4 h. ago Local Chinese government stimulus pushes big spenders to dig in while dining out

A local government in China’s provincial economic powerhouse of Zhejiang has announced plans to subsidise the restaurant meals of high-value consumers, in a move that is intended to stimulate consumption but could raise questions about whether it runs contrary to the central government’s austerity drive. Shaoxing – a city known for its textile industry and a prized variety of cooking wine – will offer subsidies of up to 5,000 yuan (US$700) to banquet holders if they host five or more tables and...

Politics

41 h. ago Chinese delivery giant Meituan releases AI model to take on Alibaba, DeepSeek

On-demand local services giant Meituan has become the latest Chinese Big Tech company to release an open-source large language model (LLM) to market, more than two years after it acquired mainland AI start-up Light Year for US$281 million. Beijing-based Meituan, the long-standing leader of China’s food delivery market, on Monday released and open-sourced its own LLM, called LongCat-Flash-Chat, via artificial intelligence developer platforms Hugging Face and GitHub, as well as the model’s...

Politics

7 d. ago Meituan sales weaken, profit plummets amid ‘irrational’ delivery price war

Chinese on-demand local services giant Meituan saw second-quarter earnings fall, as it faced off against Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com in a costly instant delivery price war. Beijing-based Meituan on Wednesday reported weaker-than-expected revenue of 91.8 billion yuan (US$12.8 billion) in the quarter ended June 30. That was up 11.7 per cent from 82.2 billion yuan a year earlier, but fell short of the 93.7 billion yuan estimate by analysts. Net profit for the period tumbled 96.8 per cent to...

Economics

7 d. ago CR Land, Sunac post better interim results in signs of property recovery

China’s embattled property market is showing signs of a tentative recovery, as some developers posted stronger earnings and reduced losses, supported by government stimulus measures and recovering consumption. China Resources Land’s first-half net profit increased by 16.2 per cent from last year to 11.9 billion yuan (US$1.66 billion), according to the state-owned developer’s statement on Wednesday. Sales rose 20 per cent to 94.9 billion yuan. Sunac, one of China’s largest privately owned...

Politics

2 w. ago Can China’s hugely popular mini dramas find success in the US?

The massive success of China’s mini dramas at home has prompted the industry to set its sights more squarely on the global market, with ever more studios exploring potential in North America, Southeast Asia and beyond. The productions going overseas include translated Chinese dramas and original ones made with local teams. The push comes as Beijing urges more mainland productions to improve the quality of on-air content. A document released on Monday said more support would be given for...

Events

2 w. ago Oh, behave: South Korea’s Jeju issues dos and don’ts list for tourists

Confronting a surge in unruly tourist behaviour, Jeju has unveiled South Korea’s first multilingual etiquette notice, seeking to instil order on the southern resort island. The Jeju Provincial Police said on Monday that it had printed 8,000 notices in Korean, English and Chinese, hoping to bridge cultural gaps and help foreign visitors grasp local laws and customs. The notices caution visitors against minor infractions – from jaywalking and littering to smoking in restricted areas and public...

Politics

4 w. ago Handling of bullying case sparks tension, arrests in southwestern Chinese city

The handling of a school bullying case by local authorities in a southwestern Chinese city has sparked outrage among locals, according to residents and mainland media, leading to police arrests for “blocking traffic”. Chinese outlet iFeng.com posted a video on its social media account showing hundreds of people gathering inside a government building in Jiangyou, Sichuan province, on Monday to help the parents of a teenager who had been bullied at school negotiate with officials and express their...

Events