[Morning Post] China Adjusts Tariff Hike Measures on U.S. Imports; Five Departments Hold Talks with Food Delivery Platforms Including JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me

Macro News

1. The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council issued an announcement on adjusting the measures for imposing additional tariffs on imported goods originating from the US. Upon approval by the State Council, effective from 12:01 a.m. on May 14, 2025, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council adjusted the measures for imposing additional tariffs on imported goods originating from the US. The additional tariff rate stipulated in Announcement No. 4 of 2025 by the Customs Tariff Commission was reduced from 34% to 10%. The implementation of the 24% additional tariff rate was suspended for 90 days, and the measures for imposing additional tariffs stipulated in Announcement No. 5 and No. 6 of 2025 by the Customs Tariff Commission were ceased.

2. The "Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Strengthening the China-Brazil Community with a Shared Future for a More Just World and a More Sustainable Planet, and Jointly Upholding Multilateralism" was issued. It mentioned that the heads of state of both countries believed that cooperation between the two sides in agricultural trade, agricultural science and technology, and food security was dynamic. They reaffirmed their long-term commitment to promoting the development of bilateral relations in this key area and agreed to strengthen cooperation between scientific research institutions and agricultural enterprises of the two countries to promote technological innovation in areas including biotechnology and social development. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in technological innovation in fields such as aerospace, energy transition, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, bio-economy, and food security, and to jointly address global challenges.

3. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian hosted a regular press conference on May 13. A reporter asked whether China and the US planned to discuss the special tariffs imposed by the US on China on the grounds of fentanyl. Lin Jian stated that fentanyl is a US issue, not a Chinese one, and that the responsibility lies with the US itself. The US has ignored China's goodwill and unreasonably imposed additional tariffs on China on the grounds of fentanyl, which has severely impacted dialogue and cooperation between China and the US in the field of drug control and also seriously harmed China's interests.

4. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) jointly issued an announcement on May 7 regarding matters related to supporting the issuance of science and technology innovation bonds. The Shanghai Headquarters of the PBOC, together with relevant departments such as the Municipal Financial Office, actively promoted the participation of relevant private equity institutions, technology-based enterprises, and financial institutions in Shanghai in the issuance of the first batch of national science and technology innovation bonds. As of May 9, two technology-based enterprises and one equity investment institution in Shanghai had been included in the first batch of national pilot projects.

5. The Department of Regional Revitalization of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in conjunction with relevant departments, organized a video conference on May 9 to deploy and advance the work of expanding the scope of implementing work-relief programs to promote employment and income growth among key groups. The meeting emphasized the need to further increase the planning and reserve efforts for work-relief projects, deeply explore employment opportunities in various links such as engineering construction, service support, project management, and post-construction maintenance and management, implement work-relief projects with high standards and quality, and maximize the absorption and promotion of local employment among relevant key groups.

Industry News

1. Recently, Li Yunze, Director of the State Administration of Financial Regulation, announced at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that the scope of the pilot program for long-term investment reforms using insurance funds will be further expanded in the future, with an additional 60 billion yuan expected to be approved soon. A reporter from Caixin exclusively learned that insurance institutions such as China Post Insurance Asset Management and China Life Insurance Asset Management are actively vying for the qualification to participate in the third phase of the long-term investment pilot program for insurance funds.

2. Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation and four other departments jointly held a meeting with platform enterprises such as JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me to address prominent issues in the current competitive landscape of the food delivery industry. They urged relevant platform enterprises to strictly comply with laws and regulations, fulfill their primary responsibilities, proactively shoulder social responsibilities, strengthen internal management, operate legally and in compliance, compete fairly and orderly, jointly foster a favorable market environment, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, operators within the platforms, and food delivery riders, and promote the standardized, healthy, and orderly development of the platform economy.

3. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and three other departments jointly issued the "Key Points for the Development of Digital Villages in 2025." The document outlines the work objectives: by the end of 2025, the "14th Five-Year Plan" for the development of digital villages will be successfully concluded. The role of digital technologies in ensuring national food security and preventing large-scale return to poverty will be more prominent.

4. According to industrial and commercial information, the "Saimi Industrial Private Equity Fund," a semiconductor and integrated circuit industry investment fund in Shenzhen, recently completed its industrial and commercial registration. The fund has a total scale of 5 billion yuan. It is reported that the fund will primarily invest in key projects and leading enterprises in Shenzhen's semiconductor and integrated circuit sectors, as well as other projects that significantly contribute to the improvement of Shenzhen's semiconductor industry chain.

