Latest news with #foreign investment
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Nvidia CEO meets China's commerce minister to discuss AI cooperation, foreign investment
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation, days after the chipmaker said it was resuming sales of its H20 chips to the country. Advertisement Wang said China's policies for attracting foreign investment remained unchanged, and its doors would only open wider, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Friday. Highlighting the country's vast market, Wang encouraged multinational firms, including Nvidia, to continue providing high-quality and reliable products and services to Chinese customers. Huang said the Chinese market was attractive and affirmed Nvidia's commitment to deepening collaboration with Chinese partners in the AI sector, according to the statement. On Monday, Nvidia said it was filing applications to resume sales of its H20 chips in China after the US government assured the company that licences would be granted. Those chips have been subject to Washington's export restrictions since April. The company also planned to introduce a new RTX Pro graphics processing unit that fully complied with regulatory requirements. 03:34 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praises China's AI progress following chip sales approval Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praises China's AI progress following chip sales approval Huang has emerged as an unofficial US emissary amid geopolitical tensions with China. 'This month, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang promoted AI in both Washington and Beijing,' the California-based company said in its statement.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China pledges more consumption incentives to service the service sector
China has vowed to continue cutting red tape and attracting foreign investment to boost service consumption over the next five years, as Beijing turns to domestic demand for a reliable source of economic growth in an uncertain environment for international trade. Advertisement There is a 'shortage of high-quality service on the supply side' even as service consumption grows at a faster rate than that of goods, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said at a press conference in Beijing on Friday. To address the shortage, China will 'reduce some restrictive measures and enrich service supply' from 2026 to 2030, especially in sectors such as healthcare and elderly care, Wang said. Wang's comments came as the world's second-largest economy attempts to drive up domestic consumption to compensate for a trade picture complicated by a tense, multi-front trade war launched by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. 'China-US economic and trade relations have weathered many storms, and both sides remain important economic and trade partners,' Wang said when asked about the topic. 'Facts prove that 'decoupling' is impossible.' Advertisement In 2024, the combined goods imports of mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for about 13.3 per cent of global imports, the minister noted. This made China the world's second-largest import market, nearly on par with the US and its 13.6 per cent share.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Couche-Tard Drops $46 Billion Bid for Japan's 7-Eleven Owner
Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its $45.8 billion proposal for Seven & i Holdings, blaming a 'calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay' by the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven for ending its year-long pursuit. A deal could have been the largest foreign takeover of a Japanese company. While some questioned whether Couche-Tard might destroy the food quality and customer experience of Japan's famed combini, the talks had raised hopes that the country was finally opening up to foreign takeovers, with improved corporate governance and greater attention to shareholders. 'The moat of Japanese protectionism proved too much for Couche-Tard to cross,' said Andrew Jackson, head of Japan equity strategy at Ortus Advisors. 'It was always highly unlikely that this was going to be successful given Seven & i's positioning as one of Japan's most successful global companies and the fast closing of the ranks.' Still, the talks forced Seven & i to change. The company appointed its first foreign CEO, agreed to sell its superstore business and proposed a ¥2 trillion share buyback. It also announced a possible listing of its US business, although there are doubts over whether such a move is now needed. Seven & i's shares fell around 9% on Thursday, and there's pressure on management to show it can do it alone.
