Here's what happened in China's markets last trade day (8/24):

1. Xiaomi is reported to be accelerating its hiring in preparation for the launch of its electric vehicle division.
The company is rumored to have secured approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to manufacture electricvehicles, which is aptly called the Mi Car. The company initially planned commercial production by 1H24 and envisions becoming a top 5 automaker in the world. That’s a lofty goal given the enormous lead many other companies like BYD, Nio, Inc., Li Auto, Xpeng, Geely, and Tesla have over Xiaomi. But the company’s Mi Car project could benefit from synergies with its existing consumer electronics business to deliver profitability faster than most EV startups. $BYD Company Limited (002594.SZ)$ $BYD COMPANY (01211.HK)$ $GEELY AUTO (00175.HK)$ $GEELY AUTOMOBILE H (GELYY.US)$ $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ $XIAOMI-W (01810.HK)$ $Xiaomi Corp. Unsponsored ADR Class B (XIACY.US)$ $Xiaomi Corp. (XIACF.US)$

2. Two of China’s EV startups are making inroads into artificial intelligence.
Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng disclosed the company was having in-depth cooperation with Nvidia on Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) and autonomous driving technology. Meanwhile, Li Auto, which is on track to hit record monthly sales this August of over 30k units, founded a new company that will develop AI-based software, development of AI application software, and cloud computing equipment technology services among others. The scope of Li Auto’s new business appears wide-ranging and may be initially intended to give the company some exposure to the fast-growing industry and increase its appeal among investors in light of a price war intensifying in China’s EV sector. $XPeng (XPEV.US)$ $XPENG-W (09868.HK)$ $LI AUTO-W (02015.HK)$ $Li Auto (LI.US)$ $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$

3. Two more Chinese tech firms post strong 2Q23 earnings.
Chinese social media company, Weibo, registered a 2.3% decline in revenues to $440 million (in-line), while generating an EPS of $0.53, which exceeding expectations of just $0.51. Gaming and music-streaming company, Netease, saw revenues grow 3.7% to $3.3 billion which was short of the $3.46 billion the market was expecting. However, the company managed to generate an EPS of $1.93, which was 70% higher than the same period last year, while also significantly higher than the $1.25 EPS the market was expecting. These significant gains in earnings of two more tech companies underscore the shift in strategy to focus on profitability over growth. $Weibo (WB.US)$ $WB-SW (09898.HK)$ $NTES-S (09999.HK)$ $NetEase (NTES.US)$ $Activision Blizzard (ATVI.US)$