Smart speaker

ALIBABA Group Holding Ltd. on Tuesday said its voice-controlled assistant will feature in local vehicles from Audi AG, Renault SA and Honda Motor Co., as the tech giant expands in artificial intelligence.

The Tmall Genie Auto smart speaker will allow drivers to use voice commands to, for instance, place orders on Alibaba’s online retail platform and buy movie tickets, Alibaba said at the CES Asia 2019 technology trade show in Shanghai. In the near future, the speaker will also allow drivers to monitor and control smart devices at houses equipped with a Tmall Genie-compatible device, Alibaba said.

Crocs production

CROCS Inc. will aim to cut the volume of its shoes and accessories produced in China for the U.S. market by more than two-thirds over the next year, as it guards against the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

Crocs also said it will have to wear costs of US$5 million over the next year, assuming a 25 percent tariff takes effect Aug. 1. The company made US$1.09 billion in sales last year and earned about US$50.4 million. Crocs, which typically sources footwear from several third-party manufacturers, primarily in Vietnam and China, said it would source less than 10 percent of U.S. products from China by 2020 compared to about 30 percent currently.

Service trade

CHINA’S service trade climbed 4.1 percent year on year to 1.74 trillion yuan (US$252.84 billion) in the first four months of the year, data showed yesterday.

In a breakdown, service exports rose 10.1 percent during the period, while that of imports gained 1.1 percent, leading to a deficit of 506.06 billion yuan in service trade, down 9.7 percent from one year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.