Krypton Evening News | Apple iPhone 18 Series Has Entered Mass Production; Xiaohongshu Responds to IPO Rumors: All Relevant Information Is Untrue; Meiji to Transfer Its Dairy Business in China to AustAsia Group
Large Companies:
Pony.ai Reaches Strategic Cooperation with JD Auto Care
36Kr learned that on July 21, Pony.ai and JD Auto Care entered into a strategic cooperation. The two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation in fields including autonomous driving vehicle maintenance services and supply chain collaboration, and jointly build a standardized, large-scale operation and maintenance service system for autonomous driving fleets. This marks the first time an autonomous driving company has established a comprehensive strategic cooperation with a national automotive aftermarket service platform.
Yisheng Co., Ltd.: Net profit of RMB 308 million in the first half of 2026, up 4897.29% year on year
36Kr learned from the announcement of Yisheng Co., Ltd. that its revenue in the first half of 2026 reached RMB 1.697 billion, up 28.44% year on year; its net profit was RMB 308 million, up 4897.29% year on year. The profit distribution plan reviewed and approved by the company's board of directors is: taking the total share capital of the company on the equity registration date for the implementation of equity distribution minus the repurchased shares in the special repurchase securities account as the base, the company will distribute a cash dividend of RMB 1.5 (tax included) for every 10 shares to all shareholders, no bonus shares will be issued, and no share capital will be converted from the public reserve fund.
Samsung plans to invest in Mistral AI, which is valued at 20 billion euros
Samsung is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of euros in AI startup Mistral. This investment will help the French enterprise expand its market presence and build mainstream AI solutions that can serve as alternatives to those from US tech giants. According to people familiar with the matter, the South Korean conglomerate is negotiating to participate in Mistral's new round of financing, which is expected to push Mistral's valuation to around 20 billion euros upon completion. One of the sources said Samsung is expected to invest around 1 billion euros in this round; Samsung has previously invested in Mistral through its venture capital arm. (Sina Finance)
Over 100 enterprises under Topsports have been deregistered
36Kr learned from media reports that Nike will phase out thousands of online distributors in China, and announced that Topsports' online authorization will be fully terminated in early next year. According to Tianyancha App, Topsports Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., the affiliated company of Topsports, was established in March 2016, with Zhang Huijing as the legal representative and a registered capital of 100 million RMB. Its business scope includes retail of sporting goods and equipment, sales of leather products, retail of footwear and headwear, etc., and it is wholly owned by Fengbang Co., Ltd. The information of controlled enterprises shows that more than 100 enterprises under this company have been deregistered. The branch information shows that all branches under this company have been deregistered.
AI Computing Power Industry Chain Has Become a Key Growth Driver for Shanghai's Exports
It is learned from Shanghai Customs that in the first half of the year, exports of Shanghai-made artificial intelligence (AI)-related products including servers, optical transceivers, integrated circuits, industrial-grade transformers and energy storage batteries all achieved rapid growth, and the AI computing power industry chain has become an important growth driver for Shanghai's exports. Li Jirong, Deputy Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of Shanghai Customs, pointed out that the rapid growth of Shanghai's AI-related product exports in the first half of the year is a structural and sustained growth driven by the iteration of leading industries such as integrated circuits and artificial intelligence. Compared with the steady growth of traditional foreign trade categories, the AI-related industrial chain has a strong driving effect. From basic upstream components such as energy storage power equipment, to midstream computing power hardware such as integrated circuits and solid-state drives, and then to downstream computer servers, the AI industry has opened up the entire high-end electronics foreign trade chain in Shanghai, achieving coordinated growth across all categories. (Xinhua News Agency)
He Xiaopeng: XPeng Huitian is included in the first list of compliant enterprises for civil manned eVTOL airworthiness certification
36Kr has learned that on July 22, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng Group @He Xiaopeng, posted that the Airworthiness Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China officially publicized the "First Batch of Civil Manned eVTOL Airworthiness Certification Compliant Enterprise List" today. This list formally includes 4 leading domestic manned eVTOL OEMs including XPeng Huitian Aviation Technology Co., Ltd.
Guangxi Baifei Dairy Co., Ltd. Submits Listing Application to Hong Kong Stock Exchange
36Kr has learned that Guangxi Baifei Dairy Co., Ltd. has submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with GF Securities acting as the sole sponsor.
