Chinese apps return to the Indian market; The UAE invests $40 billion in Italy; The US threatens to impose an additional 10% tariff.

In 2025, the global economic and trade landscape has undergone a profound restructuring. Chinese enterprises have demonstrated strong strategic determination and innovative vitality. Private enterprises have consolidated their position as the "main force" in foreign trade, achieving market breakthroughs in the field of high-tech products. In the face of the US tariff threats, China has firmly counterattacked, providing policy support for enterprises going global.

Chinese enterprises are still actively exploring overseas markets. Some Chinese apps have returned to India. Cainiao's overseas warehouses, XPeng Motors, 1688overseas, etc. are helping enterprises go global with innovative models. Meanwhile, on the fifth day of DeepSeek's open-source week, it announced the open-source of 3FS. Meta plans to invest $200 billion to build a computing power fortress. OpenAI announced the launch of the Deep Research function, highlighting that the "technological卡位战" in the global industrial chain has reached a white-hot stage.

Let's read this week's news about Chinese enterprises going global and learn about the latest trends.

In 2024, the imports and exports of private enterprises in China reached 24.33 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%

It is learned from the General Administration of Customs that in 2024, the activity of foreign trade enterprises in China continued to increase, and the number of enterprises with actual import and export performance reached a record high. Among them, the imports and exports of private enterprises reached 24.33 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%, and their share in China's total foreign trade value continued to rise to 55.5%. In addition, state-owned enterprises continued to play the role of a "stabilizer" in maintaining the stable operation of the economy and the market. Their imports and exports reached 6.61 trillion yuan, playing an important role in the import of bulk commodities such as grain and energy. (CCTV News)

The Chinese Foreign Ministry responds to the US threat of imposing an additional 10% tariff: China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate interests

At the regular press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on February 28, a reporter asked about the US threat of imposing an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products exported to the US. In response, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said that the US has once again used the fentanyl issue as an excuse to threaten to impose tariffs on Chinese products exported to the US. China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to this. China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate interests. Lin Jian emphasized that trade wars and tariff wars have no winners. The US's unilateral tariff hikes seriously violate WTO rules and damage the interests of both countries and the world. China urges the US to correct its wrong practices and return to the right track of resolving respective concerns through equal consultations. (CCTV News)

Some Chinese apps have returned to the Indian market, but TikTok is not on the list

According to recent reports from Indian media, at least 36 Chinese apps have quietly returned to the Indian market, and users can download them from the local Apple App Store and Google Play. These Chinese apps that have returned to the Indian market include Mango TV, Youku Video, SHEIN, Tantan, etc. However, some of these apps have changed their names or logos, and the ownership of some apps has also changed. But the most concerned app, TikTok, is not on the list of apps returning to the Indian market. Generally speaking, in recent years, the level of network infrastructure and the richness of applications in India have been accelerating, and the scale of the digital consumer market has been continuously expanding. For Chinese apps, the Indian market is still an attractive "cake". (IT Times)

The UAE promises to invest $40 billion in Italy

On February 24 local time, the UAE and Italy held a bilateral summit in Rome. According to the joint statement, the UAE promised to invest $40 billion in key sectors in Italy. The two sides also announced the signing of more than 40 new agreements. (Jiemian News)

The US plans to introduce a charging policy for Chinese ships

According to Reuters, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed to charge a fee of up to $1.5 million for Chinese-made ships entering US ports as part of its investigation into China's growing "dominance" in the global shipbuilding, maritime, and logistics sectors. If the proposal to levy a maritime shipping service fee is passed, cross-border sellers will face the problem of rising logistics costs. Shipping companies may pass on the costs to customers, and sellers will have to bear higher freight rates, squeezing their profit margins. (Reuters)

In 2025, 52% of North American consumers will browse or purchase products through social media platforms

Social commerce is gradually changing the way consumers discover, engage with, and purchase brands. In 2024, about 21% of global shoppers made direct purchases through social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. In North America, this proportion rose to 25%, while in Europe it was 18%. It is estimated that by 2025, 49% of global consumers will browse or purchase products through social media platforms, with the proportions in North America and Europe reaching 52% and 47% respectively. (Yien)

The social media boom has pushed the number of influencers in Thailand to 3 million

According to the latest data from the Thai advertising and marketing company Media Intelligence Group, the number of influencers in Thailand is expected to increase from 2 million last year to 3 million this year, accounting for about 5% of the total population. The data shows that the Thai digital media market is expected to grow by 15% this year, with a market share of about 38 billion Thai baht (about S$1.513 billion). Among them, advertising expenses are an important factor driving the development of this industry. (Yien)

