Chinese

The US tariffs are a weapon of mass destruction in the Tech industry. Except for Chinese mobiles

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The 104% tariff Chinese tax By the Trump administration it will shake the foundations of the smartphone industry. Apple and Samsungthe two great actors in the sector, base a good part of their manufacturing strategy in countries especially penalized by these new measures. However, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers could better overcome the blow. Thanks to a strategy focused for years in international expansion and markets outside the United States, their direct exposure to the impact of these tariffs aims to be considerably less. 104%. USA He has officialized a 104% tariff to imports from China, carrying The commercial war between both countries to its peak maximum and leading us to a night of movement in the markets. The consequences have been immediate: Fall of almost 5% in Bag for Apple generalized in the rest of great technology, with the uncertainty of a new commercial scenario that will shake its current strategies. Chinese and United States manufacturers. For Apple and Samsung Import products manufactured in China or Vietnam to the United States will involve an increase in simply unassumable costs without price increases. A case that barely applies Chinese manufacturers, since they have never had too much presence in the country. Giants such as Xiaomi, Oppo or Vivo do not sell smartphones in the United States. However, OnePlus, TCL and Motorola (Property of the China Lenovo) do have a presence in the territory. In fact, Lenovo is the third smartphone manufacturer in the United States. The Lenovo case. Motorola and Lenovo are in the most compromised situation after the entry into force of tariffs. The manufacture of its devices is focused on countries such as China, Brazil and India. Importing the United States with 104% tariffs is simply unfeasible for the company, which would have to move its production chain outside China to survive in the United States. Although not even maintaining a diversified production would be sufficient to partially overcome the impact of tariffs. The Type imposed on Brazil is 10% (the minimum threshold), while that of India amounts to 26%. A 10% tariff is assumed through a light rise hybrid strategy and cost absorption. One of almost 30% requires more drastic measures. The consequences for the rest. On the side of OnePlus and TCL, despite being Chinese manufacturers, they have been making production to countries like India and Brazil for years, diversifying strategy for their product assembly. A diversification that is not enough to overcome tariffs, since the bulk of manufacturing remains in China. The only solution? Move in record time the production outside your native country and centralize efforts in external factories. A withdrawal on time. The most likely scenario after the implementation of tariffs is the disappearance of the little Asian trace that remains in the United States. With the exception of Motorola/Lenovo, this has never been a market to be conquered by China, a position that aims to reaffirm after the crossed commercial war. Beyond mobile phones, companies like Xiaomi, which They sell household products and monitors In the United States, they will have it difficult to maintain presence in the country without raising prices abruptly. A global impact. If manufacturers such as Motorola renounce the US market, with the consequent loss of income that this would entail, an increase in prices globally seems inevitable to alleviate the effects of losing presence in a key territory. Companies such as OnePlus, TCL or Xiaomi, with a minimum presence there, would have it easier to absorb part of this small loss and not end up moving costs to consumers outside the US. Despite this, not everything is so simple. Although Chinese brands do not sell mobiles significantly in the US market, they do have a presence in other categories such as televisions, monitors and home devices. The unknown is whether they will choose to compensate for the blow by increasing prices only in those lines, or if they will end up moving the extra cost to their entire catalog, including smartphones. THE WAR OF COMPONENTS. The main Chinese manufacturers use American components, such as Qualcomm processors or Corning Gorilla Glass crystals. At the moment, this situation would be under doubt, since Qualcomm subcontracts the production of its chips to Taiwanese giants such as TSMC or Samsung Foundry (South Korea). Something similar happens with manufacturers such as Corning, which diversifies production with plants in Asia and Europe to meet global demand. Given that US sanctions They prevent American memoirs from selling their most sophisticated integrated circuits to their Chinese clients, China does not have it easy to reduce dependence on the United States. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Brussels Baraja tariffs of 10% and 25% to US products. The measure aims to take its toll on the European consumer

Chinese memory chips manufacturers are a nightmare for the US and South Korea. There is a lot at play

