The six-hour high-speed train ride from Beijing to Shanghai last afternoon felt like a WeWork on wheels. In the packed second-class carriage, which holds about 90 people, many were working on laptops or chatting on business phones. When we arrived in Shanghai around 8pm, there was a 15 minute queue for a taxi. An hour later, when we finally arrived at the hotel on the outskirts of the city, there were a lot of people just checking in. The reception counter was full of delivery bags waiting for the hotel robot to take them to the second floor. I was in town to attend an event for Chinese electric car company Nio. Nio was competing for literal space and attention in the week’s tech news with Huawei’s massive Connect conference. Electric car makers make a fuss In the world of electric cars alone, Baidu-backed startup Jidu launched a car on Tuesday afternoon. Xpeng also announced its new electric SUV G9. BYD announced on Wednesday that it would start selling its luxury SUV Yangwang U8 for more than 1 million yuan ($150,000), and on the same day Ark Fox also launched a mass-market vehicle targeted at young parents. Leap Motor also released two mass-market vehicles on the same day. Nio, which just finished releasing its fifth car in four months the previous week, launched its smartphone on Thursday. The company also showed off what it’s doing in the areas of self-driving software, artificial intelligence, and factory automation. Customization is important for premium customers, Nio CEO William Li said on stage in Mandarin (translated by CNBC). He pointed out that the company offers a whopping 3.6 million combinations of car colors and features. Li claims that by leveraging technology to increase manufacturing efficiency, Nio can fulfill customer orders and deliver them in just 21 days, allowing the company to build a mass-market brand. Stated. Fast fashion giant Shein has used technology-integrated supply chains and big data analytics to quickly respond to, if not predict, what clothing consumers want to buy. . Demand is a problem for China today as companies continue to spend despite lingering economic uncertainty. Although Nio’s car deliveries fell in the second quarter, the company’s spending on research and development has soared over the past two years. Huawei, another struggling company that has emphasized its research and development efforts, announced during an event in Shanghai that it has a number of artificial intelligence models for industry applications. According to the release, Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou spoke about what the future holds for AI services for the company. The company is also moving forward with its EV brand, Aito, and announced another vehicle earlier this month. Huawei quietly announced its flagship phone, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, a few weeks ago, causing controversy. Shockingly, the device is reportedly equipped with a 5G-compatible chip that breaks the 7-nanometer barrier. However, it is unclear how many Mate 60 Pro phones Huawei will be able to produce and how much they will cost. The company has been hit by U.S. sanctions, with revenues plummeting and it falling from its top spot among China’s non-state-owned enterprises. JD.com has now held that spot for the second year in a row. JD invested heavily in its logistics network to establish profitability by developing same-day and next-day delivery. When I passed by last week, the company was still building its campus on the outskirts of Beijing. Capital investment was rare in this year’s sluggish economy. “The average Chinese’s ability to persevere and find a way is amazing. I mean, people get flustered. People get it. They know how to be diligent. They… Whatever you do, don’t just sit back and watch Netflix and relax.” Peter Alexander, founder of Shanghai-based fund consulting firm Z-Ben Advisors, who has lived in China since 1996 “It’s different than the United States,” he said, “and I think that’s an important cultural difference that people who are analyzing are completely missing.” he added. Alexander expects the economy to recover slightly toward the end of the year. In fact, retail sales in China increased by 4.6% year-on-year in August. This result exceeded the 2.5% year-on-year comparison in July. However, the real estate sector continues to weigh on the economy. China’s fierce competitive spirit, especially in the high-tech sector, has not diminished despite the economic slowdown. Huawei reportedly released a video of the Mate 60 Pro during the launch of Oppo mobile phones, which attracted attention. This news also broke just days before Apple’s iPhone 15 was released. Huawei plans to launch domestic products on Monday. America’s giant corporations are doing everything they can to maintain market share. Instead of tea, the high-speed rail stewardess brought me a Starbucks-branded Americano and a latte, which could also be purchased through a mobile phone ordering service. Ahead of the launch of its new iPhone, Apple made sure to spend money on flashy city billboard ads in China. Hundreds of people went to Apple’s flagship store in Beijing on Friday to pick up the new iPhone 15. But equity analysts were generally unimpressed by Nio’s call and technology announcements. “While we acknowledge our progress, [its operating system] SkyOS and NOP [assisted driving software]Nomura China Automotive Analyst Frank Huang and his team said in a report on Thursday that they had a negative outlook for the company’s mobile business, adding that “there are no plans to roll out new models in the next 12 months. “Therefore, we believe it will be difficult to devote resources to the mobile business.” “The US$1 billion convertible bond issue raises concerns about development strategy and profitability given soft monthly deliveries,” the analysts said, with a price target of $7.50 per share. It said it has a neutral rating. Bank of America maintained a buy rating on Thursday. The expected price per share is $15, and despite Nio’s financial woes, it notes that Nio’s management expects its high R&D spending to increase competitiveness and reduce costs in the long run. has worked miracles before, securing a $1 billion lifeline during the pandemic in early 2020. “What drives Nio is the experience, whether it’s cars, mobile phones, or services like battery replacement services or after-sale services,” Lee told me. In an interview on Wednesday. “We are a very diverse and dynamic company. Users don’t just buy a car, they actually have a lot of emotional experiences.” The company claims market stickiness. is the community we build with the app and Nio House Clubhouse. Angela Cai, owner of the Nio ET5 sedan, said she hadn’t even considered Nio until two of her friends told her about its community efforts and services this spring. Tsai said she got the car within a week of purchasing it in May. Although she hasn’t had time to look closely at her Nio phone yet, she said she is a regular at her Nio House locally and invites her family and friends there. “This is now becoming the base camp of our lives,” Tsai said. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.