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Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Qatar Tribune
Beyond the tariffs: How Chinese investment is reshaping Europe's auto industry quietly
Agencies Born and raised in the central French town of Châteauroux, Laurent Joly has spent his entire life working in local factories. Throughout his 38-year career, Joly likely never thought that one day China would have a significant impact on his life, let alone that his job would be saved by a Chinese company. But that is precisely what happened when Joly's employer – the French automotive supplier Groupe Mécanique Découpage (GMD) – was acquired by the Suzhou-based Dongshan Precision Manufacturing (DSBJ) in May. The deal will allow the struggling French industrial group to keep the lights on at its 15 factories in France, with DSBJ pledging not to make any job cuts for a year and to maintain at least 80 per cent of the company's 1,800-strong French workforce the year after, according to Joly. Chinese investors often face intense public scrutiny in France due to geopolitical concerns, but the GMD acquisition shows how China could play a crucial role in reinvigorating the French and European manufacturing sectors by providing much-needed capital, industry insiders and analysts said.'We really did not mind whether the buyer was Chinese, French, or another foreign industrial group,' Joly, the secretary of GMD's employee committee and a representative for the labour union CGT, told the Post. 'What we cared about most was the industrial plan itself and, of course, the long-term future of the sites and the jobs. And if we can be complementary to DSBJ, I think it can really work.' GMD, like many other automotive suppliers in Europe, has been impacted by an industry-wide crisis as car sales decline across the continent and European brands face increasing competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers. The group first informed its employees that it was looking for a buyer to take over the company in 2023. It was initially in discussion with an investment fund owned by the conservative French businessman Pierre-Édouard Stérin, who reportedly has close ties with France's far-right party, National Stérin's fund pulled out at the last minute, paving the way for the deal with DSBJ, which came as a relief to many workers. 'For us, it felt a bit ambiguous to be bought by someone who supported the far-right,' Joly said. 'We were very reassured when DSBJ stepped in at that moment, because from what we knew, it was an industrial group that, like GMD, started out in stamping and cutting – they followed more or less the same path as GMD.' Political affiliations aside, unions and workers often do not want to see their companies bought by investment funds, because they tend to think in purely financial ways, emphasising returns, which generally leads to job cuts and factory closures further down the line, according to Denis Bréant, head of France's national automotive metalworker union FTM-CGT. DSBJ did not respond immediately to the Post's request for have become a crucial factor determining attitudes towards Chinese investment in France and Europe, as economic relations between Beijing and Brussels become increasingly intertwined with geopolitical issues. The European Union's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year was partly driven by fears that China's rising EV exports would undermine European companies and destroy European jobs, according to Harald Hendrikse, head of autos research at Citi. To change the narrative, Chinese companies need to do more to make sure that Europeans can benefit from China's investment on the continent, he said. 'We need some sort of win-win that basically maintains some level of European profitability, and really importantly, some level of European employment,' Hendrikse told the Post. 'Once you involve the local companies, those local companies will then lobby on your behalf and suddenly your business becomes almost a European business.' China is only the eighth largest foreign investor in France, but Chinese investment receives a disproportionate amount of attention from the French public due to rising geopolitical concerns, according to Sacha Courtial, a China researcher at the Institut Jacques Delors think tank in Paris. The French government remains relatively open to Chinese investment in certain sectors, such as renewable energy and autos. France launched more investigations into investments from the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland – the top three non-European Union sources of investment – last year than China, according to a report published by France's finance ministry.
