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2026-08-10 | subscribe | homepage

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

• Swiss outdoor specialist Mammut changes hands, as Chinese investment group CPE expands abroad

• CATL captures 39.9% globally, as seven Chinese battery makers hold 72.4%

• Miniso tops U.S. retail growth, after sales jump 53% to USD 466 million

• Idle offices become rentals, including 744 Shenzhen flats at 95% occupancy

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🚀 Headlines

Tencent's Hy3 AI model expands globally as developer usage surges 68-fold (link)

Tencent has expanded international access to Hy3, its flagship open-source large language model (LLM), using aggressive pricing to attract developers. Hy3 has 295 billion total parameters, with 21 billion active at a time, and a 256,000-token context window. It is available through WorkBuddy, Tencent Design Miora and TokenHub, with free WorkBuddy access until August 31. Pricing on OpenRouter starts at USD 0.1288 per million input tokens and USD 0.5336 per million output tokens, below DeepSeek's entry pricing. Developer use through its API, the software connection apps use to call the model, has risen 68-fold since the international rollout. Led by former OpenAI researcher Yao Shunyu, Hy3 ranked second in OpenRouter's weekly usage on August 9, behind the newest DeepSeek V4 Flash model. Tencent is using subsidised access to build its developer ecosystem and challenge DeepSeek and OpenAI.

Chinese investment group CPE agrees to acquire Swiss outdoor brand Mammut (link)

Chinese investment group CPE has agreed to acquire Swiss outdoor brand Mammut from Jacobs Capital, pending regulatory approval. Founded in 1862, Mammut is known for mountaineering equipment, climbing gear and technical outdoor apparel. The purchase price was not disclosed. Jacobs Capital bought Mammut from Switzerland's Bystronic for CHF218 million (USD 270 million) in 2021. CPE, which took control of Burger King's China operations earlier this year, manages more than CNY150 billion (USD 22.2 billion) in private-equity assets. Its portfolio includes Mixue, Pop Mart and Laopu Gold, though Mammut will be its first outdoor-sports brand. CPE plans to work with Mammut's management on product innovation, brand-building and supply-chain optimisation in China and Asia-Pacific. The deal tests whether a Chinese investment group can accelerate growth at a century-old Swiss technical brand that has changed hands twice in five years.

CATL is increasing its dominance of global EV battery market, NEVs capture record 64.4% in July (link, link)

Global EV battery usage reached 608.5 GWh in the first half of 2026, up 20.0% year-on-year. CATL remained the dominant force with installations of 242.7 GWh, a 25.3% increase, lifting its market share to 39.9% from 38.2% a year earlier. BYD, in contrast, delivered a muted performance: installations grew just 1.6% to 87.7 GWh, causing its share to slide to 14.4% from 17.0%. The two Chinese giants together accounted for 54.3% of the market. Seven Chinese companies ranked among the top ten, holding a combined 72.4% share. South Korea's LG Energy Solution ranked third with 52.6 GWh (8.6% share), while China's CALB and Gotion High-tech posted the strongest growth, up 39.5% and 43.3% respectively.

China's passenger NEV retail sales reached 970,000 units in July, capturing a record 64.4% penetration rate, up from 62.8% in June. Retail sales eased 2% year-on-year, but the decline narrowed from June's 9.4% drop. Wholesale volumes rose 24% to 1.463 million units, while cumulative wholesale increased 8% to 8.251 million in the first seven months. Gasoline-powered light vehicle production plunged 54% year-on-year to 422,000 units as electrification accelerated. Cumulative NEV sales reached 5.675 million units in the first seven months.

Chinese chain Miniso becomes the fastest-growing retailer in the USA (link)

Miniso, a Chinese lifestyle retailer, has topped the National Retail Federation's annual ranking of the fastest-growing U.S. retailers, posting 53% sales growth to USD 466 million in domestic revenue. The firm outpaced Dick's Sporting Goods (49% growth, USD 13.6 billion) and Costco (8% growth, USD 198.7 billion in U.S. sales), which ranked 18th. The NRF attributed Miniso's success to affordable lifestyle products, "discovery-driven shopping experiences," and U.S. expansion. The retailer, founded in 2013 and listed on the NYSE in 2020, has risen in popularity through viral blind boxes and partnerships with Minecraft and My Little Pony. Founder Ye Guofu has an estimated net worth of USD 1.6 billion.

World's first artificial heart from China secures EU certification (link)

China's Corheart 6, developed by Shenzhen Core Medical, has become the world's first artificial heart to secure CE certification under the European Union's stringent Medical Device Regulation (MDR). The MDR framework, which replaced the older Medical Devices Directive in 2021, has an approval rate below 60%. Corheart 6 is approved for bridging to transplantation, myocardial recovery, and destination therapy, covering the full spectrum of clinical needs. Weighing just 90 grams with a 34 mm diameter, it is the world's smallest and lightest commercialised fully magnetically levitated implantable artificial heart, 30% smaller and 50% lighter than comparable international products. As of the first half of 2026, cumulative implantations exceeded 1,500 cases across more than 150 hospitals, with a two-year survival rate of 86% and no pump thrombosis or device malfunctions.