Daily Buzz: 19 December 2025

China's Tropical Province Becomes Trade Paradise

China's tropical southern island province of Hainan embarks today on one of the nation's biggest trade liberalism policies in years as it becomes the nation's first duty-free port – a designation that once catapulted nearby Hong Kong into a trade and tourism hub. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said the duty-trade zone presents a gateway to a "new era of opening up to the world." Hainan is one of China's smallest provinces but one of the world's largest duty-free zones by area. The zone, the size of Belgium, allows some 6,600 imported goods to enter with no tariff and streamlined customed procedures. Some restrictions remain, however, on movement of duty-free goods to the wider mainland market. Hainan-produced goods using duty-free materials will be allowed to enter the mainland market exempt from import tariffs if they add 30 percent in value by processing. Chi Fulin, president of the Hainan Institute for free-trade studies, said the duty-free zone is a pioneer in reforms that may eventually be implemented nationwide.

TikTok's Legal Status in US Reported Resolved

TikTok's operations in the US will be housed in new joint venture, controlled by US-based investors Oracle and Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX, CNBC and Reuters reported, citing a memo they obtained from TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew to employees. The arrangement effectively ends a standoff with Washington over Chinese control of the popular ByteDance platform. No figure on financial terms was disclosed. Under the deal, the new venture, called TikTok USDS Joint Venture, will be 50 percent held by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX; 30 percent will be held by certain existing investors of ByteDance; and 20 percent will be retained by ByteDance. Citing national security concerns, Congress passed a law a year ago requiring China-based ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok's US operations or face an effective ban in the country. President Donald Trump, himself a fan of the short-video, lifestyle platform, has been trying to broker a deal to keep TikTok in the US.

EU Divided on Use of Russian Assets for Ukraine

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to try to thrash out an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to underwrite a zero-interest, 90 billion euro (US$105 billion) loan to Ukraine, which is expected to run out of funds early next year. Four nations oppose the idea. Belgium, custodian of 120 billion euros in frozen Russian assets, continues to insist that any legal risks in tapping the funds should be shared equally across all members. Russia has said appropriating the money would be tantamount to a justification for war. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intimidating EU members. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Russia's closest ally in the EU, told reporters that he thinks the loan proposal is dead. The meeting is due to conclude on Friday.

Top Business

Tablet Prices Rise Along With Cost of Operating Chips

Xiaomi, Honor and other Chinese tablet makers have raised prices across product lines to address the surging cost of memory chips used in electronics, the South China Morning Post reported. Beijing-based Xiaomi, which also makes smartphone and electric cars, increased prices up to 300 yuan (US$42) on several tablets this week, including its entry-level Redmi Pad 2 and the premium Xiaomi Pad 8 series. The Redmi Pad 2, which began sales in June at a starting price of 999 yuan, now costs 1,199 yuan, and the Pad 8 Pro now sells for 4,099 yuan, 200 yuan more than its September launch price. Honor, the spin-off handset brand from Huawei Technologies, has already started to adjust prices of its tablets, according to a company post online. Globally, prices of chips needed for smartphones, tablets, personal computers and other consumer electronics have surged up to 60 percent this quarter and may rise up to 20 percent further in the next three months as demand for the chips surges, according to Counterpoint Research.

BYD Poised to Advance "Hands-Off' Driving

BYD, China's largest electric car maker, is positioning itself to take advantage of a major deregulation in driverless-car technology, the South China Morning Post reported. China's Ministry of Information and Technology this week authorized its first "Level 3" licenses for automakers, allowing electric sedans from Changan Automobile and BAIC Group to operate under limited conditions. L3 is one of six international standards for autonomous driving. Vehicles in that group have the capability of navigating streets by themselves but still require human override lest circumstances warrant human control. Currently, legally allowed driver-assisted cars require driver hands on the wheel at all times. BYD is drawing up plans to manufacture cars offering L3 "hands-off" technology. The company has been testing L3 prototypes in its home base of Shenzhen, with 150,000 kilometers already logged.

Honda to Pause China Output Amid Chip Shortage

Honda Motor said it will halt production between late December and early January at three assembly plants in China and several in Japan because of a persistent shortage of chips needed in vehicle manufacture. The move follows earlier production suspensions at Honda plants in Mexico in October and November. The Japanese company last month lowered its earnings outlook for the fiscal year ending next March 31, saying chip shortages will pare 150 billion yen (US$960 million) from operating profit.

