China Business Insider - News From Caixin Global

Program description: China Business Uncovered takes listeners inside China's corporate world through the eyes of reporters who investigate it firsthand. Featuring open conversations with Caixin journalists, each episode breaks down the most complex developments inside Chinese businesses. Tune in to understand how critical stories are covered, what's really happening beneath the surface, and why it matters for businesses and investors operating in and around China. Recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI, China Business Uncovered brings Caixin's in-depth investigative reporting to a global audience. Episode intro: For years, so-called youth correctional institutions and "growth camps" have operated across China, marketing themselves to families struggling with mental health issues, school refusal, teenage relationships and parent-child conflict. Some charge desperate parents hundreds of thousands of yuan, while referring students between programs for hefty commissions. But students who were put through the programs told Caixin that "intervention" involved forced physical training, beatings, psychological abuse and restricted contact with the outside world. In this episode of China Business Uncovered, host Han Wei speaks with Caixin reporter Fan Qiaojia about how these institutions turn parental anxiety into business, why some families keep paying, and how regulatory gaps have allowed the industry to survive repeated scandals and crackdowns. Chapters: (02:55) Young victims emerge (08:32) A lucrative referral network (12:10) How camps take advantage of dysfunctional families (18:02) Why parents turn to unregulated programs (21:24) Regulatory gaps leave victims nowhere to turn This episode of China Business Uncovered was based on this story: In Depth: The Dark Side Behind China's Youth 'Correction' Industry Produced by Kelsey Cheng, Han Wei and Du Bohan. Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations. Save an extra $50. Introductory offer for new readers. Subscribe now.

Program description: China Business Uncovered takes listeners inside China's business world through the eyes of reporters who investigate it firsthand. Featuring open conversations with Caixin journalists, each episode breaks down the most complex developments inside Chinese companies. Tune in to understand how critical stories are covered, what's really happening beneath the surface, and why it matters for businesses and investors operating in and around China. Recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI, China Business Uncovered brings Caixin's in-depth investigative reporting to a global audience. Episode intro: For more than a decade, Italian authorities have been trying to shut down Chinese underground banking networks moving billions of euros across borders. But they keep coming back. One recent investigation centers on Yang Lifeng, a businessman from Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province who rose to become an influential leader in northern Italy's Chinese business community. Prosecutors allege that his network used shell companies and fake invoices to move 32 million euros ($37.3 million) through accounts across Europe and into the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. In a separate investigation, Italian authorities uncovered an alleged 5 billion euro fake-invoice scheme involving 433 shell companies and more than 60,000 Italian businesses. More recent probes have also found Chinese underground banks allegedly providing financial services to drug traffickers and some of Italy's most powerful mafia groups. In this episode of China Business Uncovered, host Kelsey Cheng speaks with Caixin finance reporter Yue Yue about how these underground banks operate and make money, how they have become so deeply rooted in Italy, and why years of police crackdowns have failed to stamp them out. More importantly, these cases reveal the more layered roots of these networks. In Wenzhou, borrowing money from relatives and friends has long been a common way to finance small businesses, particularly before modern banking became widely accessible. When those informal financial practices followed Chinese migrants overseas, they served legitimate business needs — but they could also be exploited to hide cash, evade taxes and launder money. Chapters: (02:24) From entrepreneur to alleged money-laundering ringleader (06:12) How the "fake invoice factories" worked (12:12) The secret "cupola meeting" at a Chinese business gala (16:24) Italy's long crackdown on underground banking (23:55) Wenzhou migration and the roots of informal lending (32:29) Why regulators struggle to stamp out the networks This episode of China Business Uncovered was based on this story: Italy Intensifies Crackdown on Chinese Underground Banking Networks Produced by Kelsey Cheng and Du Bohan. Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations. Save an extra $50. Introductory offer for new readers.  Subscribe now.

Program description: China Business Uncovered takes listeners inside China's corporate world through the eyes of reporters who investigate it firsthand. Featuring conversations with Caixin journalists, each episode breaks down the most complex developments inside Chinese businesses. Tune in to understand how critical stories are covered, what's really happening beneath the surface, and why it matters for businesses and investors operating in and around China. Recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI, China Business Uncovered brings Caixin's in-depth investigative reporting to a global audience. Episode intro: Hong Kong's rebounding capital markets were jolted in March when anti-corruption and securities regulators raided major Chinese brokerages as part of an investigation into suspected bribery and insider trading linked to share placements. Authorities allege that senior brokerage executives accepted more than HK$4 million ($510,000) in bribes in exchange for confidential information on upcoming deals. With that information, a hedge fund allegedly built short positions before the deals were announced and profited when share prices fell, generating nearly HK$315 million in illicit gains. Eight people were arrested. In this episode of China Business Uncovered, host Han Wei speaks with Caixin investigative reporter Wang Xiaoqing about how the probe unfolded, why Hong Kong's share-placement market can be vulnerable to information leaks, and how a little-known hedge fund became one of the city's most aggressive players. More broadly, the case offers a glimpse into a part of Hong Kong's fundraising ecosystem that ordinary investors rarely see — and raises questions about market fairness, regulatory oversight, and confidence in the city's financial markets. Chapters: (02:04) Hong Kong's brokerage raids (05:10) Leaked deals and HK$315 million in illicit gains (09:51) How inside information was exploited (16:15) Regulatory scrutiny amid a market rebound (20:44) The mysterious rise of hedge fund Infini Capital (29:25) The probe's market and compliance impact This episode of China Business Uncovered was recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI. Based on these stories: Exclusive: Hong Kong Anti-Corruption Probe Hits Citic Securities, Guotai Junan In Depth: Secretive Hedge Fund at Center of Hong Kong Insider-Trading Probe Eight Arrested in Hong Kong Probe Into Insider Trading and Bribery Produced by Kelsey Cheng, Han Wei and Du Bohan. Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations. Save an extra $50. Introductory offer for new readers. Subscribe now.

