The brand moved fast. In the live seafood sections of its offline stores, the Alibaba-owned retailer rolled out a set of posters that play on the whole ‘raising shrimp’ gag. They drew a tongue-in-cheek comparison between AI agents and the actual crayfish in their seafood section.  

Punchlines land like so: ‘No queuing, no remote installation – just take it home.’ (不用排队，不用远程安装，可直接拎回家) ‘No deployment needed, comes with claws included.’ (不用部署，自带钳能) ‘No API permissions required – just steam and serve.’ (无需 API 权限，可直接上锅清蒸) 

Hema OpenClaw spoof: Hema have form

It’s not the first time Hema have been fast to hop on an internet trend. Late last year a slip up on their production lines that turned a strawberry cake salty caused the brand to be the butt of online jokes. But Hema pulled it back, swiftly jumping in on the trend to turn the issue from embarrassing error to honest mistake.  

It’s a tight strategy. By being reactive, consumers can feel in dialogue with the brand. The anchoring of an online gag into retail dialogue is a pretty strong purchase trigger because personal messages often cut through. The key to Hema’s success here is speed, cultural fluency, and the ability to deploy brand moments with a good sense of humour.   

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At the core of this dust-up is MakerWorld, Bambu Lab’s community platform where users share downloadable 3D models. According to the complaint, thousands of files based on Labubu were uploaded to the site, allowing users to print off unofficial replicas using consumer 3D printers.

Pop Mart argues that these files violate its copyright by reproducing and distributing designs linked to Labubu’s intellectual property. The case has been filed at the People’s Court of Pudong New Area in Shanghai and a hearing is scheduled for April 2.

The stakes are high because Labubu is no small franchise. The character is one of the company’s biggest hits, accounting for more than 30% of its total sales in 2025.

Fans ripped through blind-box packaging, often in front of massive online audiences, to find that one rare Labubu they were missing. So for Pop Mart, a 3D printer is a hell of a nemesis. Being able to print off the rarest Labubu like it was ink on paper undercuts the whole scarcity and collectability model the brand runs on.

And some MakerWorld files have reportedly attracted tens of thousands of downloads already. Add to that the fact that home-printed figures can cost just a few RMB to produce and Pop Mart have a real problem on its hands.

How will the Pop Mart 3D printing lawsuit play out?

The case hinges on whether they can prove Bambu Lab is responsible. BL itself did not create the models. Instead, the dispute will focus on whether a platform can be held responsible for copyrighted designs uploaded by its users. That question places the case squarely in the same grey area that once surrounded music-sharing services in the early days of the internet.

Since the lawsuit surfaced, Bambu Lab has removed Labubu-related files from MakerWorld. But the legal battle could still set an important precedent. If Pop Mart succeeds, platforms hosting 3D-printable models may face new pressure to police user-generated designs more aggressively.

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These info comes from a youth consumption report put together by Bilibili and CTR. They’re hailing this new trend as something like an intellectual awakening in consumption (智性沸腾). Instead of buying impulsively, young people are balancing emotion with calculation, turning purchases into decisions about lifestyle, identity and personal values. Three spending patterns are emerging. 

First comes hardcore experience consumption. Young consumers are increasingly willing to invest in products that deliver lasting value – think premium digital devices, smart home gadgets or high-performance sports gear. The logic is simple: buy fewer things but buy good stuff. 

Second is identity spending. Purchases are becoming tools of self-expression. From niche hobbies to subculture communities, young consumers are choosing brands that signal who they are and where they belong. We’ve seen brands like CASETiFY really lean into this lately.  

Third is what researchers describe as precision self-care. Faced with work pressure, economic uncertainty and a fast-moving society, many young consumers are spending on products that help maintain emotional balance. That’s stuff like wellness items, comfort products or lifestyle upgrades designed to bring a sense of order to daily life. 

China youth consumption trends: the Dao take

Platforms like Bilibili are in the right kinda place to pick up on this shift. They’ve got a highly engaged Gen Z user base, and – even though they’re still a video platform – they’ve evolved into a kind of cultural navigation system where communities form around shared interests and creators shape purchasing decisions.  

Their report is another nod to a change in the consumption habits of young Chinese consumers. Flashy campaigns and short-lived hype cycles are losing their grip on young consumers who increasingly expect products to justify their place in daily life. 

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The number might sound familiar – last year’s goal was a solid 5% – but in historical terms it reflects a clear shift from the soaring double-digit growth numbers that powered China’s economic rise.  

It’s a message that the era of breakneck growth is over. Stability now matters more than speed. And it’s a message that comes from the top dogs in Beijing… 

Officials say the focus is now on shifting toward what they call ‘high-quality growth’. That means boosting domestic consumption, investing heavily in advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, and reducing reliance on property development as the economy’s main growth engine.   

