Weekly Investment Overview
Largest Humanoid Robot Order
MiniMax Financing
Methanol Hydrogen Funding
Xpeng AeroHT Funding
Major Auto Investment
China's investment market this week displayed diverse vitality, particularly in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, new energy, intelligent manufacturing, and biotechnology, with multiple landmark investment events emerging.
Investment Highlights
The AI sector continues to be an investment hotspot with MiniMax securing nearly $300 million in new funding at a valuation exceeding $4 billion. Its breakthroughs in model development and video generation tools demonstrate the competitive strength of Chinese AI enterprises on the international stage. Similarly, Zhongshu Ruizhi's 200 million yuan Series A+ financing set a record for B2B AI Agent investments in China, indicating strong capital expectations for AI Agent technology in enterprise applications.
In the new energy and intelligent mobility sector, Geely's methanol hydrogen technology subsidiary completed over $200 million in third-round financing, while Zhuoyu Technology (formerly DJI Automotive) is in strategic investment discussions with FAW exceeding $800 million. These investments demonstrate China's continued strategic layout and technological accumulation in new energy, intelligent driving, and future transportation methods, which are accelerating toward commercialization.
The intelligent manufacturing breakthrough is particularly noteworthy with UBTECH's record-setting 90.51 million yuan robot order, marking not only a major milestone for the company but also signaling a critical step forward in the commercial application of humanoid robots in industrial settings. Combined with UBTECH's plan to deliver 500 industrial humanoid robots this year, it's evident that market demand for humanoid robots is rapidly growing.
China Market & Policy Weekly Update
GDP Growth H1 2025
High-tech Manufacturing Growth
Yarlung Zangbo River Project
This week, China's market demonstrated positive policy direction and development trends across multiple sectors, especially in technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and economic growth stability.
Policy Analysis
Economic data for the first half of 2025 reveals China's continued economic resilience and steady growth trajectory. The 5.3% GDP growth exceeds market expectations, with industrial production showing particularly strong momentum at 6.4% growth. The standout performance of equipment manufacturing (10.2%) and high-tech manufacturing (9.5%) demonstrates that China's industrial upgrading and technological transformation are yielding tangible results. However, experts note that export delivery values account for nearly 40% of China's industrial output, suggesting industrial production momentum may face headwinds in the second half of the year. Nevertheless, ongoing growth stability policies will provide support for steady industrial growth.
The establishment of Yaja Group and the launch of the Yarlung Zangbo River downstream hydropower project represents a significant strategic move in China's energy security planning. With a massive investment of approximately ¥1.2 trillion, this project not only aims to enhance national energy security but also to drive local economic development. The five cascade hydropower stations will serve both power transmission and local needs in Tibet, aligning with China's dual goals of energy transformation and regional development.
The adjustment to the ultra-luxury car consumption tax policy reflects China's efforts to guide reasonable consumption and promote market fairness. By lowering the threshold from ¥1.3 million to ¥900,000 and including new energy vehicles in the tax scope, the government is signaling its intention to moderate conspicuous consumption while also ensuring that high-end new energy vehicles are subject to similar tax treatment as their traditional counterparts. This policy change will likely impact pricing strategies for luxury car manufacturers operating in China, particularly those in the premium and ultra-luxury segments.
The market focus on artificial intelligence computing power represents a significant shift in global competitive dynamics. With AI chip giant NVIDIA's market value exceeding $4 trillion for the first time, becoming the world's highest-valued tech company, the importance of AI infrastructure is increasingly evident. Projections indicate that China's AI chip market scale will exceed 1.3 trillion yuan by 2030, while AI-related industries could reach a value of $1.4 trillion. This creates both challenges and opportunities for China's domestic chip industry, which faces strong demand but still struggles with sufficient production capacity for high-end AI chips.
The Central Government's emphasis on urban renewal at the Fifth Central Urban Work Conference signals an important strategic shift from traditional incremental development models toward urban regeneration. The policy directive to accelerate the renovation of urban villages and dilapidated housing while promoting new real estate development models will likely stimulate significant investment in urban infrastructure, smart city solutions, and green building technologies. This urban renewal focus aligns with China's broader goals of achieving high-quality development and improving residents' living environments.
Tech Market Overview
This week, China's market in technology, consumer, and industrial sectors displayed diversified development trends, with technological innovation and market competition emerging as the two main themes. In technology products, new releases in phones, wearables, and tablets were abundant, with system optimization and AI functions as key highlights.
