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evolve® Introduces CIMA: Engineered for Speed, Built for the Summit

evolve® Introduces CIMA: Engineered for Speed, Built for the Summit

XIAMEN, China, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As Chinese cycling brands step into the global spotlight, evolve® emerges as a standout with the launch of its debut performance road frame — CIMA. Made with a blend of T1100, T800, and M40 carbon fiber, the unpainted size M frame weighs just 650g, showcasing elite-level innovation, design, and manufacturing all done in-house.
As GCN noted, 'It looks legit — super light, uses top-end T1100 carbon which is the same as what you get in a lot of super high-end bikes from western brands, CeramicSpeed bearings in the headset, a threaded bottom bracket, and a beautiful paint job. It's ticking a lot of boxes.'
Performance Meets PrecisionThe CIMA is available in six sizes for riders from 146cm to 202cm, offering two fork offsets and three BB drops to ensure consistent handling across the size range. Its 29.4 N/mm bottom bracket stiffness ensures sharp power transfer, while the fork weighs just 355g (unpainted), keeping the full setup impressively light.
At China Cycle 2025 in Shanghai, evolve® drew attention with a complete road bike weighing only 4.95kg — featuring lightweight components, a premium wheelset, and Shimano Dura-Ace groupset. A standard high-end build would still easily fall below 6.8kg, showing evolve®'s commitment to cutting-edge engineering and performance.
Proven in Labs and Real-World ConditionsCIMA has passed 21 rigorous in-house tests exceeding ISO standards, including a 1440N seatpost fatigue test over 10,000 cycles. It was also independently certified by Germany's Zedler Institute, meeting their highest 'Advanced' standard. This confirms that even with its ultra-lightweight construction, CIMA makes no compromises in rigidity or stiffness at all.
Wind tunnel testing at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub (UK) further confirmed CIMA's aerodynamic advantage. At 45 km/h, it saves 4.74 watts on average versus a leading international brand, with a lower CdA value — proving aerodynamic efficiency without compromise.
Complementary Innovation: Kreuza AccessoriesTo complete the ride experience, evolve® launched Kreuza, an accessory brand devoted to lightweight, aerodynamic, ergonomic design. Its flagship Apex handlebar weighs just 305g (size 380×110, painted) and comes in 18 sizes, delivering elite performance and custom-fit comfort.
About evolve®
Founded by industry veterans Tony Tong (Elitewheels) and Mian Chan (Cybrei), evolve® is the result of three years of passion, precision, and expertise. Built on a solid foundation, the brand is ready to deliver performance with purpose.
Learn more: https://www.evolvebicycles.com/product-category/frame/
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2689153/cima_____1600x900.jpg
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/evolve-introduces-cima-engineered-for-speed-built-for-the-summit-302460747.html
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Opportunities knock for Pakistani entrepreneur in China's free trade port
Opportunities knock for Pakistani entrepreneur in China's free trade port

