Foreign traders, please check: Review and Outlook of One Week's Hot News (5.6-5.12)

01 Important Event

United Nations report: War will lead to decades of decline in Gaza's development level

The United Nations Development Programme and the Economic and Social Commission for West Asia released a report on Thursday stating that the war in the Gaza Strip will lead to a decades back development level in the region. The report states that the Gaza conflict has been ongoing for nearly 7 months. If the conflict lasts for more than 7 months, the development level of the Gaza Strip will regress by 37 years; If the conflict lasts for more than 9 months, the 44 year development achievements of the Gaza Strip will be in vain, and the level of development will regress to 1980. For the entire Palestine, if the Gaza conflict continues for more than 9 months, the level of development will regress by more than 20 years.

Source: Caixin News Agency

Federal Reserve Speaker: This Federal Reserve meeting may continue to be wait-and-see

Nick Timiraos, the spokesperson for the Federal Reserve, said that this Federal Reserve meeting may be another "wait-and-see" meeting. However, this time the focus may lean towards the Federal Reserve's stance on inflation and wage upward risks, rather than its attitude towards downward risks or benign inflation.

Source: Caixin News Agency

US Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that fundamentals still point towards a slowdown in inflation

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that although the tight housing supply has brought inflation back to a halt, she still believes that basic price pressures are fading. Yellen said in an interview in Sedona, Arizona on Friday, "In my opinion, the fundamentals are: inflation expectations - well controlled, and the labor market - strong but not a significant source of inflationary pressure."

Source: Global Market Intelligence

G7 plans to provide $50 billion in aid to Ukraine

The United States is in negotiations with close partners to lead a group of allies in providing up to $50 billion in aid to Ukraine, which will be repaid through a windfall tax on frozen Russian sovereign assets. According to insiders, the G7 is currently discussing the plan, and the United States is pushing for an agreement to be reached during the G7 leaders' meeting in Italy in June. They stated that discussions on this issue have been difficult, so reaching an agreement may take several more months.

Source: Global Market Intelligence

Buffett: There is no real substitute for US bonds or the US dollar

When asked whether he feared that the rising debt level would damage the status of the US treasury bond, Buffett said that his "most optimistic guess is that the US treasury bond will be acceptable for a long time, because there are not too many alternatives." Buffett said that the problem is not the quantity, but whether inflation will threaten the global economic structure in some way. He also stated that there is no real currency that can replace the US dollar. He recalled Paul Volcker's experience as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve during the inflationary pressures of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Volcker struggled to curb inflation despite facing the threat of death. Buffett called Federal Reserve Chairman Powell a "very wise person," but he pointed out that Powell was unable to control fiscal policy, which is the root of the problem.

Source: Global Market Intelligence

Israel will take many countermeasures against Türkiye

The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it would take a number of countermeasures against Türkiye's decision to suspend all import and export trade activities with Israel. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel issued a statement saying that after discussing with the Ministry of Economy and the Tax Bureau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel decided to take measures to reduce Türkiye's economic ties with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of Palestine, and promote the International Economic and Trade Organization to impose sanctions on Türkiye for violating trade agreements. At the same time, Israel will develop a substitute list of imported products from Türkiye and support the export sector affected by Türkiye's decision. Israeli Economy Minister Balkat said on social media on the 3rd that Israel had complained about Türkiye's decision to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Source: Global Market Intelligence

OpenAI: Memory function fully open to ChatGPT Plus users

According to OpenAI, the memory function is fully open to ChatGPT Plus users. The memory function is very easy to use: just start a new chat window and tell ChatGPT the information that the user wants the program to save. You can turn on or off the memory function in the settings. Currently, the European and Korean markets have not yet opened up this feature. It is expected that this feature will be made available to teams, enterprises, and GPT users in the next step.

Source: Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily

Apple CEO: The company is investing heavily in generative artificial intelligence

Apple CEO Cook stated that the company is making significant investments in generative artificial intelligence and expects total revenue to increase year-on-year for the quarter ending June. It is expected that total revenue for the next fiscal quarter will grow in "low single digits.". In the next fiscal quarter, both service revenue and iPad sales are expected to grow in double digits. He also said that iPhone sales in the Chinese Mainland market grew, and he held a positive view on the long-term prospects of China's business.

