In Depth: Fatal Crash Sours Xiaomi’s EV Success

Tariff bullying: Senior Communist Party official Xia Baolong got fired up during a national security speech in Hong Kong on Tuesday, condemning the U.S.’ 145% tariff on imports from the free port city as “outrageous bullying and utterly shameless.” Xia, the director of the Communist Party Central Committee’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said Washington “doesn’t want our ‘taxes,’ it wants our ‘life.’” And in an apparent response to U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance’s reference to Chinese as “peasants,” Xia added: “Let those American ‘peasants’ wail before the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization!” Distinct from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong maintained a “zero tariff” policy on all goods, including American products. The U.S. has a trade surplus of $271.5 billion with Hong Kong in the last decade, making the city America’s largest trade surplus region.

Big deal hint: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said current tariffs on China are unsustainable and hinted there might be a “big deal at some point” in the future. During his visit to Argentina on Monday, he said in an interview with Bloomberg that discussions with countries such as Japan and Vietnam are already underway and emphasized that those who negotiate first will receive the best terms, as the U.S. aims to wrap up initial agreements within 90 days. Washington is also wants to prevent Latin American countries giving up mining rights to China in return for aid, he said. China said it opposed Bessent’s remarks and criticized him for “maliciously slandering and smearing” China and told the U.S. to stop “obstructing and deliberately sabotaging” developing countries.

Nvidia takes AI chips home: Facing tariff pressures, Nvidia has announced plans to manufacture AI servers in the United States for the first time, partnering with Foxconn and Wistron to establish new facilities in Texas. Combined with TSMC’s ongoing production of Nvidia’s AI chips in Arizona, this marks the company’s first full-capacity AI infrastructure supply chain within the United States. Mass production is expected start within 12 to 15 months, backed by a projected investment of $500 billion over the next four years. CEO Jensen Huang said that domestic manufacturing will strengthen Nvidia’s supply chain, support growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, and generate hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Winter Games cyberattacks: Three U.S. National Security Agency agents are wanted by police in Northeast China for alleged cyberattacks on the Asian Winter Games in February, Chinese state media reported. The attacks primarily targeted critical information systems including the registration system to steal athletes’ personal data and disrupt the games, which were held in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, the report said. Ostensibly, the agents conducted simultaneous cyberattacks against important industries in Heilongjiang, including energy, transportation, water conservancy, communications, and defense research institutions, attempting to disrupt critical information infrastructure to cause social disorder and steal confidential information. The police will issue rewards for information leading to the apprehension of these three suspects, the report said.

Xi in Vietnam: During a state visit to Vietnam on Monday, President Xi Jinping urged China and Vietnam to jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism. During his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, Xi said that the two countries should ensure a smooth flow of trade, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, and work together to push for an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. The visit comes shortly after the U.S. imposed a 46% import tariff on Vietnamese goods. When asked about Xi’s visit to Vietnam, President Donald Trump said the two countries were figuring out how to “screw” the U.S. but added that he didn’t blame them for doing so. Xi will also visit Cambodia and Malaysia this week, completing his first overseas trip this year.