CX Daily: As Risks Mount, China Races to Regulate Battery Recycling
TOP STORIES
Batteries /
China’s ardent efforts in the green transition have made it the world’s largest market for electric vehicles (EVs), the vast majority of which are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Just how to handle these batteries when they inevitably run out of juice is causing a headache for the industry and policymakers alike.
While the rapid uptake of EVs has driven China to become the biggest producer and consumer of lithium-ion batteries, government policies and strict enforcement of regulation for their reuse and recycling has lagged.
China-U.S. /
After a nearly 16-month delay, China and the United States announced in mid-December that they had renewed a longstanding deal to facilitate science and technology exchanges between the world’s two largest economies.
Prior to this, the Agreement Between the U.S. and China on Cooperation in Science and Technology — referred to by Washington as the U.S.-PRC Science and Technology Agreement (STA) — had been expired for over three months, following two six-month extensions.
Corruption /
A former Chinese justice minister and an ex-provincial party chief used their families as fronts to cover up their corrupt activities, according to a state-produced anti-graft documentary series released this week.
The series, co-produced by China’s top graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), and state broadcaster CCTV, has become an annual event in China and been released in most years since 2014. It spotlights officials who abused their power for personal gains.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Consumption /
China is increasing its efforts to boost economic activity in 2025 with expanded subsidies for equipment upgrades and consumer product trade-ins, backed by a central government allocation of 81 billion yuan ($11 billion).
The new measures aim to stimulate spending and modernize industries, building on the success of similar initiatives in 2024.
BRIEFING
A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:
Deflationary pressures remain: Official data on price levels showed that deflationary pressures continue to dog the Chinese economy. Last year, the consumer price index (CPI) grew only 0.2%, well below the government’s target of around 3%. In December, declining food prices caused the CPI to grow at a slower pace. The CPI grew by 0.1% year-on-year, with food prices falling by 0.5%. The core CPI, which excludes more-volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.4% — a five-month high, but still relatively weak. Meanwhile, the producer price index, which measures prices of goods circulated among manufacturers and mining companies, fell by 2.3% year-on-year in December. The decline narrowed by 0.2 percentage points from November and marked the second consecutive month of improvement.
Prop up yuan: China’s central bank will issue central bank bills worth 60 billion yuan ($8.2 billion) in Hong Kong next week. The issuance, the largest since the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) began using the instrument in the city in 2018, aims to stabilize the yuan exchange rate. Central bank bills are a form of short-term debt that the PBOC uses to withdraw liquidity, in this case from the largest offshore yuan market. Since Donald Trump was reelected in November, currencies around the world, including the yuan, have generally weakened against the dollar.
Holiday travel stats: Travelers in China are expected to make 9 billion domestic trips during the Lunar New Year travel rush, which kicks off on Jan. 14 and runs to Feb. 22. Official estimates are that rail and air passenger volumes, as well as highway traffic, will set new records. This year’s total trip estimate is identical to last year’s, but the actual total in 2024 was 8.4 billion. While the vast majority of people will be celebrating the holiday at home, a growing number are traveling overseas, with Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia all proving popular destinations.
WeChat no longer notorious: Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat app has been removed from the U.S. Trade Representative’s list of “notorious” markets for counterfeit goods. The massively popular app was added in 2022 and described as “one of the largest platforms for counterfeit goods in China.” Its removal comes days after Tencent was added to a U.S. list of firms allegedly linked to China’s military. Other Chinese e-commerce sites including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Taobao and PDD Holdings Inc.’s Pinduoduo, as well as Baidu Inc.’s cloud storage service Baidu Wangpan remained on the list.
Massive shipbuilder merger: China’s state-owned assets regulator has given the nod to the merger of two subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd., which will create the world’s largest listed shipbuilder. The plan is for China CSSC Holdings Ltd. to absorb China Shipbuilding Industry Co. Ltd. through a stock swap. The combined entity is expected to have total assets of more than 376 billion yuan ($51 billion). It will hold one-third of the global market, based on the volume of civil ship orders taken by the pair in the first half of last year.
Graft buster’s meeting: The Communist Party’s top disciplinary body called for “confidence and perseverance in the protracted war against corruption” in a plenary session this week, state media reported. At the session, attended by top leaders including President Xi Jinping, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) reviewed its work last year and assigned itself tasks for 2025. A communique issued after the session reportedly said that the anti-corruption campaign, which Xi kicked off in 2012, was deepened in areas such as finance, energy and sports. It added that a total of 68 departments were inspected last year.
Cash for residency: Hong Kong is to loosen the requirements for its investment residency program to boost the city’s appeal as an international asset management hub. The scheme, which was launched early last year offers applicants a fast track to residency in exchange for an investment of at least HK$30 million ($3.8 million). From March 1, applicants can use assets acquired in the past six months to prove their investment, down from two years previously. Also, assets that applicants jointly own with their family members and investments made through family-oriented entities such as family offices will be included.
Long Read /