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Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) is one of the largest memory chips manufacturers in China. Its quota in the global market is approximately 6%so it is far from South Korean companies Samsung and SK Hynix, and also from the American Micron Technology, the three companies that lead this sector. Even so, Its weight in the Chinese market is very largeespecially because US sanctions They prevent American and South Korean memories manufacturers selling their most sophisticated integrated circuits to their Chinese clients. YMTC is in the spotlight of the US administration for more than two years. In fact, at the end of 2022 the Department of Commerce led by Gina Raimondo He decided to include this company in his blacklist because he had managed to develop an ambitious 128 layer memory chip. Currently YMTC is one of the companies that have the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology in China, and curiously, According to Techinsights He has reached this position without resorting to foreign technology. Not even Asml’s. YMTC aspires to intimidate the leaders of the memory chips market This achievement seems to have been possible because YMTC has the complicity of three of the most important Chinese lithography equipment: Naura Technology, Amec (Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China) and Piotech Inc. The most shocking thing is that according to Techinsight analysts, which is a Canadian communication platform intimately linked to the semiconductor industry and with Great credibilityYMTC has managed to put avant -garde memory chips capable of rivaling the most advanced foreign solutions. YMTC has published about 20 new patents in which it describes processes that seek to increase efficiency And it has managed to refine its technology of stacking of memory cells in layers known as ‘xtacking’ until reaching a level of performance in its integrated nand type circuits similar to that of the comparable memories of Samsung or SK Hynix. However, this is not all. According to SCMPYMTC has recently published about 20 new patents in which it describes processes that seek to increase efficiency and optimize chips stacking structures. It is evident that the development of the technological capacity of Chinese manufacturers of integrated memory circuits represents a threat to Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. However, YMTC is not the only Chinese company with the ability to put in trouble the manufacturers of South Korean and American memory chips. Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is one of the Chinese companies specialized in the production of memory chips, and, like other companies in the country led by Xi Jinping, it has chosen to compete in this market so attractive deploying a very aggressive pricing policy. CXMT in particular has increased its production capacity of DRAM chips almost five times during the last four years, which has allowed it to increase its global market share until it reaches a very worthy 9%. This growth has placed this company just behind Micron Technology if we stick to its market share, so it is already the fourth largest memory chips manufacturer on the planet. To curl the curl even more The Chinese government is supporting economically to its manufacturers of this type of semiconductors in response to the sanctions deployed by the US and its allies, so the competitiveness of Chinese companies is upwards. More information | SCMP In Xataka | China needs to develop a new type of immune chips to US sanctions. And their scientists have just achieved it

A 14 -day Chinese invasion

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On the morning of April 6, the island of Taiwan rose with a feeling of Leave Vú. In front of its coasts, a 21 ship fleet Together with Shandong aircraft carrier, a series of military exercises had begun that would extend several days. China had done it again, always maintaining that limit of 24 nautical miles that separate the exhibition of “something else”, but it had happened so many times in the last months that the island made a decision: Activate a plan B. International Warning. That last exhibition was so publicized that even the Foreign Ministers of the Group of the Seven (G7) issued a unusually overwhelming condemnation against military exercises, describing them as “provocative” and “destabilizers.” In an official statement, they expressed their deep concern about the growing number of Chinese military maneuvers that raise tensions in the Strait and represent a direct risk for global safety and prosperity. They also reiterated that both members of the G7 and the international community as a whole have a vital interest in preserving peace and Stability in the regionopposing any unilateral attempt to alter the status quoespecially if it involves the use of force or coercion. A strategic response. But as we said, the island has decided to activate a plan B. How? Taiwan’s army has started a unprecedented military exercise which simulates its worst possible scenario: that the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) of China transforms one of its regular maneuvers into a large -scale attack against the island. It is a computer -assisted war simulation phase that is part of the Ha Kuang annual maneuversextended this year to 14 days (six more than in 2024) and scheduled to develop until April 18. The simulation responds to the growing concern about the increase in the frequency, scale and aggressiveness of the maneuvers around the Taiwan Strait, which could cover up a real invasion too quickly to be effectively contained. Realism 24 hours. Thus, using the platform Joint Theater Level Simulation (JTLS), the Taiwanese armed forces have activated a joint operations center that simulates an immediate transition from peace time to war. The scenarios are modeled on possible EPL actionsincluding not only a direct offensive, but also hybrid threats in The gray area: Disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks, harassment by drones and paramilitary fishing fleets. The objective is clear: to prove the capacity for coordination and response of the forces under extreme conditions, maintaining active operations 24 hours a day during the entire period of the year. USA. Not just that. Taiwanese media have explained that US military personnel will attend simulations as an observer, reinforcing the already close defensive cooperation Between Taipéi and Washington, although without detailing which officials will be present. In February, Major General Jay Bargeron, Director of Strategic Planning of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, participated in a previous phase of the maneuvers, a fact that caused Government criticism Chinese. The growing influence of the Progressive Democratic Party (DPP) and the arrival of William Lai Ching-Te, perceived by Beijin as A “separatist”has intensified tensions, which is reflected in the hardening of China’s speech and military pressure on the island. Asymmetric war capabilities. The exercise not only responds to a tactical change, but also to a strategic transformation: Taiwan is validating the incorporation of Asymmetric war assetsadapted to compensate for his numerical inferiority against the EPL. These assets include drones, tanks M1A2Trocket systems Himarsanti -tank missiles Tow 2b and coastal batteries Harpoon. All these systems are being integrated into current simulations and will be subjected to new tests during The real fire phase of the exercise Han Kuang, scheduled from July 9 to 18. Urban combat and operations. When the time comes, the July stage will include continuous joint maneuversboth in continental territory and in peripheral islands, airspace and maritime areas. Urban resilience exercises will also be carried out, focused on cooperation between armed and civil forces. The key areas, apparently, include the response to hybrid threats, rapid preparation and reaction, the mechanisms of authorization of military actions, operational safety, logistics and evaluation of the performance of recently incorporated systems. Danger: Lightning offensive. At this point, voices of experts have emerged who have warned for years about the Chinese strategy of the so -called as “Salami Slicing”that is, progressive advances that blur the borders between maneuver and aggression. Here we return to a topic that We have counted in The last months. The EPL has gone increasing your presence Around Taiwan, violating conventions Traditional such as respect for the midline of the Strait, that unofficial 180 km division that separates the island from the continent. An eventual surprise offensive, According to analystsI could place Chinese fighters in Taipéi in a matter of minutes, drastically reducing Taiwan’s initial response capacity. Unprecedented coordination. According to Chou Yu-Pingformer director of Missile Planning of Taiwan, this tactical evolution requires total coordination between the branches of the army, and therefore the number and complexity of the scenarios of the Han Kuang exercise have been expanded. Planning now contemplates not only traditional military scenarios, but also hybrid dynamics and multidominiumin order to preserve Taiwan’s defense ability to an aggressor who acts with less and less subtlety. The importance of Taiwan for the US. In the background, we must not forget that “paints” the United States in the tensions of the Strait. In fact, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. It was the center of the analysis that Ben Thompson recently raised in his Newsletter Stratechery. For the analyst, the true severity of the conflict would not only reside who controls taipéi, but in the deep breakdown of Global supply chainsin particular of the most critical sector of the 21st century: semiconductors. Taiwan is not any island; It is the TSMC headquartersthe most advanced manufacturer in the world of chips. Without its operations, Collapse digital infrastructure which holds from mobiles to artificial intelligence, through defense, industry, health and transport. Self -destruction as dissuasion. According to Thompsonis so the global dependence of the Taiwanese chips that exists, … Read more

