Try the Daily Briefing
Try the Daily Briefing for your country of choice for two weeks--free of charge and with no obligation.
Have a service or subscription question? We'd be happy to hear from you.
China
Intelligence for Better Decision Making
Xi Jinping and King Tupou VI Formalize Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreements in Beijing
Nov. 27, 2025 | Geopolitics & DefenseDuring a state visit to Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping and King Tupou VI of Tonga formalized a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed multiple cooperation agreements.
**On November 25, 2025, Xi Jinping and King Tupou VI met at the Great Hall of the People, where the Tongan royal couple received a 21-gun salute, military honors, and a reviewing-stand ceremony.**
Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, hosted a welcoming banquet attended by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. After completing protocol formalities, both leaders witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements and issued a Joint Statement to mark the summit’s culmination.
**Xi Jinping recalled the friendship between China and Tonga since they established diplomatic ties in 1998, emphasizing mutual respect, equality, and support for each other’s core interests.**
He pledged that China would act as a reliable partner in safeguarding Tonga’s sovereignty and independence and deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership. Drawing on strategic development plans from the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, Xi proposed implementing four global initiatives and building a China–Pacific Island Countries community with a shared future.
**Both leaders identified priority sectors for collaboration: trade and investment; modernization of agriculture and fisheries; infrastructure development; clean energy projects; healthcare enhancement; tourism promotion; and climate-change response.**
Xi also called for expanded exchanges in education, sports, youth engagement, media collaboration, and subnational governance, inviting Tongan sector representatives to visit China under South–South cooperation frameworks. King Tupou VI expressed gratitude for China’s support of Tonga’s economic and social development, welcomed deeper collaboration in these fields, reaffirmed Tonga’s adherence to the one-China principle and opposition to Taiwan independence, and voiced support for China’s global initiatives on shared development, peace, and climate cooperation.
**The visit coincided with the completion of a PLA Navy hospital ship mission in Tonga, during which the Silk Road Ark provided thousands of medical treatments and surgeries.**
Observers note that this healthcare support complements broader cooperation—including grants, low-interest loans, and debt-relief measures—that analysts say contributes to Tonga’s sustainable development and counters narratives of “debt-trap” diplomacy.
**Bilateral trade reached $69.9 million in 2024, up 21.4 percent year-on-year, and over 400 Tongan students are currently studying in China.**
Experts observe a shift from project-driven infrastructure builds toward capability-driven initiatives aligned with Tonga’s national priorities, with potential collaborations in the blue economy, green transition, renewable energy capacity building, and maritime projects. This evolving partnership meets Pacific Island expectations for cooperation without political conditions and reflects the geopolitical and economic significance of Pacific Island countries in China’s global diplomatic and development strategy.
China’s New Energy Vehicle Sector Surges with Supply Chain Clusters and Export-Led Transformation
Nov. 27, 2025 | FirmsChina’s new energy vehicle sector is undergoing a transformative expansion driven by market shifts, technological innovation, and strategic industrial planning.
**In October 2025, new energy vehicles accounted for 51.6 percent of China’s total new car sales, signaling their ascent as the mainstream product in the domestic automotive market.**
This shift is fueling a technological revolution and industrial upgrade that depend on an open, shared, resilient, and sustainable supply chain to support high-quality growth across the sector.
**China retains a leading role in the global automotive supply chain, particularly in batteries, chips, and software.**
From January to October 2025, it installed 578 gigawatt-hours of power battery capacity—up 42.4 percent year-on-year—keeping its global top spot. At the same time, domestic production of advanced chassis systems for NEVs still lags behind international competitors, making this a priority area for bolstering home-grown competitiveness.
**Regional governments and industry players are clustering supply chains to achieve scale economies.**
In Huainan City, a concentrated NEV supply-chain cluster is taking shape, while automakers such as NIO are nearshoring key components to cut procurement costs by 20–30 percent and secure stable supplies amid intensifying competition.
