China Inc by BBW

Donald Trump wasn't too friendly to Chinese companies his first time as president, trying to ban TikTok and delist many firms from Wall Street. Can we expect more of the same in Trump 2.0? And a property developer called CIFI has advanced a plan to reorganize its offshore debt at lightning speed. Could this mark the start of new era for Chinese developers in resolving their huge foreign debt?

CICC has been fined for its lax due diligence with IPO candidate S2C. Does this signify the start of a new regulatory crackdown? And Huawei beta tests the latest rendition of its Harmony smartphone operating system. Does it have a realistic chance of competing with Apple's iOS and Android?

Horizon Robotics and WeRide have raised more than $1 billion combined in their IPOs in Hong Kong and New York. Does this mark the start of a new listing wave? And Alibaba looks to sell Sun Art, owner of the RT-Mart hypermarket chain. Does this mean Alibaba's "new retail" vision is dead?

China's car sales returned to growth in September, finally reversing six months of declines. Is this the start of a turnaround for the sputtering industry? And Delta will resume its L.A.-to-Shanghai flights after more than a three years suspension. Why are the US-to-China routes taking so long to come back?

China and the EU are trying to reach a deal to avoid EU tariffs on Chinese EVs. But is there too much distance between the two sides? And Indonesia asks Apple and Google to evict China's popular Temu e-commerce app from their local app stores. Will the two app store giants comply?

China's securities regulator puts the brakes on new bubble tea IPOs in Hong Kong. Is this China's latest step to assert its authority over the former British colony? And former drug making highflyer Ascletis has become revenue-less after its earlier drugs fizzled. Now the company is hoping to revive its fortunes with a new weight-loss drug from the same class as Ozempic.

Uber will offer WeRide robotaxi services starting in the UAE. Is this a big deal, or mostly symbolic? And Starbucks names a new China CEO to revive its flagging local operation. Will that be enough to tackle the challenge from low-price companies like Luckin and Cotti?

PwC has received a record fine in China for lapses in its audits of failed developer Evergrande. Is this the end of the road for PwC in China? And EV battery system maker Octillion finds new life in India after its biggest China customer hits the skids. Is this the road to the future for Chinese EV component makers?

The US closes a loophole that allowed Temu and Shein to import goods duty-free. How will this impact their sales? And sales of Chinese EVs passed gas-powered cars for a second straight month in August. Has the EV era finally arrived?

Commercial planemaker Comac has delivered its first C919 jets to China Southern and Air China. When will foreign airlines start to consider buying these challengers to Boeing and Airbus? And sanitary products maker Hengan sees a big future in adult disposable diapers as China's population ages. But will consumers really consider such a product?