Mbappé Dropped by Chinese Brands as CCTV Pulls Broadcasts 姆巴佩遭多家中国品牌解约 央视叫停相关赛事播出 Several Chinese sponsors of Kylian Mbappé announced on October 27 that they were ending their partnerships with the Real Madrid and France forward, following a backlash over his recent remarks about China in an interview. Dongpeng Beverage Group and its sports-drink brand Bu Shui La were the first to act, issuing statements terminating all cooperation with the player with immediate effect. Dongpeng signed Mbappé in April, and Bu Shui La advertisements featuring him were ubiquitous during the World Cup. Mengniu Dairy and cheese maker Milkground followed with statements of their own ending all cooperation. Mengniu had partnered with Mbappé since October 2021, making it his longest-standing commercial partner in China. Lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu (RedNote) said its agreement with the player had expired on December 31, 2024, and that it was removing related promotional material. Mbappé’s account on the platform has since been restricted from posting. Brands including Dior, Hublot, Rimowa and On have also removed Mbappé-related content from their official Weibo accounts. Mbappé signed a 10-year global endorsement deal with On on September 18; the Swiss brand has not issued a formal termination statement. China Media Group confirmed that state broadcaster CCTV had suspended all broadcasts of La Liga matches and of games involving Mbappé from the evening of October 26, and had withdrawn all advertisements featuring him. Asked about the matter, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that words and actions that “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” would naturally meet with a collective boycott from all sectors of Chinese society. On the evening of October 27, La Liga issued a statement on its official Weibo account expressing deep regret for the offense and hurt caused to Chinese fans by Mbappé’s recent remarks. The league said the comments were made in a personal capacity and did not reflect its position, and offered a sincere apology to Chinese fans on behalf of La Liga and all its member clubs. It added that it was working with its Chinese partners and relevant institutions to resolve the matter, and would introduce cultural-awareness and communication guidelines with clubs and players to prevent similar incidents. The wave of terminations came just after the conclusion of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, at which Mbappé finished second behind England striker Harry Kane. As of publication, neither Mbappé nor Real Madrid had commented publicly.

China’s First- and Second-Tier Cities Are Abandoning Imported Luxury Cars 一二线城市正抛弃进口豪车 China imported 21,000 vehicles in September 2026, down 49% year on year and 6% month on month, according to data released on October 25 by Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The month before, in August, imports totaled 23,000 units, down 51% year on year and 48% month on month. Monthly import volumes have been cut in half for two consecutive months. Even set against the long downward cycle in vehicle imports since 2018, this drop stands out. China imported 480,000 vehicles in 2025, down 32% year on year. Cumulative imports for January through September 2026 reached 290,000 units, down 20%. The decline has not narrowed despite the low base. On a retail basis, dealers are working to absorb inventory. Retail sales of imported vehicles fell to 29,000 units in September, down 39% year on year. Retail sales for January through September totaled 280,000 units, down 32%. According to Cui’s data, Jaguar posted the steepest decline, plunging 99.7%, from 1,937 units in September last year to just 6 units in September this year. Regionally, first- and second-tier cities are losing their preference for imported luxury cars. In his monthly analysis, Cui noted that luxury car markets in traditionally affluent areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen are under considerable pressure. Oil-producing regions in the north and in central and western China, such as Xinjiang and Shandong, have performed more strongly. In September, Guangzhou posted the largest drop of any city at 46%, and Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Chengdu and Hangzhou also fell by 40% or more. Growth came from western cities: Aksu, Ili, Kashgar, Karamay and Zhangye ranked in the top five by growth rate. Of these, Aksu added 333 units, the largest net gain among the five, a 137% increase. Karamay added 165 units, an increase of 458%. In his report, Cui attributed the plunge in imports in August and September directly to the steep decline in imports from Japan. Japan is the largest source of imported vehicles, supplying 137,000 units in the first nine months, close to half the total. Fluctuations from this source are enough to drag the entire imported-car market. By brand, seven ultra-luxury marques sold a combined total of just 221 units in China, 216 fewer than a year earlier, a decline of 49.4%. Maserati sold only 17 units, down 79.5% year on year. Lamborghini sold 21 units and Ferrari 22, down 63.8% and 48.8% respectively. Bentley sold 99 units, down 40%. None of the seven brands exceeded 100 units in monthly imports. Spread across all seven, that is an average of 31.6 units sold per brand for the month.