First Chinese ILS System
Green Computing Power
Global AI Benchmark
Tech Frontiers
In the artificial intelligence field, Chinese enterprises and research institutions have made significant progress. The GAC Group and Huawei's "AI-empowered automotive industry intelligent manufacturing" solution was selected as a global benchmark case at the ITU AI for Good Global Summit 2025. Through a "1+3+3+N" unified architecture, they achieved notable progress across intelligent R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain domains, constructing over 4,000 special scenarios in intelligent driving simulation with 98% scenario coverage. This demonstrates China's growing capability to integrate AI technologies into traditional manufacturing processes, creating substantial efficiency improvements.
The infrastructure and networking achievements are equally impressive. China Unicom announced the world's longest-distance large model heterogeneous mixed training result, with a cross-domain distance exceeding 1,500 kilometers and computing power loss less than 5%. Meanwhile, Qinghai Province's green computing power has reached 15,000 PFLOPS, a nearly 40-fold increase from 370 PFLOPS at the beginning of 2024. As China's first green computing-electricity coordination pilot province, Qinghai's clean energy and new energy installation proportions have reached 94.6% and 70% respectively, with green electricity accounting for 77% of social electricity consumption.
In robotics and intelligent manufacturing, Unitree Technology has completed A-share IPO coaching registration in Zhejiang, officially moving toward an IPO. The company specializes in quadruped and humanoid robot development and has received investments from Meituan, Tencent, and Alibaba, with a valuation exceeding 10 billion yuan. Its quadruped robot sales account for 60-70% of the global market, and its humanoid robot business covers over 50 countries and regions worldwide, illustrating China's leading position in robotics technology.
Trending Tech Keywords
Selected News
GAC-Huawei AI Manufacturing Solution Selected as Global Benchmark Case
The "AI-empowered automotive industry intelligent manufacturing" solution developed through collaboration between GAC Group and Huawei was selected as a global benchmark case at the ITU AI for Good Global Summit 2025. Through a "1+3+3+N" unified architecture, the solution has achieved significant progress across intelligent R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain domains, including the construction of over 4,000 special scenarios in intelligent driving simulation with 98% scenario coverage, and the use of computer vision technology to improve quality inspection efficiency, with intelligent dynamic scheduling reducing scheduling time by 60%.
China's First Domestic Instrument Landing System Receives Certification
The Civil Aviation Administration of China granted the first temporary usage license for the domestically-produced instrument landing system ILS900 to Tianjin 764 Communication Navigation Technology Co., Ltd., marking China's complete independence from imported air traffic management core equipment. The system features full digitalization and intelligent operation and maintenance capabilities based on digital twins, enhancing flight safety and efficiency and laying a foundation for China's transportation powerhouse strategy.
Unitree Technology Completes IPO Coaching Registration
Unitree Technology has completed A-share IPO coaching registration with the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau, officially moving toward an IPO. The company specializes in quadruped and humanoid robot development and has received investments from Meituan, Tencent, and Alibaba, with a valuation exceeding 10 billion yuan and annual revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan with continued profitability. Its quadruped robot sales account for 60-70% of the global market, and its humanoid robot business covers over 50 countries and regions worldwide.
China's First Commercial Fusion Device Achieves Plasma Ignition
Hanhai Jucan (Chengdu) Technology Co., Ltd. announced that its independently developed HHMAX-901, China's first commercialized direct linear field-reversed configuration fusion device, successfully achieved plasma ignition, marking a major breakthrough in China's exploration of controlled fusion commercialization. Compared to traditional tokamak devices, this technology offers lower costs, faster iteration speeds, and higher energy density, with plans to leverage neutron technology for cancer treatment and nuclear waste processing applications.
HKUST Develops AI Model That Reduces Radiation Exposure by 99%
A research team from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has successfully developed a new AI model that can quickly build high-quality 3D skeletal and organ images with just 2-4 X-rays, reducing radiation exposure by up to 99% compared to traditional CT scans. The technology can generate high-definition 3D images within 1 minute, significantly reducing patient radiation risk, medical costs, and waiting times, and is planned for application in surgical planning and personalized implant development, with expected implementation in Hong Kong public hospitals next year.
UBTECH Wins Record ¥90.51 Million Robot Equipment Order
UBTECH Technologies successfully won a robot equipment procurement project worth ¥90.51 million from Miyi (Shanghai) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., becoming the largest order amount for any global humanoid robot company.
Geely's Methanol Hydrogen Technology Completes Over $200 Million Financing
Methanol hydrogen technology under Geely Remote New Energy announced the completion of its third round of financing with funding exceeding $200 million, led by Hangzhou High-tech Financial Investment, with strategic partners including Xiangtan Electrochemical Industrial Investment and Nanxun Industrial Fund. The funds will primarily be used for methanol hydrogen product technology development and ecosystem construction.
