Alibaba AI Direct Purchases 🤖 EV Tariffs Rewritten 🚗 BRI Funding Record 💰

In partnership with

2026-01-19 | subscribe | homepage

Welcome back to China Insights Weekly. Here are some of the key highlights for this week’s edition:

• Chinese universities take 8 of the global top 10, research output keeps rising

• China’s trade surplus hits a record, exports pivot away from the US

• Huawei lifts domestic parts to nearly 60%, supply chains localize fast

• Coal-to-plastics buildout accelerates, reducing oil import dependence

Remember to follow us on LinkedIn, X or Facebook.

🚀 Headlines

Chinese universities continue to dominate global ranking of the top research universities, placing 8 in the top 10 (link)

Harvard University has dropped to third place in a global ranking that measures academic output, with Chinese institutions leading the list. Zhejiang University ranks first for the second year in a row, a significant rise from not even being in the top 25 a decade ago. Shanghai Jiaotong University is ranked second, moving up from 3rd last year. The Leiden Rankings, produced by Leiden University in the Netherlands, now place seven other Chinese schools in the top 10 and 13 in the top 15. This shift reflects a broader trend of China increasing its education investment and attracting top talent, while American universities are facing reduced research funding and stricter immigration policies. The rise of Chinese universities is part of a larger pattern where Asian schools are increasingly outpacing Western institutions in global academic rankings.

Canada-China deal cuts tariff on Chinese EVs and Canadian farm products, China to scrap visa requirements (link)

Canada has reached a significant trade agreement with China, marking a notable shift in their economic relations. The deal includes an increase in the import limit of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) to Canada, with up to 49,000 units to be admitted at a "most favored nation tariff rate" of 6.1%, which removes the 100% tariff. By 2030, the import limit will increase to 70,000, and half of these imports must cost less than $35,000, aiming to make EVs more affordable. In return, China is expected to reduce canola seed duties to 15% from 84% by March. Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs, and peas will no longer face "anti-discrimination" tariffs from China, effective from March through the end of the year. China has also committed to visa-free travel for Canadians. This agreement follows a trade dispute that began in 2024 and escalated with reciprocal tariffs in 2025.

EU and China agree to bring in minimum pricing for Chinese EVs to replace high tariffs (link)

China and the European Union have reached an agreement to implement a minimum pricing mechanism for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) imported into the EU, replacing high tariffs. This agreement follows over a year of negotiations and aims to address EU concerns about subsidies for Chinese EVs. In October 2024, the European Commission imposed additional import duties of up to 35.3% on Chinese EVs for five years, on top of the existing 10% standard car import tariff. The new guidelines will assess pricing proposals from Chinese exporters fairly and in line with WTO rules. This resolution is expected to stabilize market access for Chinese EVs in the EU and promote deeper cooperation between China and the EU on market expansion and technological innovation in the EV sector. China exported approximately 580,000 pure EVs, 250,000 plug-in hybrid models, and 170,000 conventional hybrid models to the EU in the first 11 months of last year, making it the largest market in each category.

Qwen AI app surpasses 100 million monthly active users, integrates shopping and travel direct purchases (link)

Alibaba Group's Qwen AI app has surpassed 100 million monthly active users as of January 2026, marking a significant milestone for the company. The app, which was launched in mid-November, has integrated deeply into Alibaba's ecosystem, enabling voice-powered shopping, travel booking, and digital tasks. Qwen became the world's fastest-growing AI app in November, with a 149% increase in monthly active users globally. The app now allows users to complete a range of tasks, from e-commerce and food delivery to ride-hailing, travel bookings, and movie ticketing, with simple voice commands. Alibaba expects AI to take over up to 70% of digital tasks within two years, with Qwen capable of handling over 400 digital tasks, from coding to office collaboration and data analysis.

Huawei boosts ratio of Chinese parts in latest smartphones from 19% to 57% in 5 years (link)

Huawei Technologies has increased the domestic components ratio in its new smartphones to nearly 60% by value, reflecting China's strides in central processing units and memory chip production despite US export restrictions. A teardown analysis by Nikkei of two Huawei models, the Mate 70 Pro (2024) and Pura 80 Pro (2025), showed a rise in domestic parts from 19% in 2020 to 57% in the Pura 80 Pro, with an estimated total component cost of USD 380. The proportion of components from Japan, the US, and South Korea decreased by over 20 percentage points from 2023 to 2024. Huawei's system-on-a-chip for the Pura 80 Pro uses the Kirin 9020 chipset designed by HiSilicon, marking progress in domestic production of expensive components.