**Exports of China’s NEVs topped two million units in the first ten months of 2025, nearly doubling year-on-year.**
Manufacturers are adopting “dual-factory” models overseas to meet localization requirements and address local labor shortages. Meanwhile, Chinese firms are shifting from simple product exports to integrated system exports, offering combined vehicle platforms and supply-chain solutions that support foreign industrial development. Deep localization of NEV technologies and products abroad has become critical for sustaining export growth. At the same time, multinational automakers operating in China are leveraging domestic parts and software innovations to strengthen an integrated global supply chain.
**Cross-industry integration is accelerating as the automotive supply chain converges with emerging sectors such as robotics and unmanned shipping, expanding growth prospects.**
The sector’s future emphasis lies in intelligence and sustainability, uniting software, hardware, and artificial intelligence throughout the value chain. Industry stakeholders are calling for unified data standards and trusted data ecosystems to optimize supply-chain efficiency and promote continuous innovation.
**Under the 14th Five-Year Plan, Chongqing positioned its intelligent connected NEV industry among national leaders and set a goal to build a world-class cluster within five years.**
The city is reinforcing leading enterprises, strengthening the full automotive industry chain, expanding “vehicle-road-cloud-network-map” applications, cultivating high-end brands, and developing an “artificial intelligence + automobile” ecosystem, alongside rolling out ultra-fast charging infrastructure and supporting growth across the entire lifecycle.
**Building on that foundation, Chongqing’s 15th Five-Year Plan aims to make the city a globally influential hub for intelligent connected NEVs.**
It targets quality upgrades in trillion-yuan industrial clusters, modernizes traditional manufacturing, and boosts capabilities through digital workshops and intelligent factories. The plan emphasizes intelligent, green, and service-oriented manufacturing, and nurtures emerging sectors—such as biomedicine, smart medical devices, intelligent sensing instruments, and the low-altitude economy—to accelerate large-scale application of new technologies and products.
**Chongqing’s broader strategy leverages science and technology innovation to establish an internationally competitive advanced manufacturing center and industrial innovation hub.**
By the end of the 15th Five-Year period, these efforts aim to underpin a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing at its core.
### IMPACT ANALYSIS
**From this Development, various impacts could cascade through the system, to a lesser or greater extent, depending on the severity and criticality of the shocks.**
| Domain | Causal Chain | Possible Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Competitiveness | (NEV market share ↑ → Market-size & demand potential ↑ → Export sophistication (EXPY) delta ↑ → High-value-added export share ↑) | Rapid NEV adoption drives an upgrade in export mix, raising the share of high-value-added EV systems and integrated supply-chain solutions. |
| Energy & Natural Resources | (Battery production capacity ↑ → Grid-scale battery-storage fleet capacity ↑ → Renewable-generation share of electricity ↑ → CO₂-intensity of GDP change ↓) | Enhanced grid storage from expanded battery capacity boosts renewable electricity share and drives down the CO₂ intensity of GDP. |
| Competitiveness | (NEV exports ↑ → Trade-openness & preferential access ↑ → Real export market-share change ↑ → FDI net inflow (% GDP) ↑) | Surging NEV exports improve China’s trade openness and export market share, attracting increased FDI into auto and battery sectors. |
| Transportation & Logistics | (Customs-and-border clearance digitisation ↑ → Average customs-clearance time ↓ → Door-to-door export lead time ↓ → Logistics-performance index (LPI) score ↑) | Customs digitization cuts clearance and delivery times, strengthening export reliability and lifting China’s LPI score. |
| Firms | (Supply-chain restructuring cadence ↑ → Inventory days on hand ↓ → Capex-to-cashflow ratio ↑ → Private fixed-investment growth ↑) | Accelerated supply-chain restructuring lowers inventories and frees cash, fueling private fixed-investment growth in the NEV ecosystem. |
| Technology & Innovation | (Enterprise AI adoption index ↑ → AI inference cost index shift ↓ → Total-factor productivity growth from tech ↑ → Patent-to-product conversion rate ↑) | Wider enterprise AI adoption reduces inference costs, accelerating total-factor productivity gains and boosting patent-to-product conversion in NEV technologies. |
