Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

• “Ne Zha 2” becomes the highest-grossing Chinese IP on Taobao, bringing surging orders to Chinese toy factories;
• Barrier is lowered for HK, Macao firms to invest in mainland insurers.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

“Ne Zha 2” merchandise sales have exceeded 300 million yuan on Taobao, breaking a two-year record set by “The Wandering Earth II” as the highest-grossing Chinese film and television intellectual property on Alibaba Group Holding's e-commerce platform.

More than 2 million people have bought “Ne Zha 2” merch on Taobao, staff from the site's public relations department said. Sales of trendy action items, including mystery boxes, figurines, and trading cards, have topped 200 million yuan, they noted.

“Ne Zha 2” raked in over 13.7 billion yuan at the global box office as of yesterday, ranking it as the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time.

Chinese toy firm Pop Mart, trading card company Kayou, and Citic Press Group all have IP collaborations with “Ne Zha 2”. The Natural Bond series mystery boxes on Pop Mart's Tmall flagship store have sold over 100,000 units, with the items scheduled to be shipped before Jun. 30.

It took one and a half years to create the “Ne Zha 2” products, a person in charge from Pop Mart said. Due to the long development process of trendy figurines, the company started communicating with relevant staff from the movie early, allowing for products to be released with the film, the person added.

Upper up in the industrial chain, many of these products are made in Dongguan, known as China's "capital of designer toys." Established toy manufacturers are turning the film's characters into highly sought-after real-world collectibles through innovative designs and craftsmanship.

WoFactory, a cultural and creative company in the city, said total orders of its Ne Zha miniature figurines exceeded 100 million yuan. As demand skyrockets, the company partners with dozens of local toy makers to maximize production capacity and fulfill orders efficiently.

Henglitai, anther designer toy maker in Dongguan and an official partner of the blockbuster, saw its first batch of 300,000 Ne Zha-themed acrylic posters, transparent cards, badges, and filmstrip all sold out even before the film’s official release on the first day of the Chinese New Year. The company has since received orders ten times that size.

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

• Hong Kong and Macao financial institutions will no longer be required to have assets of at least USD2 billion at the end of the previous year to invest in Chinese mainland insurance companies from March 1, the National Financial Regulatory Administration announced yesterday.
• An AI-powered translation device, developed by Shenzhen-based tech start-up LAiPIC.AI, provided "zero-latency" translation services at the ongoing two sessions in Shenzhen, marking the country's first government-level AI large model simultaneous interpretation software in service.

Next on industry and company news

• Enterprises in China's national high-tech industrial development zones contribute around 50 percent of the nation's research and development expenditure and invention patents, the country's top industry regulator said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the zones have become critical hubs for artificial intelligence development, hosting 60 percent of China's listed AI-related companies and 50 percent of AI unicorns, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
• China's car exports exceeded 6.4 million units last year, ranking first in the world, customs data showed. Auto shipments through ro-ro vessels from Shanghai Port reached 3.63 million in 2024, becoming the largest global port by this metric.
• Xiaomi's stock rose 4.3 percent to a record high in early trading today, bringing its market cap to nearly HKD1.5 trillion. The Chinese tech giant began selling its new EV, the SU7 Ultra, on its Tmall flagship today.
• JD.Com's food delivery service will start handing out two catering coupons, 10 yuan off 15 yuan, and 20 yuan off 40 yuan, to certified university students and JD Plus members every day at 8 p.m. from today.
• The skill requirements at 70 percent of jobs will transform by 2030, Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer of LinkedIn said at the Talent Connect 2025. People will have to pay attention to firms' learning culture as AI will make jobs completely different in one or two years, he noted, adding that communication, creativity, compassion, courage, and curiosity will become the core competitiveness of humans in the AI era.
• AmCham South China on Wednesday released its 2025 Special Report on the State of Business in South China, which highlighted China's leading position in global investment priorities, with 58 percent of foreign companies surveyed ranking it among their top three investment priorities. Looking ahead to 2025, 76 percent of the companies intend to reinvest in China, with a notable 74 percent of the American companies planning reinvestments, up 11 percentage points year-on-year.
• Chinese Customs, together with two other authorities, on Wednesday released a plan to encourage Chinese airlines to expand all-cargo aircraft operations. It will expand routes connecting major international aviation hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou as well as the dedicated air cargo hub in Ezhou, Hubei Province. It will also encourage airlines to increase their dedicated cargo capacity, increase regular international all-cargo aircraft routes, and expand international air cargo capacity.

Switching gears to financial news

• Firms’ tax cuts, fee reductions, and tax refunds resulting from China’s supportive policies topped 2.63 trillion yuan last year, according to data from the State Taxation Administration. Taxpayers from the private sector enjoyed over 60 percent, or about 1.59 trillion yuan, of the total.
• After media reported that Ping An Insurance plans to acquire three logistics assets in southern China of Blackstone for 1.8 billion yuan, Ping An Asset Management said it would not comment on market speculations and assured that any necessary information would be disclosed to the public.

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

• Chinese stocks closed mixed on Thursday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.2 percent while the Shenzhen Component slid 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index retreated 0.3 percent and the TECH index fell 1.2 percent.

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC