9:01 AM | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds to Uniqlo not using Xinjiang cotton; Xinba is reported for false promotion in live-streaming with goods; Shanghai will revise the regulations on the auction of "Shanghai license plates".

TOP 3 Big News

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responds to Uniqlo's Decision Not to Use Xinjiang Cotton

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning presided over the regular press conference on November 29. At the conference, a foreign media reporter asked: Recently, Yanai Tadashi, the founder of Uniqlo (UNIQLO), clearly stated in an interview with the BBC that Uniqlo does not use cotton from the Xinjiang region of China. Despite the fact that China is an important market for Uniqlo, with the number of stores even exceeding that in Japan, Yanai Tadashi insists on this strategy without change. This statement has triggered widespread discussion and attention.

Mao Ning said in response that the cotton in the Xinjiang region is one of the best cottons in the world. We hope that relevant enterprises can eliminate political pressure and adverse interference, and independently make business decisions that are in line with their own interests. (Hot News, Global Daily)

Simba Was Reported for False Propaganda in Livestreaming with Goods, and the Market Supervision Bureau Has Registered the Case

On November 29, the blogger @Taobaobaistyle, who reported Simba's livestreaming with goods, received a paper reply from the Baiyun District Market Supervision Administration of Guangzhou. The reply shows that after investigation, the situation that the blogger reported that Simba was suspected of false propaganda in the livestreaming promotion on October 19 is partially true, and it is decided to register the case for investigation according to law.

According to previous reports, in a livestreaming with goods by Simba and his apprentice Dandan, they claimed that a modulated milk powder called "Hepurno Epicor Aibike Immune Globulin Lactoferrin" is effective for symptoms such as rhinitis, fever, beriberi, bad breath, urticaria, etc., and can significantly improve immunity within two hours. Based on this, blogger Taobaobaistyle made a real-name report to the Guangzhou market supervision department, questioning that Simba's livestreaming with goods in this session is suspected of false propaganda.

On the evening of November 25, the Simba Election side announced the self-examination and self-correction investigation results. It is mentioned that for the "Hepurno Epicor Aibike Yeast Modulated Milk Powder" sold on October 19, the anchor had improper wording in the process of explaining the product. Simba Election will handle the refund of the products sold on that day (for users who have already received the goods and those who have been passively refunded, if there are doubts, they can apply for a refund and three times the compensation).

Shanghai Will Revise the Auction Rules for "Hu License Plate", and Those Who Have Paid Social Insurance or Personal Income Tax for 1 Year Continuously Can Participate in the Auction

On November 29, the official website of the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission released the "Regulations on the Auction Management of the Non-Commercial Passenger Vehicle Quota in Shanghai" (Revised Draft), and at the same time solicited public opinions on the content of the revised draft. The consultation period is from November 29, 2024 to December 6, 2024. It is mentioned that currently, the non-commercial passenger vehicle quota can be applied to fuel vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles. Considering that in recent years, citizens have often reported that the qualification requirements for participating in the auction set in the current "Auction Regulations" are relatively strict, resulting in blocked willingness to participate in the auction. Therefore, this revision aims at the requirement for the duration of "continuous payment of social insurance or personal income tax" in the qualification conditions for non-residents of this city to participate in the auction. It is adjusted from the original continuous payment for 3 years to continuous payment for 1 year. Through relevant adjustments, the qualification conditions for participating in the auction will be further optimized to meet the reasonable needs of more people in need. (Shanghai Observer)

Big Companies/Big Events

Pangdonglai Down Jackets Sold Out: Some Offer Discounts with Only 30 Cents Profit per Piece

Recently, the abundance of the fake down jacket market has been exposed, while the self-operated down jackets of Pangdonglai are selling well. Some local citizens in Xuchang said that when they went to Pangdonglai to buy down jackets, they found that they were all out of stock. Journalists' investigation found that each down jacket is marked with the purchase price and the selling price, and some offer discounts with only 30 cents profit per piece. In this regard, the staff of Pangdonglai said that the yellow labels belong to the promotional and discounted products, and Pangdonglai has been offering large discounts in clothing. In addition, the customer service of Pangdonglai also responded to the "Only 30 Cents Profit for 1 Down Jacket": The purchase prices of shoes and clothing in Pangdonglai have been marked for two or three years, and the special price products belong to the promotional and discounted products, and most products will maintain a normal profit margin. (Jimu News) 

Economist Fu Peng Blasts HSBC: HSBC Account Manager Spreads Rumor That Fu Peng Was Summoned for Talks 

On November 28, Fu Peng, the chief economist of Northeast Securities, was completely enraged. On the evening of the 28th, he bombarded HSBC in his Moments. The reason was that he was rumored to be summoned for talks by the HSBC account manager. He directly called out to Mr. Zhang in the China region, stating straightforwardly that the quality of HSBC bank account managers needs to be enhanced. 

Fu Peng stated that the conference activities had to be canceled due to the problems of HSBC. In order to pacify their clients, they distorted the facts and spread the rumor that he was summoned for talks and therefore could not attend. These people under you, in order to cover up their own problems, are very immoral by spreading rumors about others. 

Fu Peng stated, with such behavior to serve private banking clients? Who would dare to feel at ease? The lawyer's letter regarding the impact on my reputation is on the way, and I am waiting for your apology. (Sina Securities) 

Li Xiang Auto implements a limited-time 0-interest policy for all vehicle models for the first time 

On November 29, Li Xiang Auto announced a limited-time 0-interest policy at the end of the year: From November 29, 2024 to December 31, 2024, users who purchase the Li Xiang L series and Li Xiang MEGA can enjoy a financial plan with a minimum down payment and 0 interest for three years. The minimum down payment amounts for individual vehicle models are as follows: The down payment for the Li Xiang MEGA is 159,800 yuan, the down payment for the Li Xiang L9 is 129,800 yuan, the down payment for the Li Xiang L8 and Li Xiang L7 is 99,800 yuan, and the down payment for the Li Xiang L6 is 69,800 yuan. (Jiemian News) 

Australia Passes the World's Toughest Social Media Ban

On Thursday (November 28) local time, the Australian Federal Senate voted to pass a bill that implements a social media ban for people under the age of 16 in the country. Next, technology companies must take "reasonable measures" to prevent underage users from accessing social media services, otherwise they may face a huge fine of nearly 50 million Australian dollars (approximately 32 million US dollars). At this point, the bill has passed the deliberations of both the House of Representatives and the Senate and has officially become law. The law will be piloted starting from January next year and will come into effect one year later (from November 2025). (Cailian Press) 

The Official Announcement of the Snake Year Spring Festival Gala: The Main Theme and Logo of the Gala Released by the Central Broadcasting and Television Station

The dragon departs, and the snake arrives. On November 29, the Central Radio and Television Station released the theme and main logo of the 2025 Spring Festival Gala. The Spring Festival Gala of the Yi-Si Snake Year will be based on the overall tone of joy, auspiciousness, and festivity, with the theme of "Everything Goes Well in the Snake Year, and Life Goes On Endlessly". It will meet with Chinese people all over the world on New Year's Eve to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The situation of supply exceeding demand prevails, and the peak season for the live pig market may not be prosperous

Since mid-August, the price of live pigs has entered a downward trend. Even though the traditional peak demand season in November has arrived, it has not been able to change this situation. Currently, the price is approaching 8 yuan per jin, and the cumulative decline during this period is more than 22%. Industry insiders said that due to the slow decrease in temperature, the demand for pickled and cured pork has not yet started on a large scale, and the market terminal demand lacks effective support. Coupled with a relatively sufficient supply, the recent price of live pigs has been under pressure to decline. In the future, as the temperature gradually drops and reaches an appropriate level for pickling and curing, the terminal demand in the live pig market is expected to improve significantly. However, considering that the pressure to sell pigs at the farming end is still relatively high, it may be difficult for the price of live pigs to show a significant increase within the year. (China Securities Journal) 

The policies of "Multiple Visits with One Visa" and "One Visit per Week" will be implemented, and the search popularity for destinations in Hong Kong and Macao on Ctrip has increased by more than 30% month-on-month.

36Kr has learned that on November 29, the Exit and Entry Administration of the People's Republic of China announced that with the approval of the State Council, the policy of "Multiple Visits with One Visa" for traveling to Hong Kong will be implemented in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, the policy of "One Visit per Week" for traveling to Macao will be implemented in Zhuhai City, and the policy of "Multiple Visits with One Visa" for traveling to Macao will be implemented in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone. Half an hour after the policy was released, the search popularity for destinations in Hong Kong and Macao on the Ctrip platform has increased by more than 30% month-on-month. Ctrip data shows that Hong Kong and Macao are among the top 10 popular destinations for mainland residents' outbound travel this year. Since the beginning of this year, the number of travel orders for mainland residents to Hong Kong and Macao has increased by more than 11% year-on-year.

