Evelyn Cheng

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Losing the Chinese shopper could soon have global consequences Apple and other Western brands are still trying hard to reach Chinese shoppers as the Singles Day promotional period gets under way.

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China last week just before the Singles Day shopping period kicked off. The company is trying new things with Chinese social media and livestreaming.

This week's China newsletter looks at what Western consumer giants have at stake: www.cnbc.com/2025/10/22/l...

Chesky Says OpenAI Tools Not Ready for ChatGPT Tie-Up With Airbnb App Airbnb Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky said he didn’t integrate his company’s online travel app with OpenAI’s ChatGPT because the startup’s connective tools aren’t “quite ready” yet.

Airbnb CEO

“We’re relying a lot on Alibaba’s Qwen model. It’s very good. It’s also fast and cheap."

“We use OpenAI’s latest models, but we typically don’t use them that much in production because there are faster and cheaper models.”

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

On the latest episode of China Field Notes, @chinaecon.csis.org expert Scott Kennedy speaks with @chengevelyn.bsky.social, who has been reporting on China’s economy in Beijing since 2018, about the challenges of being a Western reporter in China and more.

Listen: www.csis.org/podcasts/chi...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Chinese AI companies are already making money The AI industry in China is shifting its focus from cash-burning large language models to business applications.

Robots are getting better at customer service

AI model engineers are now looking for AI application jobs

More on how Chinese companies are already making money in AI www.cnbc.com/2025/07/30/c...

If Apple makes a foldable phone, analysts say this stock will benefit U.S. hedge fund magnate Steve Cohen has also jumped in to buy the stock, according to filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

U.S. hedge fund magnate Steve Cohen has jumped in, with multiple purchases that have brought his stake to 8.41% of issued voting shares, according to filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange.

www.cnbc.com/2025/07/20/i...

This Chinese jeweler is using traditional techniques to challenge Cartier — and it's starting in Singapore Chinese jewelry company Laopu Gold takes aim at global luxury giants with its first store outside the country in Singapore.

Chinese gold sensation Laopu Gold opened its first overseas store last month in Singapore's Marina Bay Sands

Not only have Cartier execs warned of the pressure, but an NBA player picked up a Laopu necklace during a recent China trip

Details here:
www.cnbc.com/2025/07/07/l...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: AI hits an already weak jobs market Companies in China are quickly discovering artificial intelligence's benefits.

More Chinese companies are discussing AI-driven efficiencies, especially in marketing and coding www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/c...

China-U.S. agree on framework to implement Geneva trade consensus after second day of London talks The U.S. and China have reached consensus on trade, representatives from both sides said after high-level talks in London.

U.S.-China agree to framework, taking it back to Trump/Xi for approval before implementation

Rare earths are a 'fundamental' part of it, Lutnick says

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/u...

Involution or evolution? China wants to stop the EV price war, but analysts are doubtful There's a buzzword in China to describe excessive competition, in a race to the bottom: nei juan, or "involution."

As China’s electric vehicle price war intensifies, its top leaders have sounded the alarm with high-profile calls to halt excessive competition, known colloquially as “neijuan” or involution.

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/05/i...

It's not just AI — China's quickly gaining an edge over the U.S. in biotech For all the attention on U.S.-China AI competition, new studies point to China's rapid rise in biotechnology, especially for drug and agricultural development.

Reports from the U.S. biotech hub of Cambridge and Boston reveal layoffs and empty labs.

Out of five critical tech sectors, “China has the most immediate opportunity to overtake the United States in biotechnology,” Harvard Belfer Center says

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/05/c...

Long-awaited Trump-Xi call isn't enough to resolve looming critical mineral shortage this summer A high-stakes U.S.-China call has yet to resolve a metals shortage that businesses say could halt production of cars and other industrial parts this summer.

Today in rare earths:

AmCham China - 75% of members needing rare earths face shortage in 3 months

EU Chamber of Commerce in China - rare earths export licenses tick up, but not enough

A critical minerals shortage looms this summer:
www.cnbc.com/2025/06/06/t...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: AI integration gives China supply chains an even greater advantage As more Chinese factories turn to tech for cost-cutting and quality controls, it's going to be even harder to resist buying from them.

AI + manufacturing still has a long way to go

But many factories in China are trying it out

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/04/c...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: What chip shortage? 10 questions with AI startup unfazed by U.S.-China tensions Hearing about artificial intelligence from inside Chinese business paints a very different picture of the tech than popularly understood.

AI hype vs reality

Why there isn't a chip shortage in China

What AI means for media/content

Whether cloud and data centers will win

And what about AI glasses?

