https://www.scmp.com/rss/521884/feed Temu: A rapidly expanding e-commerce platform, a subsidiary of China’s PDD Group, offering a vast array of heavily discounted consumer goods directly from manufacturers. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with a European base in Dublin, Temu primarily targets budget-conscious shoppers, including Gen Z and millennials, globally. Known for its aggressive marketing, gamified shopping experience, and ultra-low prices, it has quickly become one of the most downloaded shopping apps and a major... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham After eight years in the deep freeze, the European Parliament is sending an official delegation to China next week in the clearest sign yet that Beijing’s targeted lobbying blitz of its members is paying off. Seven members from the parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) will travel to Beijing and Shanghai alongside Engin Eroglu, head of its China delegation. They will meet officials, customs and port authorities, lawmakers and companies, including Shein and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348098/european-parliament-heads-china-after-8-years-members-say-its-no-sign-giving?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 05:55:21 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen PDD Holdings, the Chinese e-commerce group behind Pinduoduo and global budget marketplace Temu, on Wednesday reported an 11 per cent drop in quarterly profit amid higher sales as the company continued a pivot towards greater reinvestment. Net profit for the quarter fell to 24.5 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion), missing a consensus analyst estimate of 29.1 billion yuan. Meanwhile, revenue rose 12 per cent from a year earlier to 123.9 billion yuan, aligning with a consensus analyst estimate of 123.7... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347894/pinduoduo-operator-pdds-profit-slides-chinese-firm-cites-higher-reinvestment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347894/pinduoduo-operator-pdds-profit-slides-chinese-firm-cites-higher-reinvestment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:45:50 +0000 Junjie Wang Junjie Wang – https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/article/3347093/chinas-global-tech-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/article/3347093/chinas-global-tech-push?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 02:40:01 +0000 Lizzi C. Lee Lizzi C. Lee For decades, China’s role in the global economy was easy to define. It made things cheaply and at astonishing scale. “Made in China” became shorthand for industrial capacity. It was often contentious, sometimes admired, sometimes feared. In the years after China joined the World Trade Organization, its firms were deeply embedded in global supply chains, mostly at the lower end of the value chain. They produced for others. Western and Japanese companies controlled the premium segments and brand... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3343986/how-next-china-shock-shaping-hearts-and-minds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3343986/how-next-china-shock-shaping-hearts-and-minds?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 01:30:14 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham The European Commission has opened an investigation into Chinese online retailer Shein over, among other things, the alleged sale of “child sexual abuse material” – a move that could see the firm banned from the EU market as a last resort. The probe, launched on Tuesday under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), will look into the systems the Singapore-based company has in place to limit the sale of illegal products. As a next step, the commission will ask Shein for further information and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343833/chinese-e-commerce-giant-shein-could-face-eu-ban-over-childlike-sex-dolls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343833/chinese-e-commerce-giant-shein-could-face-eu-ban-over-childlike-sex-dolls?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 11:14:09 +0000 Nicole Chan Nicole Chan Across social media, a curious phrase has been circulating: “You met me at a very Chinese time in my life.” It appears under videos of hotpot dinners, DHGate hauls, Chinese streetwear fits and users joking about switching their phone interfaces into Chinese “for the aesthetic”. It has even spawned an ecosystem of spin-offs: “Chinamaxxing”, “you will turn Chinese tomorrow” and countless posts where people half-joke about becoming “more Chinese” by the day. But beneath the humour of what looks... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342421/becoming-chinese-memes-reflect-world-shaped-chinas-ascent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342421/becoming-chinese-memes-reflect-world-shaped-chinas-ascent?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 01:30:10 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Robot vacuum maker Dreame Technology promoted its products at the Super Bowl on Sunday night, becoming the latest Chinese brand after Temu to leverage the game’s influence to crack the North American market. Its 30-second commercial, aired across NBC’s local affiliate network, which exclusively broadcasts the game, showcased Dreame’s ecosystem, from robot vacuums and lawnmowers to a concept hypercar unveiled at the CES trade show in Las Vegas last month. The campaign follows budget shopping site... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3342965/chinese-vacuum-maker-using-temus-playbook-dreams-big-super-bowl-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3342965/chinese-vacuum-maker-using-temus-playbook-dreams-big-super-bowl-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:20:11 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham TikTok’s “addictive design” has been found to violate EU digital laws – in a move that could land the Chinese-owned company a fine of up to 6 per cent of its global revenue. Preliminary findings of the European Commission investigation, announced on Friday, said the video app’s infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and “highly personalised” recommender systems had addictive properties. Brussels wanted TikTok to change the basic design of its service, it said, including disabling some of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342692/eu-finds-tiktok-addictive-digital-law-probe-6-fine-looms-bytedance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3342692/eu-finds-tiktok-addictive-digital-law-probe-6-fine-looms-bytedance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:09:59 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Shanghai’s tax authority fined an operating entity of PDD Holdings, the US-listed e-commerce company that runs leading retail platforms Pinduoduo and Temu, citing its failure to comply with local tax requirements, according to a Wednesday report from state news agency Xinhua. Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology, a PDD subsidiary which operates Pinduoduo, failed to report necessary information concerning its platform operators and employees for the third quarter of 2025, the city’s tax... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3340679/china-fines-e-commerce-firm-pdd-tax-violations-amid-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3340679/china-fines-e-commerce-firm-pdd-tax-violations-amid-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:15:44 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng In a seismic shift for the global retail landscape, Temu, the budget shopping platform owned by PDD Holdings, has caught up with Amazon.com in cross-border market share globally. The platform, which launched in 2022, saw its share surge from less than 1 per cent then to 24 per cent last year, on par with American giant Amazon, according to a survey published by International Post Corporation (IPC), an association of 26 national postal services in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. Amazon’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340415/chinese-owned-temu-catches-amazon-global-cross-border-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340415/chinese-owned-temu-catches-amazon-global-cross-border-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:15:08 +0000 Abishur Prakash Abishur Prakash Last month, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery company, started building a massive joint venture plant in Spain. It came weeks after Spain’s King Felipe visited Beijing, seeking a stronger EU-China relationship as US commitments wobble. Except Spain, electrified by the potential job creation, ran into a problem: CATL wants to bring 2,000 Chinese workers to build the plant. What’s happening in Spain is part of a complicated new showdown between the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336510/complicated-new-eu-china-showdown-quietly-taking-shape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336510/complicated-new-eu-china-showdown-quietly-taking-shape?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 21:30:09 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu The European Union will start collecting a three-euro flat fee for each small parcel valued below €150 (US$176) sent directly from a non-EU country to customers in the bloc, following a decision adopted by the EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday. The move, set to kick in next July, marks a milestone in Europe’s fight, led by France, against the influx of small parcels, mostly from Chinese platforms such as Temu and Shein, entering the union tax free. But how effective these... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3336292/eu-targets-chinas-shein-and-temu-new-fees-low-value-parcels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3336292/eu-targets-chinas-shein-and-temu-new-fees-low-value-parcels?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:13:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin were raided by EU regulators last week on concerns about potential Chinese state subsidies granted to the online retailer, a subsidiary of China’s e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Temu did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The raid comes amid increasing concern within the EU over cheap imports from China, as low-value e-commerce shipments have flooded into the bloc thanks to a customs waiver... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335969/temus-dublin-office-raided-eu-regulators-chinese-subsidy-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335969/temus-dublin-office-raided-eu-regulators-chinese-subsidy-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:51:35 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat With their domestic profits narrowing and production capacity expanding, China’s firms are continuing to widen their overseas footprints in search of new, more lucrative markets. In this series, we examine China Inc.’s next phase of “going global” and the complex, challenging international environment its companies have chosen to enter. The “Made in China” label has evolved considerably in recent decades. Mostly found affixed to low-cost goods of relative simplicity in China’s early years as a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3333074/chinas-companies-become-industry-leaders-where-world-are-they-going?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3333074/chinas-companies-become-industry-leaders-where-world-are-they-going?