In the war cameras vs lidar, Tesla has a lot to learn from an unexpected product: the Chinese aspiring robot

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Light detection and ranging. Or, what is the same, detection and measurement of light. These are the words behind Lidar. This technology uses light pulses to map the environment and discover each and every corner of a stay or an open space almost in real time, as well as to recreate 3D environments with enormous precision. To understand how a lidar radar works, I recommend watching Mark Rober’s video in which it tells the differences between a car equipped with this system and its tesla, which exclusively uses cameras to detect the obstacles that you can find along its path. Beyond the controversy arising in relation to the tests that Rober does, the video explains well Why Lidar is such a complete system. In a simple way, the system takes advantage of the speed of light to emit infrared pulses. These bounce in the object in question and the system calculates how far that object is using the time that the pulse of light has taken to go and return. As light pulses have a very small size and, as we said, it takes advantage of that very high speed of light transmission, can map the objects almost in real time. In recent days, after Mark Rober’s video, the controversy of whether it is better to use an LIDAR or one system that exclusively use cameras and recreations by software is better or worse to guarantee the best behavior in terms of autonomous driving. A controversy that has left people trying launch your tesla against a wall With a road painted in the purest shyesty style. And it is a long time since it made it clear that I would bet everything on the use of cameras for manage your driving aid systems Or, in the future, completely autonomous driving with the robotaxis that wants to put in the streets. At the time, home vacuum robots also lived this moment of indecision. And along the way, Irobot who was the leading market leader has ended up giving millionaire losses and has seen how Chinese manufacturers have eaten much of the market. The secret of the latter: they use lidar instead of trusting everything to the cameras. What can you learn from a vacuum cleaner “We have substantial doubts”, with these words Irobot owners responded to the question of whether they could move forward with their operations. My partner Javier Pastor explained A few months ago when Amazon raised the purchase of Irobot in 2022 (which fell into regulatory terms) The company had a value of 1.2 billion dollars. In the third quarter of 2024, the calculation was about 200 million dollars. Shortly after, The situation has not improved a lot. In 2024, Irobot lost more than 145 million dollars. However, they had reduced their losses by 52%. The company faced a perfect storm. After spending the worst of pandemic, spending on home robots and other products (such as computers) They collapsed. That coincided with the launch of new Chinese products that were faster and faster than Irobot’s: they used the lidar sensor. This system is ideal for improving the capacities of a vacuum robot. It detects better obstacles, mapping the house more precisely and that translates into faster and more effective work. The result is especially good if it is combined with the cameras and artificial intelligence systems to discover smaller obstacles that can go unnoticed or create confusion. In recent years, that has been the trend of the market in cleaning the home. The combination of this system with a more attractive price He has triggered the sales of Chinese aspiring robots, to the detriment of an Irobot that accumulated more than 60% market share. The comparison with Tesla and the electricity car market is evident. The latter are using Lidar sensors in their cars and offer a product equal to or better than Europeans and Elon Musk’s for a fraction of their price. He Xiaomi Su7 and its wide reception He is being a good example of this. Tesla has long since defends that Lidar are not necessary to improve autonomous driving systems but studies say that, as in the case of vacuum robots, the best performance is signed When both technologies are combinedLidar and cameras. In the case of Xiaomi, the videos shown from How your total autonomous driving system operates They are impressive, with very human behavior and managing the smallest spaces very well. This is possible because, among other things, A lidar is better when calculating distances And suffer less when the light falls. Neither does the risk of the camera be dazzled, At least not intentionallygenerating Ghostly brakes. So far, everything indicates that Tesla does not seem willing to return to anything other than the “All Chamber” To save costs. At the moment it has worked but you have to demonstrate that it is as effective as more advanced systems. And there is also the largest electric car market in the world. In China, where foreigners are suffering from the local product, Tesla is hitting a good batacazo in 2025. Photo | Tesla and Irobot In Xataka | “It’s like living millions of lives”: Tesla trusts their own drivers to advance Waymo and Cruise and shoot their value

