March 26 Macroeconomic Index:China Embodied Intelligence Conference and highlights of Asian economic growth; increase in international palm oil production and challenges in the European auto market

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Domestic News

1. The 2nd China Embodied Intelligence Conference will be held soon, and the 15 key directions of embodied intelligence will be released

2. Ministry of Finance: In February, a total of 41.855 billion yuan of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, an increase of 15.3%

3. China and ASEAN jointly announced the official launch of the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA negotiations

4. MLF made net placement again, and changed to multiple price points to win the bid

5. Wang Yi meets with Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal

 International News

1. MPOA: Malaysia's palm oil output was estimated to increase by 9.48% from March 1 to 20

2. In the strong lithium iron phosphate battery business, LG Energy Solution introduced the core team of the former Jiewei Power

3. In February, the European auto market was cold, and Tesla's new car registrations plummeted by 40%

4. The European Patent Office received a record number of Chinese patent applications last year

5. Boao Report: Asia's economic growth is expected to increase to 4.5% in 2025

Domestic News

1. The 2nd China Embodied Intelligence Conference will be held soon, and the 15 key directions of embodied intelligence will be released

The reporter learned that the China Embodied AI Conference (CEAI2025) will be held in Beijing from March 29 to 30, 2025. The conference was hosted by the Chinese Society of Artificial Intelligence and organized by the CAAI Embodied AI Professional Committee (in preparation), the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tongji University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University. According to the agenda, the awarding ceremony of the Embodied AI Special Committee of the Chinese Society of Artificial Intelligence will be held to interpret embodied AI policies; At the same time, the 15 key directions of embodied AI will be released, and the white paper on embodied AI of the Chinese Artificial Intelligence Society will be released.

2. Ministry of Finance: In February, a total of 41.855 billion yuan of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, an increase of 15.3%

Ministry of Finance on March 25 news, in February, A total of 41.855 billion yuan of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, an increase of 5.554 billion CNY or 15.3% year-on-year, Mainly because the Spring Festival holiday lottery market was closed and low-based in February last year. Among them, the sales of welfare lottery institutions were 14.832 billion yuan, an increase of 2.2 billion yuan or 17.4% year-on-year; Sports lottery agency sales of 27.023 billion yuan, an increase of 3.354 billion yuan or 14.2% year-on-year. In January and February, a total of 90.374 billion yuan of lottery tickets were sold nationwide, a year-on-year decrease of 3.491 billion yuan, or a decrease of 3.7%. Among them, the sales of welfare lottery institutions were 32.073 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 249 million yuan, or a decrease of 0.8%; Sports lottery agency sales was 58.301 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.243 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.3%.

3. China and ASEAN jointly announced the official launch of the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA negotiations

On March 24, the Special Joint Committee on the the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA negotiation was held via video link. Officials from China, the competent authorities of the 10 ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat attended the meeting. The two sides actively promoted the resolution of the remaining matters of the Version 3.0 Upgrade Protocol at the FTA, and agreed to complete the legal review of the text as soon as possible in preparation for the signing of the Protocol. The Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA negotiation upgrade will comprehensively expand mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides in emerging fields and create an inclusive, modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial free trade agreement.

4. MLF made net placement again, and changed to multiple price points to win the bid

In order to maintain sufficient liquidity in the banking system, the People's Bank of China launched a 450 billion yuan medium-term lending facility (MLF) operation on March 25 with a maturity of one year. Unlike before, from this month, MLF will operate in a fixed quantity, interest rate tender, and multiple price point winning methods. This month, MLF expired 387 billion yuan, achieving a net investment of 63 billion yuan, which is the first net investment of MLF since July 2024. On the day of the operation on the 25th, the People's Bank of China no longer announced the unified winning interest rate of MLF. Some experts believe that this move marks the complete withdrawal of the policy attributes of the MLF interest rate.

5. Wang Yi meets with Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal

Wang Yi, a Member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Foreign Minister, met with Portugal's Minister of State and Foreign Minister Rangel in Beijing on Tuesday. At the invitation of Wang Yi, Rangel will visit China from March 24 to 28.