| Transportation & Logistics | (Nearshoring supply chains ↑ → Input-cost inflation (producer-price index) ↓ → Freight cost share of export value ↓ → Logistics carbon-neutral shipment share ↑) | Nearshoring supply chains dampens input-cost inflation and freight expenses while expanding the share of carbon-neutral logistics shipments. |
| Technology & Innovation | (5G standalone network coverage share ↑ → Cloud API average latency (ms) ↓ → SME digital-tool adoption index ↑ → Digital & knowledge-intensive industry share of GDP ↑) | Expanded 5G standalone coverage cuts cloud latency, spurring SME digital-tool uptake and expanding the digital and knowledge-intensive share of GDP. |
| Technology & Innovation | (Autonomous-vehicle regulatory readiness index ↑ → Regulatory-approval lead time (days) ↓ → Early-stage VC deal count ↑ → Unicorn creation count ↑) | Faster regulatory approval for autonomous vehicles unlocks more early-stage VC deals and increases the creation of unicorns in mobility innovation. |
### BOTTOM LINE
- China’s domestic consumers have shifted decisively toward electrified mobility—new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 51.6% of new-car sales in October 2025—which is accelerating scale economies in manufacturing and creating a larger, more sophisticated home market that will drive faster product learning cycles and higher-value export offerings.
- The rapid expansion in battery capacity—578 GWh installed from January to October 2025, up 42.4% year-on-year—directly increases grid-scale storage potential, which will smooth renewable output, raise the renewable share of electricity, and measurably reduce CO₂ intensity per unit of GDP if storage deployment and grid integration follow.
- NEV exports surpassed two million units in the first ten months of 2025, nearly doubling year-on-year, and the move to “dual-factory” overseas models plus integrated platform-and-supply-chain bundles will upgrade China’s export mix toward system-level sales and attract more foreign investment into assembly, batteries, and software R&D.
- Nearshoring and regional supply-chain clustering—illustrated by automakers cutting procurement costs by 20–30%—are shortening lead times and lowering input-price volatility, which frees working capital, lowers inventory days, and shifts saved cash into private fixed investment, digitalization, and local capacity expansion.
- The supply-chain concentration in regional clusters (e.g., Huainan, Chongqing) improves efficiency and supplier specialization but also raises single-region systemic exposure, so firms and policymakers need contingency planning (supplier diversification, redundant logistics routes, and inventory strategies) to reduce disruption risk.
- Cross-industry integration with robotics, unmanned shipping, and AI is increasing enterprise adoption of advanced automation and vehicle software, which lowers per-unit AI inference costs, accelerates total-factor productivity gains, and raises the patent-to-product conversion rate if standards and workforce skills are aligned.
- Persistent technological gaps—particularly in advanced chassis systems where domestic production still lags international competitors—are a chokepoint for moving up the value chain, so targeted R&D funding, joint ventures, and supplier upgrading programs focused on chassis and powertrain systems are practical priorities.
- Digital enablers such as expanded 5G standalone coverage and “vehicle-road-cloud-network-map” projects will reduce cloud latency and enable real-time vehicle and supplier coordination, which, if combined with unified data standards and trusted data ecosystems, will increase SME digital-tool adoption and deepen the digital, knowledge-intensive portion of the automotive value chain.
- Customs and border-digitization efforts, when scaled, will reduce average clearance times and door-to-door lead times for NEV shipments, improving reliability for overseas customers and increasing China’s logistics-performance index standing; practical steps include API-linked customs declarations, single-window trade facilitation, and harmonized cross-border data standards.
- The export-led growth and deep localization of technology raise geopolitical and regulatory considerations abroad—host-country local-content rules, industrial incentives, and political scrutiny can constrain market access—so Chinese firms should increase compliance capabilities, local partnerships, and transparent engagement with regulators to mitigate trade-policy risk.