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  • Borneo Post

Opportunities knock for Pakistani entrepreneur in China's free trade port

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 17, 2022 shows a view of Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) HAIKOU (Aug 18): Sitting in a sleek office in Sanya, a tropical resort city in south China's Hainan Province, a young man confidently answers policy questions in both Chinese and English for foreigners looking to move to the island. Muhammad Amir Shehzad, a Pakistani entrepreneur, has become a trusted guide for fellow expats, earning the nickname 'living map.' Born in the 1990s, Shehzad first came to China in 2015 to study medicine in Shijiazhuang, northern province of Hebei. During his studies, a chance encounter with a trending product sparked a business idea. 'I discovered that Himalayan pink salt from my hometown was popular in the Chinese market,' he recalled. Seizing the opportunity, he and a friend started a business to import the salt into China, surprised that a product from his hometown had turned into an online sensation. Though Shehzad returned briefly to Pakistan after graduating, China never left his thoughts. 'The friends, the food, the landscapes. I couldn't forget them,' he said. In 2022, encouraged by his Chinese friends and drawn by the opening-up policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port, Shehzad moved to the island and registered a company in Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City in Sanya. His business now focuses on local agricultural products such as coconut oil, while he has also launched a consulting firm offering one-stop policy advice to fellow foreign nationals. 'Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City made it very convenient for foreigners to handle work-related procedures, and the business-friendly policies helped me get all my paperwork done quickly,' Shehzad said, hailing the efficiency of the support services available to entrepreneurs like him. In recent years, Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City has introduced a range of supportive policies for foreign startups. A comprehensive service window for international talent provides over 100 cross-border services, including work permits that are often processed within a single day. 'Whenever we have questions, we can reach out to the enterprise service team. They usually reply within 24 hours, whether it's about policy interpretation or business procedures,' said Shehzad. 'Policies like duty-free processing for imports and fast-track intellectual property registration are very attractive for companies.' Officials have also streamlined support for international entrepreneurship, helping foreign-owned startups to register within three days, offering two years of rent-free co-working space, and providing full-service guidance. So far, the program has helped 32 foreign companies establish operations. Shehzad has also helped others find success. His friend Shujaat Khan, also from Pakistan, once worked at Shehzad's company. Later on, he started his own business with Shehzad's support, taking advantage of the same policies. Today, they work together to promote Chinese products in markets like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. From bringing products into China to helping them reach the world, Shehzad has come full circle, first introducing Pakistani goods to China and now guiding Chinese products to global markets. These days, Shehzad is a regular face at trade fairs, promoting both Chinese and Pakistani goods. 'I hope to be a bridge of friendship between our two countries,' he said. Shehzad's entrepreneurial journey reflects China's ongoing efforts to deepen high-level opening up. In recent years, the country has rolled out a series of policies to improve the business environment, attract foreign investment, and promote cross-border talent mobility, with pilot zones such as the Hainan Free Trade Port playing a key role. Official data show that since 2018, Hainan's trade in goods and services has consistently grown at an average annual rate exceeding 25 percent. The province has attracted a total of 17.4 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investment. 'Hainan has become my second home,' Shehzad said. 'I hope more foreigners who love this island can take root here and turn their dreams into reality.' – Xinhua China free trade resort city

China's Wing Loong-2 is a UAV workhorse with an overseas advantage
China's Wing Loong-2 is a UAV workhorse with an overseas advantage

The Star

time10 hours ago

  • The Star

China's Wing Loong-2 is a UAV workhorse with an overseas advantage

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The Chinese drone's maximum speed of 370km/h (230mph), a service ceiling of 9,000 metres, and 1,500km combat range are also all notably lower than the Reaper's, which are 480km/h, 15,000 metres and 1,900km, respectively. These weaknesses are largely due to an inferior engine. The WL-2 is the first Chinese drone to be powered by a turboprop aircraft engine – the domestically developed WJ-9, which has a maximum output of 500 to 600 shaft horsepower. In comparison, the Reaper's Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine delivers up to 900 shaft horsepower, offering significantly greater power and performance potential. In terms of endurance, the WL-2 can operate for 20 hours with standard payload configurations and up to 32 hours with reduced weapon loads. The Reaper's operational endurance is 27 hours. Despite its unremarkable specifications, the WL-2 boasts unique features that make it a key asset at home and a top seller abroad. To navigate, the drone employs China's own BeiDou satellite navigation network, a design that provides redundancy against potential signal denial by the US-operated GPS system in contested environments. The truck-mounted ground station can operate multiple drones with a control radius of 200-300km beyond visual line-of-sight mode, and the satcom mode enables remote control via satellite link from up to 3,000km away – though reportedly few foreign users have the satcom configuration. For reconnaissance missions, the UAV is equipped with a stabilised electro-optical/infrared sensor pod under the fuselage for day and night vision, as well as a synthetic aperture radar for all-weather operation. An airborne data link can share real-time battlefield information obtained by its radar, camera and sensors directly with distance combat units via system terminals. As for combat, its six underwing hardpoints support a range of munitions, such as the YJ-9E anti-ship cruise missile, the LS-6 satellite-guided bomb, TL-2 air-to-ground missiles, AG-300M laser-guided air-to-ground missiles, and the FT series of satellite-guided bombs weighing between 15 and 130kg. In 'beast' mode, the drone can carry up to 12 missiles or bombs, and as many as 18 16kg-grade TL-2 lightweight air-to-ground missiles mounted on triple-ejector racks. The drone's inventory also includes the laser-guided Blue Arrow-7 (BA-7) air-to-ground missile, which is benchmarked to the Reaper's AGM-114 Hellfire in weight, size and range. Besides reconnaissance and strike capabilities, the developers have equipped the WL-2 with an electronic warfare (EW) module, transforming it into an unmanned electronic reconnaissance, active jamming and communication countermeasures platform. The EW configuration is distinguished by a disc-shaped antenna fairing, with multiple extended antennas. 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As megacities slow, China's smaller counties lead as new consumer hotspots
As megacities slow, China's smaller counties lead as new consumer hotspots