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 07:52:55 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese merchants who sell to overseas markets via popular sites like Shein and Temu are struggling with escalating tax and compliance burdens from both their main export market, the European Union, and the domestic tax authority. The latest pressure came from the EU, which on Thursday agreed to abolish a rule that allowed goods worth less than €150 (US$174) to enter the region without customs duties. The new rule will apply once an EU customs data hub is ready, scheduled for 2028. However, the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3332873/chinese-vendors-shein-temu-face-double-tax-trouble-levies-home-and-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3332873/chinese-vendors-shein-temu-face-double-tax-trouble-levies-home-and-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 02:00:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse EU finance ministers on Thursday agreed to scrap a bloc-wide duty exemption on low-value orders from the likes of retail giants Temu and Shein to help tackle a flood of cheap Chinese imports. Today, there is no levy on packages worth less than €150 (US$174) imported directly to consumers in the 27-nation bloc, in many cases via Chinese-founded platforms. Member states including France and the EU executive hope the duty exemption can be done away with from the start of next year, rather than 2028... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332700/eu-impose-small-parcel-duties-hit-chinas-shein-temu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332700/eu-impose-small-parcel-duties-hit-chinas-shein-temu?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:32:31 +0000 Reuters Reuters Italy is working to adopt a tax on low-value postal packages from non-European countries, senior politicians said, as part of measures to protect its fashion industry from low-cost imports mostly from China. The move targets online platforms such as Shein and Temu. “Our measures will be in force by the end of this year,” Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters. Italy’s ruling parties plan to apply a levy to consignments worth less than €150 (US$175), in line with a proposal being discussed... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332553/italy-plans-tax-low-value-parcels-targeting-chinas-shein-and-temu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332553/italy-plans-tax-low-value-parcels-targeting-chinas-shein-and-temu?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 18:56:40 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Sea founder Forrest Li told employees a trillion dollar market capitalisation – an increase of about 10 times – is possible as the Southeast Asia e-commerce leader joins tech companies globally betting on artificial intelligence for growth. In a memo to staff Monday, seen by Bloomberg News, Li compared the rapid growth of AI to the personal computer and smartphone revolutions that expanded consumer access to products and services once available only to the wealthy. But Li said it would not be... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329790/sea-ceo-forrest-li-sees-path-us1-trillion-market-cap-help-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3329790/sea-ceo-forrest-li-sees-path-us1-trillion-market-cap-help-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 08:40:36 +0000 Eric Ng Eric Ng The full impact of the US removing import duty exemptions for e-commerce shipments may take a year to reach consumers, similar to the timeline seen after the UK’s exit from the European Union, according to the CEO of DHL Express. Consumers had yet to fully realise the additional costs they might have to bear, said John Pearson. “When Brexit happened, I was receiving calls from customers even one year later, saying the duties charged on their orders must have been incorrect,” he told the Post in... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3329192/full-impact-us-e-commerce-duty-change-may-take-year-dhl-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3329192/full-impact-us-e-commerce-duty-change-may-take-year-dhl-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:23:28 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Super Typhoon Ragasa disrupted production of Apple’s iPhones in Shenzhen and crucial pre-holiday shipments by cross-border e-commerce merchants, as the year’s strongest storm barrelled towards southern China with heavy rain and hurricane-force winds. The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, Foxconn Technology Group, on Tuesday suspended assembly work at its Shenzhen unit – the innovative Product Enclosure Business Group, responsible for high-speed connectors, memory and other... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3326663/super-typhoon-ragasa-disrupts-iphone-production-cross-border-e-commerce-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3326663/super-typhoon-ragasa-disrupts-iphone-production-cross-border-e-commerce-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 09:00:19 +0000 Igor Patrick Igor Patrick Mexico is preparing to raise tariffs on Chinese imports of automobiles, textiles and plastics, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, under a proposal expected to be part of the 2026 budget to be submitted to the nation’s Congress next month. If confirmed, the increase would mark one of Mexico’s sharpest trade shifts in recent years. Officials in Washington have urged the move as part of US President Donald Trump’s push to build a “Fortress North America” and reduce dependence on Chinese supply... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3323554/mexico-reportedly-considering-higher-chinese-import-tariffs-us-urging?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3323554/mexico-reportedly-considering-higher-chinese-import-tariffs-us-urging?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:30:19 +0000 Reuters Reuters E-commerce firm PDD Holdings, which operates low-cost platforms Pinduoduo in China and Temu internationally, easily beat market estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday, although net profit fell due to investments to ward off intensifying competition. US-listed shares of the company jumped nearly 12 per cent in premarket trading, buoyed by adjusted earnings per ADS of 22.07 yuan, which exceeded estimates of 15.74 yuan. The Chinese government has been seeking to boost domestic consumption to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3323096/temu-owner-pdd-tops-quarterly-revenue-estimates-margin-squeeze-continues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3323096/temu-owner-pdd-tops-quarterly-revenue-estimates-margin-squeeze-continues?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Aug 2025 11:31:40 +0000