The pivot comes as China faces a tougher economic landscape. The property sector – once responsible for huge swathes of China’s growth – remains in a prolonged slump. Consumer confidence is weak. Youth unemployment is high. Demographic pressures continue to act like a weight on the neck of recovery.   

The gov. is also trying to steady the ship of the labour market. Beijing has set a target of creating around 12 million new urban jobs this year and aims to keep the urban unemployment rate at roughly 5.5%.  

China set low GDP growth target: Dao’s take

Alongside these economic targets, policymakers signalled continued support for strategic industries like AI, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, areas Beijing sees as crucial for the country’s next phase of development.

So then, is China abandoning growth? No, it’s redefining it. The world’s second-largest economy is still expanding – and still faster than most – but the tempo is changing. For those of you wondering what that means for the future of business in the country. It’s safe to say the gold rush days are gone. Don’t mourn the past. The future still offers growth, just on stronger foundations. 

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During the travel season, China recorded more than 2.8 billion cross-regional passenger trips, an 8.2% increase year-on-year. That’s trains packed to the doors, highways jammed with cars, and airports moving people at an industrial scale. The world’s largest human migration remains exactly that. 

Where people holiday, money follows. Domestic tourism clocked 596 million trips over the holiday, generating RMB 803.48 billion ($116 billion) in revenue. Hotels filled, scenic spots turned away guests and every noodle stall within a five-kilometre radius of a tourist attraction probably did excellent business. 

The international side of the ledger is also picking up. Border authorities recorded 17.8 million cross-border trips during the holiday period. Around 460,000 foreign travellers entered China under visa-free policies, a 28.5% increase compared with last year’s daily average. Visitors from more than 160 countries and regions fanned out across over 300 Chinese cities, giving local tourism boards plenty to smile about. 

Entertainment kept pace with the travel boom. The Spring Festival film market generated RMB 5.75 billion ($834 million) in box office revenue, confirming once again that a good blockbuster pairs nicely with a week off work. 

Taken together, the latest Chinese New Year data highlights something less surprising but equally telling: the sheer scale of China’s holiday logistics machine. Moving billions of people across a country the size of a continent is no small feat, yet each year the system expands to absorb the demand. 

The numbers are a reminder that Spring Festival is not just a celebration. It’s one of the most complex seasonal mobilisations of people, infrastructure, and commerce anywhere in the world. 

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Multiple Chinese robotics firms, including the famed Unitree Robotics (宇树科技) – which stunned the world with its tech at the World AI Conference in spring 2025 – used the moment to showcase just how far the category has come. Some of the routines took place alongside humans, and in many cases the movements were nearly identical.  

• #机器人全面入侵春晚# (Lit. robots have fully invaded the Spring Festival Gala) climbed into the top spots on Weibo’s hot search list.  

That’s a marked improvement from last year’s gala. Then, robots twirled handkerchiefs and moved about gingerly, looking unsure of their footing. Now they are executing complex, high-impact movements that require balance, coordination, and real-time responsiveness. It’s a shift from gimmick to capability – and one Beijing is no doubt keen to broadcast.  

Viewership for the gala is not small. It’s already one of the most-watched TV events in the world, providing a vast audience for these kinds of theatrics. Online, clips of the performances are already trending on social media. #机器人全面入侵春晚# (Lit. robots have fully invaded the Spring Festival Gala) climbed into the top spots on Weibo’s hot search list.  

But this isn’t just entertainment. It’s a projection of prowess. China is a leader in next-gen technologies, from AI to advanced manufacturing and – as we can see – robotics. The humanoid robots at the Spring Festival Gala aren’t so much performers as proof points.  

There’s still a gap between stagecraft and real-world deployment. These routines are tightly controlled and rehearsed. What you saw on stage is miles away from the unpredictability of a home or a factory floor. But with the speed these machines are improving, it’s unlikely you’ll have to wait long before you’ve got a kung-fu robot defending your front door.   

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At the centre of this issue is realism. Seedance 2.0 can produce content that resembles known actors, film scenes and recognisable IPs with minimal input. That capability has triggered accusations from major studios – including The Walt Disney Company, or Disney to you and I – that the tool enables copyright infringement and unauthorised use of likeness.  

Industry bodies have moved quickly. The Motion Picture Association has reportedly raised concerns about how such models are trained, while SAG-AFTRA has reiterated its stance that performers’ likenesses and voices cannot be replicated without consent or compensation. The tension is familiar, but the flavour is new. This is not crude deepfake territory – it’s near-production quality output at scale.  

