After Blizzard's games agencies via NetEase in China rolled up their services at the end of January, NetEase announced on February 1 that it would open a refund application channel for players who had recharged but not used some of their virtual currency or unexpired game services.
Reports surfaced recently alleging that Microsoft will cut its Suzhou division in China, implementing large-scale layoffs with compensation of over 12 months in salary. However, several independent sources confirmed that the news was not true.
According to a document submitted by Tesla to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on January 31, the firm's total revenue in 2022 was $81.462 billion, up 51% year-on-year. Specifically, the Chinese market notched revenue totaling $18.145 billion, accounting for 22.27%.
US-based video game developer Blizzard on January 20 released competition rules for this year's Hearthstone tournament, showing that players in mainland China will not be able to participate.
A consumer in China's southern city of Shenzhen recently purchased octopus at Sam's Club, a US chain of membership-only retail warehouse stores owned by Walmart, only to find that there was a highly venemous blue-ringed octopus in the container.
US tech giant Microsoft would lay off 10,000 workers by the end of this year's third quarter, accounting for just under 5% of its total employee count. The firm's China division reportedly will be involved, but the layoff ratio is lower than 5%.
News emerged recently that Tesla's production of 4680 large cylindrical batteries has achieved a major breakthrough, and that costs have dropped by 54%. However, many staff members of Tesla's China division stated, "At present, there is no related news."
Two months after the announcement of a game license termination between NetEase and Blizzard, both parties confirmed that negotiations had failed and they would not renew their contracts.
Tesla China recently reduced the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y, inciting the frustration of previous buyers and driving an uptick in new customers. On January 9, Grace Tao, global vice president of Tesla, attempted to clarify the company's pricing logic.
Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons officially announced on January 9 the new name of its Chinese brand – "Tianhao Coffee" – in Shanghai. It indicates another important market strategy of its local division since listing on the Nasdaq.
Albert Bourla, the CEO of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, said that the company is working with Chinese partners to provide Paxlovid, a COVID-19 pill developed by the firm, to China from the first half of this year.
Tesla suddenly posted record-low vehicle prices for the Chinese market on January 6, causing many Chinese car owners to organize in an attempt to defend their consumer rights.
A certified account belonging to the Chinese division of Japanese electronics giant Sony has recently been banned. On January 5, the CEO of Weibo responded that a blog post from Sony China was interpreted as attacking medical experts, and that a final punishment had just been approved.
On January 6, the starting prices of Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y in China dropped to 229,900 yuan ($33,458) and 259,900 yuan ($37,825) respectively, the lowest prices ever for both vehicles, with an estimated delivery period of one to four weeks.
News that Apple will cut manufacturing orders caused its major Chinese supplier Luxshare Precision's stock price to fall on Wednesday. However, Luxshare clarified the situation in its latest announcement on Thursday morning.
During the Guangzhou Auto Show, Kong Yanshuang, Regional General Manager of Tesla China, said in an interview that the company is looking forward to accelerating the release of vitality in the Chinese auto market after the end of the pandemic.
Tom Zhu, Tesla's head of China and global vice president, was reportedly given a new position on January 3. Going forward, he will be responsible for the US-based automaker's global sales, delivery, after-sales and factory production.
Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory will reportedly suspend production from January 20-31, longer than China's national Spring Festival holiday from January 21-27. The EV maker responded that most employees at the factory will have a holiday from January 20 to 28.
Tesla's China chief Tom Zhu stepped down as legal representative of Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., but will remain its chairman. This may be another signal that Zhu is fading out of Tesla's business in China.
