Daily Buzz: 21 April 2026

Top News

Will They, Won't They? Iran Participation in Peace Talks Uncertain

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran is "positively reviewing" participation in peace talks as a US delegation led by US Vice President JD Vance was on route to Pakistan for a second round of negotiations scheduled for Tuesday. The Telegraph in London reported that Tehran will send a delegation to Islamabad, but the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news service said Tehran is sticking by its earlier announcement that it won't attend the talks. The two-week ceasefire between both sides expires on Tuesday night, with each side claiming the other has broken the truce by blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway in global oil transport.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, called for an immediate ceasefire, restoration of normal transit through the Strait of Hormuz and a peaceful resolution of the conflict. He said traffic through the vital oil transport waterway is in "the common interest of regional countries and the international community," according the nation's foreign ministry. Russia, France and other countries also urged an extension of the ceasefire. US President Donald Trump said an extension is unlikely if there is no progress in talks, but said he would be willing to meet Iran's top leader if there is breakthrough. Reopening the waterway and Iran's nuclear ambitions are sticking points in reaching a deal.

Separately, Israeli and ‌Lebanese representatives are expected to hold talks in Washington on Thursday as a 10-day truce in that war ticks down. Despite the temporary truce, both Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah accused each other of breaches.

China Urges US to Fulfill Nuclear Non-Proliferation Responsibilities

China on Monday released a report submitted to a global review conference on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, saying the group should urge the US "to fulfill its special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament, stop armed attacks on nuclear facilities for peaceful purposes in non-treaty states … and take measures to hold back negative moves of countries like Japan to possess nuclear weapons." Iran, a treaty signatory, has threatened to pull out of the agreement after US and Israel air strikes hit Iranian nuclear power plants several times during the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Japan Hit by Major Earthquake

A massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the northeastern coast of Japan, at a depth of 10 kilometers, triggered a tsunami warning of waves up to 3 meters and the evacuation of up to 170,000 people to higher ground in Iwate prefecture. The alert was later lifted. No major damage, injuries or abnormalities at nuclear power plants were reported. Japan's meteorological agency warned that the possibility of a quake of 8.0 magnitude or more is "relatively higher than during normal times."

Top Business

ByteDance Suffers Profit Loss on AI Investment, Revenue Surges

Privately owned Chinese tech heavyweight ByteDance suffered a 70 percent profit decline in 2025 from a year earlier on heavy investment in artificial intelligence, Chinese media reported. Company Vice President Li Liang, in an online post, acknowledged a "slight" drop in profit that occurred in the second half, noting that the 70 percent figure included capital costs related to preferred stock and options under internationally accepted accounting standards. Overseas revenue last year surged about 50 percent to comprise a record 30 percent of income. That compared with domestic revenue growth of 20 percent. No figures were reported.

The Beijing-based company has been investing heavily in computing power procurement, model development and infrastructure, a trend expected to continue this year and keep profit margins under pressure. The revenue gains reflected the rapid expansion of ByteDance's e-commerce TikTok Shop, which had 400 million active users last year and a 70 percent rise in gross merchandise value. TikTop Shop sales in the US surged 108 percent last year before the company, under an agreement with the US government, relinquished majority control to an Oracle-led consortium in January of this year. Growth in European markets last year also doubled, and operations in Latin America and Japan showed strong gains.

DeepSeek Reportedly Seeking Outside Funding for the First Time

AI startup DeepSeek, which stunned the tech world 15 months ago with the release of a chatbot much cheaper but on par with Western models like OpenAI, is reportedly in talks with investors to drum up US$300 million in funding to boost its valuation to US$10 billion, according to various Chinese media reports. citing people familiar with the matter saying "impossible to decide on investors," indicating a long line. The privately held company had previously shunned external investment offers from multiple tech giants and venture capital firms. The Information, a US technology industry publication, said the Hangzhou-based company is seeking to fund expansion in the highly competitive, costly global artificial intelligence market. The company was founded by entrepreneur and Chief Executive Liang Wenfeng, who also started and heads up Chinese hedge fund High Flyer that has financed DeepSeek's development to date. A US$10 billion valuation would make the company among the largest AI startups in the world.

Xizhi Begins HK Share Sale, Victory Giant Poised to Begin Trading

Shanghai-based Xizhi Technology began accepting applications on Monday for shares in its initial public offering in Hong Kong, seeking to raise up to HK$2.5 billion (US$319 million). The company specializes in optical interconnect technologies used to link devices such as graphic processing units and storage chips. The shares are priced in a range of HK$166.60 and HK$183.20, with final pricing to be announced on April 27 and trading to begin a day later. The company said in its prospectus that it will use proceeds from the sale for research and development, with a focus on chip design and next-generation products. The company reported a 2025 loss of 1.3 billion yuan (US$190 million).

