Welcome to the 78th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors.
This week:
- We learn that U.S. officials are preparing a final trade deal that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, could sign in weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
- We discuss Global Index giant MSCI’s decision to increase the weighting of mainland China in its indexes by raising the inclusion factor from 5 percent to 20 percent, marking another milestone for Beijing’s drive to boost Chinese stocks’ global exposure.
- We analyze a new study that shows China’s response against President Trump’s tariffs is hitting U.S. exporters harder than their Chinese counterparts.
- We note that Didi Chuxing has confirmed the establishment of a joint venture with Germany’s Volkswagen, the latest sign yet that ride-hailing companies and automakers have turned from competition to collaboration to better tap the Chinese commuter market.
- We learn that tech giant Huawei said that Saudi Arabia will fully embrace its next-generation 5G infrastructure technology, giving it some rare good news after several months of defending itself against accusations that its gear poses national security risks.
- We dive deep into the story of Don Miller, who amassed around 7,000 cultural relics from all over the world, including Chinese jade objects, stoneware, coins, and wood carvings dating from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty.
In addition, we talk with Lu Gang, a reporter at Caixin Global, about the Two Sessions, a major political event happening this week in Beijing. We also chat with Mo Yelin, a reporter at Caixin Global, about the latest news in the Chinese auto industry.
