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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

In a filing to Shanghai's stock exchange, CanSino said it would manufacture and supply unspecified mRNA products to AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca said the deal would support investigational mRNA vaccines in its early pipeline. The country approved in March its first homegrown mRNA vaccine against COVID, developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (1093.HK). CanSino has been working on its own mRNA COVID vaccine, and said in February it was in discussion with Chinese regulators around the protocol for a late-stage study for its COVID mRNA booster vaccine, CS-2034. It also comes after vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA.O), which has said that it was keen to sell its mRNA vaccine to China, announced a deal last month to develop and manufacture mRNA medicines in the country.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Biologics, CanSino, Wang Wentao, Casey Hall, Ludwig Burger, Miyoung Kim, Mark Potter, Himani Organizations: AstraZeneca, REUTERS, HK, CSPC Pharmaceutical, CS, Communist Party, China's Commerce, Moderna, Thomson Locations: Swedish, China, Frankfurt

"The luxury industry seems to be outperforming the consumer market as a whole in China, but you know, really, almost everyone you speak to, there's a level of uncertainty," said Agility's managing director Amrita Banta. "There's a level of not feeling entirely comfortable with their future economic position that is really affecting almost everybody in China." Those factors disproportionately affect "aspirational" luxury customers who can easily live without another Gucci bag or $900 pair of sneakers. In China, luxury consumers are younger than in the rest of the world with an average age of 28, according to BCG - something companies had seen as positive for future growth. "In the trends that I'm seeing in the U.S. and also in China, more aspirational younger consumers are feeling more of a pain," Morningstar senior equity analyst Jelena Sokolova said.

Persons: Richemont, splurge, Morgan Stanley, Hermes, Chanel, Amrita Banta, Dior, Balenciaga, Gucci, Jelena Sokolova, HSBC's Erwan, Rambourg, Casey Hall, Mimosa Spencer, Catherine Evans Organizations: Cartier, Citigroup, Richemont, Citi, LVMH, Bain, Morningstar, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, PARIS, China, North America, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Charlotte, Nashville, Swiss, Americas, Asia, United States, luxury's, U.S, Japan

☆ Shanghai restaurant caters to pampered pets with gourmet dog's dinners
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | 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, July 18 (Reuters) - Hengheng's friends could tell she was enjoying her birthday party in the pricey, health-conscious restaurant in downtown Shanghai by the way she licked her food off the plate. "If my dog is happy then I am happy. China's pet economy was worth 493.6 billion yuan ($69 billion) last year, a 25% increase on the previous year, according to data from research firm iiMedia Research. It is expected to reach 811.4 billion yuan by 2025. ($1 = 7.1867 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Hengheng, Tiffany Wang, Ma Tao, It's, Casey Hall, Conor Humphries Organizations: Border Collie, Dog, iiMedia, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, China

☆ Jeweller Bulgari apologises after Taiwan listing sparks fury in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | 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: +1 min

SHANGHAI, July 11 (Reuters) - High-end jeweller Bulgari has apologised after allegedly listing Taiwan as independent from China on an overseas website, sparking a furious response on Chinese social media. The company and its Chinese celebrity ambassadors became trending topics on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform after users spotted the country drop down menu on Bulgari's website. The controversy prompted state media outlet Global Times to post on social media that: "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and cannot be listed as a country". It's not the first foreign brand to face the wrath of Chinese social media users aggrieved about a perceived territorial slight. Reporting by Casey Hall Editing by Ed Osmond and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bulgari, It's, Versace, Casey Hall, Ed Osmond, Mark Potter Organizations: Twitter, Times, Givenchy, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Macau

☆ Startup e-commerce platform Temu expands to Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, July 6 (Reuters) - Ultra low-cost e-commerce platform Temu, owned by PDD Holdings (PDD.O), has started selling to Japan, marking its first foray into the Asian market. The marketplace, the sister site of Chinese discount e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, ships everything from clothing to electronics and home goods, mainly from Chinese merchants to customers overseas at rock bottom prices. A drop-down menu on Temu's website confirms Japan is one of the countries it now ships to. Temu and PDD Holdings did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its recent expansion or future plans. Vion Zhi Voon Yau, head of research at consultancy Momentum Works, described Japan as an "attractive, affluent" market for Temu.