The Xizhi share sale began a day before the trading debut of Shenzhen-based Victory Giant's HK$17.5 billion IPO, the largest in Hong Kong in seven months and the largest since the start of the Iran war. Market watchers see it as litmus test on investor sentiment toward IPOs since the Middle East conflict started. Victory Giant makes advanced printed circuit boards for AI servers and data center switches.

Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple Chief

Tim Cook, the executive who led Apple in the 10 years since the death of founder Steve Jobs, is stepping down as chief executive, to be replaced by John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, Apple announced on Monday. Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors and will remain as chief executive through the summer to ensure a smooth transition, the company said. There was no reason given for the management change, although there has been reshuffle in executive ranks since late last year.

Economy & Markets

China Leaves Official Rates Unchanged

China's central bank left interest rates unchanged for an 11th straight month after fresh economic data showed the economy stable, resilient and improving at a measured pace. The People's Bank of China left the one-year prime rate, used for corporate and consumer loans, at 3 percent. The five-year rate used to benchmark mortgages remains at 3.5 percent. Some economists are now predicting the possibility of just one rate cut toward the end of the year.

China to Begin Sales of Ultra-Long Bonds

China will begin issuing ultra-long special treasury bonds for 2026 this week, marking an early start to a key support tool aimed at boosting investment and consumption. The Ministry of Finance said it will sell 119 billion yuan (US$17.5 billion) of the bonds on April 24, including 34 billion yuan of 20-year bonds and 85 billion yuan of 30-year debt. The issuance accounts for about 9 percent of this year's planned sales. Proceeds are expected to support major national projects, including consumer trade-in subsidies and equipment upgrades.

Beijing Special Zone for Satellite Development Takes Shape

The core of a new zone in Beijing dedicated to satellite development and manufacture will be completed this year, Beijing Daily reported, underscoring the aerospace industry's status as a major national priority and the importance of private companies as leaders in the sector. The zone will foster industrial clustering, bringing together professional talent, funding and technology. Share prices of commercial satellites companies surged on Monday.

Corporate

IQiyi's Movie-Star AI Database Called 'Crazy'

Chinese online video platform iQiyi was described as "gone crazy" by netizens after a new initiative from the company known as "China's Netflix" went viral on social media platforms. IQiyi founder Gong Yu announced the plan to build a database of AI clones of 117 actors and actresses, who he said had authorization contracts with the company. He said "human actors actually performing would soon become something like a cultural heritage," which immediately drew backlash from netizens, and many top actors and actresses came out to deny signing any such deals with iQiyi. The company then released a statement explaining it was not meant to indicate that there would be no more human actors. AI-generated drama has been growing quickly in China, especially in the short drama segment, where audiences say it's getting increasingly challenging to tell which actors are real and which are AI-generated. Last month, an AI-generated short drama topped the most-viewed list on Chinese short drama app Hong Guo for the first time.

Huawei Flags Pricing Pressure

Huawei said it may raise smartphone prices for future models as rising component costs squeeze margins, a senior executive told a Monday product event. Yu Chengdong, a Huawei's executive director and head of its consumer business group, said the company faces "significant pricing pressure" on new devices and could increase prices if costs continue to climb. The remarks came as Huawei unveiled its latest Pura 90 series models, including the Pura 90 Pro and Pro Max models. Both devices debut deployment of the Kirin 9030S chip, designed to enhance imaging performance, and feature Huawei's Xmage system with AI-powered photography tools such as pose suggestions, composition assistance and portrait optimization. The Pro Max model also introduces long-distance voice enhancement, enabling audio capture from up to 10 meters away. The Pura 90 Pro starts at 5,499 yuan (US$800), while the Pro Max is priced from 6,499 yuan.

Tianqi Lithium Signals Up to 18-fold Profit Surge

Tianqi Lithium, a Chinese leader in lithium mining industry, said its net profit in the first quarter is expected to surge as much as 18-fold from a year earlier to up to 2 billion yuan (US$293 million). The company's profit in the fourth quarter of 2025 was reported at 283 million yuan. The projected steep gain in the first three months of the year is mainly attributed to growing demand in new energy industries, which drove up prices of lithium products. The company is the second-largest shareholder in profitable Chilean lithium and iodine producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera.

In Survival Mode, Dongfeng Nissan Seeks to Catch Up in Electric Cars

Dongfeng Nissan, a joint venture between Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor and Japanese auto giant Nissan Motor, must focus on survival and make up for lost ground in producing electric vehicles, Zhou Feng, the venture's deputy general manager, told Yicai news. "We are earnestly studying companies like Li Auto and Huawei Technologies, which lead in vehicle intelligence technology," he said. Nissan reported a loss of 28.3 billion yen (US$178 million) for the joint venture in its fiscal third quarter ended December 31. The joint venture, Zhou said, aims to establish itself as a new market force focusing on what consumers want. He added that the cycle of developing a new vehicle has been shortened to 24 months from the previous four years, and will be cut to 18 months this year. Dongfeng Nissan announced the release of an electric sport utility vehicle, the NX8, earlier this month after launching two electric models last year.