The more open the country, the more it will drive our progress: Ren Zhengfei

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programHuawei’s Ren Zhengfei speaks to People’s Daily on hot topics of public interest including its advance chip technology;China's NEV retail sales and exports both surged in May.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours In a recent interview with People’s Daily published on Tuesday, Huawei Technologies' founder, Ren Zhengfei, shared insights on Huawei’s ability to produce advanced chips despite stringent sanctions, acknowledging a technological gap with Western competitors but expressing determination to bridge it.Ren said Huawei’s Ascend chip, the main rival to Nvidia’s products in China, “still lags behind the US by one generation”. He added that the “US has exaggerated Huawei’s capabilities — we’re not that strong yet”.However, the firm is finding ways to improve performance. Ren hinted the company could “compensate” for poorer performance through cluster computing, which involves linking multiple chips to boost AI server power. “Using clustering and stacking, our computing results are comparable to the world’s best,” he said. The public comments are the first from Ren or Huawei about the firm's advanced chip manufacturing efforts. Despite external blockades and suppression, Ren said that he never dwell on difficulties, just take action and move forward step by step.China has opportunities in low- and mid-range chips, with dozens or even hundreds of chip companies working hard, Ren said, adding that China will have hundreds or thousands of operating systems in the future, supporting progress in Chinese industry, agriculture, healthcare, and more.Ren also shared his thoughts on China’s basic research, saying that the country must attach importance to theoretical research, especially basic theoretical research, as purchasing foreign products is expensive because the price includes their investment in basic research.“Basic research takes more than five to 10 years; it generally requires 10 years, 20 years, or even longer. If we do not engage in basic research, it is akin to having no roots,” Ren was quoted as saying in the interview.Ren revealed that Huawei invests 180 billion yuan in research annually and sees promise in compound chips - or chips made from multiple elements.When asked about his view on openness and development, Ren said, “The more open the country becomes, the more it will drive our progress. Under the leadership of the Party, with unified administration and clear policies, it is possible to gradually form a unified national market. This will surely break through all blockades and achieve great rejuvenation.”GBA expressHong Kong is gearing up to warmly welcome the 2,300 athletes and over 100,000 spectators expected to attend two major national sporting events taking place in the city late this year. Government officials on Monday outlined various preparations aimed at enhancing reception, publicity and infrastructure for the games. The Hong Kong SAR will team up with the Macao SAR and Guangdong province to host the 15th National Games in November. Hong Kong will also consider joint promotional campaigns for the 15th National Games and the Legislative Council elections to maximize public engagement and economic benefits.Hong Kong will organize more than 100 events, with businesses and government entities providing discounts covering public transportation, leisure facilities, dining and shopping, to mark the 28th anniversary of the city’s return to the motherland on July 1, said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday. Lee noted the increased number of businesses joining the celebrations, with more than 1,000 dining establishments offering discounts. He also announced that this year’s Policy Address will be delivered earlier than usual in September, compared with the normal mid-to-late October period in the past three years.Industry and company newsChina's retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles jumped 28 percent to 1.02 million units last month from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association said yesterday. The figure rose 34 percent to 4.35 million units in the first five months. NEV exports reached 200,000 units in May, surging 80.9 percent year-on-year and accounting for 44.5 percent of all cars exported. For the January-May period, the increase was 37.1 percent as the total number of exports reached 789,000 units.The 110,000th China-Europe freight train departed today from Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province and will arrive in Europe in 17 days, Xinhua reported. The China-Europe freight train service has so far reached 229 cities in 26 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries.China Eastern Airlines will open a new direct route between China's Xi'an and Istanbul on June 24, becoming the airline's second direct flight to Türkiye, CCTV News reported.GAC aims to enter the Argentine market by the second half of this year and open showrooms in major cities in South America over the next three years, the Chinese auto giant said today. GAC is also accelerating its plans to expand in Chile and Bolivia.Didi Global today released Xiaodi, the Chinese ride-hailing service provider's first AI agent designed to streamline business travel. The milestone also makes Xiaodi China's first AI agent with a closed-loop experience for hotel and flight reservations, media reports.TikTok plans to add 500 new jobs in the UK this year to bring its local staff to a total of 3,000 employees, the short-video platform announced yesterday. Moreover, TikTok will invest around GBP140 million in UK infrastructure, including a new office in London, expected to open next year.Apple unveiled new AppleIntelligence features, such as Live Translation, Image Playground, Genmoji, and Visual Intelligence, at the WWDC2025. Also, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the firm will launch its first original film in cinemas, F1TheMovie, on June 27, starring Brad Pitt and co-produced by seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.Ping An Bank has been offering clients who deposit a certain amount of money Pop Mart’s most popular collectible plush toy, Labubu, as Chinese lenders’ practice of gifting physical items to attract depositors has hit new highs. Clients depositing over 50,000 yuan for a term of no less than three months can receive a Labubu 3.0 blind box or a gift package, according to Ping An Bank’s customer service. Prices for the mischievous-looking vinyl figure have soared to around 35,000 yuan on some e-commerce platforms, three times the original price, media reports.Asia-Pacific highlightsASEAN continued to be Guangdong's largest trading partner, serving as a key driver for the province's foreign trade growth, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangdong Committee on Tuesday. In 2024, Guangdong's total import-export volume with the 10-member bloc reached 1.45 trillion yuan, up 8 percent year on year. From January to April this year, Guangdong's trade volume with ASEAN amounted to 488.57 billion yuan, growing by 7.5 percent compared with the same period last year.China Southern Airlines and Vietnam Airlines will launch a joint venture on August 1, 2025, marking the first partnership of its kind between carriers from China and Vietnam. Approved by both governments, the agreement aims to streamline air travel and expand route networks between the two countries.Pov Somnang, Special Advisor to Secretary-General of ASEAN and President of ASEAN Economic and Trade Promotion Association, said at an event on Tuesday that deepening economic and trade ties and promoting supply chain collaboration between ASEAN and China, especially Guangdong, is both timely and a strategic opportunity against the backdrop of complex and volatile global economic conditions. Speaking at the 2025 China (Guangdong)-ASEAN Trade Promotion and Supply Chain Cooperation Mechanism Development Coordination and Exchange Conference, Pov Somnang said Guangdong enterprises have achieved fruitful results in ASEAN through investment in factory setups, cooperative park construction, green energy, and the digital economy. Meanwhile, more ASEAN companies view Guangdong as the primary gateway to the Chinese market. He added that facing global supply chain restructuring, ASEAN and Guangdong are fully capable and responsible for leading regional supply chain cooperation, which should encompass multi-dimensional coordination in industries, technology, rules, standards, and talent.