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SHANGHAI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Halloween revellers thronged central Shanghai late on Tuesday night, with some dressed in costumes that poked fun at China's strict COVID-19 curbs in a rare showcase of free expression as police looked on. Celebrations in the Chinese financial hub began on the weekend, culminating on Tuesday in a large crowd of mostly young people that gathered around a popular bar area, according to onlookers and social media posts. "The 'dabai', COVID-19 testing, A-share market...that Shanghai people dressed up as are all elements that speak to the trauma of the times and traces of history. Public critiques of government policies are rare in China, where authorities have been cracking down on free expression. Some party goers also showed up with blank sheets of paper stuck to their clothes, a key symbol of last year's protests, other social media posts showed.

Persons: Lu Xun, Brenda Goh, Casey Hall, Eduardo Baptista, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, Weibo, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, China, Beijing

Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group did not respond to a request for comment. This year's Singles Day event is also the first since Alibaba Group split into six business units. This view is supported by recent polls on social media where the majority of respondents said Singles Day was no longer necessary. Meara He, a 21-year-old student from Wenzhou, says she often shops using Douyin live-streams and this year, "doesn't care" about Singles Day as much. "In the past I would wait for Double 11 (Singles Day) and do some shopping, but this time I just plan to buy products that I need," she said.

Persons: Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Josh Gardner, Alibaba's, Ashley Dudarenok, AlixPartners, Douyin, Melody Zhao, Casey, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh Organizations: PDD Holdings, Kungfu, Tmall, Administration, Market, ByteDance, Alibaba, Suisse, Industry, Hua Gui Food Group, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HK, China, Wenzhou, Shanghai, Beijing

[1/2] The logo of Temu, an e-commerce platform owned by PDD Holdings, is seen on a mobile phone displayed in front of its website, in this illustration picture taken April 26, 2023. Shein's lawsuit against Temu, filed last December in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleged that Temu told social media influencers to make disparaging remarks about the fast-fashion retailer, and tricked customers into downloading the Temu app using "imposter" social media accounts. In July, Temu filed its own lawsuit in Boston federal court, accusing Shein of violating U.S. antitrust law in its dealings with clothing manufacturers. Temu's complaint alleged Shein "forces manufacturers to sign loyalty oaths certifying that they will not do business with Temu." Temu, whose parent company PDD Holdings also owns Chinese shopping platform Pinduoduo, similarly sells low-priced clothing but is equally well known for stocking cheap headphones and home appliances.

Persons: Florence Lo, Shein, Temu, Casey Hall, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: PDD Holdings, REUTERS, Rights, Northern, Northern District of, Temu, HSBC, Thomson Locations: U.S, Chicago, Boston, Northern District, Northern District of Illinois, China, Europe, Asia

☆ Founder of discount e-shopping firm PDD races up China's rich list
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Colin Huang, who founded PDD in 2015 and stepped down as CEO in 2020, was the fastest riser in this year's Hurun Rich List, leaping seven places to be ranked China's third richest man with a $37.2 billion fortune. Richard Liu, who founded e-commerce giant JD.com, also saw his wealth, and that of his wife Zhang Zetian, fall by $6.2 billion since last year to $8.26 billion, according to Hurun's list. JD.com's shares fell to a record low earlier this month after banks cut its price targets citing a weaker-than-expected recovery in consumer spending. Hui Ka Yan is currently being investigated over suspected "illegal crimes", Evergrande said last month. Reporting by Casey Hall; editing by Brenda Goh and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Colin Huang, Yin Liqin, Rich, Jack Ma, Alibaba, Richard Liu, Zhang Zetian, Rupert Hoogewerf, PDD's Temu, Zhong Shanshan, Pony Ma, Hurun, Wang Jianlin, Hui Ka Yan, Evergrande, Casey Hall, Brenda Goh Organizations: Nasdaq, REUTERS, Rights, PDD Holdings, PDD, HK, Hurun, Dalian Wanda Group, China Evergrande, Thomson Locations: New York, Shanghai, China

Branding signage for WPP, the largest global advertising and public relations agency at their offices in London, Britain, July 17, 2019. The fourth, GroupM China’s CEO and country managing director for WPP China, Patrick Xu, was questioned by police but not detained, the person said. Calls to GroupM's office in Shanghai to seek comment went unanswered and Xu did not immediately respond to an email requesting a response. An employee stationed in the closest police precinct to WPP's Shanghai office said police could not comment. Police visited U.S. management consultancy Bain & Co's Shanghai office in April, then in May, state TV aired a program showing a raid of consultancy Capvision Partners' offices.

