China Digital Digest Weekly: Exploring the Chinese Digital Landscape
- ClickInsights
- 10 hours ago
- 4 min read
Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. China’s Moonshot AI Launches New Model Lauded As No 1 Among Open-Source Systems
Moonshot AI has released a new reasoning variant of its open-source Kimi K2 model that has outperformed OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.5 in several benchmarks, eliciting high praise from industry experts on social media.
The Beijing-based start-up said Kimi K2 Thinking was now accessible via Kimi.com and the model’s application programming interface (API), allowing developers and enterprises to use the model’s functionalities into their applications. Kimi K2 Thinking outperformed closed-source models GPT-5 and Claude Sonnet 4.5 with a score of 44.9 percent on Humanity’s Last Exam, a large language model (LLM) benchmark consisting of 2,500 questions across a broad range of subjects.
2. U.S. Software Giant SAS Exits China, Lays Off 400 Employees
U.S. software giant SAS Institute has announced its complete withdrawal from the Chinese market after 25 years of operation, laying off all 400 local employees.
The decision was communicated internally via email, followed by a brief video meeting where company executives thanked the China team for their contributions, calling the move part of a broader “organizational optimization.” An SAS spokesperson confirmed that the company will cease direct operations in China but will continue to serve local clients through third-party partners.
3. Starbucks to Sell Control of China Business to Boyu Capital
Starbucks Coffee has agreed to sell a 60 percent stake in its China business to Boyu Capital, a leading Chinese private equity firm, in a deal that values the operation at about USD4 billion.
Starbucks said the deal values its China business at USD13 billion, reflecting the proceeds from the stake sale, the value of its retained ownership in the JV, and the net present value of ongoing licensing fees payable over the next decade and beyond. Reports that Starbucks was exploring a potential sale of its China business started to appear late last year, with estimates of its value ranging from USD5 billion to as much as USD10 billion.
4. France Pauses Shein Suspension After Illicit Products Removed
France has paused suspension proceedings against Chinese online retailer Shein after the company removed illegal products from its platforms, the country’s Finance Ministry has announced.
French authorities initiated proceedings to suspend the operations of online fast-fashion retailer after they found prohibited products, including childlike sex dolls and illegal weapons, being sold on its platform. The action came on the same day the fast-fashion company opened its first physical store in a Paris department store. On 7 November, the French consumer watchdog confirmed that all illegal items, including medicines, had been taken down from Shein.
5. Shein Eyes US$2 Billion Profit in 2025 Despite Trump Tariffs
Shein Group has told investors that it is expecting a bumper US$2 billion in net income in 2025, after higher profit margins through price increases and cost-cutting helped overcome a drop in online traffic caused by US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs.
The e-commerce giant is also forecasting mid-teen percentage growth in sales, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the targets are private. The US$2 billion net income guidance for this year suggests profit could nearly double from the US$1.1 billion it reported last year. It builds on a strong first quarter when net income topped US$400 million and revenue jumped to nearly US$10 billion as US consumers rushed to buy its products before Trump dismantled the “de minimis” tax exemption for small parcels.
6. Alibaba Rebrands Food Delivery App Ele.me in Instant Retail Push
Alibaba Group Holding is rebranding its Chinese food delivery platform Ele.me as Taobao Shangou, aligning the service more closely with its flagship e-commerce ecosystem, as the company seeks to enhance synergy across its consumer businesses.
A logo of the beta version of the updated app, available to select users, adopts Taobao’s signature orange colour, according to screenshots seen on Chinese social media. The move aligns with Alibaba’s recent efforts to phase out Ele.me’s original branding, with its blue courier uniforms being replaced with bright orange outfits resembling Formula One racing suits, featuring logos from various Alibaba units.
7. Alibaba Boosts Instant Commerce Drive With US$281 Million Convenience Store Plan
Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled a 2 billion yuan (US$281 million) investment as part of a programme that will see a network of Taobao-branded convenience stores across China support the operations of the firm’s instant commerce and on-demand delivery business.
The programme would primarily provide existing convenience stores with a tech facelift, leveraging Alibaba’s digital infrastructure, according to Hu Qiugen, the instant commerce unit’s general manager. Under the programme, the operators of partner convenience stores would receive digital supply chain support from Alibaba’s domestic wholesale platform 1688.com, technical insights on product procurement and get their stock inventory replenished via the group’s Aoxiang platform, as well as Taobao branding.
8. Tencent-Backed Uzbek Start-Up Eyes Pre-IPO Funding Round in Hong Kong
Uzbekistan’s first tech unicorn, Uzum, is seeking a final pre-initial public offering (IPO) funding round next year in Hong Kong, after raising a US$70 million investment from Tencent Holdings months ago.
Uzum co-founder Nikolay Seleznev said that Tencent’s investment in August bolstered the company’s plans to go public in 2027, with a potential listing in Hong Kong, London, Abu Dhabi or Nasdaq in the US. The Tencent-led funding lifted Uzum’s valuation to US$1.5 billion, while opening the door for the Chinese technology giant to enter Central Asia’s digital economy, according to Seleznev.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of our latest report, click here.
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