In 2024, the online shopping penetration rate in the EU reached 77%, with Ireland, the Netherlands, and Denmark leading the way

The latest data from Eurostat shows that in 2024, 77% of EU Internet users had purchased or ordered goods or services online. Among them, consumers in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Denmark were the most active, with online shopping penetration rates as high as 96%, 94%, and 91% respectively, far exceeding the EU average. However, the online shopping performance of some countries was relatively lagging. Bulgaria ranked last in the EU with an online shopping proportion of 57%. This data reflects the significant differences in the acceptance of online shopping among EU countries and also shows the continuous growth trend of digital consumption in Europe. (Eurostat)

Qatar establishes a $1 billion "fund of funds" to attract venture capital fund managers

The Qatar Investment Authority is using its assets of over $500 billion to attract venture capital firms to this hydrocarbon-rich country. Currently, Qatar hopes to reduce its high dependence on the dominant oil and gas industry and achieve diversification. The country's sovereign wealth fund has established a $1 billion project called the "fund of funds", which will focus on investing in international and regional venture capital funds and strengthening investments in sectors such as technology and healthcare. The above-mentioned $1 billion "fund of funds" project has accepted the first batch of venture capital fund managers. (Sina Finance)

On the fifth day of DeepSeek's open-source week: open-source of 3FS

On February 28, on the fifth day of DeepSeek's open-source week, it officially announced the open-source of 3FS, a propeller for full data access in DeepSeek. It is reported that the Fire-Flyer File System (3FS) is a parallel file system that supports data preprocessing for training, dataset loading, checkpoint saving/loading, vector embedding search in the inference stage, and KVCache lookup in the V3/R1 version. (Jiemian News)

Apple is reported to have reached an agreement with the Indonesian government, and a $1 billion investment has finally led to the lifting of the iPhone ban

According to media reports, people familiar with the matter said that the Indonesian government and US tech giant Apple have reached an agreement on the terms for lifting the country's ban on the iPhone 16, which is expected to end this five-month standoff. The people familiar with the matter revealed that Apple has promised to increase its investment in Indonesia to $1 billion. The Ministry of Industry, which is responsible for maintaining the ban, will sign a memorandum of agreement with Apple as soon as this week. A press conference will also be held in the future. The ministry plans to issue a license to Apple allowing the sale of the iPhone 16 as soon as possible. In October last year, the Indonesian Ministry of Industry announced a ban on the sale of the iPhone 16, citing Apple's failure to fulfill its investment commitment for the "domestic component level" certification requirement. (Cailian Press)

OpenAI announces the launch of the Deep Research function for Plus and other users

OpenAI announced today that it will launch the Deep Research function for all ChatGPT Plus, Team, Edu, and Enterprise users. According to OpenAI's announcement, these users will receive 10 Deep Research queries per month, while Pro users will receive 120 queries per month. (Yicai Global)

Cainiao's overseas warehouses launch eight guarantee measures to help brands go global

On February 25, at a cross-border event in Shenzhen, Cainiao's overseas warehouses announced eight guarantee measures for merchants to help cross-border enterprises start the new year with a booming start. It is reported that Cainiao's overseas warehouses will focus on popular categories for going global, such as large furniture, auto parts, smart home appliances, and 3D printers. Through full-link supply chain services combined with industry-specific solutions, as well as benefits such as freight subsidies, free warehousing rent, and rapid compensation, they will provide multiple guarantees for enterprises going global. In addition, in 2025, Cainiao's overseas warehouses will increase their investment in key markets such as Europe and the United States, upgrade their local warehousing and distribution service capabilities, and use digital and intelligent technologies to continuously reduce costs and improve efficiency for Chinese brands going global. (36Kr)

XPeng Motors announces an acceleration of its globalization process, aiming to be among the top three global new energy vehicle exporters by 2027

According to a post on XPeng Motors' official Weibo account on February 24, XPeng Motors announced an acceleration of its globalization process and put forward a leading strategic direction in the global market: to cover 60 countries and regions by 2025, aim to be among the top three global new energy vehicle exporters by 2027, and achieve half of its sales from overseas markets by 2033; in 2025, Turing AI intelligent driving will start global adaptation, bringing China's decade-long intelligent driving experience to the world, and the ultra-fast charging network will start global layout. (Jiemian News)

Meta plans to spend $200 billion on a new data center

This week, people familiar with the matter revealed that Meta is in talks to build a new data center campus for its artificial intelligence business, with a potential investment of more than $200 billion. This may also indicate that Zuckerberg may spare no expense to catch up with its competitor OpenAI, which has launched a joint venture with SoftBank and plans to invest $500 billion in building a new AI data center within four years. (Cailian Press)