How Pop Mart Cost “China’s Warren Buffett” Duan Yongping HK$2 Billion “泡泡玛特”让“中国巴菲特”段永平亏了20亿港元 Pop Mart, the “king of designer toys,” was once a super bull stock that swept the Hong Kong market, soaring on the strength of a single product, LABUBU, to a “mythical” market value of HK$450 billion. In just one year, it has undergone a dramatic capital-market unmasking. As the LABUBU hype has died down, the countercyclical Pop Mart has taken a heavy blow. Its market capitalization has plunged by a cumulative total of more than 60% from its peak of over HK$450 billion, wiping out HK$270 billion in value. Also losing money alongside Pop Mart is Duan Yongping, a “god” in the eyes of retail investors and often called “China’s Warren Buffett.” While Pop Mart’s shares were climbing to their peak, Duan, who “couldn’t make sense of the designer-toy business,” was merely a bystander. In May 2026, when the stock was already falling, he spent more than HK$11 billion buying in heavily, becoming the second-largest shareholder after founder Wang Ning. What “China’s Warren Buffett” did not foresee was that Pop Mart’s market value would drop by roughly a further HK$36 billion from when he bought in to date, leaving Duan with a loss of more than HK$2 billion on his holding. This may be “the paper loss on the most heavily weighted position within Duan Yongping’s value-investing framework.”

Lenovo-Affiliated Capital Joins DeepSeek's Latest Funding Round 联想系入局DeepSeek新一轮融资 According to people familiar with the matter, DeepSeek's latest funding round has attracted multiple industrial and financial investors, including Legend Capital, semiconductor-focused Shixi Capital, and Geely, among others. Both Legend Capital and Lenovo Group operate under the umbrella of Legend Holdings. Lenovo Group is the core industrial enterprise within Legend Holdings, while Legend Capital serves as its key investment arm. Legend Capital's participation in this financing round marks the official entry of Lenovo-affiliated capital into DeepSeek's shareholder base.

Gold Jewelry Prices Tumble Nearly RMB 500/Gram from Peak; Demand Hits 20-Year Low 金饰克价较高点跌近500元，金饰需求创20年新低 On October 23, spot gold prices took a steep dive, briefly dipping below the critical threshold of $4,000 per ounce. It is currently trading at $4,023.85 per ounce, down 0.01%. Weighed down by global gold prices, Lao Miao Gold is quoting RMB 1,208 per gram, down RMB 28 from the previous day; Chow Sang Sang is quoting RMB 1,206 per gram, down RMB 32; Chow Tai Fook is quoting RMB 1,208 per gram, down RMB 29; and Lao Feng Xiang is quoting RMB 1,212 per gram, down RMB 24. Compared to this year's peak of RMB 1,700 per gram, prices have plummeted by up to nearly RMB 500 per gram. Beyond the short-term price plunge, the shifts in gold jewelry consumption during the first half of the year are also noteworthy. Demand by weight in H1 fell to 136 tons, marking a new low for the same period since 2006. However, consumer spending rose by 5% year-on-year to reach RMB 144 billion, hitting its second-highest level in history.

