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Latest news, analysis and opinion on ecommerce, covering new technology, consumer habits and the growth of digital payment options.
Regulators have imposed the heaviest fine of 1.51 billion yuan on PDD and suspended it from adding new bakery merchants for nine months. Photo: Reuters
Pinduoduo

Hidden office, fractured bone: violent clashes in China’s food safety crackdown

Details of secrecy, obstruction and violence emerge from a probe into 67,000 ‘ghost’ bakeries across China’s biggest e-commerce platforms.

ByteDance

ByteDance profit plunges on AI push as TikTok Shop fuels overseas surge: reports

Amazon

How Amazon uses closer China supply ties to counter tariffs, Shein and Temu

Mainland China

Chinese platforms fined 3.6b yuan over ‘ghost’ takeaways amid cutthroat rivalry

The fines follow a period of intense competition that drove down prices and stalled profit-making at China’s food delivery platforms.

Delivery riders sit on electric scooters while waiting for orders at a street intersection in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Photo: Getty Images
Amazon

Amazon bets on Shenzhen smart warehouse to cut merchant storage costs by 45%

Amazon expands China push with smart warehouse model, aiming to retain sellers amid rising competition from Temu and Shein.

Internet

China curbs live stream tipping with new rules to protect minors

The new live-streaming rules ban under-8s from tipping and introduce tiered consent for minors to curb manipulative inducements.

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Artificial intelligence

Alibaba cloud growth forecast to climb with AI push, higher charges: analysts

The company’s cloud and AI businesses are gaining speed, with token usage and pricing changes fuelling growth, analysts say.

The Alibaba building in Xuhui Binjiang Park, also known as “AI Park”, in Shanghai. Photo: EPA
Robotics

Unitree to debut cheapest humanoid robot globally via Alibaba: sources

The international launch of the company’s cheapest humanoid robot next week is expected to cover North America, Europe, Japan and Singapore.

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Alibaba

Alibaba sets up top tech committee led by CEO to sharpen AI push

Restructuring brings core AI teams under tighter leadership as competition in China’s model and agent space intensifies.

Artificial intelligence

Alibaba to deploy AI ‘digital workforce’ for millions of merchants on Taobao, Tmal

OpenClaw frenzy accelerates shift to autonomous AI, as Alibaba equips merchants with always-on digital workers.

People walk past a billboard promoting Tmall’s Singles’ Day sale at a popular shopping district in Beijing on November 10, 2025. Photo: AP
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Olympic diving champ Zhang Jiaqi defends career switch, says she needs ‘new job’

Retired diver’s live stream e-commerce venture is met with criticism, but she says gaining ‘economic freedom’ would be ‘the greatest freedom’.

Zhang Jiaqi (left) won the synchronised 10m platform diving with Chen Yuxi at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Alibaba

Alibaba targets US$100b in annual cloud, AI revenue despite results miss

T-Head, mentioned for the first time in the company’s earnings, has shipped more than 470,000 AI chips as of February.

US-China tech war

China’s global tech push

Chinese tech companies have become world leaders in areas such as AI, online entertainment, drones and autonomous driving, as they spearhead chuhai, the nation’s “going global” push.

Artificial intelligence

Tencent and Alibaba quarterly earnings preview: key things to watch

Analysts expect steady growth, but investors will focus on AI strategy, capex and signs of monetisation at China’s tech giants.

Shenzhen-based Tencent, operator of China’s largest social media platform and the world’s biggest video gaming business by revenue, is expected to report results on Wednesday after the market closes. Photo: Reuters
Mainland China

Guess says it will shut all mainland China stores amid retail rethink

US fashion brand tells customers it will close all mainland China stores by end of March as analysts cite weak localisation, strategy gaps.

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A Guess outlet in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. After two decades, the fashion outlet says it is calling it quits in mainland China. Photo: Getty Images
Mainland China

JD.com posts quarterly loss amid costly instant delivery battle

Profit for 2025 cut in half amid expensive fight with Alibaba and Meituan, as well as dampened consumer spending.

Li Chenggang

JD.com renews on-demand delivery fight with US$2.9 billion in grocery subsidies

JD.com says the subsidies will make the ‘Billion-Yuan Supermarket’ its largest subsidised product category, surpassing electronics.

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US-China relations

Immigration slows, but America’s appetite for ethnic groceries keeps growing

Weee, now topping $1 billion in annualized revenue, says demand for Asian and Latino foods is spreading well beyond immigrant communities.

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Larry Liu, founder and chief executive of online grocery platform Weee, says demand for Asian and Latino food in the US now extends well beyond immigrant communities. Photo: Handout
Shein

Rarely seen Shein founder praises Guangdong ‘roots’ as offshore listing stalls

Shein initially eyed a New York listing before switching to London after scrutiny by Washington over its supply chain and ties to China.

China economy

Opinion | How the next China shock is shaping hearts and minds

No longer confined to trade and technology, competition between China and the West is now playing out in the realm of cultural imagination.

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Britain

Co-founder of British retailer Asos dies after falling from balcony in Thailand

Quentin Griffiths’ friend told police the Briton had been worried about lawsuits from his former wife, a Thai national.

Asos co-founder Quentin Griffiths’ body is found at the bottom of this residential building in Pattaya on February 9. Photo: Reuters
Pop Mart

Pop Mart balances boom and bust: can Labubu’s leap match Molly’s momentum?

As Labubu’s meteoric rise cools, Molly’s longevity highlights the challenge Pop Mart faces in turning hype into stable intellectual property.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
Meituan

Meituan warns of US$3.5 billion loss amid intense food delivery price war

Food delivery giant expects losses to continue into at least the first quarter of 2026 ‘due to ongoing competition’.

Food delivery apps

China calls on delivery, ride-hailing firms to respect gig-worker rights

Meituan, Alibaba, Didi Chuxing among 16 firms summoned for guidance session on rights of country’s more than 200 million gig workers.

Fashion

Q&A | Thailand’s Gentlewoman: viral totes and Covid resilience

Discover how 3 Thai accountancy and finance graduates steered the fashion brand’s rapid rise using smart data-driven design and being nimble enough to adapt.

Gentlewoman’s viral tote bag. Photo: Handout
China’s private sector

China’s Year of the Horse shoppers let emotional satisfaction take the reins

Brand prestige fades in importance as consumers favour festival-themed toys, playful designs and pet items.

Pop Mart sold out of its Have a Good Run series. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Sweet surge: Qwen overtakes Yuanbao after Alibaba’s bubble tea campaign

More than 10 million free orders put Alibaba’s AI app in the spotlight amid a high-stakes battle for Spring Festival attention.

China’s private sector

China’s Kuaishou slapped with US$17 million fine after explicit content probe

The fine comes days after a separate e-commerce penalty, adding pressure on China’s No 2 short-video platform to tighten controls.

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