The Chinese bazaars of Mallorca are starting to close. And that is promoting all kinds of theories in social networks

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Tiktok is one of the 21st century forumsone with great viral potential. Give people like the Spanish adventurer who is Traveling to Japan with a 1998 Fiat OA the Carbon mines influencers In Australia. It also amplifies news such as that the Chinese bazaars of Mallorca are closing their doors in mass. And it is true: there are Chinese shops closing, and it is something that has generated so much noise that has resulted in the most varied conspiracy theories. Reality is much simpler. Bazaars closing. How our partners point out TRENDENCESsome profiles on Tiktok have shared videos in which some of these Chinese businesses are seen as if a hurricane had passed. In the profile ‘INSELNEWS‘The’ Bazar Gran Wok ‘is shown with a message that points out that, “by definitive closure, the owners decided to give everything in the premises.” In the one JULIOBASTIVV There is also talk of this. And entering the comments of those videos is a curious exercise. Theories of the great leak. There are several lines in this matter. On the one hand, those that point out that Chinese citizens are running out of tax advantages and will have to start paying taxes (although They already pay taxes if they have a business in Spain). Other theories point to the arrival of Digital eurosomething that is still in development. There is no lack of comments that suggest that the Chinese know something that the rest of the people not, to the duty Oa one imminent war. In Chinese Tiktokers profiles like ‘Jinjunyin‘, creator of the Pódcast’ Sounds Chinese ‘, we can also see comments in videos that do not deal with the issue in which they ask for explanations for the exodus and even pray that they do not leave the country. Other Chinese users of the social network laugh directly from the matter. @choumia04 Are the Chinese closing their stores in Spain? Why are their stores closing? 🤔 #Chinese #store #Spain #business #for you #fyp ♬ Original sound – Choumia Feet on the ground. To answer that question of “why all of Spain leave” that some users ask, we have contacted a Chinese association of the most affected area: Balearic Islands. Specifically, with the Chinese Association in the Balearic Islands. Its president, Fang Ji, tells us the same as they already communicated a few days ago for Instagram: That, in effect, in recent months they have observed that some businesses run by Chinese entrepreneurs have closed or are liquidating the stock. There is no single cause and points out that “the reasons behind these decisions may vary according to the business”, but that three cases stand out: Inflation and consumption changes. It is evident on an island where the price of housing is absolutely triggered, even with Garages Costo 185,000 euros (with whom you would buy a house in other locations). “The increase in rent and supplies costs, as well as changes in consumption habits have affected many small businesses, not only those of the Chinese community,” he says. Administrative changes. Another case is the hardening of certain tax regulations that have meant an additional difficulty for the business. Entrepreneurs comment that adapting to these changes requires an investment that is not always viable for all. Personal. Finally, Fang Ji points out that there are other businesses that have simply closed to reorient the business or for commercial reasons. “Pandemia and economic changes have led many entrepreneurs to rethink their future and want to explore other opportunities,” he says. Cocktail. Therefore, it is not that another pandemic is coming or a war with China is coming, but that it is the result of a set of situations that is causing this situation, highlighting the Very high price of the ground in the Balearic Islands and online trade. The region is at the head of the regions in which More expensive It becomes the owner. Calculations such as Idealistic They point to buy a square meter in Palma costs about 4,600, 18.5% more than a year ago. On the other hand, there are fast fashion businesses such as Sheinbut also the Temu And similar, which in some cases are a missile to the flotation line of some of these shops of Chinese entrepreneurs focused on day -to -day objects or clothing. And, as Fang Ji said, this is something that affects small trade in general, but when he adds to the climbing of the land price in some places, the cocktail can be difficult to digest. Image | JInocrates In Xataka | The Government wants to cut the bulos drastically: forcing influencers to rectify by law