Yonghui Supermarket: Pangdonglai supplies products to Yonghui at cost price without making a profit from the price difference

The vice president of Yonghui Supermarket and the person in charge of the national adjustment and reorganization team, Wang Shoucheng, said that there are rumors that Pangdonglai is helping Yonghui to promote its own products. In fact, all of Pangdonglai's products are supplied to Yonghui at cost price, without any additional fees to make a profit from the price difference. Some popular out-of-stock products will even be given priority to Yonghui. (The Paper) 

Netease Denies Complete Layoffs in Shenzhen Company: Regular Adjustment for a Single Product

36Kr has learned that recently, there were online rumors that Netease has laid off all employees in Shenzhen. In response, a person close to Netease said that this was an adjustment made several months ago, which is a regular adjustment for a single product. Many colleagues have already been internally transferred to other products. It is definitely false to say that all employees have been laid off.

Did Douyin's Advertising Revenue Reach 400 Billion Yuan Last Year? The Official Denial

Recently, there was a news that "Douyin E-commerce's GMV reached more than 2 trillion yuan last year, and its advertising revenue was as high as 400 billion yuan". In response to this news, on November 29, Li Liang, Vice President of Douyin Group, posted a response saying: This content is seriously inconsistent with the facts. Li Liang stated that only a part of Douyin's advertising revenue comes from the e-commerce business, and the majority comes from non-e-commerce information flow advertisements. It is not appropriate to directly compare it with e-commerce companies. (China Business Network) 

Due to a reversing camera image issue, Maserati recalls 1,710 vehicles in the US

On November 29, as disclosed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States, Maserati North America is recalling some 2023 - 2024 Grecale and 2024 GranTurismo vehicles, totaling 1,710. The reason for the recall is that when the vehicle is reversing, the Central Vision Parking Assist Module (CVPAM) software may prevent the display of the rearview image. Dealers will update the CVPAM software for free. A malfunctioning reversing camera image display can reduce the driver's rearward visibility, thereby increasing the risk of injury or crash. (Jiemian News) 

The Competition Bureau of Canada sues Google, accusing it of anti-competitive behavior in online advertising

On November 28 local time, the Competition Bureau of Canada issued a statement saying that the bureau is taking legal action against Google for anti-competitive behavior in its online advertising technology services in Canada. The statement said that the investigation found that as the largest online advertising technology provider in Canada, Google abused its dominant market position to prevent competitors from competing, suppress innovation, increase advertising costs and reduce the revenue of publishing institutions by implementing anti-competitive behavior. The Competition Bureau of Canada said that they have applied to the Competition Tribunal to require Google to sell two advertising technology tools, pay a fine, and prohibit Google from continuing to engage in anti-competitive behavior. The statement said that the final decision on the matter lies with the Competition Tribunal. (CCTV News) 

Tom Cat Responds to the "Goods Economy" Issue: The Company Continuously Expands IP Derivatives and Licensing Business

Regarding the question of "Whether the company expands the 'goods economy' around the Tom IP", Tom Cat stated in the recent institutional teleconference that "Gu Zi" is a homophonic word derived from "GOODS", mainly referring to peripheral products of IPs such as animations, comics, and games, such as pendant badges, daily necessities, stationery, and other derivatives. The company utilizes the high-quality content and brand influence of the "Talking Tom and Friends" IP to continuously expand the IP derivatives and licensing business. Up to now, the company has collaborated with multiple well-known brands, manufacturers, and licensees at home and abroad. The products exceed 3000 SKUs, covering the peripherals of the Tom Cat Family IP, including trendy toys, plush dolls, trendy shoes and clothing, maternity and baby daily necessities, smart toys, household cleaning and care, food and beverages, etc. (Securities Times) 

Meng Xiaosu: The gap in affordable housing may be around 100 million units

36Kr learned that Meng Xiaosu, the former chairman of China Real Estate Development Group, said at the "2024 Sohu Finance Annual Forum" that the new model for China's real estate development, namely the "market + security" housing supply system, the key is to build affordable housing. He said that among the new urban residents, 252 million people have not been converted into registered residents, which is approximately 100 million families, and they should be entitled to affordable housing. At the same time, young families in urban registered residents also need affordable housing. Therefore, if the permanent resident population is used as the calculation basis, the current gap in affordable housing should be around 100 million units. If the construction is to be completed within 10 years, 10 million units need to be built each year.

China Welfare Lottery: It has never conducted lottery sales activities on the Internet through any platforms, webpages, etc.