Persons: Vion Zhi Voon Yau, Casey Hall, Fanny Potkin, Emelia Sithole Organizations: PDD Holdings, Japan, Momentum Works, Temu, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Japan, United States, Boston

☆ China's biggest online travel agency to pay employees 1 billion yuan to have kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | 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

The company, one of the world's largest online travel agencies, with 400 million users, said it would pay a parental cash subsidy of 10,000 yuan annually for five years for every child born to its employees worldwide. The programme will cost about 1 billion yuan, the company said. "I have always suggested that the government give money to families with children, especially multiple children, to ... help more young people fulfil their desire to have multiple children," Trip.com executive chairman James Liang said in a statement. China's birth rate last year fell to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, from 7.52 births in 2021, the lowest on record. Young people cite high childcare and education costs, low income, a weak social safety net and gender inequality, as discouraging factors.

Persons: James Liang, demographers, Young, Liang, Casey Hall, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Trip.com, HK, Authorities, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China

SHANGHAI, June 29 (Reuters) - Geopolitics and the national security concerns of some countries are threatening the globalisation of the world’s chip industry and its future growth, the chairman and acting CEO of memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) said on Thursday. "Our industry itself is cyclical, and each practitioner has his own way of dealing with the cycle. The move barred YMTC's suppliers from shipping U.S. goods to it without a difficult-to-obtain licence. Chen hinted at YMTC's own troubles during his speech, with a direct appeal to equipment suppliers in attendance. "For YMTC that I manage, we can no longer procure parts and components for equipment we had legally bought.

Persons: Chen Nanxiang, Taiwan's TSMC, Morris Chang, Chen, Casey Hall, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Christina Fincher Organizations: Technologies, Huawei Technologies Co, Shanghai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai, United States, Washington

☆ Brands focus on stories in refining China livestreaming to boost profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | 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

[1/5] Livestreaming sessions by Chinese livestreamers Li Jiaqi and Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, (L) are seen on Alibaba's e-commerce app Taobao displayed on mobile phones in this illustration picture taken December 14, 2021. Stellar growth boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic saw the industry employ more than 1.23 million livestream hosts by 2020, says researcher iResearch, along with numerous accompanying livestream-related training academies and agencies. While Tmall and Li Jiaqi remain powerful, brands moving away from that strategy are cutting reliance on massive discounts and even his famous exhortation, "Oh my god! Liu once thought her brand's price point of about 2,000 yuan ($277) for its dresses made it incompatible with bargain-heavy livestreaming. The dominance of pureplay sales platforms such as Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao, along with JD.com (9618.HK), is increasingly challenged by entertainment and information-led platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu.

Persons: Li Jiaqi, Huang Wei, Florence Lo, Apple's, William Lau, Clyde, iResearch, Jacob Cooke, Li, Liu, Hugo Boss, superhost Viya, Lexie Moris, Betty, Casey Hall, Miyoung Kim, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Apple Watch, HK, Tmall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, Asia, Pacific, Douyin

The executive, who was expected to make a visit this month, walked through the WF Central mall in Beijing, China on Tuesday, photos circulating on social media showed. The photos showed Arnault with his daughter, Dior CEO Delphine Arnault, and son Jean Arnault, who works for Louis Vuitton, as well as Dior's China president Monika Figlewicz. Other Beijing residents, posting on social media site Xiaohongshu, reported seeing Arnault at luxury department store SKP. LVMH, which owns labels ranging from Hennessy cognac to fashion houses Dior and Louis Vuitton, declined to comment. "The Chinese are very important clients," Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari told Reuters in an interview last week.

