March 17 Member Morning Brief: Middle East Conflict Concerns Persist, AI Reasoning Era Arrives

[Trump hints at attacking Hark Island oil facilities, calls on Europe for escort] During an event at the White House, U.S. President Trump once again urged other countries to assist in ensuring the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and complained that some allies are not enthusiastic about supporting the U.S. He recently warned that if NATO allies do not respond, NATO will face a “very bad” future.

[NVIDIA GTC Conference] NVIDIA announced DLSS 5, with Jensen Huang declaring that the era of graphics GPT has arrived. Huang stated that by 2027, Blackwell and Rubin chips will generate at least $1 trillion in revenue. Samsung released HBM4E and deepened cooperation with NVIDIA, as AI computing power sparks a “storage race.”

[China-U.S. economic and trade team conducts consultations in Paris] Both sides agreed to explore the establishment of a cooperation mechanism to promote bilateral trade and investment, continue to leverage the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand practical cooperation, and promote the steady and positive development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

[China economic data released] From January to February, China’s retail sales increased by 2.8% year-on-year; industrial added value above designated size grew by 6.3%; fixed asset investment rose by 1.8%; and real estate development investment declined by 11% year-on-year.

[Bahrain Aluminum shuts down capacity] The world’s largest single aluminum smelter, Bahrain Aluminum (Alba), announced the closure of three production lines, affecting over 20% of its capacity. Aluminum companies in Qatar and India have also been impacted, and the Middle East supply chain crisis continues to spread, with production restart timelines highly uncertain.