10 qs with Temasek-backed founder Jerry Ye for a grounded look at genAI biz

www.cnbc.com/2025/05/28/c...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: A fragile truce as tempers flare Just a week after a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade tensions, neither side can yet be confident that the other is holding up their end of the bargain.

Just a week after a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade tensions, neither side can yet be confident that the other is holding up their end of the bargain. www.cnbc.com/2025/05/21/c...

Tariffs or not, a Chinese baby products company is ramping up its U.S. expansion One Chinese baby products company announced it is officially entering the United States, the world's largest consumer market — regardless of the trade war.

Chinese companies still want to compete for the U.S. consumer, despite tariffs

Shanghai-based Bc Babycare says it has been building a global supply chain over the last few years

www.cnbc.com/2025/05/20/c...

Big Chinese companies like Alibaba show that AI-powered ads are giving shopping a boost Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com reported earnings that showed better Chinese consumer spending — and the growing benefits of artificial intelligence in advertising.

Big Chinese companies like Alibaba show that AI-powered ads are giving shopping a boost www.cnbc.com/2025/05/16/c...

U.S.-China tariff reprieve is enough to get products on the shelves in time for Christmas Nearly a fifth of U.S. retail sales last year came from Christmas shopping, according to CNBC calculations based on data from the National Retail Federation.

The 90-day reprieve in U.S.-China tariffs is enough to address a major pain point: Christmas shopping

But for running shoes produced in China, the total tariff is now 47%, still well above the 17% level in January, says Tony Post, CEO of Topo Athletic

www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/t...

U.S. retailers scramble to secure China-made Christmas merchandise as tariff uncertainty persists As Chinese factories and their U.S. buyers try to navigate tariff uncertainty, there's a concern about whether products will arrive in time for Christmas.

The tariff impact is starting to get real for companies trying to plan for the Christmas shopping season

www.cnbc.com/2025/05/02/c...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: A tech boom is underway China's tech world isn't getting distracted by whether the U.S. and China will talk on trade.

This week’s The China Connection newsletter: A tech boom is underway

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/30/c...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: The U.S. wants China to call. Why it won’t – for now The last time Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke was just before the January 20 inauguration.

From the April 16th edition of The China Connection newsletter:

The U.S. wants China to call. Why it won’t – for now

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/u...

China rolls out employment support and hints at more stimulus as U.S. tensions escalate Senior Chinese officials outlined plans to support jobs and help exporters, while hinting at the possibility of more stimulus in light of rising U.S. tensions.

'Labor market stability remains a critical concern for Chinese policymakers, given its direct linkage to social stability and consumption recovery' - GS

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/28/c...

Chinese factories are stopping production and looking for new markets as U.S. tariffs bite Chinese manufacturers are pausing production and turning to new markets as the impact of U.S. tariffs sets in, according to companies and analysts.

Chinese factories are stopping production and looking for new markets as U.S. tariffs hit. The lost orders are also hitting jobs

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/28/c...

China says no talks with the U.S. on trade, calls for canceling 'unilateral' tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week indicated that there might be an easing in tensions with China.

China says no talks with the U.S. on trade, calls for canceling ‘unilateral’ tariffs www.cnbc.com/2025/04/24/c...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: U.S. regulatory scrutiny fans Chinese stock delisting fears A comment from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reignited fears on Wall Street about a forced delisting of Chinese stocks from U.S. exchanges.

The decade-plus run of Chinese companies on U.S. exchanges may be nearing an end. At least that's the latest worry, again.

This week in The China Connection newsletter:

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/c...

Justin Yifu Lin:

More and more voices will likely call the U.S. policy “unreasonable and illogical,” he said. “I’m confident that unreasonable and illogical things can’t last that long.”

Sees low chance of full US-China decoupling

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/21/c...

China vows retaliation against countries that follow U.S. calls to isolate Beijing In a shift toward a harder stance this month, China retaliated against U.S. tariffs with levies of 125% on imports of American goods.

China vows retaliation against countries that follow U.S. calls to isolate Beijing www.cnbc.com/2025/04/21/c...

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: The U.S. wants China to call. Why it won’t – for now The last time Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke was just before the January 20 inauguration.

The U.S. wants China to call. Why it won’t – for now www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/u...

Vice Premier He Lifeng has been officially called the lead negotiator on US-China econ/trade issues

Commerce-level change swaps out Wang Shouwen (who joined 1st round of US-China trade tensions) with Li Chenggang -- China's WTO rep and a graduate of the Uni of Hamburg

China announces a new commerce-level intl trade negotiator

CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: No deal in sight to stop U.S.-China trade war Analysts now talk not just of a war over trade, but one that could spread beyond technology to investment and other realms.

No deal in sight to stop U.S.-China trade war www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/u...