Controversy Over Decathlon's Low-Angle Promotional Image 迪卡侬宣传图仰拍争议 Recently, a blogger's post featuring a Decathlon promotional image sparked online debate. The post was captioned: "Decathlon, what are your intentions? This is almost exposing her!" The image, shot from a low, upward-facing angle, features a young woman in a short skirt in the foreground, which triggered the controversy. Many netizens flocked to the comments, stating, "I'm never buying from them again. This low-angle perspective is full of malicious intent," and, "Who takes photos from this angle?" Others questioned, "Aren't these athletic skorts designed to prevent exposure anyway?" In response, some users argued, "Shooting from this angle is highly inappropriate to begin with. The action itself is far more problematic than whether it actually results in exposure." Upon inquiry, the original blogger stated that the poster was photographed in an elevator lobby of a shopping mall in Xi'an, though they were unsure if the advertisement was still currently on display. Further investigation revealed that the exact same image is also being used on the product details page for a specific shoe model in Decathlon's official flagship stores across multiple e-commerce platforms. When approached for comment as a consumer, customer service representatives from Decathlon's flagship stores responded: "This lifestyle shot is a visual asset for the product details page, intended to demonstrate how the shoes look on-foot and to convey a certain stylistic vibe. In-store posters are offline promotional materials. Both offline and online visuals are unified promotional content provided by the brand. The overall style remains consistent, but specific formats are adjusted based on the respective online or offline display environment." Customer service further stated that there is currently no internal notice to remove or replace the image, and page materials will be updated according to the brand's standard operational schedule. If consumers have objections to the visuals, they can specify their concerns and submit feedback, which the brand will record and reference for future optimization. Additionally, when asked if there had been similar complaints, customer service disclosed that no such feedback had been received from other consumers yet, but any future input would be taken into consideration.

DeepSeek Closes RMB 100 Billion Funding Round, Backed by CATL and Tencent DeepSeek完成1000亿融资，宁德时代腾讯投资DeepSeek DeepSeek has reportedly secured approximately RMB 100 billion ($15 billion) in funding, marking one of the largest financing rounds in China's history. According to people familiar with the matter, the company raised its funding target at least twice during investor negotiations—initially set at RMB 50 billion, then increased to RMB 80 billion, before ultimately closing at approximately RMB 100 billion. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) and Tencent are among the largest investors in the current round.

Starbucks Official Announcement: Starting Tomorrow, Seating Reserved for Paying Customers 星巴克官宣：明日起，消费才可入座 $SBUX On October 21, Starbucks China announced that starting October 22, all its stores nationwide will implement a policy reserving seating for paying customers, with relevant signage displayed in stores. During daily operations, Starbucks will provide its partners with standardized service guidelines and necessary support. Partners will adhere to principles of friendly and courteous communication, ensuring that customers' unexpected but reasonable requests and special circumstances are accommodated appropriately. Starbucks also stated that partners will prioritize assisting customers in need, such as pregnant women and individuals with limited mobility. While the rule is clear, its implementation will be handled with warmth and empathy. "Human connection and care remain our enduring commitment. We will continue to invest resources into enhancing the store experience, co-creating and maintaining the wonderful atmosphere of the 'Third Place' together with our customers," the company noted.

AliExpress Strikes Global Strategic Partnership with YouTube 阿里速卖通与YouTube达成全球战略合作 $BABA #YouTube AliExpress, the cross-border e-commerce platform under Alibaba Group, has entered into a global strategic partnership with YouTube by joining the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program. Spanning four major key markets—the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Brazil—the collaboration offers merchants a new channel to scale internationally and engage global consumers. With the partnership now in effect, users watching YouTube videos and live streams can click embedded product links to navigate directly to AliExpress product pages, enabling a seamless "watch-and-buy" shopping experience. (Guangjiao Guancha)

China's Micro-Dramas Emerging as the Fourth Major Global Audio-Visual Format 中国微短剧正成为第四大全球性视听产品新业态 China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) has released the China–ASEAN Micro-Drama International Communication and Development Report. According to the report, micro-dramas—a new online audio-visual format originating in China—are reshaping the global media landscape at remarkable speed. The sector is rapidly becoming the fourth major global audio-visual format, following American cinema, Japanese anime, and Korean TV dramas. Meanwhile, China–ASEAN micro-drama collaboration continues to deepen, serving as a key vehicle for digital economy cooperation and cultural exchange. The report underscores sustained, explosive growth in China's domestic market. A total of 33,000 micro-dramas were launched nationwide in 2025. Between January and September 2026, that number skyrocketed to 490,000 titles—13 times the total for all of 2025. The user base has expanded to 850 million, with monthly active users (MAUs) surpassing 600 million, solidifying micro-dramas as a central element of modern online cultural life. Overseas markets are showing equally fierce momentum. The international micro-drama market outside China is projected to surpass $6 billion in 2026, representing a 67% year-over-year surge from 2025. Platforms with Chinese backing dominate the global arena: from January through September 2026, all top 10 micro-drama apps by international downloads were Chinese-backed, as were 9 of the top 10 platforms by in-app purchase revenue.

