Weblog with daily updates of the news on a frugal, fair and beautiful China, from the perspective of internet entrepreneur, new media advisor and president of the China Speakers Bureau Fons Tuinstra
China’s society is changing fast, and youngsters are adjusting their attitudes on how to organize their lives. Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok looks at those changes for Time. Individualism and self-love are some of the new features. “When traditional markers of success like marriage and homeownership become structurally inaccessible for many, young people are forced to redefine what a ‘good life’ means,” Dudarenok says.
Time:
The mentality is just one example of how young people in China are reacting and adapting to a fast-changing and often atomizing urban society. Ashley Dudarenok, who runs a China- and Hong Kong-based consumer research consultancy, tells TIME that these trends among China’s Gen Z are a “rational response” to a hyper-competitive job market, stagnant wages, and rising costs of living.
“When traditional markers of success like marriage and homeownership become structurally inaccessible for many, young people are forced to redefine what a ‘good life’ means,” Dudarenok says. “If they cannot afford a house, they can at least afford to treat themselves to a nice meal or a Pop Mart toy that brings them joy.”…
“Rapid urbanization and the rise of the digital economy have created a new social landscape,” says Dudarenok. The Chinese government has taken steps to regulate AI companions amid global concern over AI-fueled psychotic delusions and self-harm. The move, Dudarenok adds, is “recognition that these new forms of companionship and social interaction are becoming a permanent feature of Chinese society.”…
The individualism taking form among Chinese youth is different from the “rugged, self-reliant individualism often associated with the West,” Dudarenok says. “Chinese youth are not necessarily breaking from their families or culture,” but “they are carving out more space for personal expression and emotional needs within those structures.”
Leading AI expert Alvin Wang Graylin, on the road to the World Economic Forum in Davos, discusses how China will be one of the AI dark horses to watch in 2026, as he tells at the Big Bang Tech Report. He points at Minimax, Moonshot, and Z.AI, and also on the hardware side, Huawei, he adds.
On January 19, the Hurun Research Institute released the ‘2025 Hurun China Top 50 Artificial Intelligence Enterprises’ report, showing a firm rise for the country’s AI companies, including Cambricon Technologies, Moore Threads, and Muxi. Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Research Officer of Hurun Report, points at the US export controls as the main reason for the change, according to Futubill.
Futubill:
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Research Officer of Hurun Report, said: ‘The number of AI chip companies on the list has significantly increased this year, with 14 companies making the list, nine more than last year. The top three companies on the list are all related to AI chips. The core reason is the continuous tightening of U.S. export controls on high-end AI chips, which has forced domestic acceleration of computing power autonomy. In the past two months, we have witnessed the consecutive IPOs of Moore Threads, Muxi, Biren Technology, and Tianshu Zhixin. Eighteen new companies have been added to the list, accounting for more than one-third of the total. Ten of these companies are AI chip-related, represented by the four Shanghai GPU dragons.’
The newly listed companies fall into two categories: One category includes companies whose valuations have grown to meet the listing threshold, such as Step Stars, established in April 2023, which owns the Step series of general large model matrixes and recently raised hundreds of millions of dollars in its Series B financing round. The other category consists of companies that have transformed from ‘non-AI companies’ to ‘AI companies,’ such as Xinyuan Co., Ltd., ranked in the top ten of the list. In the first three quarters of 2025, GPU, NPU, and VPU, which belong to AI chips, accounted for 70% of the company’s core IP business revenue. In terms of chip design, revenues related to AI computing power accounted for about 73% of the company’s design business income in the first three quarters.
Heytea started in 2012 as a premium tea brand, but it has since become entangled in the China tea wars, following a trend to go cheap. Consumer experts Ashley Dudarenok and Arnold Ma are two of a range of experts figuring out whether Heytea can survive in Campaign Asia. will international growth offset China’s quality challenges?
Campaign Asia:
Heytea helped define China’s modern tea boom. Launched from an alleyway stall in 2012, the brand popularised cheese tea and built a reputation for design-led, real-ingredient drinks that reset expectations in a crowded category. By 2025, it had grown to more than 4,000 stores across eight countries. Once positioned as a premium tea brand, Heytea turned to franchising and price cuts to chase mass-market growth, only to face quality control issues and oversaturation complaints from netizens about inconsistent stores clustered too closely together. Last year’s pivot saw Heytea issue two internal letters rejecting the ‘numbers game’ and ‘involution’ (内卷), competition for competition’s sake, urging a return to user focus and brand differentiation. Despite this, the brand launched Heytea Mini, a lower-priced sub-brand, while accelerating global expansion with 100+ stores across Asia, Europe, and North America, tailoring drinks for local palates. Campaign Asia-Pacific asked four experts whether Heytea can balance accessibility and premium positioning amid domestic pressures and price wars. And will international growth offset China’s quality challenges?
Ashley Dudarenok, founder & managing director Chozan: Heytea fell into the classic premium trap, building a killer ‘Starbucks of tea’ image, then slashing prices to battle low-cost rivals like Mixue amid economic squeeze, diluting their credential. Their anti-involution U-turn is the real story, publicly halting price wars and reinvesting in high-concept stores, genuine innovation like health-focused teas, and savvy cultural collabs to reclaim premium status. Global expansion isn’t a quick China fix but a smart halo play. Flagships in New York or Tokyo boost domestic prestige, reinforcing aspirational appeal back home without relying on short-term revenue offsets. Success hinges on three disciplined moves: elevating in-store experiences as destinations again, driving truly differentiated products, and building cultural capital that outshines gimmicks.
Arnold Ma, CEO/founder Qumin: The topic of ‘Heytea bids farewell to 30 yuan’ even became a trending topic, firing the first shot in the price war of the new tea beverage industry. The entire industry followed suit, with Nayuki, Chabaidao, and Hushang Ayi all offering increasingly lower prices. Heytea’s current reset suggests the brand recognises a hard truth: premium perception in China is fragile, but not permanently lost. Chinese consumers are pragmatic rather than sentimental. They will forgive strategic mistakes if quality, consistency, and intent are visibly corrected. Heytea’s earlier price cuts eroded its craft cred, store consistency and user focus, and its current anti-involution stance is damage control. To rebuild domestically and globally, it needs tighter store planning for better economics, reposition “accessible” as smart value through proven craftsmanship, and lead culturally via aesthetics and storytelling rather than gimmicks. Global expansion offers breathing room with less saturation, but won’t quickly offset China losses amid mid-tier rivals, spending fatigue and execution risks.
Stagnation is one of China’s economic key issues, but most China experts miss what is really going on because they left the country a decade ago, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein to Glenn Diesen, author of “The Split: Finding the Opportunities in China’s Economy in the New World Order”. Unlike the previous financial crisis, the Chinese are sitting on a load of money and they are not in panic, but also do not spend their resources.
While there has been a shift in language on domestic consumption at the recent China’s annual Central Economic Work Conference, leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, does not see a change in policies for China’s economy in 2026 toward supporting the sluggish domestic consumption, he says at a debate at the Asia Society.
Returns on China’s stock markets have been great, but that reflects only marginally on the consumer market, warns Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein at CNBC. Only six percent of Chinese citizens hold equity, unlike, for example, the US, he says. 90 Percent is still trading down and not spending more on luxury goods, he adds.
, does not see a change in policies for China’s economy in 2026 toward supporting the sluggish domestic consumption, he says at a debate at the Asia Society.