Business Times
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- Business Times
China's InnoScience rises 31% after named as Nvidia supplier
[HONG KONG] Chinese chipmaker InnoScience Suzhou Technology Holding closed up 31 per cent in Hong Kong on Friday (Aug 1) after it was identified by Nvidia as a supplier. Nvidia named InnoScience as a supplier for its 800V HVDC architecture on an updated silicon partner list on Thursday. The latest list, compared to an archived version from Jul 22, also shows Nvidia added Analog Devices, ON Semiconductor and Renesas Electronics as silicon suppliers for the new architecture to support growing power demand from AI infrastructure. InnoScience is the only China-based company among those suppliers. The Suzhou-based company confirmed the partnership in a statement on Friday, saying it together with Nvidia can help achieve more efficient and greener computing. The company offers compound semiconductors used in power systems for a wide range of applications from autos to data centres, according to its website. The chipmaker was founded by Luo Weiwei in 2015. Luo has a doctorate degree in applied mathematics from Massey University in New Zealand. Before InnoScience, she worked for Nasa for 15 years, according to trade group SEMI China. The company was listed in Hong Kong late last year. Nvidia's partnership with the Chinese chipmaker is notable as the global chip industry is becoming more fragmented. Washington has been trying to restrict China's access to most cutting-edge AI silicons and chipmaking expertise, while Beijing has vowed to reduce reliance on foreign technologies. The US has barred Nvidia from supplying its most advanced chips, the gold standards for AI computing, to China. Trump officials pledged to lift restrictions on Nvidia's H20 chips, a product the US chipmaker customized for China to comply with US export controls, in July as part of a trade deal for Beijing to allow more sales of rare-Earth minerals needed to make a range of high-tech products. However, China's top Internet watchdog summoned Nvidia representatives earlier this week to discuss what Chinese officials deem as significant security risks in H20, signalling that Beijing may find the chip not to be a worthy offering as part of the trade agreement. Nvidia, meanwhile, said it has not installed 'backdoors' in its products. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
30-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
First China weight loss drug emerges
Obesity drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly & Co. now face their first serious rival in China. PHOTO: REUTERS Hong Kong – Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly & Co, the pharmaceutical giants dominating the global obesity drug market, now face their first serious rival in China. Suzhou-based Innovent Biologics secured approval last week for its treatment mazdutide, a turning point in China's efforts to combat rising obesity and diabetes rates with local innovation. With over 600 million Chinese adults projected to be overweight by 2050, the emergence of a viable local alternative to Novo and Lilly's blockbuster GLP-1 treatments could make weight loss drugs more accessible in the world's second-largest economy. China's nascent weight loss drug market is poised for rapid growth, with analysts estimating it could grow to between US$5.6 billion (S$7.2 billion) and US$11.4 billion a year. While China still accounts for just a fraction of the projected US$150 billion global pie, a raft of homegrown treatments and cheaper generics could significantly improve the availability – and affordability – of the medication. The country has a pipeline of more than 30 late-stage obesity drug candidates under development, according to LEK Consulting. Several firms have already licensed their drugs to US or European drugmakers like AstraZeneca and Merck & Co for further clinical development outside the country. Local biotech firms are promising to overcome the limitations of current treatments, including creating long-awaited GLP-1 pills that are just as effective and safe as weekly injections peddled by Novo and Lilly. Leading insulin producer Gan & Lee Pharmaceutical is pushing ahead a longer-acting drug that can be taken every two weeks, instead of weekly. Laekna is developing a treatment that would help patients preserve more muscle – a common concern among GLP-1 takers – while still losing fat. Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences expects China will approve its drug ecnoglutide, which led to more than 15 per cent weight loss after 48 weeks when given at the highest dose, in early 2026. 'Multiple Chinese biopharma are developing differentiated and competitive candidates and have the potential to lead the direction of weight loss drug research and development,' said Chen Chen, head of China healthcare research at UBS Securities. Competition is expected to ramp up next year when cheaper alternative versions of semaglutide – the active ingredient in Novo's Wegovy – launch after semaglutide's China patent expires. Their emergence could pressure drugmakers to lower their treatment prices, and could quickly expand access to the drugs across a country of 1.4 billion people. Compared to Western countries where popular GLP-1 drugs are widely available for people looking to lose weight, the current penetration rate for such drugs in China is 'extremely low,' said UBS's Mr Chen. Novo only started rolling out obesity treatments in China in 2024, and Lilly earlier this year. A government-led campaign to curb obesity and establish new weight management clinics has fuelled demand, which is now outstripping supply and leading to stock shortages, said Shawn Qu, chief of SinoUnited Health's Endocrinology, Metabolism and Thyroid Center in Shanghai. 'It's far from meeting the clinical need,' said Mr Qu, who's also an adviser to China's National Health Commission weight management committee. Foreign medicines have long enjoyed higher trust and recognition in China, where the local biotech industry is still overcoming past quality issues. Skepticism about the quality of domestic generic medicines also remains high among Chinese – and rare backlash from doctors earlier this year fuelled questions about whether government efforts to slash treatment prices had come at the cost of efficacy. The relative price differences between foreign and domestic weight loss drugs could be much smaller than in PD-(L)1 medicines used to treat cancer, added Yang Huang, senior analyst for China healthcare research at JP Morgan. 'We think foreign companies could be more willing to lower prices for their weight loss drugs in China,' he said, 'as we have seen in the US market where major weight loss drug players have started engaging in price competition.' Going forward, 'you'll see a lot more competitors in the China market versus anywhere else,' said Justin Wang, head of LEK's China practice. 'It will be unlikely for one or two companies to dominate the whole market.' BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Chinese humanoids train for the world's first robot marathon in Beijing
