This article only represents the author's own views.

Its name means “bull” in Chinese, and these days electric scooter maker Niu Technologies (NIU.US) is living up to that name, charging into some major headwinds overseas as a result of protective U.S. tariffs. But the company is also getting some nice tailwinds in its home China market from a government program aimed at boosting consumer spending.

Both of those elements were at the forefront of a first-quarter update from Niu last Friday, in which it said its China sales charged ahead by 66% in the three-month period, even as its international sales nearly ground to a halt with just a 6% rise. We’ll dissect both of these elements shortly, but first we’ll review the bigger picture for this company.