1. Does Japan and Thailand lose allure for Chinese tourists? China Trading Desk’s poll shows Japan dropped from the top to the 8th most popular travel destination for Chinese tourists. Thailand, initially the most popular this year, fell to the 6th place in Q3. Meanwhile, Singapore reigns in first. (Travel Daily News)
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2. Retail sales in China spiked 7.6% YoY, outdoing a predicted 7% increase. Meanwhile, industrial output grew 4.6%, and fixed asset investment rose 2.9% YoY, slightly under a 3.1% forecast. Investment in real estate development fell 9.3% YoY in the first 10 months of the year, per NBS data. (Reuters)
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3. The tech giant Alibaba seems to switch strategies, refocusing on 1688, Xianyu, DingTalk, and Quark after a cloud spin-off setback. These subsidiaries span wholesale, second-hand trading, office chat, and cloud storage. Each targets to boost Alibaba’s AI and global pursuits. (SCMP)
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4. Huawei, Xiaomi advance as Apple “loses” in China. China’s smartphone sales rose 11% in early October, showing recovery from an 8-month slump. Xiaomi, Honor, and Huawei largely drove this growth. Notably, Huawei’s sales skyrocketed by 90% YoY. (Yahoo! Finance)
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5. Chinese micro-dramas surge globally as regulations tighten. China’s paid short dramas average a daily market value of 60 million yuan this year, peaking to 1 billion yuan seasonally. China’s regulator aims to tighten control over these dramas, following the removal of over 25,300 shows due to inappropriate content. (SHINE)
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6. China world’s fastest internet network. Huawei and China Mobile unveiled China’s next-gen network last week. This infrastructure aids data transfers for tech like 5G and electric vehicles. With speeds of 1.2 terabits per second, it can transfer 150 movies’ data in one second. (CNN)
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7. McDonald’s Crocs go viral in China. The collaboration, showcasing McDonald’s characters on Crocs, launched globally with a pop-up shop in Shenzhen gained traction on Weibo, amassing 10.5 million views within 3 days. (RADII)
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8. Live music gigs fuel street stall revival in China. With live events in China on the rise again, makeshift stalls outside venues are growing more popular. Recognising the trend, local governments are now easing regulations to support them. The China Association of Performing Arts reported that in the first half of 2023, the country hosted over 190,000 commercial performances, a 401% YoY increase, with audience numbers surpassing 60 million. (Sixth Tone)
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