher, led by investment in advanced technology companies.

At UBS Securities, chief China equity strategist Meng Lei said China's economic structure makes it less vulnerable to energy price shocks, noting that China relies on oil and gas imports for only about 3 percent of its needs, far below the global average. "We are not saying that China is completely unaffected because it remains the world's largest oil importer," she added. Fang Dongming, head of UBS global markets division for China, said he sees growing interest in Chinese markets from global sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, hedge funds and other long-term investors. "Many institutional investors even regard Chinese assets as a safe haven among global risk assets," he added. Morgan Stanley in a new report China's AI industry is moving from a phase of technology catch up to realizing commercial value. The nation's self-sufficiency in semiconductors, a key government policy, could raise economic growth by about 3.5 points by 2035.

China AI Hiring Competition Intensifies

The labor market in China's artificial intelligence industry is expanding as competition to recruit top talent surges. A report released by workplace networking platform Maimai said AI-related job postings in the first four months of the year rose 9-fold from a year earlier, with openings in humanoid robotics surging 15 times. Wage offers are rising in the quest for talent. Average monthly pay for embodied intelligence jobs increased from 59,000 yuan (US$8,700) a year to 62,000 yuan. At the top end of the market, top AI scientists and systems managers now earn an average 132,796 yuan per month, the only category exceeding 100,000 yuan, followed by algorithm researchers, AI infrastructure engineers and large language model specialists. Among employers, ByteDance remained the largest recruiter by volume, with drone maker DJI overtaking RedNote, a social networking and e-commerce platform, to take second place for the first time.

Tourism Earnings Diverge in Q1

China's tourism sector reported mixed first-quarter 2026 earnings, with performance diverging sharply between scenic-site operators and companies exposed to property investment or outbound travel volatility. Operators focused on core attractions posted steady gains. Lijiang Yulong Tourism reported a 23.6 percent rise in revenue and a near doubling of net profit, supported by strong demand during holidays. Jiuhuashan Tourism and Guilin Tourism recorded modest revenue and profit growth, while China CYTS Tours posted a 15 percent increase in revenue. However, some firms posted profit declines despite revenue gains. Utour Group reported a 48 percent drop in net profit, citing intensified competition in outbound travel and policy uncertainty in destination markets. Others remained under pressure from structural or balance-sheet issues. China OCT Group posted a sharp loss as weaker property-development revenue weighed on results.

Corporate

TCL Electronics Profit Surges on Overseas Sales

Chinese consumer electronics company TCL Electronics said first-quarter profit surged 124 percent to HK$359 million (US$46 million) from a year earlier on strong overseas market expansion. Revenue rose 15 percent to HK$29.2 billion with offshore sales accounting for 61 percent. The company manufactures and sells products ranging from television sets to mobile phones and smart displays. At the end of the quarter. TCL Electronics entered into an agreement with Sony to form a joint venture to take over the Japanese company's global home entertainment business. The company predicted steady earnings growth this year.

Bank of China to Close Credit Card App

Bank of China is set to shut down its credit card app as China's banking sector accelerates consolidation of standalone financial products. The bank announced its credit card app will cease operations on June 30. All functions, including payments, points management and credit services, are transferring to the bank's main mobile application. It is one of the first major state-owned banks to fully retire a dedicated credit card platform. The move reflects a broader industry trend toward platform consolidation. Postal Savings Bank of China has also indicated plans to integrate its credit card application into a unified mobile banking system. Analysts attribute the shift to rising operating costs, weaker credit card profitability and slowing transaction growth.

Fosun Pharma Seeks to Expand Rights to South Korean Alzheimer's Drug

Shanghai-based Fosun Pharmaceutical said it plans to invest up to an additional US$240 million to secure the exclusive rights to an innovative early Alzheimer's drug developed by South Korea's AriBio in major markets such as Japan, the US and Europe, expanding rights the Chinese drugmaker has already secured for Greater China and 10 Southeast Asian countries, Yicai reported. AriBio's AR1001 drug is a small molecule oral drug intended to delay the progression of Alzheimer's.

Miniso Flags Up to 30 Percent Revenue Increase

Miniso, a Chinese variety store chain specializing in household goods, signaled its first-quarter revenue is likely to grow 30 percent to up 5.7 billion yuan (US$843 million), yielding a tripling of profit to 1.2 billion yuan. It said it has realized gains from investments in the AI sector.

Lotus Drops Full-On Electric Car Strategy

Geely-owned sports car brand Lotus is abandoning its electric car strategy to focus on hybrid gasoline-fueled vehicles until the timing for electric cars becomes more advantageous, the company said in a memo to employees. The company reported a loss of US$460 million last year.