Samuel Thompson

SVOLT, a Chinese battery innovator, plans to commercialize its ultra-fast charging (UPC) technology in 2025, reducing final-stage EV charging (80%-100% SoC) to 5 minutes with a 30% efficiency boost. When integrated with existing 4C infrastructure, total charging time shortens to 15 minutes—4 minutes faster than industry averages. The upgrade builds on its high-performance LFP short-blade battery architecture (6C rate, 185Wh/kg), incorporating advanced material engineering for 5,000+ cycles (>80% retention) and projected longevity of 15 years/600,000 km. Market analysts suggest this dual focus on speed and endurance could redefine EV adoption economics by closing the refueling convenience gap with combustion engines.

Former President Donald Trump intervened during his Middle East tour to halt Apple’s India manufacturing expansion, urging Tim Cook to prioritize U.S. production amid rising import tariffs that could increase iPhone prices for American consumers by $190. Despite India’s 60% year-on-year production growth (valued at $2.2 billion) and intensified Foxconn investments there, 80% of iPhones shipped to the U.S. remain China-made. Trump’s tariff threats cost Apple $900 million in Q1 projections, with shares dropping 15% YTD versus the Nasdaq’s 12% gain. Analysts question whether achieving Washington’s domestic manufacturing goals—including 3nm chips and iOS 19 features—can avoid disrupting geopolitical dynamics and investor expectations.

JD.com’s 22nd “618 Shopping Festival” starts May 31 at 8:00 PM Beijing time, offering up to ¥1,000 daily subsidies via a simplified platform hub, alongside instant “Jing Vouchers” and zero-interest installment plans for JD Pay credit users. Collaborations with hardware manufacturers and government-backed discounts enable savings of up to ¥2,000 on electronics and home appliances. Diverging from rivals’ AI-driven personalization, JD integrates offline experiences like Beijing Workers’ Stadium concerts and Hunan Satellite TV’s Gen-Z-focused “Happiness Night,” blending financial services, retail, and entertainment in China’s post-pandemic consumption rebound.

Alibaba open-sourced its modular Wan2.1-VACE video generation model (1.3B/14B parameters), featuring multimodal input support (text, images, video clips) and Lego-like customizable modules. The lightweight 1.3B version runs on consumer GPUs, democratizing AI video creation. Released on GitHub/Hugging Face, it has gained 330K+ downloads and 11K+ stars, becoming a leading open-source video generation framework.