Why China biotech is getting a DeepSeek moment too
Workers working at a Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine production line in Beijing in 2021. So far, the biotech industry is relatively insulated from Mr Trump's tariffs. PHOTO: XINHUA
From artificial intelligence to military defence, China has offered a few DeepSeek moments in 2025 , showcasing that the country is more than just the world's biggest factory, and that it also can compete with the US on the technology front. Now biotech is having its own.
In late May, Pfizer agreed to pay a record US$1.25 billion (S$1.6 billion) upfront to license an experimental cancer drug from Shenyang-based 3SBio, as well as making a US$100 million equity investment in the Hong Kong-listed biotech company. Two weeks later, Bristol Myers Squibb said it would pay BioNTech US$1.5 billion guaranteed to license a similar cancer asset. It was a win for BioNTech, which bought Biotheus, the Chinese company that developed the drug, late in 2024 for US$800 million.
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
14 minutes ago
- CNA
Rise of the travel buddy trend in China
SHANGHAI: Shenyang resident Shi Yunlin travelled nearly 2,000km to Shanghai to visit mainland China's only Disneyland theme park last month, where she indulged in sightseeing and taking rides. However, the 23-year-old teacher did not have a partner or a friend for company. Instead, she hired a local companion via social media to guide her around the park. 'My friends are all working, so it's not always convenient for them,' she said, adding that she felt bored travelling alone and wanted company for her trip. 'It's nice having someone to chat with and hang out together, just like being with a friend,' she said. HIRING A TOUR GUIDE AND A FRIEND Shi is part of a growing trend of young travellers within China who are hiring local companions, or personal guides, as they visit other cities. The resurgence in domestic tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic has seen Chinese travellers making more than 5.6 billion local trips last year, up 15 per cent from a year ago – and approaching the peak of 6 billion trips in 2019. Shi's guide for her trip was Chen Ziping, a 21-year-old university student who has worked as a freelance local companion at Disneyland for more than four years. Shi told CNA that hiring Chen made her visit to the theme park much more convenient, easing her exploration and allowing her to get the most out of her time in the vast compound. 'In a place as big as this park, when I can't find something, he helps me navigate quickly. He also knows when the queues are shorter,' Shi said. Chen's fees start from 1,000 yuan (US$140) for one to two people and 1,188 yuan for three visitors per day. 'At Disneyland, people usually come in twos or threes — with friends or as couples,' said Chen, noting that solo travellers might find it boring to wait in line alone. Another local companion, Hao Yue, specialises in bringing clients around Shanghai, helping to take photographs and occasionally dining with them. The 23-year-old said that aside from part-time income, the gig allowed her to make new friends and gain more knowledge. 'For example, one of my recent clients worked in finance and shared some insights. I learned a lot,' she added. Hao charges 80 yuan per hour or 500 yuan per day. Her fee is about a quarter more than her average daily pay at her full-time job in a media company in Shanghai – a first-tier city with the highest wages in China. PAYING FOR CONVENIENCE A 10-year study published in January this year by the Fudan Development Institute, which looked at the spending habits of internet-savvy youths in China, found that they were more willing to splurge on food and entertainment that provided instant emotional gratification. In comparison, they were less interested in spending on big-ticket items like cars, renovations and houses, according to the think tank. Youths starting out in the workforce do not get much vacation time, with those who have worked between one and 10 years getting as few as five days of annual leave, according to statutory guidelines. The limited amount of leave that youths get could make them more willing to spend on solutions for a more worthwhile holiday, said experts. This is especially true when touring massive attractions with steep entrance fees like Shanghai Disneyland, which spans about 4 sq km. The park offers its own VIP tours, including providing visitors with fast passes to skip queues for rides and attractions. However, the service costs much more than what some unofficial companions charge. Fresh graduate Chai Xiaoying, for instance, charges 500 yuan per day to show up to two people around, with her rate rising to 300 yuan per person during the summer vacation period. In comparison, fees for the official VIP experience start from 4,400 yuan per visitor and each booking requires a minimum of a group of three. Prices may vary depending on the season, according to the theme park. Chai said she started her companionship services after realising she was not suited for the modern logistics management sector that she majored in. 'I thought, 'Worst case, I'll just have fun for two weeks'. But after I started, I found it was actually quite good,' she added. While she was initially sceptical about the gig, Chai said that the demand is now good enough to turn into a viable full-time job. INCREASED DEMAND Those dabbling in such tour services said that business is thriving, with their customer base growing to include couples and families with children. The market size of the companion economy could reach 50 billion yuan by the end of 2025, according to state media quoting a report by Chinese securities company Sinolink. Chen, the university student, has even enlisted the help of a schoolmate and hired an assistant to take bookings and run errands, as demand for his services increase. He said he plans to be a full-time local companion after completing his university education, noting the current difficulties experienced by graduates in their job hunt. 'I've discussed this with my parents. I told them the income is decent,' he added. Official data released two months ago showed that China's youth unemployment rate stood at about 15.8 per cent for those aged 16 to 24. Chai, the fresh graduate, said there will be more demand for local companion services as Shanghai Disneyland expands with new zones and rides over the next few years, along with the opening of new theme parks like Legoland next month. 'There's room for growth. Disneyland will only get better, and if we grow with them, there'll be lots of opportunities,' she said.