Persons: Bernard Arnault, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Gonzalo, Read, Dior, Delphine Arnault, Jean Arnault, Louis Vuitton, Monika Figlewicz, Hennessy, Pietro Beccari, Pharrell Williams, Casey Hall, Brenda Goh, Mimosa Spencer, Conor Humphries Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, WF, Reuters, Tiffany, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, SHANGHAI, PARIS, China, Beijing, China . China

☆ Premier Li urges China and Europe to 'rise above differences' at Paris summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | 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: +1 min

[1/2] Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrives for the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit, Friday, June 23, 2023 in Paris, France. "China will unequivocally reject trade protectionism and all forms of decoupling and severing of supply chains," Li said on the final day of the two-day summit, adding that China would continue to take practical steps to support its fellow developing countries. "China is ready to be engaged in debt relief efforts in an effective, realistic and comprehensive manner in keeping with the principle of fair burden sharing," Li said. During the summit, Zambia struck a deal to restructure $6.3 billion in debt owed to other governments, including China, its largest official creditor. Reporting by Casey Hall Editing by Christina Fincher & Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Li Qiang, Read, Li, Casey Hall, Christina Fincher, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: New Global Financial, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, SHANGHAI, China, Europe, Zambia

[1/5] People walk on a street amid an orange alert for heatwave in Beijing, China June 22, 2023. China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. A red alert indicates the temperature is set to rise above 40C within 24 hours. The China Meteorological Administration said on Thursday it expected high temperatures to persist across much of the country's north for the next eight to ten days. High temperature monitoring and warnings would continue on a rolling basis in places including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Inner Mongolia, it added.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Ryan Woo, Casey Hall, Sonali Paul Organizations: heatwave, REUTERS, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Inner Mongolia

☆ Chinese authorities focus on fire hazards following restaurant blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | 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: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - China's State Council Security Committee and municipal and provincial governments have held emergency video conferences and issued warnings about fire hazards and safety in the wake of a blast in China's northwest that killed 31 on Wednesday. Wednesday's explosion at a BBQ restaurant prompted President Xi Jinping to order a safety overhaul across China, calling on all regions to rectify safety risks. Following a hastily convened video conference on Thursday, Beijing mayor Yin Yong stressed that close attention should be paid to investigating and rectifying fire hazards. Beijing's municipal government, as well as the provincial governments of Sichuan, Guizhou and Hainan have all called attention to fire dangers and the safe handling of liquefied gas. Sichuan's Governor Huang Qiang said his province would immediately carry out an investigation and treatment of gas safety hazards.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Yin Yong, Huang Qiang, Casey Hall, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Security, China's Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hainan

☆ Ant Group confirms it is working on own AI large language model
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, June 21 (Reuters) - A technology research and development team at China's Ant Group is developing its own large-language model (LLM), internally called Zhenyi, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, confirming reports in Chinese media. There was no further information on the public unveiling of the model, however. Chinese organisations have launched 79 large-language models (LLMs) dometically over the last three years, doubling down on efforts to develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, state-run research institutes said last month in a report. Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Casey Hall, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI

The CEO role will be handed over to Eddie Yongming Wu, chairman of Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group, while Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai will take over Zhang as chairman. "The idea or expectation that one person could manage the business' crown jewel Cloud and at the same time manage the entire Alibaba Group is an unreasonable expectation." "It would be inappropriate for me to continue serving as chairman and CEO of both companies at the same time during the spin-off process." Alibaba thanked Zhang for his "extraordinary leadership in navigating unprecedented uncertainties affecting the company's business over the past few years." Wu, who co-founded Alibaba alongside Ma and Tsai over two decades ago, will continue to concurrently serve as chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group, Alibaba said.

Persons: Zhang, Joseph Tsai, Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Yongming Wu, Alibaba's, Daniel, Brian Wong, Jack Ma, Joe, Eddie, Eric Chen, Wu, Ma, Tsai, Alipay, Jacob Cooke, Cooke, China's, J, Michael Evans, Abinaya, Brenda Goh, Scott Murdoch, Anne Marie Roantree, Josh Ye, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Alibaba, HK, Tmall, Reuters, Cloud Intelligence Group, Analysts, Alibaba Health, Technologies, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Japan, Spain, Australia, Thailand, Tokyo, Taobao, Bengaluru, Sydney

The Chinese e-commerce giant saw sales rise 6-8% over the 618 festival period that ran from late May through to Sunday evening, according to a client note from Citi analysts. The festival, named after the founding date of JD.com but embraced by all e-commerce platforms, is a key barometer of Chinese consumer spending. JD.com has said it will not release its GMV for the festival period this year, only noting that sales hit a record - a milestone which was expected. Alibaba has also stopped releasing GMV figures for the so-called Singles Day shopping festival period in November in the face of slowing sales. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a client note that JD.com sales during 618 "slightly" exceeded expectations, while Jefferies analysts said the event "surpassed expectations and set new records."