The new Chinese tariffs are a mosquadilla for Apple. It is just what Huawei needed to dominate Asia

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China has not taken to respond to new tariff rates imposed By the Trump administration, further increasing the pressure on this commercial war scenario. The new situation. After the Last climb announced on April 3the tariffs that the United States applies to imported products from China already reach 54%. In reciprocal response, China has announced a new 34%rate package. The US rates enter into force on April 9 and those of China on April 10, with a day of strategic difference. A margin that opens the door to possible last minute negotiations to adjust or avoid the implementation of tariffs, giving time to both countries to search for agreements before the measures impact their economies. In this stage of tariff chaos there are two very important actors for the Chinese market: Huawei and Apple. The golden opportunity for Huawei. Huawei is positioned as a key actor in technological matters with strong government support. At the beginning of 2025 it has become the Second manufacturer in Chinabehind living and just ahead of Apple. Beyond smartphones sales, Huawei is a crucial company for the country in relation to network infrastructure, manufacture of multiplatform semiconductors and software. Currently, the company is a symbol of technological self -sufficiency, both in software and hardware. Huawei recently announced his plans to abandon Android in favor of Harmonyosa system designed for the Asian market (at least, for now), with its own development and without a trace of foreign code. Similarly, the company has been in full commercial fight for years to be competent in the manufacture of semiconductors, currently blocked in seven nanometers lithographybut having achieved your own manufacturing With the support of SMIC, the Chinese giant for chips function. Quota dance. Only 1%market share separate (17%) from Huawei (16%), and with an Apple (15%) that could be out of the map after the entry into force of a new 34%tariff to American products, the scenario that is drawn is that of an absolute leadership by Chinese manufacturers. For Huawei, who has been climbing positions for a few years, it is the best possible scenario. The company is resuming its position in the market thanks to the support of the Chinese government (who has invested in national machinery for chip manufacturing and provides tax exemptions to technology like this). It will not be the only beneficiary. With the exception of Apple, China is a market in which national companies cover full sales photography. I live, Huawei, Oppo and Honor are the best -selling brands, with quite similar figures and market share. China has been a key market for Apple for years. At the end of 2024, this territory meant about 30% of its income. However, in the first quarter of 2025 and in the middle of the commercial war, Chinese participation in Apple’s income fell to 15.83%. An even more aggressive tariff would mean an important setback for the American company, who now faces a complicated scenario in which tariffs to countries like Vietnam or India put their manufacturing and margins strategy in check. Five days of doubt. The reciprocal tariffs between the United States and China threaten to shake the entire world, from the drop in stock market and increase in the manufacturing costs of companies outside technology such as Niketo the hard blow suffered by practically All Big Tech. Next week it will be crucial to know if there is room for negotiation, or if the commercial war is about to start its crudest phase. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Huawei no longer competes: he is building his own parallel reality

Manus is the Chinese startup of AI that has just launched a 200 dollars a month. It is a bad sign for the industry

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Some called him the other “moment Deepseek“From China. This new model, called Manusquickly became viral for its ability to do deep analysis looking for sources of information and then synthesize clear but detailed answers on any issue. It was a direct competitor of OpenAI and its “Deep Research” modeand after being available limited and free, now its creators have decided to market this product big. With subscriptions, of course. Manus. Although its creators describe it as an AI agent, in reality Manus is fundamentally aimed at giving more meditated responses and after a deep analysis of various sources of information. It is true that this process automates, but does the same as Other “AI agents” such as Openai Deep Research mode and also those who also offer Claude or Gemini. Its performance, of course, is comparable to that of these services, and was initially available (under invitation) for free. That is over. Face subscriptions. As they point out In Bloomberg Manus now offers a public version of payment for $ 39 per month to be able to use its benefits with 3,900 credits, but also has a higher plan of 199 dollars per month for version with even less limits (19,900 credits) when it comes to exploiting those deep research modes. Taking into account that the service has just appeared, those prices of course They are aggressive and even controversial. Be careful with this. Manus’s decision is surprising for several reasons. To start, it is a company with hardly any market penetration and practically unknown to the general public. Come from good 200 dollars a month It seems to risk sinning for excess confidence. Not only that: the worrying thing is that this can be the canary in the AI ​​mine. This is: a precedent of what comes to us, with subscriptions of business companies that ask us for true monets for services than more reputed ones (such as Openai) also offer and without a clear differential factor. Committed virality. With the Internet boom and social networks virality was achieved with free massive products that were monetized Through advertising. Google and Facebook nurtured those models, but AI seems to depend on the freeemium model: we can access basic functions, but we do want to take advantage of the models, we have to go through a subscription model. And there is a clear reason for it. The generative AI is very expensive. The cost of each consultation we made to chatbots of AI is comparatively much greater that for example have traditional search engines. Training these models is also exceptionally expensive –It is estimated That GPT-4 training cost about $ 100 million-and you have to try to recover the investment. IA companies know how to do it: increasingly faces. And we are getting used to subscribing to everything. With the “era Google” We did not pay for the product but we were the productbut little by little payment subscriptions have been taking force with the rise of content streaming. We are already very accustomed to paying for services we use, and AI wants to take advantage of that trend. The problem, as is the case with the aforementioned streaming segment, is that There must be differentiating factors to bet on a payment service and not for another. And there Manus has it especially difficult, because he competes with very reputed models and that can be perceived as more confidence for users. No own model. Manus is a “Wrapper“, a platform that is built from the functions of other AI models such as Claude, from Anthropic, or Qwen, from Alibaba. It does not depend on itself. Its creators do not seem to have their own model, but even having the problem is that they will not be able to invest in it the amount of time, money and resources (as talent) necessary for the models to be especially remarkable. Too much competition. But Manus faces true giants. It is a situation analogous to which Anthropic and his chatbot claude livethat do not have the financial muscle of Google, Microsoft or even OpenAi. Manus has both that competition in the US and especially important rivals in China. There Deepseek is the main protagonist, but Alibaba, Baidu or Tencent They will not let a newcomer steal their wallet easily. In Xataka | Now the competition to overcome Depseek is also fought in China herself: Alibaba has just announced QWen2.5-max

