Latest news with #MaHui
CNBC
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- CNBC
In China, fears grow of an EV financial crisis amid pricing war
At a used car market in Beijing, salesman Ma Hui said he fears China's electric vehicle industry is in a race to the bottom. EV makers, led by the country's market leader BYD, have been engaged in a bruising price war, depressing profits for the brands, as well as sellers such as Ma. "All of us were losing money last year," Ma said about his fellow used car sellers in the market. "There are too many companies making too many new energy cars." China's trading partners have often accused the country of flooding the global market with cheap Chinese EVs. These days, similar accusations are flying within China, raising concerns about financial stress in the industry. The official Communist Party paper, the People's Daily, for example, published a commentary on Monday, titled "The 'Price War' In The Automotive Industry Leads Nowhere And Has No Future." "Disorderly 'price wars' squeeze profits across the chain, impacting the entire ecosystem and risking income declines for workers," the paper warned. "Long-term, this 'race to the bottom' competition is unsustainable." BYD is drawing the most fire after it announced price cuts in late May for many of its models. Some of the discounts are as steep as 34%. Its cheapest car, the Seagull mini hatchback, now costs only about $7,700, down from about $10,000. The intense price war has led high-profile auto executives to sound the alarm — with the head of Great Wall Motor calling the industry "unhealthy." In an interview with Chinese news outlet Sina Finance on May 23, chairman Wei Jianjun drew parallels to China's moribund property sector and its now defunct poster child, developer Evergrande. "An 'Evergrande-like' crisis already exists in the automotive industry," he said. "It just hasn't erupted yet." A government-backed industry group has also called on companies not to "dump" vehicles below the cost of production. In a statement, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers took a veiled swipe at BYD. "A certain automaker has taken the lead in launching significant price cuts and many companies have followed suit, triggering a new round of 'price war' panic," the group said. BYD dismissed Wei's comment as alarmist and said it believes in fair competition in response to CAAM's criticism. In a sign of further strain, sellers at the Beijing used car market told CNBC about a phenomenon known as "zero mileage used cars," which is meant to help auto manufacturers and dealers inflate sales volumes. This happens when cars are registered and plated and then marked as sold, but haven't ever been driven. Ma said he is worried about where the fierce competition leads. He told CNBC he sees the impact of the fierce competition on consumers who are already shy about spending in the down economy. "With the price dropping like this, a lot of buyers might wait," he said.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China sends delegation to Panama after ports deal, belt and road exit
China has sent a senior-level delegation to Panama at a time when relations have been clouded by developments surrounding the Panama Canal, a move seen by observers as an attempt to "understand what is unfolding" and possibly reverse the situation. According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, a delegation led by Ma Hui, a vice-minister of the Communist Party's diplomacy arm, the International Department, visited the Central American country last week, holding talks with "leaders of major political parties" and think tanks. Ma was quoted as saying that China was "willing to strengthen exchanges with Panama's political parties and think tanks, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and consolidate the public support foundation for friendly China-Panama relations". Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Ma Hui, a vice-minister of the Communist Party's International Department, led the Chinese delegation in Panama last week. Photo: Handout alt=Ma Hui, a vice-minister of the Communist Party's International Department, led the Chinese delegation in Panama last week. Photo: Handout> The visit followed a surprise announcement this month by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings that it would sell its port operations, including those near the Panama Canal, to a group led by American investment firm BlackRock. That came amid US pressure on Panama to free the canal from what was viewed as Chinese control. China has fiercely criticised the move, with Beijing's top office for Hong Kong affairs running several commentaries in pro-China newspaper Ta Kung Pao that described the sale as "betraying" the Chinese people. US President Donald Trump has meanwhile lauded the deal. Dylan Loh, assistant professor of foreign policy at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said the Chinese delegation's visit was likely to be aimed at finding out more about the recent moves by Panama to "acquiesce to US pressure and try to tease out the strategic intent of Washington". He said another goal would be to see if Panama's recent moves were a sign of a "decisive shift" towards the US, and that Beijing would also have been seeking more information on what the sale of ports could potentially mean for China's trading and shipping routes. Both Panama and China have dismissed Trump's claims about Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. But Panama, under mounting pressure from Washington, last month moved to withdraw from China's Belt and Road Initiative, a decision described by Beijing as "not in the vital interests of Panama". Loh noted that the delegation led by Ma was from the Communist Party's International Department rather than China's foreign ministry - meaning it was framed as a party-to-party visit - but he added that foreign policy was likely discussed. "To me, this is a quick response from Beijing to understand what is unfolding and if this may require further ... actions," he said. Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing, said the visit came amid growing US concerns over increasing Chinese investments in Panama. He said Washington saw that as a challenge and wanted to "weaken China's position as the largest global trading partner". "The US is trying to disrupt things, forcing Panama to withdraw from deals in a manner similar to what happened with Italy," he said, referring to Italy's exit from Beijing's infrastructure programme in 2023 to align more closely with its Western allies including the US. According to Wang, the visit showed that despite recent developments China would continue to engage with Panama and seek to "avoid negative impacts" from recent developments, especially involving the Belt and Road Initiative. He noted that China was set to hold a forum with Latin American and Caribbean states this year, and that Beijing hoped the current situation would not affect that gathering. "Too much negativity could emerge otherwise," he said. Wang said Beijing needed to work with Panama to "oppose measures forced by the US that go against Panama's long-term interests", and "see if there is room for negotiation to turn the situation around". "We need to not only improve Panama-China relations but also prevent a domino effect that causes misunderstandings between China and other countries," he said. "We should continue engaging positively with these countries, encouraging them to resist US coercion, which violates their national interests." According to the Xinhua report on last week's visit, Panama expressed its willingness to deepen friendly exchanges between the two sides and "promote the sustainable development of the Panama-China friendship". This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
17-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China sends delegation to Panama after ports deal, belt and road exit
China has sent a senior-level delegation to Panama at a time when relations have been clouded by developments surrounding the Panama Canal, a move seen by observers as an attempt to 'understand what is unfolding' and possibly reverse the situation. Advertisement According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, a delegation led by Ma Hui, a vice-minister of the Communist Party 's diplomacy arm, the International Department, visited the Central American country last week, holding talks with 'leaders of major political parties' and think tanks. Ma was quoted as saying that China was 'willing to strengthen exchanges with Panama's political parties and think tanks, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and consolidate the public support foundation for friendly China-Panama relations'. Ma Hui, a vice-minister of the Communist Party's International Department, led the Chinese delegation in Panama last week. Photo: Handout The visit followed a surprise announcement this month by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing 's CK Hutchison Holdings that it would sell its port operations , including those near the Panama Canal, to a group led by American investment firm BlackRock. That came amid US pressure on Panama to free the canal from what was viewed as Chinese control. China has fiercely criticised the move , with Beijing's top office for Hong Kong affairs running several commentaries in pro-China newspaper Ta Kung Pao that described the sale as 'betraying' the Chinese people. US President Donald Trump has meanwhile lauded the deal. Dylan Loh, assistant professor of foreign policy at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said the Chinese delegation's visit was likely to be aimed at finding out more about the recent moves by Panama to 'acquiesce to US pressure and try to tease out the strategic intent of Washington'. Advertisement He said another goal would be to see if Panama's recent moves were a sign of a 'decisive shift' towards the US, and that Beijing would also have been seeking more information on what the sale of ports could potentially mean for China's trading and shipping routes.