Persons: brokerages, Syntun, Alibaba, JD.com, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Casey, Sophie Yu, Edwina Gibbs, Susan Fenton Organizations: HK, Citi, Alibaba, PDD Holdings, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, Beijing

SHANGHAI, June 19 (Reuters) - Sales on JD.com (9618.HK) e-commerce site during China's mid-year shopping festival - the first major shopping event since country's reopening - grew more than expected, brokerages said. JD.com saw sales rise 6-8% over the 618 festival period that ran from late May through to Sunday evening, according to a client note from Citi analysts. Alibaba has also stopped releasing GMV figures for the so-called Singles Day shopping festival period in November in the face of slowing sales. The festival period this year was marked by fierce competition, with platforms offering billions of yuan in coupons and subsidies to entice Chinese consumers to spend. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a client note said JD.com sales during 618 "slightly" exceeded expectations, while Jefferies analysts said the event "surpassed expectations and set new records."

Persons: brokerages, JD.com, Alibaba, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Casey, Sophie Yu, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: HK, Citi, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, Beijing

[1/5] People wait for bus near a billboard of JD.com advertisement for the "618" shopping festival, in Beijing, China June 12, 2023. Retail sales growth in May slowed from the previous month, missing forecasts. In 2022 China's online retail sales amounted to 13.8 trillion yuan ($1.93 trillion), according to Ministry of Commerce data. "Everyone's making excuses but at the end of the day, it's a super-soft retail market." Last year, JD.com posted 10% annual growth in total 618 sales, its slowest ever.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Josh Gardner, JD.com, Trudy Dai, Jason Yu, Kantar, Yu, Iris Zhang, Gardner, Data, Casey Hall, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, HK, of Commerce, Kungfu, Burberry, Apple, Alibaba, Jefferies, Citi, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, SHANGHAI, Tmall

☆ Pro wrestlers return to China as global bouts resume after pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | 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: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 7 (Reuters) - Not only presidents and chief executives are making their way to China to reconnect after three years of border closures, but also international professional wrestlers, who returned this week after the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are glad to let the world know, 'Hey, Chinese wrestling is back'," said event promoter Adrian Gomez. A cast of colourfully dressed characters - both heroes and villains - hammed it up for the audience, in the spirit of the storied WWE, the best-known pro wrestling body. International participants included former WWE pro wrestler Yoshi Tatsu from Japan and Malaysia's Nor "Phoenix" Diana, who is known as the first hijab-wearing pro wrestler. Gomez said the return of international wrestlers signalled a huge change in fortunes for Chinese pro wrestling, which has battled to stage domestic live matches since COVID curbs were imposed in early 2020, sometimes with no audience at all.

Persons: Adrian Gomez, colourfully, Yoshi Tatsu, Diana, Wang Tao, Gomez, we've, Casey Hall, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Middle Kingdom, WWE, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Japan, United States

SHANGHAI, May 31 (Reuters) - China Telecom (0728.HK) has invested 3 billion yuan ($434 million) to establish the China Telecom Quantum Information Technology Group Co., it said in a statement on its official WeChat account Tuesday. The investment marks the latest move by a Chinese telecommunications giant to try to tap into quantum technology and reflects Beijing's ambition to pull ahead in the global race to harness the power of quantum computing. "[This] is a practical action to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the development of quantum technology," China Telecom said in its statement. China Telecom's move comes after China Mobile, the world's largest telecom carrier with 900 million mobile subscribers, last December signed a deal with Chinese startup Origin Quantum looking to use quantum computing to overcome computational bottlenecks facing 5G and 6G technologies. Current real-world applications in quantum computing are still very basic and limited to a small group of clients.