Program description: Darers & Doers showcases groundbreaking innovations from China and features company founders and CEOs who are turning cool, bold ideas into reality. Produced by Caixin Global. Episode intro: Solar is one of China's most crowded renewable-energy sectors, if not the most. But a new generation of entrepreneurs is looking beyond manufacturing and capacity, finding new ways to turn solar into an investable and profitable business. In this episode of Darers & Doers, Li Wenxuan, founder, chairman and CEO of PCG Power Technology, explains how he has built a business around making distributed solar work for commercial and industrial users — helping factories and industrial parks cut energy costs, improve efficiency and secure a more reliable supply of green power. PCG Power turned a profit just two years after its founding. It has since grown into one of China's largest distributed-energy companies, operating 2 gigawatts of grid connected capacity and serving hundreds of customers. The company has also attracted backing from Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek and Saudi's Aramco, and has partnered with the U.K.'s Octopus Energy on power trading. Speaking with host Kelsey Cheng, Li explains how China's vast industrial power market has created a unique testing ground for new energy business models, and how PCG Power plans to take that experience overseas. He also addresses concerns about overcapacity and dumping in China's renewable-energy industry, and how technologies such as storage, virtual power plants and artificial intelligence can help address shortfalls of renewable generation. Chapters: (02:11) From real estate and tech investor to distributed solar entrepreneur (05:04) Solving the "energy trilemma" (08:14) Why PCG's business model works (12:55) How distributed solar took off in China (15:14) AI's two-way relationship with energy (18:03) Dumping and oversupply concerns (20:33) Where China's renewable-energy push falls short (23:02) Taking PCG Power global This episode of Darers & Doers was recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI. Produced by Kelsey Cheng ([email protected]) and Du Bohan Read more on Caixin Global: Exclusive: China's Power Market Reforms Reshape Strategy for Renewable Developers, PCG Power Chairman Says PCG Power, Octopus Energy Launch Power Trading Venture in China Subscribe now to unlock all coverage from Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal for just $200 a year, enjoying a 66% discount.  Group discounts are available — contact us for a customized plan.

Program description: China Business Uncovered takes listeners inside China's business world through the eyes of reporters who investigate it firsthand. Featuring open conversations with Caixin journalists, each episode breaks down the most complex developments inside Chinese companies. Tune in to understand how critical stories are covered, what's really happening beneath the surface, and why it matters for businesses and investors operating in and around China. Recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI, China Business Uncovered brings Caixin's in-depth investigative reporting to a global audience. Episode intro: Spring in Jiangnan, a classical Chinese handscroll donated to the Nanjing Museum in 1959 by one of China's most prominent collector families, suddenly showed up in an auction lot with an estimated value of 88 million yuan ($12.9 million), triggering public outcry over the mismanagement of treasured artifacts. In this episode of China Business Uncovered, host Kelsey Cheng speaks with Caixin investigative reporter Xiao Hui and Wang Qiusheng, founder of the Society for the Ancient Chinese Art to trace the handscroll's complicated journey: how it went from a prized donation to a work deemed fake, removed from the museum's collection and then sold into private hands before reappearing on the auction market last year. More importantly, the case offers a look at the development of China's art auction market, the systems governing the country's museums and how trust is built — or, in this case, broken — between collectors and public institutions. Chapters: (01:55) The $13 million handscroll that ignited a museum scandal (03:16) Why Spring in Jiangnan matters (05:39) Why the Pang family gave it away (07:44) How the scroll vanished — and returned (14:32) Eight years searching for answers (17:19) How Caixin poked holes in the museum's explanation (20:35) Lessons from the incident (23:37) Development of China's art auction market This episode of China Business Uncovered was recorded in Mandarin and produced in English with the help of AI. Based on these stories: In Depth: A Lost Masterpiece's Return Exposes Scandal at a Top Chinese Museum China Recovers Stolen Museum Relics After Auction Tip-Off Produced by Kelsey Cheng and Du Bohan. Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations. Save an extra $50. Introductory offer for new readers. Subscribe now.