36Kr learned that the China Welfare Lottery Issuance and Management Center issued a statement: Our center and its affiliated companies strictly abide by relevant national laws, regulations and policy requirements. We have never conducted lottery sales activities on the Internet through any platforms, self-media, webpages, etc., nor have we conducted lottery sales activities on the Internet through cooperation with any units or individuals. Our center and its affiliated companies have never conducted investment activities by signing agreements with individuals or "cooperative members", nor have we signed any so-called "compensation guarantee agreements" or issued "compensation" commitments in any form. 

Consolidate the trend of halting the decline and stabilizing, and continuously optimize the real estate market policies

To help the real estate market consolidate the trend of halting the decline and stabilizing, recently, various regions have intensively launched new real estate policies. By adjusting the housing provident fund policies, optimizing the real estate transaction policies, and supporting housing "trade-in" and other measures to boost market confidence and promote the continuous release of market demand. Generally, the interviewed experts believe that under the effect of a series of "combined punches" of real estate policies, the trend of the current real estate market bottoming out and stabilizing is becoming more and more obvious. The new real estate policies launched in various regions recently are expected to exert a certain incremental effect and help the subsequent market develop for the better. (Securities Daily) 

HSBC Responds to Rumors of "Exiting Credit Card Business in China": Continuing to Provide Credit Card Services Focusing on International Travel and Lifestyle

There are market rumors that HSBC will exit the credit card business in China. The bank has stopped issuing new cards and is trying to reduce the services provided to most customers in mainland China. Some insiders revealed that HSBC previously attempted to sell the business but failed. Now, it plans to end the business and may continue to provide credit card services to a small number of high-end customers. A HSBC spokesperson responded to this in a statement to the media: "As part of our Premier and Global Private Banking services in mainland China, we will continue to provide credit card services focusing on international travel and lifestyle." (Jiemian News)

The Forefront of AI

Zhipu AI CEO Zhang Peng Talks About Large Models: Agent Will Enhance the Ability to Use AI Tools

At the Zhipu Agent OpenDay, Zhang Peng, the CEO of Zhipu AI, announced that its self-developed task-completing agent AutoGLM has been upgraded again, supporting the autonomous execution of long-step operations of more than 54 steps, and also being able to perform tasks across apps. Zhang Peng pointed out that the development of large models can be divided into a total of five stages from L1 to L5. Up to now, large models have initially possessed some of the capabilities of human interaction with the real physical world. Agent will greatly enhance the ability to use tools at L3, while initiating the exploration of the self-learning ability at L4. (Sina Technology) 

Kuaishou Keling AI Software Copyright Approved

36Kr has learned that according to the intellectual property information on Tianyancha, recently, the software copyright of "Keling AI" of Beijing Kuaishou Technology Co., Ltd. has been registered and approved, with the version number V1.0. Public information shows that Keling AI is a visual generation large model independently developed by the Kuaishou large model team, with a strong visual generation ability, allowing users to easily and efficiently complete various artistic creations. 

Permissions were deliberately leaked, and OpenAI suspended Sora's access

On November 26 local time, some artists who were said to have participated in the Sora test leaked the model's access permissions (API) to protest against OpenAI's exploitation of them. Through this frontend, users can generate 10-second videos with a resolution of up to 1080p by entering a brief text description. However, three hours after the project was created, OpenAI shut down all artists' early access to Sora. Currently, the project is no longer available. Within just three hours, users generated and released 87 videos through this project. Currently, OpenAI has not publicly confirmed whether the so-called Sora leak is true. (National Business Daily) 

Galaxy Securities: The Rise of AI Agents is Reshaping the AI Industry Chain and Bringing New Investment Opportunities

36Kr has learned that the research report of Galaxy Securities believes that the large model is evolving from "training" to "inference", and AI Agents will become the only way to the AGI era. The rise of AI Agents is reshaping the AI industry chain and bringing new investment opportunities. It is expected that by 2028, the scale of the Chinese AI Agent market will surge to 852 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 72.7%. The rapid development of AI Agent technology marks the transition from training-oriented to inference-oriented, and the capital expenditure of enterprises will show a shift from R & D capital expenditure to operational capital expenditure. The AI application ecosystem is expected to usher in a prosperous period. The AI Agent industry chain is a diversified and highly collaborative ecosystem with a broad market space in the future.

Big Company Financial Reports

Meituan: Revenue in the third quarter was 93.58 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 22.4%

36Kr learned that Meituan released its financial report for the third quarter of 2024. The financial report shows that the revenue in this quarter reached 93.58 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 22.4%; In the third quarter, the revenue of Meituan's Core Local Commerce business segment reached 69.4 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 20.2%. The number of on-demand delivery orders on the platform reached 7.1 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 14.5%.