Source: Global Market Intelligence

Tesla's Exit from the Next Generation Integrated Die Casting Manufacturing Process

According to sources, Tesla has abandoned its ambitious plan to innovate in its pioneering gigacasting and integrated die casting processes, which is another sign that it is cutting back on expenses amidst declining sales and intensifying competition. Tesla has always been a leading enterprise in gigabit casting, a cutting-edge technology that uses huge presses to cast the main body of car chassis with thousands of tons of pressure. Two sources familiar with the situation revealed that Tesla has chosen to adhere to the more mature three-stage body casting method, which has been used in the company's recent two new models, the Model Y and Cybertruck pickup trucks.

Source: Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily

OpenAI's biggest competitor launches iOS version app in hopes of competing with ChatGPT

On Wednesday Eastern Time, artificial intelligence (AI) startup Antiopic announced the launch of a free mobile application (APP), although currently only available in the iOS version. This application is named Claude, which is the same as the name of the Anthropic Big Model series. According to the company, the first iOS application is free for all users and can be used normally starting from Wednesday. The mobile and web terminals will synchronize messages and can switch seamlessly. In addition to providing basic chatbot functions, this application also supports uploading photos and files from mobile phones and analyzing them. The Android version of Claude will also be launched in the future.

Source: Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily

02 Industry News

Ministry of Transport: Freight volume and port cargo throughput maintained rapid growth in the first quarter

According to the data of the Ministry of Transport, in the first quarter, the overall economic operation of transportation started well, the flow of cross regional personnel achieved double-digit growth, the volume of freight and port cargo throughput maintained a rapid growth, and the scale of fixed assets investment investment in transportation maintained a high level. In the first quarter, the operating freight volume was 12.45 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%. Among them, the completed road freight volume was 9.01 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%; The completed waterway freight volume was 2.2 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. In the first quarter, the total cargo throughput of ports in China reached 4.09 billion tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, with domestic and foreign trade throughput increasing by 4.6% and 9.5% respectively. Completed a container throughput of 76.73 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 10.0%.

Source: Caixin News Agency

The third phase of the 135th Canton Fair will be held on May 1st

The 135th Canton Fair will be held in three phases from April 15th to May 5th, each lasting for 5 days. The third phase will be held today, with the theme of "A Better Life". The exhibition covers five sections, including toys and pregnant and baby children, household textiles, stationery, health and leisure.

Source: Caixin News Agency

Over 221000 overseas buyers attended the 135th Canton Fair

As of May 1st, a total of 221018 overseas buyers from 215 countries and regions attended the 135th Canton Fair, an increase of 24.6% compared to the same period last year. The total exhibition area of this year's Canton Fair is 1.55 million square meters, with a total of approximately 74000 booths and 29000 participating enterprises. The first two issues were themed "Advanced Manufacturing" and "Quality Home Furnishings", while the third issue from May 1st to 5th was themed "A Better Life". The third episode focuses on showcasing 21 exhibition areas in five major sectors: toys and pregnancy, fashion, household textiles, stationery, and health and leisure, helping to improve people's quality of life and a better life experience.

Source: Caixin News Agency

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China: Actively expanding intermediate goods trade, service trade, digital trade, and cross-border e-commerce exports to support private enterprises in expanding overseas markets

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a meeting on April 30th. The meeting pointed out that we must firmly deepen reform and expand opening up, build a unified national market, and improve the basic system of the market economy. We should actively expand intermediate goods trade, service trade, digital trade, and cross-border e-commerce exports, support private enterprises to expand overseas markets, and increase efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment.

Source: Overseas Cross border Weekly Report

Institutions claim that the global smartphone market has started strongly in 2024

Canalys released data showing that in the first quarter of 2024, the global smartphone market grew by 10% year-on-year, reaching 296.2 million units. The market performance exceeded expectations, marking the first double-digit growth after ten quarters. This growth is due to manufacturers launching a new product portfolio and emerging market macroeconomics stabilizing.