The Star

time10 hours ago

  • The Star

As megacities slow, China's smaller counties lead as new consumer hotspots

As widespread economic gloom in China's megacities sees high-end restaurants close their doors one after another, Starbucks is accelerating its expansion into the country's far-flung counties, where a growing number of residents are embracing a petit-bourgeois lifestyle. While county shopping centres might not stock Dyson vacuum cleaners and hairdryers, they have already become part of daily life in households in urban counties thanks to China's ubiquitous e-commerce networks. Driving Teslas and eating expensive cherries imported from South America, the expanding middle class in smaller cities and towns is fuelling China's next wave of consumption. As the world's second-largest economy grows more slowly, residents of major cities have reined in their spending. But the consumption upgrade in China's more numerous lower-tier markets is far from complete, experts said. With lighter economic burdens, faster income growth and greater confidence in the future, consumers in such areas have stronger purchasing power and a greater willingness to spend, becoming a new engine for consumption growth as China seeks to shift its economy towards a consumption-driven model and away from one relying on exports and investment. 'Lower-tier cities have been overlooked in the past, with their consumption potential untapped, while the disposable consumption capacity of first-tier city residents is more affected by the slowing economy,' said Professor Liu Xuexin, who heads a consumer data research institute at Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing. In China's governance hierarchy, county-level cities sit below prefecture-level ones, covering smaller urban and rural areas, including townships and villages, and serving as regional hubs for commerce, education, healthcare and local government. Classified by their economic strength and population, such cities are usually – and informally – referred to as being third-tier or lower, lacking the scale and influence of first- or second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and the provincial capitals. A typical third-tier city is Yiwu, in east China's Zhejiang province, which is known for its globally focused wholesale markets. According to the 2020 census, about 509 million people lived in China's first- and second-tier cities, meaning around 903 million lived outside them. A nationwide survey conducted by management consultancy McKinsey & Company at the end of last year found that nearly 80 per cent of Chinese consumers in third- and fourth-tier cities expressed optimism about the economy, compared with 70 per cent in second-tier cities and 67 per cent in first-tier ones. However, the rates for all were down compared with 2023, it said in a report released in May. In terms of retail sales, about 97 per cent of the 171 non-first-tier cities across China that publish such data reported positive year-on-year growth last year, with third- and fourth-tier cities outperforming, according to statistics compiled by Chinese news app in March. Yuxi, a fourth-tier city in Yunnan province, reported the highest growth rate at 8.8 per cent. In contrast, official figures showed that Shanghai's total retail sales of consumer goods fell 3.1 per cent last year, while those in Beijing declined 2.7 per cent. Lily Huang, a housewife who moved from Beijing to Haiyan, a county-level city in Zhejiang, several years ago with her family, said she now buys the same kinds of products she used to buy in Beijing, despite the bad macroeconomic environment in recent years and its effects on incomes. 'We don't feel a lot of pressure, most probably because we don't have a large loan to repay since home prices are much cheaper here,' she said. A lower housing price-to-income ratio than in high-tier cities is one reason lower-tier cities are experiencing faster consumption growth, according to a research note issued by China International Capital Corporation in June. Higher proportions of handed-down properties, greater family financial support for home purchases and lower overall debt burdens have also contributed, it said. Besides, market penetration rates in many consumer sectors in high-tier cities have nearly reached saturation point, leaving little room for further expansion. Using ready-to-drink coffee as an example, the frequency of consumption among consumers in China's first- and second-tier cities is approaching that of Japan, South Korea and Western countries, analysts from Puyin International said in a note issued in June. However, the overall penetration rate in China remained significantly lower than in high-tier cities, they said. Consumers in higher-tier cities, who are generally wealthier, are less sensitive to policy stimuli Well aware of this trend, Starbucks entered 166 new county-level markets in China in the 2024 financial year. In its second-quarter business update this year, Starbucks China said there were Starbucks stores in more than 1,000 county-level markets. A series of government policies has also boosted consumption confidence in such regions, according to the Puyin International note. 