Bottom line: The US decision to force a sale of gay dating app Grindr by its Chinese owner reflects a new environment where Washington is almost certain to veto China purchases of local firms with access to sensitive user information.

A new report on the unhinging of a Chinese purchase of US gay dating app Grindr is shedding some interesting light on how Washington sees such deals, and offers insight into how far Chinese tech firms might be allowed into the country going forward. The picture ...

Bottom line: Baidu's first-ever loss since going public reflects a long-anticipated decline for its core search business, which could mark the start of a longer-term decline due to lack of a strong new business lines.

Bottom line: Amazon's withdrawal from selling domestic goods to local buyers in China was inevitable due to its lack of a standout service and cut-throat competition from Alibaba and the money-losing JD.com.

The e-commerce headlines have been buzzing these last few days with word that global giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is abandoning China, representing the latest setback for a western Internet company in the large market. Amazon has come out with some statements clarifying the matter, in a mo...

Bottom line: A steady stream of layoff and cost-cutting reports around JD.com appear to show it's trying to sharpen its operations to achieve sustained profits starting in the second half of this year. 

Bottom line: Qutoutiao's recent flurry of fund-raising, including a major  loan from Alibaba, underscores rising confidence in the news aggregator after its lackluster IPO last year.

News aggregator Qutoutiao (Nasdaq: QTT) is making up for lost time following its lackluster IPO last fall that raised far less than its original target. The company has just announced a new share sale that will generate about $30 million in cash, just days after raising another $171 million from e-commerce giant ...

Bottom line: China's drive to boost imports will benefit the nation's big e-commerce companies with cross-border trade capabilities, though such purchasing will still be a small fraction of their overall volume.

It may be election day in the US, but here in China the focus is decidedly on imports with the staging this week of a massive import-focused expo in Shanghai. This particular event, officially called the China International Import Expo, has big political overtones, which I've looked a...

Bottom line: Alibaba's vague road map in its latest chairman and CEO annual shareholder letter is too far off to be meaningful, but does chart its aspirations to change from its current form to something more like an IT services company.

Bottom line: New listing plans by used car platform operator Uxin, EV battery maker Amperex and medical device maker Mindray should all do well, driven by strong growth potential and their leading positions in China.

The latest IPO season for Chinese firms is kicking into high gear on both sides of the Pacific, with announcement of several hot new offerings that each has a slightly different story to tell. At the head of the class is a new listing for used car platform operator Uxin, which is...

Bottom line: Alibaba's purchase of Ele.me and Tencent-backed Meituan's purchase of Mobike underscore the growing rivalry between Alibaba and Tencent, as each uses its deep pockets to try and dominate money-losing emerging sectors.

Trade wars are making all the big headlines these days in US-China news, forcing a couple of mega-mergers that would normally be front-page news into the back pages. Each of the latest deals is quite significant for China's Internet, as both quietly underscore the i...

Bottom line:  Hong Kong-listed "Red chip" stocks like Lenovo and China Telecom could eventually make secondary listings in China under a new CDR program, but will be forced to wait behind higher-profile Internet names like Alibaba.

With all of the major IPOs for the week now in the history books, as most of the world takes a vacation for Good Friday, I thought I'd close out the week here in China with yet another angle on the China Depositary Receipt (CDR) program that is creating lots of buz...

Bottom line: iQiyi and Bilibili should price near the top of their higher IPO price ranges, as each benefits from strong investor sentiment fueled by their unique offerings and a potential new plan to concurrently list their shares in China. 

Anyone who was worried that a regulatory crackdown on fintechs late last year might dampen broader enthusiasm for Chinese stocks can relax. That's my key takeaway from the latest headlines, which show that two non-fintech Internet firms are experiencing ...

Bottom line: Baidu's reorganization of its mapping unit reflects growing competition in the space, and could ultimately end in a shuttering of the service if its usage continues to decline. 

Bottom line: A new plan allowing offshore listed Chinese firms like Alibaba and Tencent to make secondary listings at home appears to have momentum and could stand a better than 50 percent chance of success.

A mix of politics and business is in the air this week, as the annual National People's Congress takes place in Beijing, including a concurrent gathering of business leaders who advise the nation's legislature. Those leaders include most of the country's leading high-tech CEOs, who are al...

Bottom line: Alibaba's potential purchase of Ele.me could be the biggest piece yet in its pursuit of a "new retail" model, but could result in a case of indigestion as it tries to make the company profitable.

Bottom line: Alibaba's purchase of 33 percent of Ant Financial looks like a shrewd move for both firms, making Ant more attractive in the run-up to an IPO likely to be one of the world's biggest this year.

Alibaba and Ant back together

Bottom line: Baidu's anti-competitive behavior alleged in a lawsuit by Jinri Toutiao won't have a long-term effect on its stock, but will draw the attention of an increasingly assertive anti-trust regulator.

Toutiao sues Baidu for manipulating search results

Global is great. Anyone who follows the China business scene probably wouldn’t need too long to guess those words were uttered by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who was singing the praises of free trade and globalism on the second day of the World Economic Forum this week in Davos, Switzerland. Ma never saw a platform he didn’t like, including the e-commerce platforms that have made him one of the world’s richest men, as well as more figurative platforms like the World Economic Forum.

Ma’s gro...

Bottom line: The inclusion of Alibaba's Taobao marketplace on the latest edition of a US blacklist for piracy signals US is taking a tougher line on trade issues.

Alibaba calls itself 'scapegoat' after landing on US blacklist

Bottom line: The collapse of Ant Financial's purchase of MoneyGram reflects growing resistance from a Trump administration willing to mix business and politics in its relationship with China.

Ant's purchase of MoneyGram sinks

Bottom line: Alibaba's plan to roll out 2,000 of its high-tech Hema grocery stores looks overly aggressive but typical for the company, and could prove costly if the concept fails to catch on.

Alibaba has big plans for Hema