Persons: Toby Melville, GroupM, Patrick Xu, Xu, Mark Read, Mintz, Capvision, Bain, Casey, Laurie Chen, Alison Williams Organizations: WPP, REUTERS, Rights, WPP China, Financial Times, Outdoor Holdings, SEC, Police, Bain, Co's, TV, Capvision Partners, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Shanghai, China, Beijing, Co's Shanghai

Branding signage for WPP, the largest global advertising and public relations agency at their offices in London, Britain, July 17, 2019. The fourth, GroupM China’s CEO and country managing director for WPP China, Patrick Xu, was questioned by police but not detained, the person said. An employee stationed in the closest police precinct to WPP's Shanghai office said police could not comment. "As our fourth largest market globally, China will continue to play a crucial role in WPP's long-term growth strategy. Police visited U.S. management consultancy Bain & Co's Shanghai office in April, then in May, state TV aired a program showing a raid of consultancy Capvision Partners' offices.

☆ China's Singles Day sales festival wraps up with e-commerce giants reporting sales growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group (9988.HK) reported that its Chinese e-commerce platforms Tmall and Taobao recorded "positive" year-on-year growth over this year's Singles Day sales period, which wrapped up at midnight on Saturday. Meanwhile competitor JD.com (9618.HK) said its festival GMV (gross merchandising volume) hit a "record high" over the sales period. A Bain and Company report released last week found that 77% of the 3,000 consumers it surveyed had planned to spend less or the same on Singles Day compared with last year. Though several consultancies were predicting Singles Day GMV growth across platforms would reach anywhere from 14% to 18% - returning to double-digit growth for the first time since the pandemic - the final sales picture will take longer to energe. Colour cosmetics, traditionally a strong performer throughout the Singles Day sales period, were expected to struggle this year as make-up demand remains low almost a year after China lifted strict COVID-19 restrictions.

Persons: Taobao, JD.com, Alibaba, Bain, Casey Hall, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Alibaba, HK, PDD Holdings, Company, Nike, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China

Those shipments sometimes accounted for more than half of Chinese malting barley demand, depending on the year. "The return of Australian barley means everyone will be happier," said Miller Meng, brewmaster at Shanghai craft beer bar, The Brew. "Australian malt in the market return prices back on the right track," he said. But in the absence of Australian malting barley, many Chinese craft brewers turned to alternatives such as French or Canadian malt. That meant a perilous thinning of margins and the hope is that Australian imports will reverse this trend, craft brewers told Reuters.

Persons: Miller Meng, brewmaster, Trueman, Yang Zhenglong, Matthew Jimenez, Duvel, Casey, Dominique Patton, Peter Hobson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Canberra, EqualOcean International, Reuters, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, China, Shanghai, Tianjin, Mongolia, Ukraine, Australian, Australia, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Beijing, Canberra

[1/3] Tourists rest on the Bund ahead of the National Day holiday, in Shanghai, China September 26, 2023. China celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day from Friday to Oct. 6 in the longest public holiday this year. The China Tourism Academy, part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, estimates people will make more than 100 million trips a day during "the most popular Golden Week in history". In 2019, mainland Chinese tourists spent $255 billion abroad, more than any other nationality, with group tours estimated to account for roughly 60% of that total. ($1 = 7.3030 Chinese yuan renminbi)Additional reporting by Wang Tao in Singapore; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, It's, Joe Zhang, I'm, haven't, Boon Sian Chai, Boon, Cao, Nancy Dai, Zhou Weihong, Wang Zheng, Wang Tao, Marius Zaharia Organizations: Bund, REUTERS, Rights, China Tourism Academy, Ministry of Culture, Trip.com, Spring, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Beijing, Japan, Tourism, Anqing, Anhui, South Korea, United States, ForwardKeys, Thailand, Singapore

☆ China's e-commerce discount race to the bottom puts incumbents under pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Discount e-commerce is set to dominate globally during the critical upcoming holiday shopping season in the West and Singles’ Day in China, analysts said. Platforms in China, the world’s largest e-commerce market, have recently described a “value-for-money battle” stoked by economic insecurity and a slower-than-expected retail recovery following the lifting of COVID-19 curbs late last year. “There was a clear vacuum for the discount retailer online experience ... Across the world, executives are now focusing on price pressures as discount online retailers gain increasing market share. In the West, the inflation driven consumer wants something cheaper because they're going through a moment of financial insecurity,” Ho said.