- The surge in battery and NEV production will increase demand for critical minerals (lithium, nickel, cobalt) and for second-life and recycling systems, making upstream supply diversification, strategic reserves, domestic recycling and circular-economy investments, and supplier due-diligence on sustainability urgent and practical measures to manage cost and reputational risk.
- Faster regulatory pathways for intelligent connected vehicles under Five-Year Plan commitments can shorten approval lead times and increase venture funding into autonomous and mobility startups, but regulatory clarity and safety standards must be balanced with testing oversight to avoid setbacks from accidents or public backlash.
- For regional policy makers (e.g., Chongqing), continued emphasis on intelligent, green, and service-oriented manufacturing plus investments in digital workshops, ultra-fast charging networks, and talent pipelines will be essential to convert policy goals into a globally competitive NEV cluster within the targeted multi-year horizon.
- Monitoring metrics that will show whether this structural change is durable include export product sophistication (EXPY) shifts toward system sales, grid storage deployment rates versus battery manufacturing growth, upstream mineral sourcing diversity, chassis-system domestic content shares, customs clearance times, and private fixed-investment flows into NEV ecosystems.
Monitored Intelligence for China - Nov. 27, 2025
News
Media
268
Government
Releases
20
City/State
Releases
20
Embassy
Releases
1
Foreign
Service
Advisories
0
Service
Advisories
0
Academic/
Think
Tank
6
Think
Tank
6
Podcasts
0
Videos
0
Social
Media
0
Business
Releases
0
Erudite Risk takes an all risks approach to intelligence reporting. We categorize key intelligence into one of 40 different risk intelligence categories.
The goal is to provide intelligence that allows decision makers to avoid being blindsided by what they may have missed, while informing them to make better decisions as well.
Risk Categories Reported on Today
Risk Category
Items Reported On
Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes
7
Climate Change
4
Regulation
2
Crime
3
Shifting Geopolitical Alliances
10
Corporate Corruption or Fraud
3
Pollution
1
Supply Chain Issues
2
Critical Infrastructure Failure
1
Erudite Risk also includes operations categories so you can monitor the environment for better decision making. Everything is tied together--what happens in risk affects operations and what happens in the market impacts risk profiles.
We categorize key intelligence into one of 30 different operations intelligence categories.
Different roles and functions within the organization can monitor different key issue areas. HR may monitor employment, wages, regulations, labor and management relations, etc., while P&L leaders may monitor overall developing trends.
Operations Categories Reported on Today
Operations Category
Items Reported On
Economic Growth
9
Bizdev-Partnering
10
Energy Prices
1
Financial System Problems
1
Asset Price Change
4
Tech Development/Adoption
10
Legal Exposure
3
Investor Sentiment
2
Operating Results
3
Political Policy Resistance
1
Trade Issues and Numbers
1
Real Estate
1
Budgets-Budgeting
1
Mergers & Acquisitions
2
SPC asks courts to target dual contracts to curb tax evasion
China Daily | English | News | Nov. 27, 2025 | Corporate Corruption or Fraud
China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) has emphasized the importance of combating tax evasion to protect national tax revenues and maintain market order. The court released eight significant tax-related cases and urged nationwide courts to target illegal practices such as the use of dual contracts and the resale of invoices via online platforms. Dual contracts, known as "yin and yang contracts," involve creating two agreements: one true contract and one with lower amounts submitted to tax authorities to evade taxes.
In a notable case in Xinjiang, a man was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan for using dual contracts, while his real estate employer was fined 500,000 yuan. The SPC and the Supreme People's Procuratorate previously defined such contracts as a tax evasion method in a 2024 judicial interpretation to aid enforcement. The court highlighted that prosecuting these offenses serves as a strong deterrent and promotes compliance with tax laws.
Another case involved a former logistics company owner in Zhejiang, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and fined 250,000 yuan for illegally issuing over 18,000 VAT invoices to thousands of businesses through his online platform. Some recipients had no legitimate transportation business but obtained invoices for tax purposes. The SPC stressed that while the platform economy is crucial for economic growth, platform companies must comply with legal regulations and not facilitate tax crimes.