Thus was born Changan, the company that manufactured the first Chinese car in history

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Münich, March 2025. The departure pistol for the arrival of Changan to Europe. This Chinese automobile group confirmed the arrival of Deepal, one of its brands with a clear premium approach to Europe. He did it with him Deepal S07an electric Berlina that bets on a great technological load. 15.6 -inch central touch screen, adaptive cruise control with lane centered (which is equivalent to a level 2 of autonomy) and good performance with an electric motor of 216 hp and a 79.97 kWh capacity battery. The presentation demonstrates how far Changan has arrived. The company is the Chinese manufacturer by sales volume and its journey in Europe will begin in the main markets (Norway, Netherlands or Germany, among others) before their arrival in Spain, which is expected for 2026. But Changan Not only one more company in the Chinese car market. Changan’s story goes back, even, until the nineteenth century and this is one of the reasons that led him to produce the Changjiang Type 46, the first Chinese car in history. It all starts in the nineteenth century To understand what Changan is for China you have to go back. Far back. Between 1636 and 1912 the Qing dynasty ruled the country. Obviously, in almost three centuries of history of a country can happen. But what happened in the second half of the nineteenth century in China is that the region was immersed in all types of war conflicts. Finished in 1842 the First opium war In which the Chinese Empire had tried to snatch the drug trafficking of this powerful opioid, various revolts were happening until, in 1956, the Second Opium War began. A contest that united to the United Kingdom and France against China and that ended with the Imperial Palace burned and China capitulating. In that context, a little later from the end of this Second War, Changan would be born. The technology company was in charge of 1962 to supply military material to the Chinese Empire while it remained in front of the country. The company began working under the name of Shanghai Foreign Gun Bureau (Arsenal of Foreign Weapons of Shanghai) and in 1865 it was already the main arsenal of the country when it moved to Nanjing. The continuous instability of the zone caused the growth of the company. Between 1894 and 1895 there was the First Sin-Japanese War. With her the military media were reinforced and although Japan defeated China, in 1899 it was estimated that 1,700 people worked for the arsenal that was ultimately the origin of Changan. The company ended up surviving the fall of the Qing dynasty and with the Second Sino-Japanese war, Arsenal was transferred from Nanjing to Chongqing for fear that after the fall of Shanghai the weapons could fall into the hands of the Japanese. That company, which had changed its name again to adopt that of The 21st Arsenal, also remained standing with the Foundation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong. In fact, this was renamed The State-Owned Factory 456. That is, it was reflected in the name that the company was owned by the Chinese state. That is when the company expands its production and a subsidiary called Chongqing Changan Automobile Company. That subsidiary is responsible for carrying out the Changjiang Type 46. Considered the first Chinese production car, it leaves the doors of the factory on April 5, 1958 and remained unalterable until 1959. The car was evidently a military vehicle. It was, in fact, a copy of the Jeep Willysthe classic American military vehicle that has remained in the collective imaginary after World War II. The original model was devised by Willys-Overland and quickly demonstrated its qualities in the field with its permanent 4×4 traction and because its hardness and agility. Taking only the essentials, the car weighed just over a ton and passed over any land. In the Chinese case, production was poor At first (only 36 units in the first year) as a result of a country that dragged an important technological development. But the production remained stable until 1963 and, little by little, more than 1.1000 units came out of the assembly lines. He Changjiang Type 46 He had the capacity to transfer six people, with a 2.2 -liter four -cylinder engine. Its weight was 1,150 kg and its consumption was not very high for the time, with about 13.7 l/100 km. Its maximum speed was 115 km/h. Although the production started hesitantly, little by little the car was making a hole to the point that in 1963 the Chongqing facilities are transferred to Peking by order of the Chinese state. The transfer forced the production to stop as it was decided to disassemble the installation completely and take it to the new city, instead of building a directly there. We talk about transferring a factory over almost 1800 kilometers that separate both cities. Already in Beijing, Changan continued manufacturing military vehicles until In the 80s signs an agreement with Suzuki And it enters the Personal vehicles and the commercial transfer of goods or people with minibuses. The turn would later deepen Companies like Ford and Mazda when both companies shared developments. This last collaboration has remained until today and is the architect that today we can see the Mazda 6ea car that was born to the Chinese public initially fruit of collaboration between Japanese and Changan and that we will finally see on European soil very soon. Photo | CHANGAN and Mazda In Xataka | Family and friends keep asking me if “it is worth buying a Chinese car.” This is my answer