ByteDance, for its part, signalling caution. The company says it ‘respects intellectual property rights’ and has begun tightening safeguards and restricting certain uploads.  They’re also working on stronger content controls. But it’s the same story as with all generative AI systems: the challenge sits upstream. How the model was trained and whether copyrighted material or identifiable likenesses were included in that process is what really matters.  

Timing matters. Generative video is fast becoming the next hot zone in AI, following text and image models. If tools like Seedance 2.0 can compress production timelines from weeks to minutes, they also compress the legal grey areas that come with them.  

For now, that familiar pattern holds. A powerful new model launches. It goes viral. Then comes the reckoning. The difference this time is how close the output is to the real thing.  

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The trend is arguably not about China at all. Perhaps it would be more accurate to see it as what westerners project about China: a country where trains run on time, housing is cheap, technology makes life convenient, where a woman can walk home carefree after dark. In that case it’s also – in part at least – about the perceived failings of these meme-lord’s own societies.  

For much of China’s recent decades, the country has been seen as the world’s factory. The Chinamaxing trend is one spoke in the wheel of change that sees ‘Chinese’ as a byword for futurism, functionality and something of a vibe.  

‘You met me at a very Chinese time in my life’ is a trait of Chinese soft power

Of course, some have been quick to paint the meme up as harmful Chinese propaganda, though no one has been able to provide solid evidence of this. It also smacks of the kind of accusation made at any content showing China in better than negative light.  

If anything, the harm is in taking this meme too seriously. Chinamaxers aren’t really living a Chinese life, they’re aping it. But in all this, China does come out the winner. Chinamaxing signals that the country is no longer some distant land, but a soft power to be reckoned with. It’s now embedded in the mindset of young people in a way that it wasn’t 20, or even ten, years ago. Chinamaxing isn’t about becoming Chinese. It’s about China becoming a yardstick. 

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Triumph had been operating in China for almost two decades. They didn’t frame their withdrawal as ideological, but the context of this is hard to ignore. China’s lingerie market has shifted decisively towards wire-free, sports and soft-cup bras – categories built around daily use rather than sexiness. Jing Daily reports this segment now makes up a whopping 68% of China’s lingerie market. 

The speed of this transition has favoured Triumph’s competitors. Brands like Neiwai (内外) and Ubras (有棵树) have scaled quickly to meet demand with a product offering that focusses on comfort, elasticated fabrics and neutral palettes. Branding-wise, their message leans into ease and self-definition over sex appeal. Distribution leans towards e-commerce.

Triumph, by contrast, built its China business on department stores and classic European styling. That positioning once carried aspirational weight. But China is changing. Taste is increasingly driven by local designs and foreign brands no longer come with the same built-in appeal they once did. Against this backdrop, Triumph’s market share began to slip. In the ten years between 2015 and the brand’s exit, that market share dropped from 5.2% to 1%. 

Triumph exits China: the wider picture

There are other factors at play. Post-pandemic pragmatism didn’t play into Triumph’s higher price range. A rising participation in sports and increasing interest in active lifestyles trend in favour of Triumph’s competition too. Perhaps most of all, more vocal discourse among Chinese women about body autonomy has reshaped the perception of underwear from a fashion choice to a utilitarian one. Comfort has become shorthand for control.  

For brands both domestic and foreign, the message is clear. China’s apparel market is a large and competitive one, but it changes fast. Winning the day requires you listen to what women want, not how you imagine they should look.  

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The report treats Gen Z not as a future audience but as the organising logic of overseas expansion. With roughly a quarter of the global population and close to US$10 trillion in annual spending power, Gen Z is framed as the cohort shaping what global brands will look like over the next decade. Chinese companies, the report argues, are increasingly designing products, platforms and narratives with that audience in mind from the outset.  

The strongest performers cluster in sectors where China already has scale advantages. Consumer electronics brands like Xiaomi (小米) and Huawei (华为), gaming giants such as Tencent Games (腾讯游戏) and miHoYo (米哈游), and fast-moving e-commerce players like SHEIN (希音) dominate the rankings. These are industries where fast iteration, ecosystem thinking and digital distribution already align neatly with Gen Z habits.   

What Chinese brands must do to remain sticky with Gen Z

What differentiates the top brands is not price or functionality alone. The report points instead to cultural fluency: IP-driven storytelling, community co-creation, and content that feels native rather than translated. In gaming and e-commerce especially, emotional engagement and participatory culture outperform traditional brand messaging.   

There is also a platform layer to this. The report makes clear that winning Gen Z globally is not so much about pushing messages. It’s about showing up in the spaces where culture, communication and consumption already blur together. 

For Chinese brands, that means moving beyond one-off campaigns towards environments that reward repeat interaction, visual language and low-friction engagement. The implication is straightforward: the next phase of globalisation is not about reaching Gen Z at scale, but about staying relevant to them over time. 

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