ByteDance Clarifies AI Compute Allocation: Only 10% Dedicated to Video AI Models 字节跳动回应国内算力在造爽剧：仅10%算力用于视频相关 @BytedanceTalk Recently, the trending topic "Over Half of China's Compute Power is Used to Churn Out Binge-Worthy Short Dramas" has sparked widespread debate. According to an Investor Relations Activity Record disclosed by COL Digital Publishing, 55% of domestic AI token consumption in China goes toward short dramas and video generation, 24% toward e-commerce advertising, and a mere 15% toward core research and development. Token consumption for AI short dramas and video generation has reached more than double that of software development, making it the single largest consumption driver in the token economics ecosystem. In response today, Liu Xing, PR Head for Doubao, stated in a post that these compute numbers are somewhat off the mark. Speaking specifically for ByteDance, only about 10% of the company's total compute capacity is allocated to the training and inference of video generation models.

KFC Responds to Switch to Coca-Cola 肯德基回应改用可口可乐 $COLA.NE KFC US recently announced that it will replace Pepsi with Coca-Cola as its beverage supplier starting January 2027, with the transition expected to be completed across all US locations by spring of that year. This move brings an end to a partnership between the two companies spanning approximately 40 years. KFC stated that the switch is part of its US business turnaround plan, aiming to leverage Coca-Cola’s product portfolio and innovation capabilities to win back customers. Pepsi responded by noting that its supplier agreements for Taco Bell as well as KFC's international operations have recently been renewed. Following the announcement, domestic consumers in China were primarily concerned with whether Chinese KFC locations would follow suit. On the 16th, staff at a KFC branch in Haidian District, Beijing, stated that the store currently serves Pepsi and has not received any notice regarding a brand switch. A branch in Xicheng District similarly reported that no notification about changing beverage brands has been issued.

Jewelry Heist at Chow Sang Sang in Hong Kong: Suspect Remains at Large 香港周生生发生珠宝大劫案，嫌犯仍在逃 #chowsangsang At around 3:00 p.m. local time in China on October 14, a theft involving stolen property occurred at a Chow Sang Sang jewelry store located at 70 Kwong Fuk Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong. In response to the incident, a representative for Chow Sang Sang told Sino-Singapore Jingwei on the evening of October 14 that the matter had been handed over to the police, and no further information was available at this time. According to reports, a man aged approximately 40 entered the store posing as a customer, claiming he wanted to purchase a gold chain. A staff member retrieved a gold chain weighing approximately 1 tael and valued at around HK$50,000 for his inspection. The man snatched the chain and immediately bolted out the door, fleeing toward Kwong Fuk Lane. Store staff promptly alerted the police, who arrived at the scene to investigate. The case has been tentatively classified as theft, and authorities are currently hunting for the suspect, urging anyone with relevant information to contact the police.

AI Smartphones Face Setbacks as 151 Apps Opt Out of Doubao Mobile Assistant, Including DeepSeek, WeChat, and Alipay AI手机遇阻，151款应用拒绝接入豆包手机助手，含DeepSeek、微信、支付宝等 According to official disclosures from Doubao Mobile Assistant, following the conclusion of a 30-day public notice period for its Screen Automation Execution Protocol (SAEP), the platform will gradually roll out Graphical User Interface (GUI) automation capabilities for third-party applications—restricted exclusively to those that have not formally opted out. Developers retain the right to declare their refusal even after the public notice period closes. Doubao Mobile Assistant will refrain from executing actions on any applications that have registered an opt-out. Concurrently, Doubao publicly disclosed an opt-out list detailing 151 applications that prohibit Doubao Mobile Assistant from performing GUI screen automation operations on them. A wide range of mainstream, high-frequency apps are present on the list, including WeChat, DeepSeek, Alipay, Taobao, Kuaishou, and Meituan.