MINISO: Total Revenue of 4.52 Billion Yuan in the Third Quarter, with a Year-on-Year Growth of 19.3%

36Kr has learned that MINISO has released its financial report for the third quarter of 2024. The report shows that the total revenue in this quarter reached 4.52 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 19.3%; the adjusted net profit was 686 million yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 6.9%; the gross profit margin was 44.9%, an increase of 3.1 percentage points compared to the same period last year, setting a new historical high again. In the first three quarters, the total revenue of MINISO Group was 12.28 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 22.8%; the overseas business income exceeded 4.5 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 41%; the adjusted net profit was 1.93 billion yuan, and the adjusted net profit rate was 15.7%. 

The Ministry of Finance: In October, a total of 44.225 billion yuan worth of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, a decrease of 3.116 billion yuan compared to the same period last year.

36Kr has learned that the Ministry of Finance released the national lottery sales situation for October 2024. In October, a total of 44.225 billion yuan worth of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, a decrease of 3.116 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, representing a 6.6% decline. Among them, welfare lottery institutions sold 14.514 billion yuan, a decrease of 974 million yuan compared to the same period last year, representing a 6.3% decline; sports lottery institutions sold 29.711 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.142 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, representing a 6.7% decline. From January to October, a total of 513.210 billion yuan worth of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, an increase of 37.335 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, representing a 7.8% growth. Among them, welfare lottery institutions sold 171.934 billion yuan, an increase of 11.908 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, representing a 7.4% growth; sports lottery institutions sold 341.276 billion yuan, an increase of 25.427 billion yuan compared to the same period last year, representing an 8.1% growth.  

Investment and Financing

"Zhimei Technology" Completes Pre-A Round Financing of Several Million Yuan

36Kr has learned that "Zhimei Technology" announced the completion of a Pre-A round financing of several million yuan. This round of financing is led by Yuanqi Fund, and Jinsheng Capital, with Zhangjiagang State-owned Capital Fund as the main investor, follows the investment. It is introduced that Zhimei Technology is a skin intelligence application company, and its main direction is to make the skin instruments and products AI intelligent and digitalized. 

Guangsheng Pharmaceuticals Completes Multi-Million Yuan Series A+ Financing

Recently, Shanghai Guangsheng Pharmaceuticals has completed a multi-million yuan Series A+ financing round, led by Zhangke Herun and followed by Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Investment. The funds will be used to accelerate the research and development and commercialization of the company's core products in the photodynamic therapy field. Guangsheng Pharmaceuticals was established in 2018, focusing on the research and development, production, and commercialization of drugs and devices related to stimulating medical technologies such as photodynamic and sonodynamic. (Artery Network) 

"Millimeter Technology" Secures 37 Million Yuan in Series A Financing

36Kr has learned that recently, Lu'an Millimeter Wave Communication Technology Co., Ltd. officially announced that its brand "Millimeter Technology" has successfully completed a 37 million yuan RMB Series A financing. This round of financing is led by a Shenzhen venture capital firm. It is introduced that Lu'an Millimeter Wave Communication Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2022, and its main business is to provide Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS).

Cool Products

The vivo S20 series is released, starting at 2299 yuan.

36Kr learned that the vivo S20 series is released, starting at 2299 yuan. Based on vivo's self-developed AI Lanxin large model, the vivo S20 series provides AI functions such as XiaoV Circle Search, One-click Screen Query, XiaoV Time Silhouette, XiaoV Memory Assistant, XiaoV Writing, AI ID Photo Background Replacement, and XiaoV Phone Assistant. In terms of battery life and performance, the vivo S20 adopts the third-generation silicon anode battery technology, combined with the upgrade of the stacking process, and the battery capacity reaches 6500mAh. In terms of imaging, it adopts physical fill light and self-developed AI 3D virtual fill light technology, which can also take clear and natural portraits in low-light environments.

Inmovision Technology Releases the World's First Simultaneous Interpretation Translation Glasses Specifically Designed for Business Scenarios

36Kr has learned that at the Chengdu AI + AR Industry Ecological Development Conference and Inmovision Technology New Product Launch Event, Inmovision Technology officially launched a new simultaneous interpretation translation glasses - INMO GO2. It is introduced that this is the world's first smart translation glasses specifically designed for business scenarios.

Organized by | Wang Xinyie