The Beijing-based company reported US$36 billion in first-quarter sales, beating analysts’ estimates.
About 20 million consumers on the mainland are expected to take part in the nationwide trade-in programme via JD.com’s platform.
Strong financial results by the two companies are the touchstones of the earnings growth that global investors are looking for, as they debate whether China’s post-pandemic recovery was a flash in the pan.
Confidence among Chinese consumers was showing ‘early signs of growth’, according to Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai, as the e-commerce giant expects business to be back on the growth path this year.
Alibaba net income rose 10 per cent to US$11 billion in the 2023 financial year, the first annual results since co-founder Joe Tsai took over as chairman.
A German court has ordered a sales ban on certain products from Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo and its smartphone subsidiary Motorola over a patent licensing dispute with US firm InterDigital.
The company says its LLM series, also known as Qwen, is used in industries ranging from consumer electronics to cars and online games, with clients that include Xiaomi.
The company’s flagship EH216-S autonomous flying vehicle took off in Abu Dhabi, as part of a plan to launch commercial flights in the UAE.
Eight main districts in Hangzhou including downtown Gongshu and Shangcheng, as well as Tonglu county, will be open for self-driving vehicle tests from May 1.
Vidu, launched by Beijing-based start-up Shengshu Technology and Tsinghua University, can generate 1080p videos as long as 16 seconds.
The city’s focus on China-made graphics processing units shows how mainland authorities are scrambling to build up computing resources, despite US export restrictions on advanced chips.
Henan, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, saw smartphone exports reach 6.65 million units in the first quarter, down 60.1 per cent from the same period last year.
The carmaker hopes to lure high-end Chinese consumers amid an escalating price war among some of its top rivals.
The Chinese tech giant already counts more than 100 carmakers and various automotive industry players as partners.
AliExpress, the international online retail platform of Alibaba, has been in talks to invest US$72.4 million to acquire a 5 per cent stake in Ably Corp.
The country remains the US tech giant’s main manufacturing base, home to over a third of the factories run by its disclosed suppliers.
Alibaba and Baidu are adding support for Meta’s Llama 3 large language model to their cloud computing platforms, after the technology used to train chatbots like ChatGPT was released last week.
China’s online retail market expanded in the first quarter, led by a rebound in sectors such as online travel as well as robust cross-border e-commerce trade, the country’s commerce ministry said on Friday.
Chinese regulatory authorities had ordered the removal of those two apps over national security concerns, according to Apple.
Baichuan, Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI and MiniMax are amassing billions of yuan of funding from domestic tech giants, venture capitalists and state-backed investors.
The grievances raised by the All India Mobile Retailers Association show the current precarious position of OnePlus’ business in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
At the Digital Silk Road Development Forum in Xian, Alibaba and Shein were praised for helping advance the country’s booming cross-border e-commerce sector.
Officials touted China’s progress in strengthening digital development initiatives for BRI members, calling for countries to work together and ‘oppose technological blockades’.
OnePlus, a sub-brand of Oppo, is facing a slew of complaints related to low profit margins and warranty claims in India.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, most of the top 30 investors that invested in Chinese unicorns are based within the country.
Hytera is appealing against US sanctions that bar it from selling two-way radio products globally as part of a years-long trade secrets dispute with Lenovo-backed Motorola.
Alibaba’s e-commerce platform AliExpress is betting on the European market by sponsoring Euro 2024, a move that comes after its rival Temu cracked the US market through ads that ran in the Super Bowl.
With China at odds with Western countries in data and cyberspace management, Beijing is trying to sway other parties to side with its vision.
Industry and information technology minister touts benefits of setting up R&D centres in China and teaming up with domestic firms, as inbound investments have slowed amid geopolitical tensions.
Tim Cook’s appearance at the China Development Forum, Beijing’s answer to the Davos summit, was the latest stop of his jam-packed trip in the world’s largest smartphone market, where Apple is struggling with declining sales.