The SPC called on enterprises to strengthen self-regulation to prevent the misuse of their platforms for tax evasion. The rulings aim not only to punish offenders but also to ensure a healthier platform economy that supports innovation without enabling tax violations.
Top Chinese diplomat meets Malaysian official on bilateral strategic cooperation
Xinhua | English | News | Nov. 27, 2025 | Shifting Geopolitical Alliances
Wang Yi, a senior Chinese diplomat and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met with Raja Dato' Nushirwan bin Zainal Abidin, director-general of Malaysia's National Security Council, in Beijing. The meeting coincided with the second Bilateral Dialogue between China and Malaysia on the Management of Maritime Issues in the South China Sea.
Wang emphasized China's commitment to strengthening strategic cooperation with Malaysia, focusing on aligning development strategies, enhancing political and security collaboration, and advancing practical cooperation. He highlighted potential joint efforts in emerging sectors such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and new energy, aiming to build a regional hub for innovative productive forces.
Both sides were urged to utilize the maritime dialogue platform for deeper cooperation and proper management of differences, while reinforcing solidarity, supporting the multilateral trading system, and promoting global economic stability. Wang also expressed appreciation for Malaysia's support of the one-China principle and called for mutual backing on core interests to uphold international fairness and historical achievements.
Nushirwan reaffirmed Malaysia’s adherence to the one-China policy and its commitment to working with China to maintain maritime peace and stability. He noted the importance of their strategic cooperative relationship as a model for peaceful coexistence and emphasized shared views on international and regional issues. He also pledged to advance key projects and deepen practical cooperation, enhancing multilateral coordination to safeguard regional peace and prosperity.
Mainland slams DPP authorities as island official calls for more Japanese tourism and product purchases
Global Times | English | News | Nov. 27, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes
China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Peng Qing'en condemned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities of Taiwan for colluding with external forces, labeling them as disruptors of peace in the Taiwan Straits. This statement came in response to comments by Lin Chia-lung, head of Taiwan's external affairs department, who encouraged Taiwanese people to travel more to Japan and purchase Japanese products despite controversial remarks from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Peng emphasized that the Taiwan question is a strictly internal matter for China, rejecting any external interference. He warned that China will respond decisively to any external attempts to meddle in Taiwan Strait affairs. Peng also accused the DPP of exploiting the Cold War-era "first island chain" concept to escalate cross-Straits tensions for political gain, which he claimed would lead Taiwan toward war and disaster.
Contact us for a free trial of the Daily Briefing for your country of choice.
We currently cover:
South KoreaJapan
China
Taiwan
Vietnam
India
info@eruditerisk.com
The Daily Briefing is delivered Monday through Thursday via email.
Each day's reports include a combination of:
Takes
Takes are our deep dives into a topic of enduring interest or concern. Takes include copious references to all the media resources we gathered to build them.
Developments
Developments are key issues and incidents being heavily reported on in country. These are the centers of local thought gravity around which everything else revolves.
Risk Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important risk issues reported on in media, arranged by risk category. Learn about risk trends and issues while they are developing--before they blow up.
Ops Media
Summaries and analysis of the most important operational issues reported on in media, arranged by operations category. See what's changing in your market, and what's not.
Government Releases
Government press and data releases on key economic data, regulation, law, intiatives, incidents. Straight from the government's press to your eyes in less than a day.
Embassy and Business Association Releases
Statements and news releases from foreign embassies and business/industry associations, including chambers of commerce.
The Daily Briefing is comprehensive!
The Daily Briefing can run 50-100 pages each day!
Luckily, Erudite Risk tailors every report specifically to you.
Content Filtering
We try hard to ensure that every piece of information included in each day's reports will be of interest to our readers.
To fulfill our goal of comprehensively monitoring the intelligence landscape and also keeping reports readable, we build big reports--then deliver only the information that applies to you.
Each Daily Briefing is a bespoke report matched to your concerns. Tell us what you want in it, or we can match it to your professional needs. It's that easy.