Xiaomi wants to revolutionize the Chinese market of the electric car and its next goal is not Tesla. They are your registration

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Although they have become a reference in recent years, China has been investing in all kinds of measures to promote the use of the electric car. In recent months we have explained how The supply chain dominate with iron of batteries or how the State has sustained sales applying constant purchase subsidies. But this strategy has been transversal and has also tried to take into account even the slightest detail. One of them, for example, was to give Specific registrations to new energy cars, as they are known in the country to plug -in and electric hybrids. These tuitions are green. As in Spain with the environmental badge of the DGT, These special registrations that began to sell in 2016 They served to quickly identify electric cars or plug -in hybrids. The measure worked quickly because it had a lot of practical and some image. In the first place because some cities began to impose restrictions on blue enrollment cars. That is, all those who were not new energy vehicles. For example, In Beijing Combustion vehicles were forbidden to circulate one day a week to reduce pollution. Vehicles with green registrations were released and to facilitate the identification, the use of the new registration was essential. At the same time, In Shanghaiwhere traffic was hell, the authorities began to restrict the delivery of new registrations with lotteries. But there was another way to get a car: Green enrollment. Because, indeed, if you got with a new energy car you could skip this procedure. And, of course, green registration also had some image. In China it was understood that if you had a green registration in your car it was because You were committed to the environment. As the prices of electric cars could be low, it was not so much a status symbol but it did serve to project an image of a person that embraces the cleaner technologies of the moment. Now, Xiaomi is committed to changing the rules. More and more personalization Once the electric car has gained ground, the use of green registration has lost some sense. At least this is what Lei Jun believes that has proposed a substantial change in the enrollment plates of electric cars. In addition to being the founder of Xiaomi, Lei Jun is also a congressman in the National Congress of the People In China since 2013. His figure has been re -elected on several occasions to participate in this body that the Chinese Communist Party uses to carry out future laws and regulations. Every year, the National Congress of the People meets and the congressmen propose the New laws or the modification of the existing ones. During a period that usually reaches two weeks, the proposals are debated for a subsequent application if the case is. This year, Lei Jun has taken the floor to propose changes in regulation of vehicles and the application of artificial intelligence in their operation. In his speech, Lei Jun has proposed five modifications that You can see in this link. Among them, it encourages to implement changes to develop systems of Autonomous Level 3 and 4 Driving. That is, vehicles circulate for themselves without human attention. In addition, it is committed to investing in a greater production of electric cars and their batteries or facilitating the use of artificial intelligence in them. But what has caught attention is your proposal to change the current registration of new energy vehicles. Lei Jun points out that intelligent enrollment can be incorporated that facilitate traffic management, abandoning current plates. That is, take advantage of digital functions in them. And, taking advantage of this new functionality, it is committed to eliminating the obligation that the registration of new energy cars are green. He points out that vehicles are increasingly interested in the personalization of their cars and that they want to body color does not unravel with registrationas is currently. The interest of buyers in customizing cars has been growing in the Asian country. In Speedhuntersspecialized in vehicle modificationsexplained that In 2023 they had already been surprised With Chinese interest in personalized vehicles. Until now, the restrictions to apply changes in cars have been iron but as they point out in their article, which they accompany with photos, more and more Chinese clients are interested in a culture of customization similar to the Japanese or what we knew here as we knew here as Tunning In the early 2000s. Little by little, customization has been pending among customers to the point that some televisions sell as a disruptive element The factories in which cars are personalized customer taste. The business has reached such a point that The United States Department of Commerce He points out that “the China customization and modification market was valued at 10 billion US dollars in 2021 and can reach 31.2 billion dollars by 2025”. The reality is that in recent years customization in the car market has shot. The state impulse To continue selling cars when in 2022 production had stopped as a consequence of COVID-19 was seen as a bet in this regard. In fact, There are already specific fairs in which only individual modifications are treated for cars. Changing the green of the license plate is, without a doubt, one more step to boost customization in vehicles. A business that has been growing over the years and is especially interesting for companies offered by the most expensive vehicles on the market. In fact, among the richest The purchase of individuals manufactured individually has been popularizedwith the aim of having a unique car that meets all its demands. Photo | S5A-0043 and China News Service In Xataka | I have seen the Xiaomi electric car: SU7 is the clear proof of the brand’s future

