Welcome back to China Insights Weekly. Here are some of this week's highlights:
- Chinese foreign investment in clean energy have nearly doubled and will reach USD 80 billion in 2025
- Sam's Club accelerates expansion in China, with Shanghai now its largest market
- Pilot digital yuan opens to tourists from Singapore and enables offline payments
- The world's largest green hydrogen-chemical project launched, reducing CO₂ emissions by 1.4 million tonnes per year
Main News
Producer Roomba, the company iRobot, filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. It cited growing competition from cheaper rivals and new tariffs as the reasons for this. In September 2002, iRobot launched Roomba, the first commercially successful robotic vacuum cleaner, which changed the entire market. In 2024, the company achieved sales of USD 682 million, but profitability declined due to strong competition from Chinese brands. Roborock a Ecovacs.
New US tariffs, particularly the 46% tariff on imports from Vietnam, where iRobot manufactures vacuum cleaners for the US market, increased costs by USD 23 million in 2025. The restructuring plan envisages a takeover by China-based Picea Robotics, which will acquire a 100% stake in the company and cancel USD 264 million in debt. While iRobot was valued at USD 3.56 billion in 2021, it is now worth around USD 140 million.
TikTok has entered into an agreement to establish a new American joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. The following companies are participating in the project: Oracle, Silver Lake and investment group MGX from Abu Dhabi. The new entity will be majority-owned by American investors, and the seven-member board of directors will have an American majority. The aim of the structure is to protect American data and national security.
The joint venture will be 50% owned by new investors, 30% by existing ByteDance affiliates, and 20% will be retained by ByteDance. Oracle will act as a trusted security partner, auditing compliance with security conditions and storing sensitive US data in cloud centres located in the United States.
South Korean fashion giant Musinsa enters China, Sam's Club breaks records in Shanghai
South Korean fashion company Musinsa opened its first overseas flagship store in Shanghai. The store on Huaihai Road has two floors and an area of 1,421 square metres. Musinsa plans to open 100 stores in China by 2030, mainly in Shanghai and other large cities. The company wants to adapt its logistics, distribution and product range to local trends and preferences. The expansion is supported by a 2019 investment from China's HongShan Capital and a partnership with the Anta Group, which led to the creation of Musinsa China.
Walmart-owned Sam's Club opened its seventh store in Shanghai on 16 December. and increased its total number of stores in China to 62. The new branch in Pudong has 50 fast-charging stations for electric cars. Shanghai has caught up with Houston v number of Sam's Club stores worldwide. In fiscal year 2025, Walmart China achieved sales of approximately $20.3 billion, with Sam's Club contributing more than $14.7 billion and becoming the main source of growth. Average sales per Sam's Club store are around $2 billion.
Chinese foreign investment in clean energy is growing rapidly
Chinese foreign investment in clean energy reached USD 80 billion by the end of November 2025, almost double the previous period. The growth is a result of China's dominant position in energy transformation technologies and the current US retreat from supporting clean energy. Many developing countries are therefore deepening their cooperation with China. The fastest investment growth has been in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in the battery and solar energy sectors. Many countries are offering tax incentives and fast-track project approvals to attract Chinese capital.
Tomáš Kučera & Yereth Jansen
China-insights.com/gnews.cz - GH
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