Fudan and Peking Universities Achieve Breakthrough in Hydrogen Separation Technology
Research teams from Fudan University's Future Energy Advanced Research Institute and Peking University successfully developed a new catalytic technology that achieves direct separation and storage integration of industrial crude hydrogen for the first time. The related results were published in Nature Energy, significantly reducing energy consumption and equipment investment.
Korean Investors Show Strong Interest in Chinese Tech and New Energy Stocks
According to data from Korea Securities Depository, as of July 17, China became the second favorite overseas market for Korean investors, with Xiaomi Group-W, BYD Company, and CATL receiving the highest investment interest, demonstrating strong enthusiasm for China's technology and new energy industries.
Luxshare Robot Headquarters Project Breaks Ground with ¥5 Billion Investment
The Luxshare Robot headquarters base project held a groundbreaking ceremony in Changshu with a total investment of ¥5 billion. The project is expected to be completed and put into production by the end of this year, with an annual output value of ¥10 billion upon reaching full capacity, dedicated to promoting innovation and upgrading of the intelligent robot industry.
MiniMax Completes Nearly $300 Million Financing Round
MiniMax has substantially completed a new round of financing worth nearly $300 million, with the company's valuation exceeding $4 billion. Participants in this round include listed companies, crossover funds, and large state-owned capital platforms such as Shanghai State Capital, marking MiniMax's rapid rise in the global AI sector.
Zhuoyu Technology and FAW Discuss Strategic Investment Exceeding $800 Million
Zhuoyu Technology (formerly DJI Automotive) and China FAW are discussing a strategic investment transaction exceeding $800 million (approximately ¥57.49 billion), with a post-investment valuation of over ¥10 billion.
Kaimi BioPharma Completes Nearly ¥170 Million Pre-A Round
Kaimi BioPharma (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a nearly ¥170 million Pre-A round of financing. The funds will be used for global early clinical development of core products SN3001 (prostate cancer therapeutic vaccine) and SN2001 (chronic hepatitis B immunotherapy vaccine).
Pony.ai and Uber Establish World's Largest Autonomous Driving Partnership
Pony.ai and Uber reached an unprecedented cooperation agreement to deploy thousands of Robotaxis globally, becoming the world's largest autonomous driving partnership. The first batch of vehicles is expected to be deployed by the end of this year, primarily focusing on Asian and Middle Eastern markets.
Xpeng AeroHT Completes $250 Million Series B Financing
Xpeng AeroHT officially completed a $250 million Series B financing round, consolidating its position as Asia's largest flying car company. The funding will focus on supporting flying car research and development, scale production, and commercialization processes.
Experts Predict Industrial Production May Slow in Second Half
Experts have pointed out that export delivery values account for nearly 40% of China's industrial output, suggesting industrial production momentum may face headwinds in the second half of the year with potential slowing growth. However, ongoing growth stability policies will provide support for steady industrial growth. In the first half of 2025, above-scale industrial added value increased by 6.4% year-on-year, with June's growth rate reaching but not exceeding 6.8%.
Yaja Group Officially Established for Major Hydropower Project
Yaja Group Co., Ltd. has been officially established as the 22nd central enterprise under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, primarily responsible for the downstream hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo River with a total investment of approximately ¥1.2 trillion. The project will build five cascade hydropower stations focused on power transmission outside Tibet and local use needs within the region.
Central Guidance Group Investigates New Energy Vehicle Competition
The Central Fourth Guidance Group visited the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers to research "comprehensively rectifying irrational competition issues in the new energy vehicle industry," holding discussions with executives from BAIC Group, BYD Group, and other companies. The group emphasized promoting high-quality development of the new energy vehicle industry, establishing long-term governance mechanisms, and fostering regulated competition.
Luxury Car Consumption Tax Threshold Lowered to ¥900,000
The Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration have issued the "Announcement on Adjusting the Consumption Tax Policy for Ultra-Luxury Cars," changing the ultra-luxury car tax threshold from ¥1.3 million (excluding VAT) to ¥900,000 per vehicle, and including new energy vehicles in the scope. This policy, effective from July 20, 2025, imposes a 10% consumption tax on ultra-luxury cars at the retail level that are priced above ¥900,000.
First Half 2025 Economic Data Shows Steady Growth
The National Bureau of Statistics has released data showing that China's GDP grew by 5.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, with second-quarter growth at 5.2%. Above-scale industrial added value increased by 6.4% year-on-year in the first half, with equipment manufacturing growing by 10.2% and high-tech manufacturing up by 9.5%. National fixed asset investment rose 2.8% year-on-year, with infrastructure and manufacturing investment growing by 4.6% and 7.5% respectively.