In Depth: China’s Appliance-Makers Hunt Emerging Market Growth

Tariff tidal wave: China opposes the latest round of U.S. tariffs and will adopt countermeasures, the commerce ministry said. The levies “will not only damage the United States' own interests, but also endanger global economic development,” a ministry spokesperson said. President Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on many of the country’s trading partners on April 2, including another 34% tax on imports from China, a move observers said could reshape the global economic landscape.

Minimum wage hikes: Seven Chinese regions have raised their minimum wages this year, including Fujian, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces. The average hike across the provinces was just over 10%. The central government has decreed that all provincial-level regions should increase their minimum wages this year, after boosting consumption was set as a top priority for 2025.

Minimis no more: The U.S. has officially revoked a tax exemption on low-value imports from China starting May 2, potentially disrupting the business of Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu that based their business model on the loophole. Trump signed an executive order revoking the so-called de minimis policy for packages valued under $800, claiming that such small packages were being used to smuggle the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the country. A previous effort to revoke the policy earlier this year was abandoned after U.S. customs authorities were overwhelmed by the volume of packages they were suddenly tasked with processing.

Nio’s missed target: Electric-vehicle maker Nio Inc.’s mid-range brand missed its sales target, prompting the resignation of its president. Onvo aimed to sell 20,000 units of its L60 SUV by March, but sold less than 5,000. The L60 made a splash at first, with December sales topping 10,000. But enthusiasm for the model has been slipping, which Nio blamed on production limitations and ineffective marketing. Nio’s net loss widened 8.1% year-on-year to about 22.4 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) in 2024, extending a streak of losses that stretches back to the company’s founding.

Cash pool pilot: China’s 4-year-old pilot program for integrating multinationals’ cross-border yuan and foreign-currency cash pools is set to be expanded nationwide. Under the trial, multinationals are allowed to buy foreign currencies at will within certain limits for overseas payments.