Driven by updates to the A-series and early high-end products, Samsung has regained its leading position with a shipment volume of 60 million units. Despite facing challenges in its core market, Apple's shipment volume experienced a double-digit decline, dropping to 48.7 million units, ranking second. Xiaomi maintains third place with a shipment volume of 40.7 million units and a market share of 14%. Transsion and OPPO rank in the top five, with shipments of 28.6 million and 25 million units respectively, and market share of 10% and 8%.

Source: New Consumer Daily

The Ministry of Commerce plans to organize cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones to carry out special actions such as platform and seller going abroad

The Ministry of Commerce has issued the Three Year Action Plan for Digital Commerce (2024-2026). It is proposed to optimize the supervision of cross-border e-commerce exports. Organize cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones to carry out special actions such as platform and seller going abroad. Supporting cross-border e-commerce to empower industrial belts, guiding traditional foreign trade enterprises to develop cross-border e-commerce, and establishing a marketing service system that integrates online and offline, as well as domestic and overseas linkage. Enhance the specialization, scale, and intelligence level of overseas warehouses.

Source: Overseas Cross border Weekly Report

Xiaohongshu denies a new round of $20 billion financing

Regarding the news of a new round of financing with a valuation of $20 billion, Xiaohongshu stated that the information is not true. Previously, some media reported that Xiaohongshu was conducting a new round of financing with a valuation of $20 billion. An investor close to this round of financing revealed that this round of financing is actually Xiaohongshu's Pre IPO round of financing, which will provide a certain pricing reference for Xiaohongshu's potential IPO. In the second half of 2021, Xiaohongshu completed a round of financing mainly by increasing the holdings of old shareholders, led by Temasek and Tencent, with old shareholders such as Alibaba, Tiantu Investment, and Yuansheng Capital joining in. The post investment valuation was $20 billion.

Source: Overseas Cross border Weekly Report

It is expected that the daily cross regional personnel turnover during the May Day holiday will reach over 270 million people

According to the routine press conference of the Ministry of Transport, it is preliminarily predicted that during this year's May Day holiday, public travel will be strong and the road network will be busy. It is expected that the daily average cross regional personnel flow in the whole society during the holiday period will reach more than 270 million, exceeding the level of the same period in 2023 and 2019. Among them, the proportion of self driving travel will reach about 80%. It is expected that the daily average flow of expressways in China during the May Day holiday will be about 63.5 million vehicles, which is about 1.8 times the daily flow. The peak flow is expected to be 67 million vehicles, showing a interweaving of short distance and inter provincial medium to long distance travel within the province. Inter provincial travel has significantly increased compared to the Qingming Festival holiday.

Source: Overseas Cross border Weekly Report

The Yangtze River Delta Railway is expected to send 2.65 million passengers today

According to China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., railway transportation during the May Day holiday will start on the same day. The Yangtze River Delta Railway is expected to send 2.65 million passengers on that day, with passenger flow increasing by nearly 8% compared to the same period last year. The first small peak of passenger travel will be expected in the afternoon.

This year's railway May Day holiday transportation period starts from April 29th and ends on May 6th, totaling 8 days. During this period, the Yangtze River Delta Railway is expected to send over 27 million passengers, with a daily average passenger flow of over 3.4 million.

Source: New Consumer Daily

03 Important event reminder for next week

Global News for a Week

Monday (May 6th): China's April Caixin Service Industry PMI, Eurozone May Sentix Investor Confidence Index, Eurozone March PPI Monthly Rate, Swiss Bank Governor Jordan's speech, and Japan and South Korea stock markets closed.

Tuesday (May 7th): From Australia to May 7th, the Federal Reserve of Australia's interest rate decision, Germany's March quarterly adjusted trade account, France's March trade account, China's April foreign exchange reserves, Eurozone March retail sales month rate, Richmond Fed Chairman Barkin's speech on economic prospects, and New York Fed Chairman Williams's speech.