Hesai was an unknown Chinese giant in Europe. His alliance with Mercedes is about to change everything

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When we talk about large car manufacturers we can fall into the error of thinking about a vehicle as a whole that Renault, BMW, Citroën or any of the Chinese brands that intend to take a place in Europe. But nothing is further from reality. A car is the sum of many small parts. Specific parts of a combustion engine, braking systems, suspensions, seats … Many of those parts, so evident, are not manufactured or produced by large vehicle manufacturers. Bosch, Recaro or Brembo will sound, for example. In fact, Chinese manufacturers who are arriving in Europe or point to it, like Xiaomi, have not hesitated to associate (and show off this) with great more than recognized suppliers in the car market. In their presentations, Byd or Xiaomi have highlighted the role played by companies such as The aforementioned Brembo in the components that ride in their cars. It serves to gain credibility to the most skeptical. But when talking about another type of technology it is Europe that looks at China. Byd, for example, get great prices in its vehicles because It bases its production on verticalitymanufacturing their own batteries but also their own semiconductors or heat pumps. Among that “other type of technology” we can put Hesai. The Chinese company is the largest laser sensor producer. And now he has reached an agreement with Mercedes. From China to your Mercedes As vehicles have gained acting, they have also been growing in complexity. Although Tesla has made it clear that he wants to base all his autonomous driving functions or, as little, for driving in the use of software, at the moment it is still clear that cars armed with laser sensors and other radars are still safer and more effective. To achieve the best result, Mercedes has reached an agreement with Hesai, which triggers its possibilities to grow economically and reach new agreements with other companies explain in South China Morning Post. And it is that Hesai will supply radars lidar to the German company to map with better accuracy what their cars are around. In Reuters They explain that the decision has been weighed for months by the German company but, finally, costs have been imposed on any other value. Keep in mind that the sensors supplied by Hesai may not be used in Mercedes cars that are sold in the United States from 2029 if the intentions of Prohibit the sale of every car with Chinese pieces in the country. The use of Lidar sensors It is especially delicate in vehicles for several reasons. This component is always in operation, mapping everything around. It emits beams of light that bounce in an object and are received again by the vehicle. Next to the GPS positioning and the speed at which they advance, they create a three -dimensional map that takes advantage of thousands or millions of calculations per second. This has several implications that should be remembered. The use of this type of sensor allows a car to map with maximum exactly what it has around, something that they want to limit from the United States and China in the LUCK OF COLD WAR that both countries are freeing. In the United States they intend to Prohibit the sale of every car that uses Chinese software. In China, cars that want to use driving aid functions or Autonomous drivingwhich force the land to map, have to receive the approval of the government. A good that passes, evidently, to associate with a Chinese manufacturer. But, in addition, Lidar sensors are very expensive. The savings obtained in his commission to Hesai would have inclined the balance in favor of the Chinese company by Mercedes, they explain in Reuters. And it is that a vehicle can offer Semi -automated driving systems Without the use of these pieces but it is shown that, for the moment, The use of Lidar makes the difference. Although it may be more unknown in Europe, Hesai Group is a giant that is already present in 37% of vehicles that are assembled in the world, according to South China Morning Post. The company provides this type of giant sensors such as the Geely group (owner of Volvo or Polestar) and Li Auto, one of the great Chinese startups of recent years and employs more than 1,000 people, according to Electrek. But just as it happens to Chinese automotive themselves, Hesai is trying to open up to the rest of the world. With the local market already covered, they need to continue opening new trade agreements and that of Mercedes can be just the first, according to South China Morning Post. In the middle they point out that this agreement opens the door to multiply the current economic performance of the company by 14 times. Despite being present in almost four out of 10 vehicles that are sold worldwide (Only in February They already supplied pieces to 20 different brands and 120 models), the company gave brief benefits last year (14 million yuan, about 1.8 million euros in 2024) and He came out of losses of more than 241 million yuan (30.5 million euros) of the previous year. However, by 2025 they already expect net benefits of between 200 and 350 million yuan (between 25 and 44 million euros) achieved thanks to a scale production that supplies their products to about 15 million vehicles. That scale economy has allowed it Five years ago Each of them cost thousands of dollars. In view of a calculated expansion, the company, indicate in CNEVPOST Study to open its first floor to produce Lidar sensors outside China this year. Although it is not specified what places could be chosen, they do notice that they hope that the production of start in 2026. Photo | Hesai In Xataka | That Byd gives his autonomous driving is the first step: the real business will be to see a Madrid-Osasuna in the car

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