China News This Week: Wednesday 16 February 2022
This week's news and trends in China:
Sport
Eileen Gu Quotes: Eileen Gu’s English and Chinese responses to media questions have been confident, polished and curated. They are particularly impressive given she is just 18 years old. Gu has clearly put a lot of forethought into her responses for difficult, yet predictable questions about geopolitics.
Beijing Winter Olympics Star Eileen Gu Wins Over Public and Brands by Avoiding Politics: US-born Chinese skier is the face of the Games but has skirted contentious questions. China does not recognise dual nationality, and passport holders need to renounce their non-Chinese citizenship.
Two Sides of the Olympic Medal: Eileen Gu's Gold and Beverly Zhu's Fall on Weibo: Last week Chinese social media saw two sides of the Olympic coin. Eileen Gu and Beverly Zhu are both American-born teenagers competing for China in the Olympics, but while Gu was celebrated, Zhu was condemned.
At the Olympics, the Lovable Panda Mascot Can Smile and Wave. But Speak?: Bing Dwen Dwen is perhaps the first Olympic mascot in recent memory to win more plaudits than brickbats. But there’s one firm rule for Bing Dwen Dwen, a glassy-eyed, ever-smiling panda whose Chinese name describes a healthily plump Ice Child: The panda must not speak. That rule was broken in a livestream with state broadcaster China Central Television, when Bing Dwen Dwen spoke in the voice of a middle-aged man, sounding a lot like an earnest uncle. Domestic Chinese media moved in to contain the damage, reporting that the previous day’s talking Bing Dwen Dwen had been an imposter all along.
China's Snowboard Fans Flock to Buy Panda Boards, Goggles: Less than a week after Chinese consumers crashed Lululemon's website trying to buy Canadian Olympic uniforms, Canadian bronze medalist Mark McMorris drove snowboard sales through the roof after competing on a board adorned with a picture of a panda.
Chinese Consumers
Brands Scramble for Winter Olympic Athletes as Ambassadors: Brands' attention is shifting from entertainment pop stars to sports stars, not only as a result of Chinese consumers' rising passion for snow sports, but also as brands grow increasingly concerned about consequences of hiring entertainment stars. There were 161 endorsement contracts signed by brands with athletes in 2021, the highest number since 2015 and almost the total of athlete endorsement between 2018 and 2020.
Shanghai Bans Effeminate Men, Money Worship in Commercial Ads: Shanghai’s market regulator has issued a new advertising guideline, prohibiting the portrayal of romance between male characters, effeminate men, and ideologies such as money worship in commercials, among others. Shanghai’s new guideline also prohibits celebrities and entertainers with a criminal record or those who have "violated public order and good customs" from endorsing products and services.
Why the World Needs China’s Covid-Zero Policy: The alternative is a massive surge in infections and deaths in China that could bring global supply chains to a halt, sending inflation higher.
Digital China
The Metaverse Social App that Challenged WeChat: Zheli, a new Chinese social media company with metaverse tendencies, has come out of nowhere and is competing with WeChat. Millions of Chinese users are apparently sold on the promise of more intimacy. Just three days after Zheli toppled WeChat on the App Store, the owner suspended downloads.
In Taobao Villages, Merchants Say They’re Struggling with Livestreaming: As live-streaming disrupts China’s ecommerce landscape, gaps between urban and rural sellers may be getting wider. Years of experience running stores on Taobao don’t translate into success with this new model. There are now well over 30,000 MCN agencies in the country, mostly based in cities. Almost all successful livestreamers are affiliated with these companies, often signing over control of their names and social media accounts.
Ecommerce Giant Alibaba Creates Virtual Idol to Promote Olympics Merchandise: "Dong Dong," the virtual idol, a computer-generated character, is "a passionate, Beijing-born 22-year-old woman who loves winter sports," appearing in nightly broadcasts via Taobao Live, Alibaba's livestreaming services. Virtual idols were estimated to reach a value of ¥6.22 billion ($978 million) in 2021.
Food & Beverage
Yum China Adds Machines, Not Workers, as it Expands Store Network: Since 2016, Yum China's network of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, hot pot and coffee chains have increased 56% to 11,788 by December last year, but its staff count of 420,000 full and part time staff have remained the same. Profits have increased 97%. Many stores now feature touch screen panels where customers place orders. In several Chinese cities, KFC robots serve up soft serve ice cream cones. Elsewhere, take-away orders can be picked up from digital lockers without contact with staff.
China Becomes Top Importer of Japanese Food for the First Time : Japanese sake, whisky and snack foods helped Japan's exports to China reach the long-sought target of 1 trillion yen ($8.7 billion). Exports of Japanese scallops soared 104% to 63.9 billion yen ($554m), the highest-growth product in absolute figures. Japanese beef also jumped 85.9% to 53.6 billion yen ($464m). Whisky advanced by 70.2% to 46.1 billion yen ($400m). Food and farm exports occupy only 2% of Japan's total domestic production by value - versus 18% in the UK and 12% in the US - but it faces a declining market at home due to a shrinking population.
China Includes Cultivated Meat in its Plan for the Future of Food: China has included cultivated meat and other “future foods” in its five year agricultural plan for the first time ever. In September last year, Singapore became the only country in the world where lab-grown meat was officially approved for sale.
Environment
The Young Consumer and a Path to Sustainability: Chinese consumers are most concerned about the state of the overall environment, but also the most optimistic that global emissions targets will be met according to a global study by Credit Suisse. The report also found that China had the highest rate of young consumers who had shifted their consumption profile due to environmental concerns. China says average national smog levels decreased 9.1% in 2021.
Luxury
Gigantic Tiger Tail Runs Through China Louis Vuitton Store, Looks Like A Beast Is Hiding Inside: Quite possibly the coolest Year of the Tiger promotion we've seen yet!