Wednesday (May 8th): March wholesale sales rate in the United States, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Jefferson delivering a speech on the economy, Swedish central bank announcing interest rate resolution, Boston Fed Chairman Collins delivering a speech.

Thursday (May 9th): China's April trade account, China's April M2 money supply annual rate, UK to May 9th central bank interest rate decision, and US to May 4th initial unemployment claims for the week.

Friday (May 10th): Japan's March trade account, revised annual GDP rate for the first quarter of the UK, expected one-year inflation rate for May in the US, minutes of the April monetary policy meeting released by the European Central Bank, and speech by Federal Reserve Director Bowman on financial stability risks.

Saturday (May 11th): China's April CPI annual rate and Federal Reserve Director Barr delivered a speech.

04 Global Important Meetings

August 2024 MAGIC International Fashion and Accessories Show in Las Vegas, USA

Hosts: Advanstar Communications, American Footwear Association WSA, Infirmann Group

Time: August 19th to August 21st, 2024

Exhibition location: Las Vegas Convention and Exhibition Center, USA

Suggestion: MAGIC SHOW is one of the largest clothing and fabric exhibitions in the world. In January 2013, Advanstar Group acquired the oldest shoe fair in the United States, the WSA Shoe Show. Since August 2013, WSA Footwear Exhibition has been merged into MAGIC, the Las Vegas Textile, Clothing and Footwear Exhibition in the United States, and the two have worked together to share resources. MAGIC Exhibition is one of the 30 important exhibitions recognized by the US Department of Commerce in the United States, and is the best window for Chinese companies to explore the US clothing, apparel, surface accessories, footwear, and home textile markets! Since its establishment, it has a history of 100 years and is held twice a year. This exhibition is the most complete and comprehensive professional exhibition and trading platform, covering clothing, footwear, home textile raw materials, various finished products, and related industry chain supporting services. It is the center for releasing the latest information on the clothing, apparel, surface accessories, footwear, and home textile industry chains that attract global media attention. It is also a feast for the latest trend fashion shows and their industry chain market hot topics and themed lectures!, Foreign trade professionals in related industries are worth paying attention to.

The 51st American Pump, Valve and Fluid Machinery Exhibition in 2024

Host: Turbomachinery Laboratory

Time: August 20th to August 22nd, 2024

Exhibition location: Houston, USA

Suggestion: The Pump and Valve Fluid Exhibition in the United States has been successfully held for 50 sessions and is one of the three major pump and valve fluid exhibitions in the world. The exhibition is jointly organized by the Turbomachinery Laboratory and Texas A&M University. In 2023, 365 pump valve and fluid machinery companies from 45 countries around the world participated in the exhibition, with nearly 10000 professional visitors. The exhibition covers an area of 216000 square feet. Simultaneously received over 95% positive reviews. TPS is an important industry activity that provides a communication platform for industry engineers and technicians from around the world. TPS is renowned for its impact on turbomachinery, pumps, oil and gas, petrochemicals, electricity, aviation, chemical, and water industries through two pathways. Looking forward to your arrival at the 2024 Pump and Valve Fluid Show in the United States and providing a shortcut platform for your company to expand its market in the Americas!, Foreign trade professionals in related industries are worth paying attention to.

05 Global Major Festivals

Mother's Day, May 8th (Wednesday)

Mother's Day originated in the United States and was initiated by Anna Jarvis, a Philadelphia native. On May 9, 1906, Anna Jarvis's mother passed away. The following year, she organized a commemorative event for her mother and encouraged others to express gratitude to their respective mothers in a similar way.

Activity: Mothers usually receive gifts on this day, and carnations are seen as flowers dedicated to their mothers. The mother's flower in China is the Xuancao flower, also known as the Forget Worry Grass.

Suggestion: Best wishes and greetings.

May 9th (Thursday) Victory Day of the Russia Patriotic War

On June 24, 1945, the Soviet Union held its first military parade on Red Square to commemorate the victory of the Patriotic War. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia held a Victory Day military parade on May 9th every year since 1995.

Suggestion: Blessing in advance and confirmation of vacation.