DeepSeek Reportedly Set to Close RMB 100 Billion Funding Round DeepSeek据称将完成1000亿元融资 #deepseek DeepSeek, a prominent large language model startup, is set to complete its latest funding round in the near future, with the target size raised from an initially planned RMB 50 billion to approximately RMB 100 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the deal. This marks DeepSeek's second financing round, with the target amount doubling in less than two weeks. Existing and new investors are expected to contribute roughly half of the funds each. The doubled size of the round has not affected the company's overall valuation, which remains at a pre-money valuation of around RMB 500 billion. The new investors this round are primarily strategic and industrial players, including Stony Creek Capital, China Fortune-Tech Capital, CPE, Legend Capital, and Geely. First-round investors—such as CATL, Tencent, and IDG Capital—also plan to follow on, with CATL intending to inject an additional RMB 10 billion.

Huawei's Xu Songyu Confirms Mass Production of Kirin 9050 Series Chipsets 华为徐松余：麒麟9050系列芯片已经成功量产 #HUAWEI During the 2026 Huawei Terminal Innovative Technology Conference today, Huawei elaborated on its Kirin 9050 series chipsets, which recently debuted alongside the Huawei Mate XT 2 tri-fold phone and the Mate 90 Pro Max flagship. Xu Songyu, Head of Wireless Terminal Chip Product Management at Huawei Semiconductor, revealed that cumulative shipments of devices powered by Kirin chips have exceeded 100 million units since 2023. Backed by the robust foundation of China's electronics industry, the Kirin 9050 series has successfully achieved mass production. The release of the Kirin 9050 series represents a pivotal step in Kirin’s ongoing evolution following its comeback, kicking off a brand-new 10-year journey for Kirin chipsets.

China Proposes Ban on Fully Hidden Door Handles and the Use of Folding and Flexible Displays, Etc 中国拟禁止配备全隐藏式门把手，不得采用折叠显示屏、柔性显示屏等 Today (October 10), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and three other departments jointly issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Innovative Design, R&D, Testing, and Validation of Automotive Products (Draft for Comment), which will further enhance product safety performance and promote the high-quality development of the automotive industry. Reporters learned from the MIIT that the draft puts forward multifaceted requirements to address issues such as certain manufacturers blindly following trends to launch new products, and conducting insufficient testing and validation, among other problems Regarding market access management for innovative designs, the notification stipulates that starting January 1, 2027, newly declared products involving innovative designs must additionally submit the technical parameters of these innovative designs and undergo enhanced safety and environmental assessments in accordance with the Technical Guidelines for Innovative Design of Automotive Products. Products failing to conduct testing and validation as required, conducting insufficient testing and validation, or submitting falsified materials will be denied public announcement (regulatory approval). For products that have already obtained approval, manufacturers must submit supplementary technical parameters and validation materials by July 1, 2027. If this deadline is missed and safety hazards exist, production must be halted and a recall implemented. The notification also explicitly mandates that fully hidden door handles are prohibited, and folding displays and flexible displays must not be used; relevant innovative designs must undergo sufficient testing and validation to ensure they are safe and reliable In terms of R&D testing and validation, the notification requires that newly declared products comply with the Technical Specifications for R&D, Testing and Validation of Automotive Products. They must complete comprehensive testing and validation across areas including overall reliability and durability, structural reliability, software functional reliability, environmental adaptability, heating and cooling, as well as protective performance and sealing. Notably, the validation period for environmental adaptability must be no less than 1 year, and the reliability validation test must cover no less than 30,000 kilometers