International News

1. MPOA: Malaysia's palm oil output was estimated to increase by 9.48% from March 1 to 20

According to data released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), Malaysia's palm oil production was estimated to increase by 9.48% from March 1 to 20, of which Peninsular Malaysia increased by 9.02%, Sabah increased by 11.77%, Sarawak increased by 6.06%, and Eastern Malaysia increased by 10.06%.

2. In the strong lithium iron phosphate battery business, LG Energy Solution introduced the core team of the former Jiewei Power

The reporter recently learned that LG New Energy, a South Korean lithium battery company, introduced the core team of the former Jiewei Power, intending to strengthen its shortcomings in the field of lithium iron phosphate batteries. In March this year, the first batch of about 20 former employees of Jiewei Power have joined LG Energy Solution's Nanjing factory, mainly engaged in R&D positions. LG Energy Solution also plans to bring in the second and third batches of former employees of Jiewei Power, but has not yet set a specific timetable. The total size of the three batches of teams is about 200 people, and in addition to R&D, they also involve different functions such as production and sales.

3. In February, the European auto market was cold, and Tesla's new car registrations plummeted by 40%

European car sales fell by the most in five months in February, as economic uncertainty drove consumers to reluctantly buy cars. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Tuesday that new car registrations fell 3.1 percent from a year earlier to 963,540 units. Spain was the only major market in the region where sales rose, with a 61% increase in EV registrations. The continued sluggishness in several of the region's largest economies has weighed on consumer confidence. At the same time, the threat of tariffs in the United States and competition from Chinese automakers have added to the pressure. Tesla's new car registrations in Europe fell by 40% as consumers remain unhappy with Musk's political stance and his support for the AfD.

4. The European Patent Office received a record number of Chinese patent applications last year

According to the 2024 patent index report released by the European Patent Office on the 25th, 20,081 patent applications from China were received in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%, reaching a record high. According to the report, the European Patent Office received a total of 199264 patent applications from around the world in 2024, basically the same as in 2023. The top five countries in terms of the number of patent applications were the United States, Germany, Japan, China and South Korea, with China filing more than 10% of the total.

In terms of company rankings, among all companies that filed patent applications with the European Patent Office in 2024, China's Huawei ranked second, with a total of 4,322 patent applications. South Korea's Samsung ranked first, South Korea's LG, and the United States' Qualcomm ranked third and fourth. In addition to Huawei, there were five other Chinese companies in the top 50, namely CATL, ZTE, Xiaomi, vivo and Tencent. In terms of technical fields, the field in which the European Patent Office received the most patent applications in 2024 was computer technology, with a total of 16,815. The number of patent applications in the fields of electrical machinery, instruments and energy reached 16,142, an increase of 8.9% year-on-year. The number of patent applications in the field of digital communication was 15,983, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3%.

5. Boao Report: Asia's economic growth is expected to increase to 4.5% in 2025

The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference was held in Boao, Hainan Province from March 25 to March 28, with the theme of "Shaping Asia's Future in a Changing World". On the morning of the 25th, the Boao Forum for Asia released the "2025 Annual Report on Asian Economic Prospects and Integration Process" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"). According to the report, as one of the main engines of the world economy, Asia's economic growth is expected to increase to 4.5% in 2025, and the share of the world's economy in purchasing power parity terms will increase to 48.6%. Asian economies such as China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Cambodia, and Indonesia will still maintain a relatively high growth rate of more than 5%. Specifically, in terms of trade, the growth rate of Asia's foreign trade in goods has gradually picked up, and trade in services has maintained rapid growth, especially China's trade in goods and trade in services have continued to hit record highs. In terms of investment, the global dependence on foreign investment in Asian economies has risen amid fluctuations, reaching around 60% in recent years, while China and ASEAN remain the most attractive Asian economies for foreign investment. In terms of innovation, Asia's R&D investment intensity and patent application volume far exceed that of other regions, and it has increasingly become the protagonist of global scientific and technological innovation, and Asia has been at the forefront of a new round of industrial revolution. According to the report, despite many challenges, Asian economies, especially China and ASEAN, continue to show strong resilience and continue to be at the forefront of the world in economic growth, trade, innovation, sustainable development, and regional economic integration, and also nurture new potential and development space.

Domestic Macro Economy Index