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BEIJING – China braced itself for a new phase in its battle against Covid-19 on Monday and financial markets strengthened after Beijing dropped pandemic border controls in the latest easing of curbs that has let the virus loose on its 1.4 billion population.

Sundays reopening is one of the last steps in Chinas dismantling of its zero-Covid regime, which began last month after historic protests against curbs that kept the virus at bay for three years but caused widespread mental agony and severe damage to the worlds second-largest economy.

While Beijings move to drop quarantine is expected to also boost outbound travel, several nations are demanding negative tests from visitors from China, seeking to contain an outbreak that is overwhelming many of Chinas hospitals and crematoriums.

Life is moving forward again!, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, the Peoples Daily, wrote in an editorial praising the governments virus policies late on Sunday which it said had moved from preventing infection to preventing severe disease.

Today, the virus is weak, we are stronger.

Chinas state Xinhua news agency said the country had entered a new phase of its Covid-19 response, citing its virus prevention experience, the development of the epidemic and increased vaccination levels.

Chinas top health officials and state media have repeatedly said Covid-19 infections are peaking across the country, and they are playing down the threat now posed by the disease.

That is in stark contrast to the earlier regime of strict quarantines and lockdowns as China managed the virus as a Category A disease like the bubonic plague and cholera. Chinas management of Covid-19 was technically downgraded to Category B on Sunday, although many curbs have been dropped for weeks.

Officially, China has reported just 5,272 Covid-19-related deaths as of Jan 8, one of the lowest rates of death from the infection in the world.

But the World Health Organisation has said China is under-reporting the scale of the outbreak and international health experts estimate more than one million people in the country could die from the disease this year.

Shrugging off those gloomy forecasts, investors are betting that Chinas reopening will help revive the US$17 trillion (S$23 trillion) economy and bolster the outlook for global growth.

Those hopes lifted Asian shares to a five-month high on Monday while Chinas yuan firmed to its strongest level against the dollar since mid-August.

Chinas blue-chip index gained 0.7 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 per cent and Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index climbed 1.6 per cent.

The ending of the zero-Covid policy is… going to have a major positive impact on domestic spending, Mr Ralph Hamers, Group Chief Executive Officer at UBS, told the banks annual Greater China Conference on Monday.We believe there is a lot of opportunity for those committed to investing in China.

Its a huge relief just to be able to go back to normal … just come back to China, get off the plane, get myself a taxi and just go home, Mr Michael Harrold, 61, a copy editor in Beijing told Reuters at Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday after he arrived on a flight from Warsaw. More On This Topic Chinas international air travel resumes, but Covid-19 turbulence to delay takeoff Airlines lift China international flight capacity as border opens Mr Harrold said he had been anticipating having to quarantine and do several rounds of testing on his return when he left for Europe for a Christmas break in early December.

State broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday that direct flights from South Korea to China were close to sold out. The report quickly shot to the most read item on Chinese social media site Weibo.

However, a spike in demand from South Koreans, who make up the largest number of foreign residents in China, as well as others, will be hampered by the limited number of flights to and from China, which are currently at a small fraction of pre-Covid-19 levels.

Korean Air said earlier this month that it was halting a plan to increase flights to China due to Seouls cautious stance towards Chinese travellers. South Korea, like many other countries now requires travellers from China, Macau and Hong Kong to provide negative Covid-19 test results before departure.

Flight Master data showed that on Sunday, China had a total of 245 international flights, combining inbound and outbound, compared with 2,546 flights on the same day in 2019, representing a fall of 91 per cent.

Chinas domestic tourism revenue in 2023 is expected to recover to 70-75 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, but the number of inbound and outbound trips is forecast to recover to only 30-40 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels this year, China News reported on Sunday. REUTERS More On This Topic China welcomes back international travellers on quarantine-free travel Excitement at Hong Kong's China border as quarantine lifted

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Sports

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

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Technology

Spotify paid over $100 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

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Spotify paid over 0 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Spotify said Monday it paid more than $100 million to podcast publishers and podcasters worldwide in the first quarter of 2025.

The figure includes all creators on the platform across all formats and agreements, including the platform’s biggest fish, Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von, the company said.

Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” were among the top podcasts on Spotify globally in 2024.

Rogan and Cooper’s exclusivity deals with Spotify have ended, and while Rogan signed a new Spotify deal last year worth up to $250 million, including revenue sharing and the ability to post on YouTube, Cooper inked a SiriusXM deal in August.

Read more CNBC tech news

Even when shows are no longer exclusive to Spotify, they are still uploaded to the platform and qualify for the Spotify Partner Program, which launched in January in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

The program allows creators to earn revenue every time an ad monetized by Spotify plays in the episode, as well as revenue when Premium subscribers watch dynamic ads on videos.

Competing platform Patreon said it paid out over $472 million to podcasters from over 6.7 million paid memberships in 2024.

YouTube’s payouts are massive by comparison but include more than just podcasts. The company said it paid $70 billion to creators between 2021 and 2024 with payouts rising each year, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

Spotify reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

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Environment

BYD now has the world’s largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

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BYD now has the world's largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.

BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil

BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.

The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.

BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.

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Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.

BYD's-largest-car-transport-ship
BYD Shenzhen, the world’s largest car transport ship (Source: BYD)

The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”

BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.

The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.

BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).

Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.

Source: BYD

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