China is set to host what has been dubbed the world's first robot half-marathon in Beijing on April 13, prompting several of the country's leading robot developers to train and prepare their humanoids for the race. The event—designed to showcase robots' speed, agility, and performance—will provide a novel way to promote Chinese robotic technology. The race will run for 13 miles (21 kilometers), and will prove to be a stress test for the robots, pushing their hardware to limits. According to reports, the robot-racers will be limited to humanoid, bipedal models like Casbot's Casbot 1 and Magiclab's Wheat. Competitor robots can be remote controlled (including semi-autonomous) or fully autonomous. The top finisher could win a modest sum of 5,000 Yuan ($691) as first prize. There will also reportedly be prizes for robots that demonstrate the best gait, are most popular, as well as for robots that cross the finish line. Entries are restricted to robotics startups, research institutes, universities, robot clubs, and other innovative entities worldwide. "The 21-kilometer race is a pretty extreme test," explained Zhou Di, an expert from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, in an interview to Yicai Global. "In industrial and household applications, the ability to run long distances isn't usually a top priority for robots," he added. However, the robotic marathon will not only serve as an ingenious marketing tool but also present a genuine opportunity to compare robots. It can be thought of as a kind of trial for potential customers and investors as well. Both the Casbot 01 and Wheat robots stand over 5.6 feet (1.7 meters) tall and weigh about 132 pounds (60 kilograms), similar to an average human's height and weight. However, as advanced as these two machines are, they still have a long way to go before being able to run extensively. 'For example, if the software sends a command but the robot's motor turns at the wrong angle, the robot is very likely to fall,' said Chen Chunyu, vice president of Magiclab and head of research and development at the Suzhou-based firm said. To this end, developers need to fine-tune the hardware and algorithms, which takes about two to three months. 'Once stability is accomplished, we start experimenting with new algorithms to teach the robot more complex movements, like running," Chunyu added, while speaking to Yicai. Long distance running events like this will act as true tests for entrant robots as they tend to involve complex pieces of engineering. As with humans, running puts a lot of strain on the knees and ankles of robots, requiring high torque to operate. More torque would mean adjustments to the robot's mechanical structure to withstand higher impact and vibration. Running for extended periods also requires motors to work constantly, which can lead to overheating and breakdowns. Operating at a high load for long increases the wear and tear on robot parts and shortens their lifespan. 'Only robots that pass this third stage are ready to be delivered to customers,' said Yang Guodong, co-founder of Casbot and head of its sports intelligence and R&D center. 'If this competition had been held a year ago, not many robots would have been able to participate,' he noted.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Chinese humanoids train for the world's first robot marathon in Beijing
China is set to host what has been dubbed the world's first robot half-marathon in Beijing on April 13, prompting several of the country's leading robot developers to train and prepare their humanoids for the race. The event—designed to showcase robots' speed, agility, and performance—will provide a novel way to promote Chinese robotic technology. The race will run for 13 miles (21 kilometers), and will prove to be a stress test for the robots, pushing their hardware to limits. According to reports, the robot-racers will be limited to humanoid, bipedal models like Casbot's Casbot 1 and Magiclab's Wheat. Competitor robots can be remote controlled (including semi-autonomous) or fully autonomous. The top finisher could win a modest sum of 5,000 Yuan ($691) as first prize. There will also reportedly be prizes for robots that demonstrate the best gait, are most popular, as well as for robots that cross the finish line. Entries are restricted to robotics startups, research institutes, universities, robot clubs, and other innovative entities worldwide. "The 21-kilometer race is a pretty extreme test," explained Zhou Di, an expert from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, in an interview to Yicai Global. "In industrial and household applications, the ability to run long distances isn't usually a top priority for robots," he added. However, the robotic marathon will not only serve as an ingenious marketing tool but also present a genuine opportunity to compare robots. It can be thought of as a kind of trial for potential customers and investors as well. Both the Casbot 01 and Wheat robots stand over 5.6 feet (1.7 meters) tall and weigh about 132 pounds (60 kilograms), similar to an average human's height and weight. However, as advanced as these two machines are, they still have a long way to go before being able to run extensively. 'For example, if the software sends a command but the robot's motor turns at the wrong angle, the robot is very likely to fall,' said Chen Chunyu, vice president of Magiclab and head of research and development at the Suzhou-based firm said. To this end, developers need to fine-tune the hardware and algorithms, which takes about two to three months. 'Once stability is accomplished, we start experimenting with new algorithms to teach the robot more complex movements, like running," Chunyu added, while speaking to Yicai. Long distance running events like this will act as true tests for entrant robots as they tend to involve complex pieces of engineering. As with humans, running puts a lot of strain on the knees and ankles of robots, requiring high torque to operate. More torque would mean adjustments to the robot's mechanical structure to withstand higher impact and vibration. Running for extended periods also requires motors to work constantly, which can lead to overheating and breakdowns. Operating at a high load for long increases the wear and tear on robot parts and shortens their lifespan. 'Only robots that pass this third stage are ready to be delivered to customers,' said Yang Guodong, co-founder of Casbot and head of its sports intelligence and R&D center. 'If this competition had been held a year ago, not many robots would have been able to participate,' he noted.
