Geely Takes 34% of Ford Plant 🚗 Chip Exports Nearly Double 💾 DJI Drone Tops Everest 🚁

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2026-07-27 | subscribe | homepage

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

• German helmet production shifts to China, as Europe’s last major domestic maker relocates

• Green BRI deals reach a record, with first-half activity totaling USD 126.3 billion

• Wind and solar target over 50% of capacity, backed by new reliability requirements

• China licenses its first AIGC story film, moving AI-generated video into long-form streaming

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🚀 Headlines

Geely buys 34% stake in Ford's Spanish plant, Chinese carmakers capture 34% of European plug-in hybrid deliveries

Geely Auto will take a 34% stake in Ford’s Valencia plant, forming a joint venture (66% Ford, 34% Geely) for €221m (USD 252 million). The first model, Geely’s EX5 electric SUV, will roll off the line in 2028, followed by a jointly developed crossover with multiple powertrains. A total of five models will be produced in the factory. With a 500,000 annual capacity, it was running at just 26% in 2025. Ford’s European sales have fallen from 1m cars a decade ago to 426,000 last year. The deal sidesteps EU tariffs, offers an “asset‑light” entry into Europe and taps an existing skilled workforce. It gives Geely its first European plant and offers Ford a way to utilise idle capacity.

Chinese automakers captured a record 34% of Europe’s plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) deliveries in June. Brands including BYD and Chery also accounted for 11% of all new-car sales and 15% of battery-electric vehicle deliveries across the continent. The gains come as Chinese manufacturers leverage competitive pricing and advanced battery technology to appeal to cost-conscious consumers. Chinese carmakers surpassed Japanese rivals for the second consecutive month. They sold 171,630 vehicles, compared with 158,540 for Japanese brands. The trend is likely to intensify as Chinese firms establish local production.

China’s chip exports nearly double as AI demand becomes trade stimulus

China exported 179.44 billion integrated circuits worth USD 177.28 billion in the first half of 2026, up more than 96% year-on-year by value. Exports of computers, servers, memory and other data-processing equipment rose 41.3% to USD 138.08 billion. The global AI build-out is pulling directly on Chinese factories, not only for processors but for the surrounding layer of servers, memory, networking equipment and components. AI infrastructure has become a broad industrial growth market, and China participates across nearly every layer of that supply chain.

Last German bike helmet maker moves production to China

Germany’s last domestic bicycle helmet maker, KED, is moving all production to China, citing a 40% minimum-wage rise to €13.90 an hour, surging raw-material costs and fierce competition from discounters selling Chinese-made helmets. The move follows similar decisions by Uvex and Alpina, leaving no major German producer in the segment. KED’s CEO acknowledged that the “Made in Germany” premium is eroding as retailers and consumers see that high-quality helmets can be made in China, where factories already supply many global brands.

Green energy drives China's BRI to record USD 126 billion investment in just half the year

China’s Belt and Road Initiative green-energy financing hit a record USD 20.1 billion in the first half of 2026, already surpassing the full-year 2025 total. Total BRI deals rose to USD 126.3 billion, the highest for any half-year. The surge is being driven by rising energy prices and demand for power and data-centre infrastructure to support AI. Construction projects made up USD 11.8 billion and investments USD 8.3 billion. Private-sector engagement rose to 48%, up from 13% in 2022, while African investment nearly tripled year-on-year to USD 33.5 billion. BRI activity is becoming more commercial and investment-led, with Chinese clean-tech firms meeting global demand for affordable, scalable green energy.

China’s lending market gets new pricing anchor as first DR-linked loans issued in Hainan

China has introduced a new lending-rate anchor. ICBC, China Merchants Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank issued the first corporate loans tied to the Depository Institutions Repurchase Rate in Hainan. Overnight, seven-day and 14-day DR rates reflect interbank funding costs, offering a more market-driven alternative to the Loan Prime Rate. Enabled by Hainan’s free-trade policies, the pilot advances interest-rate liberalisation and could align Chinese pricing more closely with global benchmarks such as SOFR, improving cross-border financing.

DJI launches first high altitude electric VTOL fixed-wing cargo drone EV50

DJI has launched the EV50, its first electric VTOL fixed-wing cargo drone for long-range regional transport. During a Mount Everest expedition it operated at 8,861 metres, 12 metres above the summit, setting a high-altitude record for VTOL drones. Over 12 days it completed 32 flights, including 12 atmospheric-monitoring missions, and climbed as much as 3,730 metres from base camp in a single flight. The aircraft carries 50 kg, flies up to 150 km at 160 km/h and has a 270-litre cargo compartment. It also includes dual thermal management, anti-icing, four independent batteries and an emergency parachute. The EV50 extends China’s push into longer-range cargo transport for remote logistics, emergency response and scientific research.

China to boost wind and solar generation by more than 50% in five years

China has made a 53% increase in wind and solar generation binding by 2030, with renewable-energy consumption rising from 1.18 billion to 1.8 billion tonnes of coal equivalent. Wind and solar, backed by storage, must supply 8% of installed capacity during peak demand and cover 20% of electricity during demand spikes. The plan also targets more than 300 GW of renewable peaking capacity, 570 GW of hydropower, including 160 GW of pumped storage, and 2 million tonnes of green hydrogen. The binding target shifts the focus from installation volume to reliable grid integration.

iQIYI launches China’s first licensed AIGC online story film

Chinese streaming platform iQIYI has released “Qitan: Paper Blade Across the Wasteland,” the country’s first AIGC online story film to receive a Network Drama/Film Distribution License. The 60-minute feature, co-produced with DaMeng Innovation, used AI across concept development, visual-asset generation, 4K output and post-production. A team of more than 20 creators generated over 200 characters and visual assets. It is the first instalment in a planned trilogy rooted in Chinese supernatural folklore and a test of whether AIGC can move beyond short videos into full-length narrative production. Its release is also a regulatory milestone for AI-generated content in China’s streaming industry.

🎁 Bonus Stories

Wang Hong, Deng Yu are first Chinese nationals to win Fields Medal in mathematics

China has produced its first two Chinese-national Fields Medal winners. Peking University alumni Wang Hong and Deng Yu were recognised for work on the 3D Kakeya conjecture and Hilbert’s sixth problem. Wang is a professor at NYU’s Courant Institute and IHES, while Deng teaches at the University of Chicago. China becomes the fifth country, and the first in Asia, to produce two laureates at one ceremony. Only two ethnic Chinese mathematicians had won previously, and neither held Chinese citizenship at the time. The result highlights China’s growing research base: 12 Peking University alumni are invited speakers at this year’s International Congress of Mathematicians, while leading overseas mathematicians are increasingly joining Chinese universities.

China prepares to hit asteroid using projectile with 26 times the speed of sound

China is planning an asteroid-deflection mission that will strike the 98-foot near-Earth asteroid 2015 XF261 at more than 5.6 miles per second, roughly Mach 26 and nearly 50% faster than NASA’s DART mission. The impactor and an observation spacecraft would launch together, with the latter using a Venus gravity assist to monitor the collision and resulting trajectory change. The mission aims to hit the target accurately, alter its orbit, measure the result and confirm Earth’s safety. The encounter could occur during a close approach in 2029 or 2030, when the asteroid passes within roughly 4.3 million miles of Earth. Unlike DART’s 525-foot rubble-pile target, the smaller and potentially more solid body offers a different planetary-defence test.

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