Business Times
21 minutes ago
- Business Times
Global EV sales rise in May as China hits 2025 peak: Rho Motion
GLOBAL sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 24 per cent in May compared with the same period a year ago, as strength in China offset slower growth in North America, according to market research firm Rho Motion. Electric vehicle sales in China surpassed over one million units in a single month for the first time this year, driven by strong domestic demand and targeted export efforts from Chinese manufacturers, notably BYD, tapping into emerging markets. BYD's exports to Mexico and South-east Asia, along with Uzbekistan, have significantly boosted sales in these regions, Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said. Fleet incentives in Germany and robust growth in Southern Europe helped lift the European market, while the expiry of Canadian subsidies dragged on North American demand, he added. US tariff Global automakers face a 25 per cent import tariff in the United States, the world's second-largest car market, causing many of them to withdraw their outlooks for 2025. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up In Europe, new incentives for fleet buyers in Germany are expected to support electric car sales through the second half of the year. Tesla's Model Y production in Berlin shields it from tariffs, yet it faces market share pressures as production ramps up globally amidst shifting trade tensions. President Donald Trump's stance towards emissions standards and uncertainties around tariffs has also hampered EV growth in North America. In the US, tax credits for EVs are still available but will begin phasing out from 2026, contributing to hesitation among buyers. By the numbers Global sales of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose to 1.6 million units in May, Rho Motion data showed. Sales in China grew more than 24 per cent from the same month last year to 1.02 million vehicles. Europe posted a 36.2 per cent increase to 0.33 million units, while North American sales edged up just 7.5 per cent to 0.16 million. Sales in the rest of the world rose 38 per cent to 0.15 million vehicles. REUTERS
CNA
25 minutes ago
- CNA
Going cashless in China is easier than ever – I even had my bubble tea delivered by a drone
With over 132 million international tourists last year, China is a really hot destination. And unlike other countries, it's entirely possible not to pay for anything with paper money. In fact, you may get looks for trying to do so, because it's likely they won't have change for you – the proportion of money in circulation in cash was just 3.7 per cent in 2023. Having been to China a few times in the last decade, I've always felt the need to bring cash along with me. But my last few trips made me realise I was being silly. I didn't need to convert any cash at Changi Airport, and carry wads of paper notes in a plastic envelope. Instead, all I needed to do was to make sure I had set up my WeChat or Alipay account correctly, which would allow me to just pay with a QR code. And doing so is very simple – you just need to set up your WeChat or Alipay account, link your credit card to it, and you're all done. It wasn't always so simple, though. When China clamped down on its financial service industry a few years back, it required WeChat users to have a local Chinese bank account to actually use its payment facilities. You could still use Alipay linked with a credit card, though. Alternatively, if you had a friend who lived there, they could issue you a virtual supplementary card with money that you could use. However, things have changed again, as I learnt on my recent trip, and I was able to just pay for all my purchases using either WeChat or Alipay with a linked credit card. COMPLETELY SEAMLESS The whole payment experience is pretty simple, that you can even use it with street vendors. They simply scanned my QR code after telling me how much they were charging, and I got a message telling me what was charged to my account. It was all so simple, even better than in Singapore, where you still had to manually enter the amount and show it to the hawker or cashier. In restaurants, just sit down at a table, scan a QR code located in the corner, make your order through a web app, pay, then wait for your meal to be delivered right to you. In stores, you simply show your QR code and the amount gets deducted from your account. In fact, most stores don't even have a cash register – they use either a phone or a tablet. As for paper receipts? Just download the copy from WeChat or Alipay. While WeChat and Alipay apps are usable in English, if you're feeling confident about your Mandarin reading skills, you can also try other more adventurous orders, such as buying bubble tea delivered by a drone, a thing you can't really do anywhere else in the world. Which was what I did in Shenzhen, one of the cities I visited on my recent trip. I stood waiting in the middle of a park, next to a delivery station, while peering anxiously at the air for a sign of the delivery drone. About 15 minutes after making my order, I spotted the drone buzzing over in the horizon, carrying a box over. It hovered over the station, before dropping down and releasing its contents. From there, it's a simple matter of using another QR code again to collect my loot. It's honestly so simple that I can't help but wonder if this is the future of payment systems, having one super app that does everything and you never have to leave it. It's no surprise that Grab wants to achieve something similar, and Elon Musk too, had previously talked about his ambition of making X (formerly Twitter) into a super app like WeChat or Alipay. GETTING TO PAY If you want to try this out for yourself, there are a few things you'll need to prep before your trip to China. For one, you'll need to set up your WeChat and AliPay. As mentioned, the process is pretty simple, you'll just need to add a credit card and you're good to go. However, if you want to receive money from someone though, that's where it gets a bit iffy. You'll need to provide personal details such as information on your passport as well as your home address. You'll also need to send a scanned copy of your passport over for verification. I wasn't really sure about giving so much data away to a foreign government, but I figured out that if I was already visiting, they would certainly have that bit of data anyway. To tap on the more advanced features such as bubble tea or food drone deliveries though that I tried, you'll need to be able to read Mandarin almost natively. My terrible command of the language didn't quite cut it, but you can always ask for help from friends, locals, or if desperate, use AI translations. There are a lot of other features as well, such as taking public transport, or even booking hotels. Note though, there is a transaction fee charge of 3 per cent for purchases over 200 yuan (S$35.72), and a limit of 6,000 yuan per transaction. You can also only spend 50,000 yuan a month. Once set up, you never have to worry about ever paying cash again. There's no need to take out hefty wads of passe paper money, or swipe your credit card. Simply flash either the WeChat or Alipay QR code and you're good to go. That said, there can be too much of a good thing though, as foreign visitors usually find themselves unable to spend the cash they exchange as shops and street vendors may not have change for you. To combat this, China has been pushing for a cash again campaign, where in places like Shanghai, a small number of taxi drivers were able to give you change for rides. Nationally, the Chinese government has also issued directives to markets, pharmacies, and eateries to accept cash. But if you want the best experience visiting China, just go cashless. The systems are all in place and have worked for years now. After all, when in Rome – well China – do as the Chinese do, and you can't go wrong.
