Daily Buzz: 3 November 2025

Chinese, South Korean Presidents Meet

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday, vowing that China stands ready to work with South Korea to ensure the steady and long-term development of both their counties. Xi was attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by South Korea – his first trip to China's regional neighbor in more than a decade. Xi expressed a willingness to accelerate the second phase of negotiations on a free-trade agreement and said both countries should work cooperatively on the development of emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and biopharmaceuticals. The Xi-Lee talks came after the Chinese president held a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to ease years of fraught bilateral relations. China will host the 2026 APEC summit in the city of Shenzhen.

Chinese Insurer Profits Rise on Investment Income

China Life Insurance, the nation's largest life insurer by market share, said third quarter net profit rose 92 percent to 126.9 billion yuan (US$17.8 billion) on a 55 percent increase in operating income to 299 billion yuan. The company specializes in life, annuity and health insurance, and is known for its extensive sales network. For the first nine months of the year, income rose 26 percent to 537.9 billion, and net was up 61 percent to 168 billion yuan. Income from investment in strong financial market rallies this year shot up 41 percent. Premium income gained 10 percent. As of September 30, the insurer reported assets of 7.4 trillion yuan.

Other leading Chinese insurers also reported balance-sheet benefits from investments in this year's bullish stock markets. People's Insurance Company of China said net income in the third quarter rose 49 percent to 20.3 billion yuan on an 11 percent revenue gain to 197 billion yuan. Income from investments shot up 35 percent. For the first nine months, revenue rose 11 percent to 521 billion yuan, yielding a 29 percent increase in profit to 46.8 billion yuan. The company had assets of 1.9 trillion yuan. China Pacific Insurance Group said third-quarter net profit surged 19 percent from a year earlier to 45.7 billion yuan, on a 3.6 percent gain in revenue to 216 billion yuan.

US President Threatens Nigeria

US President Donald Trump this weekend shifted his saber-rattling from drug traffickers in Venezuela to alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria. He said he directed the US Department of Defense to prepare for possible "fast and vicious" military action in Africa's most populus country if the government there doesn't end atrocities against Christians by Islamic terrorists. Nigeria has denied religious persecution. Earlier in the week, the US continued attacks on suspected boats carrying illicit drugs near Venezuela, but Trump appeared to back-pedal on earlier threats of imminent land strikes on the South American country.

Top Business

Nexperia Dispute: a 'Constructive Way Forward?'

The recent trade deal between the US and China has shifted the ground somewhat under the high-profile dispute involving the US, China and Netherlands over Dutch-based chipmaker Nexperia, which is owned by China's Wingtech Technology. The dispute threatens to disrupt supplies of vital chips used in automaking, alarming global carmakers.

Dutch authorities seized Nexperia in late October on grounds of national security, and Beijing responded by banning chip exports from Nexperia's Chinese factories. The Dutch action was apparently based on information from the US that Washington was expanding a trade blacklist, which already includes Wingtech, to rope in subsidiaries like Nexperia. However, the trade agreement reached by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at a meeting last week has suspended the list expansion. In turn, China's commerce ministry indicated it may loosen export restrictions on semiconductors made by Nexperia in China.

The Dutch company said on Sunday it welcomed recent statements by the US and China removing barriers to chip shipments, but it declined to comment from a statement from its Chinese subsidiary that it will seek independence from its parent. The Dutch government said separately it is continuing talks with the Chinese and other governments on a "constructive way forward." Nexperia's China unit on Sunday said it has "sufficient inventories" and a stable supply chain, seeking to calm concerns after its Dutch parent halted wafer shipments to its Chinese plant last week.

Haier Earnings Benefit From Trade-In Subsidies

Qingdao-based home appliances maker Haier, which expanded its global market with the takeover of New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel in 2012 and the acquisition of US-based GE Appliances in 2016, said net profit in the third quarter rose 13 percent from a year earlier to 5.3 billion yuan (US$745 million) on a 9.5 percent increase in operating revenue to 77.6 billion yuan. Domestic revenue grew 11 percent on the back of a government consumption initiative that provides subsidies for trading in old products for new, but the company said the tailwind of that program is softening. Overseas revenue gained 8.3 percent. For the first nine months of the year, profit rose 15 percent to 17.4 billion yuan on a 10 percent revenue increase to 234.1 billion yuan.

Chinese Chemists Cut Drug Costs in Half

A research team at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hangzhou has developed a new "direct deamination" method that could slash pharmaceutical production costs by up to 50 percent and enhance safety in drug manufacturing, according to a study published in Nature magazine on October 28. The breakthrough allows stable carbon–nitrogen bonds in aromatic amines – key building blocks in many drugs and pesticides – to be directly converted into a wide range of functional chemical bonds using inexpensive reagents. This eliminates the need for hazardous diazonium intermediates long relied on in the industry, which are explosive and environmentally harmful. Researchers led by Zhang Xiaheng said the process is simple enough for regular factory workers to operate and can be scaled up, paving the way for greener, lower-cost production of drug intermediates, especially for cancer and antiviral treatments.