Persons: Florence Lo, ”, thrall, Sharon Gai, ” Humphrey Ho, Rui Ma, Trudy Dai, Alibaba, ” Ho, Casey Hall, Vanessa O'Connell, Aurora Ellis Organizations: PDD Holdings, REUTERS, Rights, West, Deal, Hylink, Amazon ., Tmall, Thomson Locations: China, Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, United States, Douyin, Canada, Australia, America, U.S, Amazon, Amazon . Indonesia

[1/4] Couples prepare to get their photo taken during a wedding photography shoot on a street, in Shanghai, China September 6, 2023. "The traditional Chinese wedding industry is probably in for tough times." "People are more inclined to go for a simple and niche wedding," said Chen, adding that a decade ago, it was common for couples to spend millions of yuan. 'NICHE, NICHE, NICHE'The economic downturn has hit the middle class, and the youth, the hardest, resulting in high jobless rates and low household spending. Our strategy has been to stay niche, niche, niche," said Wang.

Persons: Aly, Yuan Jialiang, Ben Cavender, Frank Chen, Chen Feng, Chen, Chow Tai Fook, It's, Xueyi, Jewel Wang, Vera Wang, Wang, Oscar de la, Carolina Herrera, Casey Hall, Xihao Jiang, Farah, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, China Market Research, Daxue Consulting, COVID, Jewellery, HK, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Xi'an, Hong Kong

☆ U.S. business optimism about China outlook falls to record low - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Even after the ending of COVID curbs, which weighed heavily on both revenues and sentiment in 2022, the percentage of surveyed U.S. firms optimistic about the five-year China business outlook fell to 52%, according to the annual survey published by American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai. This was the lowest level of optimism reported since the AmCham Shanghai Annual China Business Report was first introduced in 1999. "Frankly, if there was one thing that surprised me about the survey this year it was that number," said AmCham Shanghai Chairman, Sean Stein. China has criticised U.S. efforts to block China's access to advanced technology and U.S. firms have expressed concern about fines, raids and other actions that make doing business in China risky. Last month, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said during a visit to China that U.S. companies have complained to her that China has become "uninvestible".

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sean Stein, Gina Raimondo, AmCham's Stein, Casey Hall, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, American Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai, U.S, Companies, . Commerce, Group, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Shanghai, Southeast Asia, India, Mexico, Vietnam, Malaysia

Alibaba Group sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Alibaba said on Wednesday it would open its artificial intelligence model Tongyi Qianwen to the public, in a sign it has gained Chinese regulatory approval to mass-market the model. He was replaced by newly installed Alibaba Group CEO, Eddie Wu. In an internal letter to Alibaba staff on Tuesday, Wu said that AI would be at the centre of Alibaba Group's future strategy. Alibaba first unveiled Tongyi Qianwen in April, saying at the time that the AI large language model, which is similar to ChatGPT, would be integrated into all business applications.

Persons: Aly, Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Wu, Wu, Tongyi Qianwen, Casey Hall, Tom Hogue Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, Rights, Cloud Intelligence Division, Zhejiang University, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, United States, DingTalk, Alibaba

A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - New Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu has told staff the tech giant's two main strategic focuses going forward will be "user first" and "AI-driven", according to an internal letter reviewed by Reuters. The new CEO, one of Alibaba Group's founders and long-time lieutenant of former chief Jack Ma, is laying out his strategic priorities at a key moment for Alibaba, which is undergoing the biggest organisational restructure of its 24-year history. Late on Sunday Alibaba also announced that Wu would concurrently serve as CEO of its cloud computing unit, replacing Daniel Zhang. The cloud unit is Alibaba's second-biggest revenue source after domestic e-commerce and houses the group's generative artificial intelligence model, Tongyi Qianwen.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Eddie Wu, Wu, Alibaba, Jack Ma, Daniel Zhang, Zhang, ByteDance's Douyin, Casey Hall, Gerry Doyle, Stephen Coates Organizations: Alibaba Group, REUTERS, Rights, Alibaba, Reuters, Cloud Intelligence Group, PDD Holdings, Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings, HK, Baidu, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China

☆ China state TV slams beauty influencer who told off thrifty viewer
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - China's state television criticised on Tuesday a famous beauty livestreamer who told off a viewer for complaining about the high price of an eyebrow pencil, as many Chinese feel the pinch from an economic slowdown. Livestreaming is big business in China, generating sales of $480 billion last year, and Li gets a commission from the products he sells on his livestreams. Li responded by saying prices were not rising and told the viewer that she couldn't afford the eyebrow pencil because she wasn't working hard enough. Hours later, he apologised to the viewer on this Weibo social media account, and then the following day, he apologised again on his livestream. ($1 = 7.2876 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall; editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: livestreamer, Li Jiaqi, Li, Casey Hall, Miral Organizations: Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China

