Amid fast-paced changes that fill the business community with excitement, angst and trepidation, EqualOcean will publish a series of roundup articles to document the major events related to Chinese companies going global every week.
Overview
1. Global Industrial Robot Market Slows Down, China Sees Growth
2. U.S. Average Tariff Rate Soars to 20.11%
3. Domestic Beauty Brands on AliExpress See 100% Yearly Sales Growth, 20+ Brands Join Platform
4. Pony.ai Releases Q2 Report, Global Expansion of Robotaxi Continues
5. China, U.S. Reach Consensus on Extending Tariff Suspension
6. OpenAI CEO: Plans to Double Compute Cluster Capacity in the Next 5 Months
7. Leapmotor: 24,980 Units Exported in the First 7 Months
8. Dreame Enters TV Market with New Business Unit
9. DeepSeek-R2 May Launch in August
10. WeRide and Waymo Invited to Join Singapore’s Steering Committee on Autonomous Vehicles to Contribute to International Rulemaking
11. ONERWAY Secures USD 10 Mn in Series A+ Funding to Enhance Global Payment Infrastructure
12. Huawei Opens Its First Offline Store in Brazil
Event Highlights & Commentary
1. Global Industrial Robot Market Slows Down, China Sees Growth
【Event】On August 9, at the World Robot Conference, Takayuki Ito, President of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), revealed preliminary statistics showing a 3% decline in global industrial robot installations last year, totaling approximately 523,000 units. The three major markets—Asia, Europe, and the Americas—experienced a downturn: Asia saw a 2% decrease, Europe shrank by 6%, and the Americas dropped by 9%. From the perspective of key customer industries, the electronics and automotive sectors have been leading since 2020. Last year, the electronics sector showed slight growth, while the automotive industry experienced a significant decline. The metal and machinery sectors remain the third-largest global customer, with the plastics, chemicals, and food sectors all experiencing growth.
2. Domestic Beauty Brands on AliExpress See 100% Yearly Sales Growth, 20+ Brands Join Platform
【Event】AliExpress, Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform, reports that in the past year, sales of China's domestic beauty products overseas have doubled, with key growth markets including Europe, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. To support this expansion, the platform has launched a comprehensive beauty export solution, which has recently attracted over 20 well-known domestic beauty brands to join.
3. Huawei Opens Its First Offline Store in Brazil
【Event】On August 10, 2025, global tech giant Huawei officially opened its first offline store in Brazil, located in the heart of São Paulo's commercial district, at the Shopping Cidade São Paulo on Avenida Paulista. As a key landmark for Brazil's economy, finance, and culture, Avenida Paulista is home to many multinational companies and financial institutions, as well as flagship stores for renowned international brands such as Armani, Fendi, and Hugo Boss. Unlike temporary pop-up shops, the Huawei Pop-up Store will remain open long-term, offering a range of services including product displays, in-store experiences, and after-sales support, serving as a lasting bridge for continuous interaction and in-depth communication between the brand and local consumers.
4. Pony.ai Releases Q2 Report, Global Expansion of Robotaxi Continues
【Event】On August 12, Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai (NASDAQ: PONY) announced its unaudited financial results for Q2 2025, showing strong performance with accelerating Robotaxi commercialization. The company's Q2 revenue reached CNY 154 million (USD 21.5 million), a 75.9% year-on-year increase and a 53.5% quarter-on-quarter growth.
Regarding international markets, Pony.ai has continued to drive its global expansion across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia in Q2. In the Middle East, Pony.ai has entered a strategic partnership with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA); In Europe, Pony.ai initiated testing in June in Lenningen, Luxembourg, with plans to expand to more regions; In Asia, the company has obtained national-level autonomous driving testing permits in South Korea.
5. China, U.S. Reach Consensus on Extending Tariff Suspension
【Event】China and the United States on Tuesday released a joint statement on the bilateral economic and trade meeting in Stockholm. The United States will continue to modify the application of the additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of China (including articles of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region), by suspending 24 percentage points of that rate for an additional period of 90 days, starting on Aug. 12, according to the joint statement. The joint statement also said that China will continue to suspend 24 percentage points of additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of the United States as well as related non-tariff countermeasures for another 90 days, starting on Aug. 12.
6. DeepSeek-R2 May Launch in August
【Event】The market has been anticipating DeepSeek-R2 for some time, and expectations have risen further following the release of ChatGPT-5. On August 12, reports suddenly emerged that the expected release window for DeepSeek-R2 is between August 15 and August 30, 2025. However, the exact date has not yet been officially announced.