E-Commerce

Why China’s youth are swapping luxury for local brands

With young consumers in China looking beyond established Western luxury brands, homegrown brands are increasingly winning people over with their designs and quality. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Liu finds out more.

Liu Liu

[Big read] China’s rural officials are performing for attention online, with Xi’s blessing

China’s village officials are turning to livestreams, dances and short-form videos to sell rural products and boost local economies, citing President Xi Jinping’s emphasis on e-commerce to justify the shift, though it sits uneasily with expectations that officials keep a low profile. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Zhang Guanghui reports.

Zhang Guanghui

China’s beauty brands shine online as foreign rivals falter

China’s beauty upstarts are seizing the spotlight as foreign brands stumble in a fiercely competitive market. With digital savvy, localisation strategies and “self-developed” formulas, they are rewriting the rules of China’s cosmetics game. Will China’s cosmetics market become a battlefield foreign brands can no longer win?

Caixin Global

TikTok, Manus and the new rules of going global

With TikTok selling its US business at a discount to survive while Singapore-headquartered Manus gains a valuation premium through relocation, the US-China tech rivalry inevitably puts tech companies’ operations at risk. Lianhe Zaobao business editor Shen Yue tells us more.

Shen Yue

How ‘China Inc.’ is discovering its new world in Brazil

Chinese companies are turning Brazil into their new frontier, from electric vehicles and digital platforms to mining and energy, and navigating local challenges as they chart a daring new chapter in global expansion.

Caixin Global

Pig farming, livestreaming: Singaporeans find new opportunities in China

With a massive market and economic reforms and opening up, China has become a land of opportunity for Singaporean entrepreneurs. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Yush Chau speaks with two that went off the beaten path — a pig farmer and an e-commerce livestream entrepreneur.

Yush Chau

ByteDance riles smartphone ecosystem with AI pitch

ByteDance’s new Nubia M153 smartphone, powered by an AI assistant, has taken China’s handset market by storm, directly challenging the traditional app-based business model. While the phone sold out instantly on its first day of release, rivals like Tencent and Alibaba are asking questions about data privacy and the future of mobile tech.

Caixin Global

Moutai sales no longer soaring?

From its peak earlier this year, the price of Moutai has dropped to record lows today. What is behind the crash, and how can the industry recover? Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk delves into the issue.

China Desk, Lianhe Zaobao

From outdated to unstoppable: The rise of mainland brands in Hong Kong

Compared with the overall leap in quality of mainland Chinese domestic products, Hong Kong brands have in the past few years appeared traditional and rigid, with dated reputes. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing takes a look at the appeal of mainland Chinese brands to Hong Kongers.

Tai Hing Shing

Why are China’s store prices lower than online? The overcapacity puzzle

China’s overcapacity crisis is pushing physical store prices below online deals, reversing the usual trend. Rising e-commerce costs, fierce platform competition and logistics expenses have made in-store shopping a surprisingly cheaper option in cities like Chengdu. Lianhe Zaobao senior correspondent Chen Jing takes a look at how China and the outside world are handling the overcapacity issue.

Chen Jing

The SCO development bank: China’s answer to Western financial hegemony?

China’s push for an SCO development bank aims to offer Eurasia a non-dollar, low-conditionality alternative to Western finance. But governance challenges, funding gaps and divergent interests may stall its ambition before it takes flight. Researcher Genevieve Donnellon-May discusses the issue.

Genevieve Donnellon-May

Yiwu: How a barter town became the heartbeat of global small trade

From a place for rural barter trade in the 1970s to the world’s largest hub for small commodities, Yiwu’s growth defies conventional models. Rooted in pragmatism, powered by enthusiastic traders and shaped by global flows, it offers a masterclass in economic adaptability. Researchers Zhang Shuyue and Chen Xiangming tell us more.

Zhang Shuyue