Amid fast-paced changes that fill the business community with excitement, angst and trepidation, EqualOcean will publish a series of roundup articles to document the major events related to Chinese companies going global every week.
Weekly Overview（11/01-17/01）
1. Geely (吉利) plans to enter the U.S. market within three years, with Zeekr and Lynk & Co likely to lead the push
2. He Xiaopeng, Chairman of XPeng Motors (小鹏汽车): overseas sales could eventually match domestic sales at a 1:1 ratio
3. Envision Group (远景) partners with Brazilian renewable energy developer Casa dos Ventos (CdV) to deploy AI-powered wind turbines in Brazil
4. BYD (比亚迪) retains its title as the world’s top exporter of new energy buses for the third consecutive year
5. XPeng Motors (小鹏汽车) to establish localized overseas supply chain teams to advance its global supply strategy
6. Agibot (智元机器人) expands overseas, opening its first international experience center in Malaysia
7. Best Software (百世软件) enters the Latin American market to support enterprises’ global operations upgrade
8. AISphere (爱诗科技) releases the world’s first general-purpose real-time world model, PixVerse R1
9. Chow Tai Fook (周大福) opens a flagship store in Bangkok and plans further overseas expansion
10. Reuters: China’s customs authorities notify that NVIDIA H200 chips are not permitted to enter the country
11. The world’s first robot leasing platform, Qingtian Rent (擎天租), completes seed funding; users exceed 200,000 within three weeks of launch
12. SF Express (顺丰) and J&T Express (极兔速递) reach a major strategic partnership to accelerate global logistics network expansion
Selected Developments
1. Geely Plans to Enter the U.S. Market Within Three Years; ZEEKR and Lynk & Co Likely to Lead
[Event] Geely Holding Group (吉利控股集团) is reportedly evaluating the possibility of establishing vehicle production and sales operations in the United States. According to Ash Sutcliffe, Geely Holding’s Global Communications Director, the group aims to achieve this by 2030, with its premium brands ZEEKR and Lynk & Co viewed as the most likely pioneers for U.S. market entry.
To mitigate potential tariff barriers and lower market entry thresholds, Geely may adopt a flexible capacity deployment strategy. Market sources suggest the group could leverage existing production facilities operated by its subsidiary Volvo in South Carolina for localized manufacturing. This approach would help avoid high import tariffs while utilizing Volvo’s established U.S. supply chain and logistics infrastructure, enabling Geely brands to gain traction more quickly in the American market.
Sutcliffe emphasized that Geely has already built solid business foundations in China, Southeast Asia, and Europe, making further global expansion a natural next step. He noted that U.S. consumers show strong demand for high–value-for-money premium and luxury vehicles, presenting Geely with an opportunity for differentiated competition. While a detailed production timeline has yet to be finalized, Geely expects to release a more concrete U.S. market entry plan within the next two to three years.
2. XPeng to Establish Localized Overseas Supply Chain Teams to Advance Global Supply Strategy
[Event] XPeng Motors (小鹏汽车) plans to establish independently operated, localized supply chain teams in Europe and ASEAN, as part of its global strategy centered on “local integration, local production, and global supply.” This move marks a transition in XPeng’s globalization from simple product exports toward deeper ecosystem integration, providing comprehensive supply chain support for its overseas manufacturing bases.
This strategic upgrade builds on XPeng’s accelerated overseas production rollout in 2025. The company has already formed a dual-track overseas manufacturing network across Europe and ASEAN: localized production of the G6 and G9 has commenced at the Graz plant in Austria; right-hand-drive versions of the X9 have entered production in Indonesia; and a manufacturing agreement has been signed for a future plant in Malaysia. Together with XPeng’s Munich R&D center, the company has begun to form an integrated “R&D + manufacturing” loop. Amid rising tariff barriers in regions such as Mexico and ASEAN, XPeng is proactively adapting to the global trade environment through supply chain localization.