'In contrast, consumers in higher-tier cities, who are generally wealthier, are less sensitive to policy stimuli, and meanwhile they face greater employment pressures, more severe asset depreciation due to falling housing prices, and a higher potential impact from tariff wars,' it said. A nationwide consumer goods trade-in programme has been in place in China since March last year as the authorities work to drive spending and boost the economy. Fu Longcheng, vice-president of the China General Chamber of Commerce, told a news conference in January that the consumption structure in county-level markets is being optimised and upgraded, with increased spending on developmental and experiential consumption, as well as service-oriented consumption, and clear trends towards more consumption for personal gratification. 'Entertainment formats such as cinemas, along with new tea drinks, fast fashion and maternity chains are continuously entering county markets, while new consumption models like live-streaming e-commerce and instant retail are rapidly integrating, boosting the momentum for quality enhancement and expansion of county-level consumption,' Fu said. Products in hot demand not only include trendy milk tea and artisanal baked goods, once exclusively found in first- and second-tier cities, but also Boston lobsters and Sam's Club speciality products on dining tables and tickets for music festivals and concerts. More spending by affluent rural residents is also contributing as the country's top leadership pushes forward with an urbanisation drive, reiterating its determination over the past few years to make it easier for farmers to settle in urban areas. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics said that rural retail sales of consumer goods grew by 4.3 per cent last year, outpacing urban growth by 0.9 of a percentage point. In line with that, the McKinsey survey found that the proportion of rural consumers who were optimistic rose by 6 percentage points last year to 73 per cent. Members of Gen Z – those born between 1996 and 2010 – from high-income families in rural areas stood out as the most confident, with 88 per cent having an optimistic outlook, 11 percentage points higher than in 2023. Meanwhile, county tourism is emerging as a vital contributor to efforts to increase consumption's role in the Chinese economy, attracting young people from first-tier cities seeking cost-effective, experiential getaways and at the same time fostering sustainable growth in lower-tier regions. Reports from several travel platforms have highlighted it as a hot trend this year, with posts on RedNote, China's leading lifestyle app, touting the middle-class appeal and affordability of horse riding and tennis lessons in county-level cities. The ITB China Travel Trends Report 2024/25 noted that rural counties are increasingly popular destinations among younger travellers drawn to authentic experiences such as ecotourism and cultural festivals. Huang said she had welcomed several batches of friends from Beijing who had visited Haiyan for sightseeing in the past couple of years. 'They really enjoyed the stay here as it is cheap and relaxing,' she said. In a plan aimed at revitalising rural areas during the period from 2024 to 2027, the State Council, China's cabinet, outlined measures to 'fully promote rural consumption', including the development of county-level commercial systems, providing a key focus for unleashing rural consumption potential. But researchers remain cautious about whether the rise of consumption in lower-tier markets is sufficient to revitalise overall consumer activity. Liu, the Beijing professor, noted that compared to big cities, lower-tier cities lag behind in infrastructure and the overall consumption environment, including consumer rights protection, limiting their consumption potential. 'Whether the consumption boom in these regions can sustain China's shift to a consumption-driven economy is hard to answer, but it is undoubtedly a crucial supplement,' he said. Fudan University economist Shi Lei said that while growth is evident, county-level consumption still faces constraints, primarily due to insufficient local financial resources, with many areas, including regions mainly populated by ethnic minorities, relying on fiscal transfer payments from higher-level governments to sustain development. 'In the long term, the potential arising from underdevelopment should be recognised,' he said. 'But short-term performance should not be overestimated.' -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

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