☕️ Good morning comrades!

They say if the mountain won’t come to the prophet… in China they’re rewriting the rule: if your car in a Beijing parking garage can’t reach the charger, the charger comes to your car. Just scan a QR code and a mobile charging robot called Owl rolls up to your spot. 1,000 of them will be roaming Beijing’s parking garages this year.

Conspiracy theory: It’s a job-creation scheme for the fired Duolingo Owl!

🔢 Facts & Figures

20,000 sqm

This will be the size of the new Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in London—20 times larger than the current one and set to become the largest Chinese embassy in Europe.

USD 6.9 billion

Total value of a planned sale by the Wanda Group, which intends to offload 48 shopping malls in China.

130.1 million t

Crude steel output of China Baowu Group in 2024, marking its fifth straight year as the world’s top steel producer.

🚀 Benchmarks

Top Bit: 📉China–U.S. Exports Plunge – Global Trade Realignment Underway

In April and May 2025, China’s exports to the US plunged dramatically—a decline largely driven by higher US tariffs that levy up to 145 % on a wide range of Chinese goods. At the same time, China is significantly expanding its trade with regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Details

📉 –34.5 % in May: Despite a temporary tariff reduction (from 145 % to 30 %), exports to the US continued to collapse.

🏭 Manufacturers under pressure: China’s producer prices fell by 3.3 %—weak domestic demand and trade conflicts are weighing heavily.

🌏 Growth elsewhere: Exports to emerging markets are rising—a sign of strategic realignment.

Why it matters

• US tariff policy is reshaping global supply chains, with ripple effects across tech, industry, and consumer markets.

• China is deliberately diversifying its export destinations—a structural shift is underway.

• Trade talks in London could ease tensions in the short term; a long-term settlement, however, remains uncertain.

Background

For some time, US punitive tariffs under the Trump administration have burdened trade with China. The latest escalation has hit electronics products especially hard. China is responding with counter-tariffs and a strategic realignment of its trade relationships. Today, both sides are holding new negotiations in London to try to extend the fragile truce.

Further Reading: Reuters, Finance Commerce, CNBC

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Head Of The Day

Qin Yinglin

🐷From pig farmer to agribusiness billionaire: Qin Yinglin laid the foundation for his empire when his father bought twenty pigs in 1982. After graduating from Henan Agricultural University, he and his wife Qian Ying founded Muyuan Foodstuff in 1992 with just 22 animals. Today, Muyuan is the largest pig breeder in China, producing around 80 million pigs annually, and has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2014. Despite an estimated net worth of $16.3 billion (2024), the 58-year-old lives modestly in his hometown of Nanyang, Henan.

Market Bit: 🦾 Unitree Targets Pre-IPO Valuation of up to $2 Billion

Details

💹 Pre-IPO boost: Unitree is planning a funding round of CNY 10–15 billion (US$ 1.4–2.1 billion).

🔄 Reincorporation: Unitree recently transformed from a Ltd. to a joint-stock limited company, a formal step toward going public.

🏭 Manufacturing push: Fresh capital will expand mass production of the G1 humanoid robots.

Why it matters

• Enhances China’s position in the global humanoid-robotics market and underscores investor confidence in scaling capabilities.

• An IPO could make Unitree one of Asia’s most valuable robotics newcomers and serve as a benchmark for similar ventures.

• Signal effect: Chinese tech startups continue to pursue aggressive fundraising and public listings despite global uncertainty.

  Further reading: SCMP, Sohu

Top Reads

🏥 China Opens to US Medicines: Despite its “China-First” stance, Beijing has exempted American pharma and MedTech imports from retaliatory tariffs to meet its Healthy China 2030 goal. Drug imports have doubled since 2017 to around $52 billion, benefiting firms like Merck, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly, while China still plays catch-up on innovative active ingredients. More on this.

🛩️ China’s “Low-Altitude Economy” Draws Career Switchers: An influx of young Chinese are training as drone pilots to serve booming delivery, agriculture, and rescue sectors—authorities estimate a shortage of 1 million specialists. Flight schools report a surge in enrollment, and companies like JD.com are offering pilots up to ¥12,000 per month, well above the urban average. More on this.

🚗 BYD Eyes Overseas Growth in 2025: With 89,000 sales in May (+137 % YoY) and stable pricing lifting profits, Chairman Wang Chuanfu aims for > 800,000 overseas deliveries (out of 5.5 million total). The plan includes building local factories and owning freighters to capitalize on the “golden NEV window.” More on this.

Optional Reads

Indonesia: Free-trade talks with the EU are expected to conclude by the end of June. More

China: All clinics must offer epidural anesthesia for childbirth to boost the birth rate. More

North Korea: Major internet outage—an analyst suspects an internal cause. More

🥠 Fortune Cookie of The Day

China Puts Pigs on a Diet: The Chinese are once again setting new benchmarks in commodity speculation. In recent months, small operations and family farms in China have purchased fully grown fattening pigs from large breeders and further fattened them by 40–50 kg. The goal: to profit from a potential price increase. However, this practice—known as “refattening”—causes abrupt supply fluctuations and intensifies price spikes. Authorities have therefore already halted sales to refatteners and launched a nationwide crackdown on such speculation. Qin Yinglin supports this message!

See you tomorrow,

Thomas, Michael & the Team of asiabits.

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