1688 is about to launch the cross-border e-commerce platform "1688overseas"

According to sources, 1688 is about to launch the cross-border e-commerce platform "1688overseas". It is reported that the target users of "1688overseas" are small and medium-sized B-side buyers overseas, cross-border e-commerce sellers, and local retailers. The platform will initially conduct trial runs in Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and the global site. In 2025, it plans to enter 15 overseas countries and regions. (Yien)

On AliExpress, the sales of projectors increased by more than 100% year-on-year in 2024, and the growth rate in many European and American countries exceeded 200%

In 2024, the sales of projectors on AliExpress increased by more than 100% year-on-year, and the growth rate in many European and American countries exceeded 200%. Mid - to high - end products such as ultra - short - throw, 4K high - definition, and smart voice accounted for nearly half of the total. Among them, Magcubic from Shenzhen, an unknown brand before, has rushed into the top 10 in global shipments, achieving a single - day sales volume of 20,000 units of a single product and a monthly revenue of nearly $10 million. It is understood that Magcubic's success has attracted more and more high - end projector brands to show interest in AliExpress, and several well - known projector brands are in talks for official settlement. (36Kr)

Multiple financial institutions have introduced new measures to increase financial support for foreign trade enterprises

Multiple financial institutions such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Bank of China have recently introduced new measures to increase financial support for foreign trade enterprises. The People's Bank of China, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and other departments have also stated that they will optimize policy arrangements to reduce the capital settlement costs of foreign trade enterprises. (CCTV News)

The number of foreigners entering China visa - free doubled in 2024

The Statistical Communique on the 2024 National Economic and Social Development released by the National Bureau of Statistics on the 28th shows that in 2024, 20.12 million foreigners entered China visa - free, a year - on - year increase of 112.3%. (Xinhua News Agency)

BMW announces that its Munich plant will be fully electrified by 2027

BMW Group announced at a press conference at its Munich plant in Germany on the 27th that the plant will be fully transformed into a pure - electric vehicle production base by 2027. Currently, it is accelerating the production preparation for the "New Generation" electric vehicle models and plans to officially start production in the summer of 2026. (Cailian Press)

China's mobile phone exports increased for the first time in eight years in 2024

According to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, as per the statistics of the General Administration of Customs, China exported 814 million mobile phones in 2024, a year - on - year increase of 1.5%. This is the first positive growth after eight consecutive years of decline since the peak of 1.343 billion units exported in 2015, and the export volume has remained above 800 million units for three consecutive years. The export value of mobile phones decreased by 3.1% year - on - year to $134.36 billion, accounting for 3.8% of China's total goods export value, which is significantly lower than the peak of 5.7% in 2018. (Jiemian News)

The International Service Center for Chinese Enterprises will hold the "Qiantang - Japan Bilateral Investment Salon Event". It has specially invited representatives from the International Department of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Osaka Foreign Enterprise Investment Promotion Center to interpret the Japanese market environment and investment opportunities. Excellent enterprises going global to Japan such as Unitree Technology and Prime Particle will also attend. The event will focus on key issues such as the latest trends, investment opportunities, industrial cooperation and development, and pain points in local market entry for enterprises going global to Japan in 2025. Unitree Technology's robot products will also be on display at the event!

Event Time: March 6, 2025

Event Venue: Jianghai Hall, Qiantang Junlan Hotel, Hangzhou

                 (Zhihuigu, Yipeng Street, Qiantang District, Hangzhou)

Distinguished Guests: The event has invited representatives from the International Department of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Osaka Foreign Enterprise Investment Promotion Center, who have first - hand official information about the Japanese market and will communicate face - to - face with participants.

Trend Interpretation: Representatives from multiple professional service providers for enterprises going global will provide the latest interpretations on issues such as the Japanese market environment, industrial policies, and legal compliance, helping businesses seize market opportunities.

Case Sharing: Prime Particle, a cross - border eyewear DTC platform, and Eisen Intelligence, an intelligent pet brand, will share their successful experiences of going global on - site, communicate face - to - face with potential partners, expand business networks, and explore cooperation opportunities.

Welcome to Register

Enterprise representatives who are interested in participating in the event

Please fill in the registration questionnaire before 0:00 on March 6, 2025

You can participate in the event only after receiving a formal invitation email from the organizer

This article is from the WeChat official account "Hangzhou Qiantang Enterprise Going Global Service Base". The author is Qiantang Going Global. It is published with authorization from Qiantang.