Economy & Markets

StanChart Predicts Strong Year Ahead for China Stocks

Standard Chartered bank is forecasting that China stocks will rally in 2026, citing their relatively cheaper valuations and growth potential, likely easing of mainland monetary policy, and strong investment in artificial-intelligence technologies. Raymong Cheng, chief investment officer for North Asia at the bank, said targeted economic stimulus under China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) also will underpin strong equity market performance, Reuters reported. On the downside, he said cited risks such as geopolitical tensions and sometimes fickle investor sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has risen about 16 percent to date this year, and the Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up about 26 percent.

Sunac Emerges from Debt Snarl

Tianjin-based Sunac China, which filed for bankruptcy in 2023, has become the first distressed Chinese property company to fully discharge its foreign debt obligations as developers struggle through a four-year property slump and liquidity crisis. The company said it restructured the last US$9.6 billion of offshore debt through the issue of mandatory convertible bonds to creditors, allowing it to return to normal business operations. It also said it has reached a deal with Hong Kong lender Chiyu to address the company's only remaining non-foreign debt, related to an outstanding principal of HK$858 million (US$110.3 million), Yicai Global reported. Hong Kong-listed Sunac reported sales in the first 11 months of the year fell 25 percent from a year earlier to 33.9 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion).

US Inflation Tame in Distorted Data

Widely watched US consumer prices in November rose a less than expected 2.7 percent from a year earlier, though analysts noted that data collection, delayed by a government shutdown, was conducted only in the last two weeks of the month after Christmas shopping discounts began. No inflation report was issued for October. The White House called it "an astonishing good" report a day after President Donald Trump delivered a nationwide televised address praising his stewardship of the economy.

CIIC Unveils Details of Dongxing, Cinda Takeovers

China International Capital Corp unveiled details of its plans to acquire smaller firms Dongxing Securities and Cinda Securities through a share swap, creating the mainland's fourth-largest brokerage. CICC said it will issue 0.44 of a mainland share for every Dongxing share, and 0.52 of a share for every Cinda share. The share swap won't affect sovereign wealth fund Central Huijin's standing as CIIC's controlling shareholder. The takeover will give CIIC assets of about 1 trillion yuan (US$140 billion), increase its number of business outlets to 436 from 245, and raise the number of retail customers to 14 million from 9.7 million, Yicai Global reported.

China Confirms Subsea Gold Deposit

China confirmed the discovery of a large gold deposit in waters off Shandong Province in the nation's first known subsea deposit. The deposit in the Bohai Sea contains an estimated 470 tons of the mineral at a depth of 2,000 meters, posing extraction challenges. The work will be conducted by Laizhou Rehi Mining. China is the world's biggest producer of gold.

Corporate

Picea Robotics Takes Over Bankrupt IRobot

US-based iRobot, maker of the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, filed for bankruptcy and agreed to be bought by its main creditor and supplier, China's Picea Robotics. Picea bought US$190.7 million of iRobot's debt from US investment firm Carlyle last month, adding to the US$161.5 million in manufacturing costs it was already owed.

Mixue Opens First US Eatery on Famed Hollywood Strip

Chinese eatery chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea opened its first US outlet, located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and offering limited-time, introductory low prices. Mixue is also planning to open a ship in New York City's Chinatown. One of the world's largest food and beverage chains, the Hong Kong-listed company has smore than 45,000 outlets in China and overseas.

AVIC Chengfei to Build Aerospace Complex

Aircraft manufacturer AVIC Chengfei said that it will build an aerospace equipment assembly center in southwestern China that will include cargo space shuttle facilities. The project will be overseen by subsidiary AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industry. Estimated investment in site and buildings is about 421.8 million yuan (US$58 million), with total fixed asset investment for the project expected to reach 1 billion yuan.

Alibaba Integrates Qwen With Amap

Alibaba completed integration of its Qwen large language model with hits navigation service Amap. The model provides users with recommendations on restaurants, hotels and route planning. Separately, Alibaba affiliate Ant Group said its AI-powered health management app Ant Afu has become the largest of its kind in China, with monthly users exceeding 15 million and 500 doctors launching avatars on the platform.

Momenta, Grab Form Self-Driving Partnership

Chinese robotaxi startup Momenta and Singapore-based Grab, an app that integrates ride-hailing and food delivery, formed a partnership to jointly advance self-driving technology. Grab invested an undisclosed sum in Momenta, after earlier investing in China's WeRide.

CATL, Dongfeng Motor Unit Link Up

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's largest battery maker for electric cars, signed a 10-year agreement with Voyah, the electric car brand of Dongfeng Motor, to collaborate on new technologies, product supply and overseas expansion.