1 week ago Japanese consumers fear curbs on eel delicacy ahead of global wildlife forum

At an eel restaurant near Tokyo, four friends sit down to eat a Japanese delicacy now the subject of a heated international debate as its numbers decline. The eel, hugely popular across Japan, is also endangered and will be discussed at a key global forum that regulates the trade of threatened wildlife, starting in Uzbekistan on Monday. “It’s a luxury dish that we eat to treat ourselves or to celebrate an occasion,” Yukiko Takahashi, a 52-year-old saleswoman, said as she tucked into her food at...

Politics

2 w. ago Lenovo downplays surge in memory chip prices, pushes AI agent for devices

Lenovo Group, the world’s largest personal computer maker, is betting that its own artificial intelligence agent will help grow its AI-powered consumer electronics business, even as the industry faces a global memory chip supply crunch. Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing on Thursday said the company would globally launch in January its “personal AI super agent”, which would leverage AI models to anticipate a user’s intentions via “portable devices and personal trusted computing hubs”. Beijing-based...

Politics

2 w. ago Alibaba bets on ‘everything app’ Qwen to define AI era for global consumers

Alibaba Group Holding’s new multipurpose artificial intelligence consumer app, Qwen, has the potential to become China’s “super-app” in the AI era in the same way Tencent Holdings’ WeChat defined the mobile internet age, analysts say. Powered by Alibaba Cloud’s own model series of the same name, Qwen quickly jumped to fourth overall on Apple’s app store for free apps in Hong Kong and fifth in mainland China on its second day of beta testing. The app, billed as “the best personal AI assistant”,...

Politics

2 w. ago Singles’ Day Sees Modest Uptick as China’s Consumer Weakness Persists

Singles’ Day Sees Modest Uptick as China’s Consumer Weakness Persists  Global Cosmetics News

Politics

2 w. ago China's Luxury Coup: The Quiet Consumer Revolt Shaking LVMH and the Global Fashion Elite

China's Luxury Coup: The Quiet Consumer Revolt Shaking LVMH and the Global Fashion Elite  Yahoo Finance

Politics

3 w. ago China’s importers sign record US$83.5 billion in deals at trade expo

Chinese companies signed a record US$83.5 billion in import deals at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, reinforcing the importance of mainland consumers as growth drivers for global businesses and the world economy less than two weeks after the US and China reached a trade truce. The total – the fifth straight record high for the annual six-day event, which concluded on Monday – represented a 4.4 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to the organiser, the CIIE...

Economics