5. Recently, the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Several Policy Measures to Support the Development of the Low-Altitude Economy." The measures provide substantial financial support for scientific and technological breakthroughs in areas such as low-altitude complete aircraft equipment, low-altitude power equipment, and UAV countermeasure equipment.

6. On the afternoon of the 12th, Xinjiang Korla Fumin Rural Bank announced on its official WeChat official account that it would adjust the listed interest rates for some RMB individual deposits starting from that day. After the adjustment, its 1-year deposit interest rate (2%) has surpassed the 5-year rate (1.95%). This indicates that after the phenomenon of "storing for 5 years is less profitable than storing for 1 year" emerged at China Merchants Bank earlier this year, the extreme interest rate inversion has reappeared, this time occurring in small and medium-sized banks for the first time.

7. The Tiebei 1 Side HF Well, deployed by Zhongyuan Oilfield, a subsidiary of Sinopec, in the Puguang area of the Sichuan Basin, has achieved a daily industrial gas flow of 314,500 m³. The well has a vertical depth exceeding 5,300 meters and a horizontal section stretching 1,312 meters, setting a new record for the vertical depth of shale gas wells in China.

8. Recently, institutions such as Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank, Tangshan Bank, and Xingyin Wealth Management have successively issued announcements regarding the downward adjustment of the performance comparison benchmarks for their wealth management products. The adjustment range for some products exceeds 100 basis points, with the lower limit of interest rates falling below 2%. Following the downward adjustment of the performance comparison benchmarks, in order to maintain relationships with clients, banks have initiated a wave of fee reductions for wealth management products. Recently, multiple wealth management companies, including Bank of Communications Wealth Management, China Merchants Bank Wealth Management, Minsheng Wealth Management, Everbright Wealth Management, and Huaxia Wealth Management, have successively issued announcements regarding preferential fee rates, implementing phased fee reductions for multiple products under their management.

Corporate News

1. Nissan Motor announced that it will lay off 20,000 employees by fiscal year 2027 and reduce the number of its factories from 17 to 10.

2. JD.com announced that its net revenue for Q1 was RMB 301.08 billion, up 16% YoY; adjusted EBITDA was RMB 13.7 billion, up 27% YoY.

3. Hainan Huatie announced plans to repurchase company shares worth RMB 200 million to RMB 300 million.

4. Cambridge Technology announced that a shareholder plans to reduce its stake by no more than 3% of the company's shares.

5. Haoen Automotive Electronics announced that it has received a nomination for intelligent driving camera system products worth RMB 430 million.

6. Zhongrong Print & Dye announced that Huang Huanran, the actual controller, chairman, and general manager, has been placed under residential surveillance at a designated location.

7. Zhejiang Rongtai announced that shareholders and senior executives plan to reduce their combined stake by no more than 1.93%.

8. WUS Printed Circuit stated at an investor relations event that it expects its capacity to improve effectively in H2 2025.

9. Baotong Technology announced that it has signed a cooperation contract with Unitree, which includes the secondary development of industrial robots.

10. Zongyi Corporation announced plans to acquire the controlling stake in Jilai Micro, which is expected to constitute a major asset restructuring.

11. Kaimeite Gas announced that shareholders and concerted parties plan to reduce their stake by no more than 3% of the company's shares.

Global Markets

1. The three major U.S. stock indices closed with mixed changes: the Nasdaq rose 1.61%, the S&P 500 rose 0.72%, and the Dow fell 0.64%. Among them, the S&P 500 turned positive for the year. Nvidia surged over 5%, hitting a new closing high since February 27; Tesla rose approximately 5%, reaching a new closing high since February 24. Most popular Chinese ADRs declined, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closing down 0.07%. The three major European stock indices closed with mixed changes: the German DAX rose 0.24%, hitting a new all-time closing high.

2. International crude oil futures settlement prices rose by over 2.5%. WTI crude oil futures for June increased by 2.77%, while Brent crude oil futures for July rose by 2.57%.

3. COMEX gold futures rose by 0.96% to $3,259 per ounce; COMEX silver futures rose by 1.47% to $33.105 per ounce.

Investment Opportunities Reference

1. Huawei and UBTech Sign Agreement to Jointly Promote the Implementation of Humanoid Robots; Institutions Say Industrial Development Will Accelerate Significantly

According to media reports, Huawei and UBTech Robotics recently reached a comprehensive cooperation agreement in Shenzhen. The two parties will focus on the fields of embodied intelligence and humanoid robots, collaborating in areas such as technological R&D, scenario applications, and industrial systems. Leveraging Huawei's technological capabilities, including Ascend, Kunpeng, and Huawei Cloud, combined with UBTech's full-stack humanoid robot technology, they will jointly drive the transition of humanoid robots from laboratories to practical scenarios in industries and households, enhancing efficiency and achieving scalable replication.

