Supply chains ONLY a small number of companies are moving supply chains out of China, a commerce ministry official said Tuesday, amid signs that some firms are shifting production to other countries as the Sino-U.S. trade spat drags on. The problem shouldn’t be overstated, Chu Shijia, a department director at the ministry, said at a media briefing. Some Chinese companies had concerns initially when the trade frictions started, but now they have found some ways to cut costs and to minimize the impact, Chu said. Vanke sales CHINA Vanke Co., a leading property developer, reported its contracted sales amounted to 334 billion yuan (US$48.69 billion) in the first half of the year, up 9.6 percent from the same period last year. From January to June, the company achieved a total contracted sales area of 21.5 million square meters, up 5.6 percent year on year, according to a statement issued by the company Tuesday. Battery storage tech THE National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has issued an action plan to boost the development of energy storage technology in the coming two years, calling for more new energy vehicle power battery storage applications. The action plan aims to boost the healthy development of energy storage technology and industry in China , according to the commission Monday. NEV sales BY 2035, half of Volkswagen’s sales in China will be new energy vehicles (NEVs), CEO Herbert Diess said Tuesday. Volkswagen intends to offer 14 electrified models in China this year. By 2028, more than half of the group’s planned 22 million electric cars will be produced in China. |