Mainland Chinese Firm Places Massive Order for 20,000 Nvidia GPUs 有消息称中国大陆一企业豪购2万张英伟达GPU $NVDA On October 9, Tianyang Technology (300872.SZ) released an announcement regarding the procurement of Nvidia GPUs, sparking widespread market attention. The company stated it recently signed a "GPU Procurement Agreement" with Company X to purchase 20,000 Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 Blackwell units. Tianyang Technology's stock closed up 12.38%. Based on Nvidia's description of the product, the RTX PRO 5500 Blackwell is not the type of chip typically considered suitable for large-scale AI training and inference in data centers, but rather a workstation product. Nevertheless, the total value of this GPU procurement could still exceed 1 billion RMB. Industry insiders pointed out that the Nvidia RTX PRO 5500 Blackwell has not yet officially gone on sale and its official pricing remains undetermined, suggesting significant uncertainty surrounding the aforementioned order. Industry professionals frankly remarked that the deal is "nowhere near finalized," raising doubts about the compliance of the company's information disclosure.

Tencent Weighs Up to $5 Billion Offshore Bond Issuance to Potentially Fuel AI Push 腾讯考虑最高发行50亿美元离岸债券，或筹钱加码AI Amid the ongoing arms race for AI computing power, Tencent—despite its robust cash flows—has begun leveraging offshore bonds to stockpile long-term capital. On October 8, sources revealed that Tencent Holdings is considering the issuance of up to $5 billion in offshore bonds. The planned offering is expected to be a dual-currency issuance denominated in both US dollars and offshore yuan, with the launch slated for as early as this month. The final allocation of the proceeds remains undetermined, and the execution of the deal hinges on multiple factors, including global market conditions and investor appetite. However, market speculation widely suggests that the raised capital will primarily be channeled into intensifying the company's AI investments. Jiemian News reached out to Tencent for verification, but the company had not provided an official comment as of press time. Briefly put, offshore bonds are debt instruments issued outside the issuer's home jurisdiction, targeting overseas institutional investors. For a Hong Kong-listed enterprise like Tencent, such bonds are typically listed on overseas markets and can be priced in either US dollars or offshore yuan. The core value of this financing strategy lies not in bridging short-term funding gaps, but in extending the debt maturity profile and diversifying the offshore liquidity pool. Analysts note that for Tencent, a successful offshore bond issuance serves as both a mechanism for optimizing its debt structure and a medium to signal its long-term AI investment roadmap to global investors. This is not Tencent’s first foray into large-scale offshore debt markets this year. In June, leveraging its $30 billion global medium-term note program, Tencent completed the issuance of offshore bonds equivalent to nearly $4.7 billion—its largest offshore debt offering since 2020. According to people familiar with the matter, Tencent launched a $2.45 billion US-dollar bond offering at the time and completed the pricing for a 15-billion-yuan dim sum bond. One insider indicated that subscriptions for Tencent's dollar bond exceeded $9.2 billion, with the proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes, including refinancing and the development of AI products and services. $TME

Chinese Team Achieves Breakthrough in Lithium Batteries: Ultra-Fast Charging to Nearly 80% in Just 3 Minutes 中国团队实现锂电池新突破：仅需3分钟超快充，电量可达近80% A research team from the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, under the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has recently proposed a novel design strategy for cathode materials. By selectively screening and combining trace elements, the team has simultaneously enhanced the lithium-ion transport kinetics and structural stability of cobalt-free, high-nickel cathode materials. Their findings were recently published in Nature Synthesis For this breakthrough, the research team established two primary metrics—or "yardsticks"—for screening elements: ionic charge density and metal-oxygen bond strength. The synergistic effect of these two factors enables the material to achieve both rapid ion transport and robust structural stability. The researchers selected four elements—magnesium, calcium, titanium, and zirconium—to synthesize a multi-trace-element doped, cobalt-free, high-nickel cathode material Electrochemical tests demonstrate that the material reaches nearly 80% capacity with just a 3-minute ultra-fast charge. Furthermore, it maintains an 82.4% capacity retention rate after 350 cycles under 6-minute fast charge-discharge conditions. A 5.74 Ah battery fabricated with this material can still deliver an energy density of 278.6 Wh/kg at a low temperature of −20°C. This demonstrates exceptional low-temperature energy storage performance, offering a promising new material alternative for new energy vehicles (NEVs) and energy storage systems in cold regions.