Meiji to Transfer Its China-based Milk Business to AustAsia Group
On July 21, Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. released an announcement stating that it will transfer its dairy product business (drinking milk and yogurt) and B2B business (the target business) in China to Aoya Food. The transfer price is RMB 320 million. It should be noted that Aoya Food is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AustAsia Group, a leading giant in dairy farming. On the same day, AustAsia Group confirmed this transaction and disclosed that the aforesaid transaction consideration includes a base purchase price of RMB 320 million plus adjustment amount (if any), with a cap of RMB 350 million for the total purchase price. (21st Century Business Herald)
Xiaohongshu Responds to IPO Rumors: All Relevant Information Is Untrue
36Kr has learned that there have been widespread rumors recently claiming that "Xiaohongshu has secretly submitted its IPO application before the end of June, but the process was blocked due to a former employee's report on its "listing compliance" issues." In response, the Xiaohongshu side stated that all the currently circulating IPO-related information is untrue.
Investment and Financing:
"Tongzhou Smart Navigation" Completes Tens of Millions Yuan Seed Round Financing
36Kr learned that intelligent watercraft company "Tongzhou Smart Navigation" recently completed a seed round financing of tens of millions of yuan, which is co-led by Innoangel Fund and Wuzhong Financial Holding, with Jiangsu Jinqiao Fund participating as the follow-on investor. The financing proceeds will be used to recruit talents for its core R&D and mass production teams, and simultaneously launch overseas brand building and channel expansion.
New Products:
Apple iPhone 18 Series Has Entered Mass Production
On July 22, sources from the industrial chain revealed that since the start of July, Apple's iPhone 18 series smartphones have officially entered mass production and are currently in the capacity ramp-up phase. It is reported that Foxconn, Apple's OEM assembly partner for iPhones, is now in the peak period of recruitment. (China Securities Journal)
Today's Viewpoints:
Wang Xingxing from Unitree Robotics: The "ChatGPT Moment" of Embodied Intelligence is Expected to Arrive in as Fast as 2 to 3 Years
According to the World Internet Conference, the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forum with the theme of "Gathering Wisdom on the Silk Road, Launching New Journey with Digital Power - Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace" was held in Xi'an, Shaanxi on July 22. Wang Xingxing, Founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. In the past few years, humanoid robots have made rapid progress, evolving from walking to dancing, kung fu fighting and then to providing simple services. Wang Xingxing believes that the "ChatGPT Moment" of embodied intelligence is expected to arrive in as fast as two to three years: by then, robots can work directly in most unfamiliar scenarios and realize many basic functions. Therefore, everyone should make various plans and arrangements in advance according to their own actual situation, so as to seize new opportunities in the intelligent era. (Securities Times)
Other Noteworthy News:
The 15th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of a Leading Sports Nation Released, Industry Scale to Exceed 7 Trillion Yuan by 2030
Approved by the State Council, the General Administration of Sport of China released the *15th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of a Leading Sports Nation* today. As the first national special plan themed on "leading sports nation", it has made systematic arrangements for accelerating the construction of a leading sports nation and promoting high-quality development of the sports sector during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The Plan specifies that by 2030, the overall development quality and efficiency of sports will be notably improved, its comprehensive value and multiple functions will be fully demonstrated, and the foundation for sports to become a landmark cause of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be more solid. The per capita sports venue area will reach around 4 square meters, the proportion of people who regularly take part in physical exercise will reach around 40%, the excellent rate of national physical fitness will reach 31.1%, the number of world champions won will rank at the forefront globally, and the total scale of the sports industry will exceed 7 trillion yuan. (CCTV News)
Ministry of Finance: National Fiscal Revenue Increased by 4.7% Year-on-Year in the First Half of the Year
36Kr learned that the Ministry of Finance has released the fiscal revenue and expenditure data for the first half of 2026. In the first half of the year, the national general public budget revenue reached 12.1047 trillion yuan, up 4.7% year on year. Stamp duty revenue hit 275.2 billion yuan, up 40.9% year on year. Among them, stamp duty on securities transactions reached 154.9 billion yuan, up 97.3% year on year.
The number of countries enjoying zero-tariff treatment from China has reached 63
This morning (22nd), the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the relevant situation of implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan, accelerating customs modernization and promoting the construction of a strong trading nation. It was introduced at the meeting that China has delivered tangible results by promoting the implementation of independent and unilateral opening-up policies. In May this year, China fully implemented zero-tariff measures for all African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. At present, the number of countries to which China applies zero-tariff treatment has reached 63. (CCTV News)