Baidu to invest in electric car startup
Business & Technology
Top business and technology news for March 6, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "New airport in Tibet near disputed border.”
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Baidu rumored to invest in electric car startup solidifying autonomous car strategy / TechNode
Internet giant Baidu reportedly plans to invest about $100 million in NextEV, a high-end electric car manufacturer founded in Shanghai in November 2014. The alliance is intended to boost Baidu’s faltering autonomous driving business. NextEV has raised more than $600 million since June 2015, and last year launched its first electric car — the NIO EP9. -
How China’s Airbnb copycats beat the Silicon Valley titan at its own game / SCMP
Zhu Bai Jia is a Shenzhen-based startup founded in 2012 that assists Chinese outbound tourists with short-term rentals in some 70 countries, and also helps them plan entire trips. Airbnb launched a similar service last year. “The joke in our sector is that ‘China used to copy Silicon Valley, but now it is Silicon Valley that copies China,”’ according to Li Le, a spokesperson for Zhu Bai Jia.
- ChemChina says Syngenta deal filing accepted by Beijing / Reuters
- China cuts GDP target to 6.5 percent as leaders seek stability in economy / The Telegraph
- China signals change of course on long-standing yuan policy / SCMP
- Opinion: China’s hidden risks rise / Bloomberg
- Jim Rogers, intrepid investor, finds bumpy road to North Korea / NYT (paywall)