The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers and Lee's estate, accuses Tesla of knowing that Autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car. Autopilot failed to brake, steer or do anything to avoid the collision, according to the lawsuit filed by Banner's wife. Tesla denied liability for both accidents, blamed driver error and said Autopilot is safe when monitored by humans. Tesla said in court documents that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel. "Elon Musk has acknowledged problems with the Tesla autopilot system not working properly," according to plaintiffs' documents.

Persons: Casey, Elon, Musk, Tesla, Micah Lee’s, Lee, Stephen Banner’s, Banner's, Reuters ’, Matthew Wansley, Bryant Walker Smith, Jonathan Michaels, we're, Christopher Moore, Adam, Nicklas, Gustafsson, Elon Musk, Richard Baverstock, Trey, Lytal, Dan Levine, Hyunjoo Jin, Peter Henderson, Grant McCool Organizations: Tesla, China International Consumer Products, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Tesla Inc, Reuters, Cardozo School of Law, University of South, Thomson Locations: Haikou, Hainan province, China, California, Los Angeles, Florida, Miami, University of South Carolina, San Francisco

Taiwan's constitution states that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, and that has been a consensus shared by all Taiwan's main political parties. The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, who set up the People's Republic. "It is because if he is elected as the leader of Taiwan, he may come to advance his goal of Taiwan independence, which will provoke a crisis across the Taiwan Strait." China's Taiwan Affairs Office said his comments were "weird" and "deceitful" given that his "Taiwan independence nature" had not changed. China has demanded Taiwan's government accept that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to "one China," something Tsai and Lai have refused to do.

Persons: William Lai, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Lai, Tsai Ing, Mao Zedong's, Wu Xinbo, Joseph Wu, George Yin, Yin, Tsai's, Lai ., Xi Jinping, Taiwan's, Tsai, Meng Chih, cheng, Ben Blanchard, Sarah Wu, Martin Pollard, Casey, Sonali Paul Organizations: International Airport, REUTERS, Rights, Shanghai's Fudan University, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Affairs Office, Cheng Kung University, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: United States, New York, Paraguay, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Rights TAIPEI, China, Beijing, Taiwanese, Republic of China, People's Republic of China, The Republic of China, Republic, Republic of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the island's government. "This is a serious warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces colluding with external forces to provoke," it said. China has a particular dislike of Lai for his previous comments that he was a "practical worker for Taiwan independence". The United States, like most countries, has no formal ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. China has over the past three years ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, including sending military aircraft and warships near the island.

Persons: William Lai, Nancy Pelosi, Tsai Ing, Kevin McCarthy, Lai, Deb Haaland, King Felipe VI, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Casey Hall, Ben Blanchard, Greg Torode, William Mallard Organizations: Joint Staff Office, Defense Ministry of Japan, Reuters, Eastern Theatre Command, U.S . House, U.S, Beijing, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Okinawa, Miyako, SHANGHAI, TAIPEI, Taiwan, United States, Taipei . Lai, Paraguay, China, Taipei, California, South, Asuncion

☆ China box office smashes summer records, Hollywood contributes little
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

So far, four films have surpassed the 2 billion yuan benchmark at the box office, another record for the summer film season, including suspense thriller "Lost in the Stars" and crime drama "No More Bets". According to the China Film Administration, this year's summer film revenue, which covers June to August, has surpassed the previous record of 17.78 billion yuan achieved in 2019. Margot Robbie-starrer "Barbie", which has performed well in global markets, brought in just 246 million yuan after almost a month on screen. Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One" made about 350 million yuan in more than a month of screening. ($1 = 7.2869 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Sophie Yu, Casey Hall; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Margot Robbie, Tom Cruise's, Sophie Yu, Casey Hall, Devika Organizations: China Film Administration, HK, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China

REUTERS/Aly Song Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group's (9988.HK) work communication and collaboration platform DingTalk will split from the company's cloud division, according to two sources close to the company. Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Business Group did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the matter. Though the Slack-like DingTalk will split structurally from Alibaba's Cloud Business Intelligence unit, the sources said it would continue to work closely with the cloud division technology-wise. The tech giant announced the split of its business in March and has said the cloud division was likely to IPO by May next year. Alibaba Group last week reported better than expected results for its first quarter, but sales for its Cloud Intelligence Business Group, a major growth driver outside of e-commerce, reported the smallest revenue growth among the group's business units of 4%.