Persons: Xi, China Telecom's, Casey Hall, Sonali Paul Organizations: China Telecom, HK, China Telecom Quantum Information Technology, Co, China Mobile, Global, IDC, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Anhui

☆ Chinese tech entrepreneurs keen to 'de-China' as tensions with US soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But he's dismayed by the U.S.-China trade spats and the restrictions on a growing number of Chinese companies that have been imposed, or are being proposed, by U.S. lawmakers. "It's very unfair," he said, lamenting that competitors from other countries did not face similar issues when trying to expand into the United States. Reuters spoke to seven tech entrepreneurs from mainland China, most of them educated overseas, who would like to expand their businesses in the United States. Geopolitical tensions have meant a far less friendly atmosphere for mainland Chinese companies wanting to operate or gain funding in the United States, the entrepreneurs and consultants say. The U.S. Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment on attitudes towards Chinese companies within the United States.

Persons: Florence Lo, Ryan, Trump, Joe Biden, Major flashpoints, James McGregor, Xi, Wilson, Chris Pereira, Shein, PDD, Pereira, Tommy, David Kirton, Eduardo Baptista, Casey, Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Huawei, U.S ., U.S, Micron Technology, Washington DC, Chinese Communist Party, Greater, APCO Worldwide, U.S . Commerce Department, Reuters, of Information, American Ecosystem Institute . Companies, PDD Holdings, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: China, SHENZHEN, U.S, Washington, United States, Shenzhen, East Asia, North America, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Montana, Greater China, Beijing, China's, Shanghai, Dublin

[1/3] A person walks past a show venue of stand-up comedy company Xiaoguo Culture Media Co that has closed its business, in Beijing, China May 19, 2023. "Stand-up comedy has been the last bastion in which people ... can still enjoy entertaining commentary about public life," said Beijing-based independent political analyst Wu Qiang. "After this, the space for stand-up comedy and public expression in general will inevitably keep shrinking." China's comedy scene rose quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic as people spent more time indoors watching viral streamed comedy shows. The most popular were produced by Xiaoguo Culture Media Co, the firm at the centre of the current uproar.

☆ Chinese authorities slap comedy firm with $2 mln fine after military joke
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | 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

The incident has strongly divided the Chinese public over what sort of jokes are inappropriate as performances such as stand-up comedy become increasingly popular and also highlighted the limits of appropriate content in China where authorities say it must promote core socialist values. In response to the fine, Xiaoguo Culture blamed the incident on "major loopholes in management" and said it had terminated Li's contract. Reuters could not immediately reach Li for comment and Weibo appears to have banned him from posting to his account there. Founded in Shanghai in 2015, Xiaoguo Culture's popularity has grown in sync with China's embrace of stand-up comedy and had known for raising the profile of hundreds of local comedians. (This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in the headline and fix a typo in paragraph 1)($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's domestic travel recovery marred by anti-spending 'special forces'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | 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: +4 min

[1/2] Passengers wait to board trains at Shanghai Hongqiao railway station ahead of the five-day Labour Day holiday, in Shanghai, China, April 28, 2023. To get to the ancient temples, pagodas and grottoes she wanted to visit, she walked roughly 30,000 steps a day. "I can control the expenses, to go to many places for the least amount of money, but it is really tiring." "Maybe I didn't wear the right shoes, but my feet started to hurt after walking more than 10,000 steps," she said, joking that she exemplified "the battle-scarred version of special forces travel." ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Lincoln Feast.

☆ Starbucks, Estée Lauder, Qualcomm: Global companies warn of slower-than-expected recovery in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Starbucks (SBUX) and Qualcomm (QCOM) have also flagged uncertainties related to the country, which is a top market for both. Beijing abandoned its zero-Covid policy in December and scrapped longstanding quarantine requirements for international arrivals in January, ending restrictions that had isolated its economy. The welcomed, if abrupt, policy U-turn led to hopes that China could help propel global growth as it had before the pandemic. The idea was that as soon as the zero-Covid policy would be over, the Chinese households and consumers would just go berserk. Starbucks warned last Tuesday that sales growth in China was starting to cool — and likely would continue that trajectory over the next six months.

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