Shanxi Securities stated that humanoid robots, as an important carrier for AI to land in the physical world, have immense potential for future application scenarios. With increasing domestic policy support, industrial funds have accelerated their implementation across various regions since 2024. Market participants range from startups and automobile OEMs to leading companies in various fields, indicating that industrial development is expected to accelerate significantly. The industry is set to enter its first year of mass production in 2025. With data accumulation, large model iterations, and a decline in hardware costs, the widespread adoption of humanoid robots in industrial and household scenarios is highly anticipated.

2. Domestic mobile phone shipments in March reached 22.765 million units, up 6.5% YoY

According to media reports, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that domestic mobile phone shipments in March reached 22.765 million units, up 6.5% YoY. Among them, 5G mobile phone shipments were 19.424 million units, up 9.5% YoY, accounting for 85.3% of total mobile phone shipments during the same period. From January to March 2025, domestic mobile phone shipments reached 69.67 million units, up 3.3% YoY. Among them, 5G mobile phone shipments were 61.043 million units, up 8.2% YoY, accounting for 87.6% of total mobile phone shipments during the same period.

Huayuan Securities stated that the wave of high-end localisation is rising, and the cost-effectiveness of consumer electronics is becoming prominent. Currently, the consumer electronics industry chain is in the middle to lower range of its historical valuation, and its operational rhythm is expected to steadily improve. Focus should be placed on screening bottom-up varieties from the perspectives of "performance" and "valuation" for layout.

3. Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC): The First Mass-Produced AG600 Aircraft Completes Final Assembly, Rolls Off the Line, and is Delivered for Flight Testing

According to the official WeChat account of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the first mass-produced AG600 aircraft (serial number 1101) recently completed final assembly and rolled off the line. Currently, the second aircraft (1102) in the batch production of AG600 has completed the installation of major components such as engines and landing gear systems, as well as the insulation and conduction testing of the aircraft's wiring harnesses. It is now undergoing testing of the avionics system. The third aircraft (1103) in the batch production has also completed the mating of major components such as wings and vertical/horizontal stabilizers, and has entered the system installation phase.

The AG600 amphibious aircraft is China's first large-scale special-purpose aircraft developed to meet the urgent needs of forest firefighting and water rescue. Wang Zeyu from Tianfeng Securities believes that the engine system, known as the "heart" of a large aircraft, boasts high technological content and value. Generally, the value of an aero-engine accounts for approximately 20-30% of the total value of a commercial aircraft. Based on this estimation, the market demand for new commercial engines in China over the next 20 years (2023-2042) is expected to exceed $600 billion, with an average annual demand exceeding 200 billion yuan, indicating a vast market potential.

4. Accelerated Construction of Nuclear Fusion Projects: Institutions Say the Segment Has Entered a Period of Intensive Catalysis

Media reports indicate that the Japanese government recently announced its participation in a materials testing program being advanced in Europe for the design of highly durable and safe nuclear fusion reactors. Relevant facilities are currently under construction in Spain, and Japan will bear a portion of the costs. On the same day, at the venue of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, Nonaka Atsushi, Japan's Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, signed a memorandum of cooperation with relevant personnel from the Spanish side.

A research report by China Merchants Securities points out that the construction of domestic nuclear fusion projects is accelerating. On March 9, the 1/8 vacuum chamber and overall installation system of CRAFT (Comprehensive Research Facility for Advanced Fusion Technology) passed testing and acceptance. On May 1, the launch ceremony for the general assembly of the BEST (Burning Plasma Experiment for Steady-state Tokamak) project was held, two months ahead of the original schedule. China Merchants Securities believes that with the accelerated commercialization process, the nuclear fusion segment has entered a period of intensive catalysis. Subsequent catalysts include the unveiling of the Guoguang Electric hybrid reactor project and potential tenders, including intensive tendering and bidding for projects such as BEST, CRAFT, Spark-1, and "China's HL-3." Tokamak-based controllable nuclear fusion technology is currently in a golden age of rapid development. The rapid implementation of experimental reactors is driving the rapid development of the upstream equipment industry chain, and relevant enterprises are expected to benefit.