Persons: Aly, Group's, DingTalk, Casey Hall, Himani Sarkar, Conor Humphries Organizations: Alibaba, Holding, REUTERS, Rights, HK, Alibaba Holding, Cloud Intelligence Business Group, Cloud Business Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China

Analysts see this more than 7 percent increase in the number of drivers as a manifestation of the subdued job market. At least four others have issued warnings of overcapacity, with some saying drivers get fewer than 10 orders a day as a result. Cai said he earns 200-300 yuan a day, driving for Didi Global - China's answer to Uber - from 8.00 am until close to midnight. Up until recently, he made 400 yuan a day plus bonuses, going home before 8.00 pm. Shanghai driver Li Weimin's rationale for working underscores the shrinking job market.

Persons: Zhu Zhimin, Zhu, Wang Ke, James Cai, Cai, Didi, Wang, Nanxun Li, It's, Li, Casey Hall, Xihao Jiang, Marius Zaharia Organizations: Transport, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, China, Cities, Sanya, Changsha, Haikou, Hainan, Analysys, Beijing

☆ China's livestreaming attracts young hopefuls as competition grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A day in the life of a livestreaming host like Zhang can include more than six hours of talking almost non-stop to camera, time spent on hair, make-up, and on post-broadcast debriefs. I can pick up my phone and I'm livestreaming," Zhang said. The livestreaming industry employed 1.23 million hosts as of 2020, according to iResearch, and a pandemic era boom in livestream sales helped the industry to generate $480 billion in business in China last year. To facilitate an increasingly professional and competitive livestreaming landscape, agencies have sprung up to train stables of young hosts and connect suitable anchors with brands. Indeed, the way brands approach livestreaming in China has also quickly evolved.

Persons: Zhang Jinyu, Zhang, Bytedance's, Shining Li, Shi Jianing, Hugo Boss, Casey Hall, Robert Birsel Organizations: Romomo, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai

[1/5] A woman tastes lab-grown meat served by CellX at an event to mark the opening of the cultivated meat company's pilot production facility in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. As part of an event on Wednesday for government, investors and media, the cultivated meat company CellX served up meat developed in a laboratory from animal cells. The offerings included lab-grown meat kebabs and tofu with minced lab-grown meat. The company, founded in 2020, is among a handful of front runners in lab-grown meat production in China. (This story has been corrected to say lab-grown meat, not lab-grown lamb, in paragraph 3)($1=7.20 yuan)Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Neil FullickOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: CellX, Aly Song SHANGHAI, Ziliang Yang, Yang, it's, Leticia Goncalves, Casey Hall, Miyoung Kim, Neil Fullick Organizations: REUTERS, Daniels, Midland, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Singapore, U.S, Europe

Travellers walk past an installation in the shape of five stars, at Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/file photoBEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China has lifted pandemic-era restrictions on group tours for more countries, including key markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia in a potential boon for their tourism industries. Just how much outbound Chinese tourism will bounce back for the latest group of countries remains to be seen. Shares in firms in the latest group of countries with large exposure to Chinese travel demand jumped on the news. China has never publicly acknowledged limiting group tours to South Korea.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Fumio Kishida, Don Farrell, Steve Saxon, Casey, Sophie Yu, Joyce Lee, Jamie Freed, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Beijing Daxing International, REUTERS, Japanese, Trade, Tourism, Weibo, McKinsey & Co, South, Grand Korea, Reuters, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Germany, Britain, Canada, Thailand, Russia, Cuba, Argentina, Nepal, France, Portugal, Brazil, Xinjiang, South Korean, U.S, Shanghai, Seoul

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) reported its strongest quarterly revenue growth in almost two years on Thursday, boosted by a mid-year shopping festival that attracted bargain hunting consumers amid a sober economic environment. The Chinese e-commerce giant posted first-quarter revenue of 234.16 billion yuan ($32.29 billion), up 14% from the prior-year quarter which was hit by strict pandemic lockdowns. The figurebeat analysts' estimates of 224.92 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Regulatory concern has eased for China's tech giants, including Alibaba, this year, with Chinese authorities keen to boost private sector confidence. (1 Chinese yuan renminbi = $0.1387)Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Yongming Wu, Alibaba's, Joseph Tsai, Yuvraj Malik, Shounak Dasgupta, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Cloud Intelligence Group, Tmall, PDD Holdings, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Alibaba, Bengaluru

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