China Innovation Watch

China’s stock-exchange restaurants spread to 10+ cities in months

Exchange-style dining boomed on social media across China. The dynamic pricing is cosmetic. Product depth is thin. Repeat visits are already declining.

Feb 4

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January 2026

How AI and Elderly Demographics Created China’s Most Profitable Micro-Drama Tier

Budget productions return 70% profitability. Premium content gambles on binary outcomes.

Jan 28

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Huawei reclaims China smartphone crown as Apple surges in Q4

Huawei reclaimed annual leadership with 16.4% share while Apple dominated Q4 on iPhone 17 strength. Rising memory costs forced Chinese brands to abandon…

Jan 22

Zhipu and MiniMax burn $10 for every $1 in revenue

Two Chinese AI companies going public reveal stark differences in monetization, offering first hard data on what works in the world’s most competitive…

Jan 20

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Manus AI: from $500M to $2B in 8 months

Singapore-based Manus reached $100M ARR faster than any startup in history. Its 80M virtual computers powered by multi-agent AI reshape global tech…

Jan 13

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Why China’s supermarket giants copy 13-store chain

A 13-store retailer in Henan just taught China's biggest supermarkets how to survive. Yonghui saw 10x sales jumps. Walmart is studying it. Revenue…

Jan 7

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December 2025

Chinese internet companies face global expansion inflection point

$18.6B gaming exports and 46% short drama share face regulatory barriers. Next three years determine durability or temporary arbitrage.

Dec 3, 2025

November 2025

US startups adopt Chinese AI models for performance and cost gains

Airbnb has shifted heavily to Alibaba's Qwen over OpenAI, while 80% of American AI startups now deploy Chinese AI models including DeepSeek and Kimi.

Nov 27, 2025

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How Chinese consumer priorities shift in 2025

Accenture data reveals 86% now prioritize health monitoring while brand loyalty collapses and domestic products capture 43% of beauty market as Chinese…

Nov 25, 2025

China's Double 11: AI and subsidies mask weakening consumer demand

Deep dive into China's Double 11 2025: RMB 1.7T GMV driven by AI infrastructure processing 150B queries, instant retail's RMB 67B breakthrough, and RMB…

Nov 16, 2025

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China’s AI hardware playbook: measurable gains, record campaigns

Snapmaker, Rokid, and Anker secure record crowdfunding with quantified performance gains. Tool-changing tech and open platforms drive validation…

Nov 4, 2025

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October 2025

Two opposing AI strategies in China

Alibaba’s trillion-parameter Qwen3-Max battles DeepSeek’s 50% cost cuts as competing strategies reshape market dynamics

Oct 29, 2025

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