Ex-Cambricon Executive Sues Company

Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies is facing a 4.3-billion-yuan (US$604 million) lawsuit from former chief technology officer Liang Jun, who alleges he suffered losses tied to stock incentive plans. A trial in the case is pending in Beijing. Liang claims he is owed compensation under an employment agreement signed in 2017. Cambricon argues that a 2019 equity plan supersedes that contract, requiring Liang to transfer his partnership shares upon departure in 2022. Legal experts said past arbitration rulings of this sort have largely sided with the company.

Economy & Markets

OPEC+ Keeps Oil Output-Increase Target Steady

Eight leading oil-producing members of OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to keep the December target for increased production unchanged from October and November at 137,000 barrels a day. It also said it will pause increases for the first quarter of next year, amid rising fears of a supply glut. New US oil sanctions on Russia, a member of the group, may limit output gains. Oil prices fell to five-month lows last month but rose when the Trump administration announced the Russian sanctions. On Friday, benchmark Brent crude futures in New York rose 0.1 percent to settle at US$65.07 a barrel.

Separately, Russia's exports of liquefied natural gas rose 21 percent in October as it began supplies from an Arctic production site, Reuter reported. Natural gas is included in US sanctions on Russia's two biggest energy producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.

Hong Kong Economy Grows for 11th Quarter

Hong Kong's economy in the third quarter expanded a faster-than-forecast 3.8 percent from a year earlier, its 11th consecutive quarter of growth. The rate accelerated from 3.1 percent in the second quarter. Private consumption spending rose 2.1 percent, following 1.9 percent growth in the second quarter and a drop of 1.2 percent in the first quarter. The city government attributed the latest gains to a 12.2 percent rise in exports, mostly in electronics-related products, and to sustained expansion in domestic demand, tourism and stock market activity.

China Vanke Doubles Loss Amid Property Downturn

Debt-plagued property developer China Vanke posted a loss of 16 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) for the third quarter, doubling its loss from a year earlier amid a four-year slump in China's real estate market. For the first nine months, losses totaled 28 billion yuan. Finances of the company, once China's largest development, are being shored up by its largest shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group. Home sales deteriorated in July as many buyers no longer see property as a store of wealth. Vanke has 10.8 billion yuan of onshore debt maturing by the end of this year, with about 24 billion yuan of onshore debt coming due next year, the South China Morning Post reported.

Corporate

Tsingtao Brewery Profit Rises, Revenue Slips

Tsingtao Brewery Co, China's second-largest brewer with a widely recognized brand overseas, said third-quarter profit rose 1.6 percent to 1.4 billion yuan (US$197 million) though revenue fell 0.2 percent to 8.9 billion yuan. The company, founded in 1903 as an Anglo-German brewer, produced 4 million kiloliters of its flagship beer in the quarter. It had 15 percent of the domestic market and accounted for about half of China's beer exports. For the first nine months of the year, revenue was up 1.4 percent to 29.4 billion yuan, with a 5.7 percent profit gain to 5.3 billion yuan.

BYD Sales in October Drop

BYD, China's largest electric carmaker, said on Saturday that October sales dropped 12 percent from a year earlier to 441,706 vehicles. The global sales report followed last week's release of third-quarter earnings, which showed a 33 percent in profit and a 3 percent drop in revenue. BYD is facing increased pressure from domestic rivals amid price wars that have bitten into earnings.

Shein Faces French Probe Over 'Sex Dolls'

Chinese low-cost fashion online platform Shein, now based in Singapore, has run afoul of European regulators again. France's consumer affairs and fraud agency said it is investigating the sale of "sex dolls with a childlike appearance" on the Shein e-commerce site. The regulator said the description of the dolls leaves little doubt that they relate to child-pornography content. Shein told the BBC that the dolls have been pulled from the platform. The probe was announced just days before Shein is set to open its first physical sales outlet, in a Parisian department store. Also this weekend, a joint investigation by European consumer agencies found that a majority of products on the Shein platform fail to meet EU safety standards.

Alibaba Invests in Taobao-Brand Convenience Shops

Alibaba Group said it is investing 2 billion yuan (US$281 million) as part of a project to establish Taobao-brand convenience stores across China to support the company's on-demand, fast delivery business. The project will largely involve digital upgrades to partner convenience stores rather than building new outlets, the South China Morning Post reported. Alibaba will provide digital supply-chain support and product procurement for the Taobao-branded shops, ensuring that each provides 24-hour, 30-minute delivery. The first Taobao Shangou brand shops opened this weekend in the cities of Hangzhou and Nanjing, with plans to roll them out across 200 Chinese cities.