XPeng’s long-term objective is to achieve a 1:1 ratio between overseas and domestic sales. Through end-to-end localization, the company aims to raise the share of local procurement to over 60%, avoid high tariffs, and reduce cross-border logistics costs by 30–50%. Delivery lead times are expected to shrink from three to six months to one to two months, while overall supply chain resilience improves. Strategically, this approach will also enhance technology-sharing synergies with Stellantis Group and leverage the “Made in Europe” label to enter higher-end segments, supporting coordinated overseas expansion by Chinese auto parts suppliers and shifting from product exports to industrial co-development.
3. Agibot Expands Overseas; First International Experience Center Opens in Malaysia
[Event] On January 13, Agibot (智元机器人) officially opened its first overseas robot experience center in i-City, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. This marks Agibot’s first international experience center and also Malaysia’s first AI robot experience venue. Covering approximately 2,000 square meters, the center was jointly developed by Agibot and i-City, showcasing immersive applications of humanoid robot technologies across future residential, commercial, and healthcare scenarios.
The opening featured demonstrations of Agibot’s full product lineup. The Expedition A2 humanoid robot acts as a “service officer,” offering multilingual interaction and guided tours; the Lingxi X2 series demonstrated off-road parkour and boxing matches; and visitors could experience remote-controlled archery using the Spirit G2 robot. Jiang Qingsong, Partner at Agibot, stated that the Malaysia expansion aligns with the country’s Industry 4.0 strategy and will serve as a gateway for introducing humanoid robot technologies into the Asia-Pacific market, exploring collaboration across manufacturing, services, and eldercare.
4. AISphere Releases the World’s First General-Purpose Real-Time World Model, PixVerse R1
[Event] On January 13, Beijing-based AISphere (爱诗科技) officially launched PixVerse R1, a general-purpose real-time world model. PixVerse R1 is the world’s first real-time world model supporting resolutions of up to 1080P, reducing video generation latency from seconds to instantaneous response. The release marks the entry of AI video generation into the era of real-time interactive media.
PixVerse R1 is built on three technical pillars: the Omni native multimodal foundation model, an autoregressive streaming generation mechanism, and an instant-response engine. With a memory-enhanced attention module, the model can generate videos of arbitrary length while maintaining consistency across characters and environments. It compresses traditional diffusion model sampling steps from over 50 to just 1–4 steps, delivering hundreds of times higher computational efficiency. In practice, users can generate high-definition video, audio, and dynamic lighting simultaneously, with smooth visual transitions achieved within half a second following additional prompts.
Application scenarios span gaming, film and television, entertainment, and scientific simulation. In games, NPCs and environments can respond in real time to player actions; in interactive entertainment, audiences can shape narratives via voice or gestures. Wang Changhu, Founder and CEO of AISphere, said PixVerse R1 blurs the boundary between video consumers and creators, enabling intelligent media to respond instantly to user intent and deliver a “what-you-imagine-is-what-you-see” dynamic storytelling experience.
5. SF Express and J&T Reach Major Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Global Logistics Network Expansion
[Event] On January 15, SF Holding (顺丰控股) and J&T Express (极兔速递) jointly announced a landmark strategic partnership involving HKD 8.3 billion in cross-shareholding. Under the agreement, SF Holding will acquire 10% of J&T Express, while J&T Express will hold 4.29% of SF Holding. This rare alliance elevates the two companies’ relationship from operational cooperation to deep capital integration, aimed at building a globally integrated logistics network.
The partnership is structured through a mutual issuance of new shares. J&T Express will issue 822 million Class B shares to SF at HKD 10.10 per share, while SF Holding will issue 226 million H shares to J&T at HKD 36.74 per share. The collaboration leverages highly complementary strengths: SF’s established capabilities in cross-border first-mile and trunk-line logistics combined with J&T’s last-mile networks and localized operations across 13 countries. Together, the two companies aim to significantly enhance the competitiveness of end-to-end cross-border logistics solutions.
About EqualOcean
Since 2018, EqualOcean has been dedicated to tracking and analyzing the global expansion of Chinese enterprises. We welcome contributions from industry professionals to share your expertise and insights. Companies seeking international growth, media exposure, or discussions on overseas strategies are also encouraged to contact us directly.
You can reach us via WeChat at xyrnina or by email at xingyiran@iyiou.com.