What AI model should your company adopt in 2026, Deepseek or Claude – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Innovation expert Ashley Dudarenok compares at her weblog Chozan two AI models your company can pick from in 2026. “DeepSeek vs Claude is not a comparison of two AI tools. It reflects two fundamentally different ways of deploying intelligence inside an organization,” she writes.

Ashley Dudarenok:

DeepSeek vs Claude is not a comparison of two AI tools. It reflects two fundamentally different ways of deploying intelligence inside an organization.

In 2026, the critical question is no longer which model performs better. It is how AI is integrated, scaled, and governed across real systems. DeepSeek and Claude represent opposite answers to that question.

McKinsey reports that 88% of companies now use AI in at least one business function, but only about one-third have actually scaled it across the organization. That gap—between using AI and scaling it—is exactly where the difference between DeepSeek and Anthropic shows up.

DeepSeek treats AI as a cost-efficient, flexible infrastructure layer that companies can shape and deploy internally. Claude treats AI as a controlled, enterprise-ready system designed for reliability and structured execution.

This distinction matters because companies are no longer experimenting with AI. They are deciding how deeply it should be embedded into operations, and that decision requires choosing an architecture, not just a model.

More at Chozan.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Deepseek vs Gemini – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Innovation expert Ashley Dudarenok looks at her website ChoZan into the differences between the two leading AI companies, Deepseek and Gemini. In detail, she examines where both companies work best, as they differ profoundly.

Ashley Dudarenok:

At a surface level, both models aim to compete at the frontier of AI capability. The difference shows up in how they are built and where they are meant to win.

DeepSeek stems from a Chinese engineering mindset that prioritizes efficiency and scalability in deployment. Teams behind it have roots in quantitative finance and high-performance computing. That influence shows in how aggressively they optimize for cost and inference efficiency.

Gemini, developed by Google, prioritizes differently. It is designed as a deeply integrated intelligence layer across products like Google Search, Gmail, and Google Workspace. The goal is not just performance but ecosystem dominance.

This creates a practical divide. DeepSeek vs. Gemini is not a purely model-based comparison. It is a comparison between an efficiency-first challenger and an ecosystem-first incumbent. A similar divide appears in DeepSeek vs ChatGPT when deployment model and control are compared directly.

More at ChoZan.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How Trump played poker in Beijing, where the game was Pokemon – Victor Shih

 

Victor Shih

Political analyst Victor Shih, director of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy,  looks at the Trump state visit in Beijing. While Trump was losing his poker game, he should have been playing Pokémon, he explains in the Wire China.

Victor Shih:

It is not entirely wrong to think of Great Power politics as a card game, as Trump at times does. However, it is not a poker game, where hands are dealt randomly, and players both try to read the cards held by other players and, at times, bluff their way to victory.

The card game of geopolitics is in fact more akin to the Pokemon card game, where players still need to guess or collect intelligence on a competitor’s hand, but have much more discretion than in poker to expend resources and make tradeoffs in order to build the best position they can relative to their competitors.

The evidence on display in Beijing last week was that China has done this expertly — while the Trump administration still needs to realize that they are not even playing the right card game.

More at the Wire China.

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How China won the Trump visit in Beijing – Shaun Rein

 

Shaun Rein

Business analyst Shaun Rein looks back at the Trump visit in Beijing and explains why China has been the winner of this historic get-together, he tells George Galloway. He explains why China will never buy US technology anymore

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Trump has no credibility in Beijing – Shaun Rein

 

Shaun Rein

Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein explains at CNBC why we cannot expect too much from the ongoing meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Trump has no credibility at all in Beijing, he says.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

What Western e-commerce can learn from China – Bjorn Ognibeni

 

Bjorn Ognibeni

Practical visionair and ChinaBriefs author Bjorn Ognibeni speaks at the E-commerce expo 2026 in Berlin about what Western e-commerce companies can learn from China. While Silicon Valley perfects Agentic AI demos, Chinese platforms are already deploying AI at scale – and making money doing it, he tells his audience

Bjorn Ognibeni is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

EV showrooms give way to emotional value – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

China’s shopping malls illustrate a profound change in consumer sentiment as EV showrooms are replaced by new features giving way to emotional value, says consumer expert Ashley Dudarenok in the Jing Daily.

Ashley Dudarenok:

When an EV showroom closes, it is increasingly being replaced by a brand selling something entirely intangible: emotional value.

Pop Mart, the Beijing-based designer toy maker, is aggressively expanding its physical footprint, moving from automated vending machines and small kiosks into massive, experiential ground-floor flagships. The financial backing for this expansion is staggering. In late March 2026, Pop Mart reported that its full-year 2025 revenue had surged by nearly 185% to RMB 37.1 billion ($5.4 billion), driven largely by the global phenomenon of its Labubu character series.

More at the Jing Daily.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more consumer experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

China tries to close Singapore route for AI developments – Winston Ma

 

Winston ma

China is trying to close a route for Chinese companies to work through Singapore to collaborate with the US, says political analyst Winston Ma, author of The Digital War: How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace, to Newsweek. By banning Meta from purchasing AI startup Manus, China wants to avoid national security issues on AI and other Chinese innovations, he adds.

Newsweek:

The exit bans send a message—that any AI company founded in China, with business operations still in the country, are likewise reachable by Beijing, Ke Yan, head of Singapore’s DZT Research, told Newsweek.

Beijing’s regulators then treat the deal as a technology export, arguing that the team, model weights, and training data were developed in China, regardless of where the company is legally based.

“Once they were physically in China, Singapore’s corporate domicile became irrelevant,” he said.

Beijing is most concerned on whether strategically sensitive technologies developed in China—and the talent and data behind them—continue to be transferred offshore through corporate restructuring in Singapore, Winston Ma, New York University law school adjunct professor and the author of The Digital War, told Newsweek.

The Chinese authorities have made clear this “Singapore washing” will not automatically insulate any deal from government oversight, Ma stated.

“The real challenge is defining what counts as ‘strategic’ in a fast-moving AI landscape—much like how TikTok’s seemingly goofy videos initially appeared far removed from national security concerns—until their underlying data and algorithmic power came into sharper focus.”

More at Newsweek.

Winston Ma is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

The differences between Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

China’s leading e-commerce firm, Alibaba, runs two different retail platforms. Consumer expert Ashley Dudarenok explains on her website how both platforms, while owned by the same company, differ profoundly in their approaches.

Ashley Dudarenok:

Tmall vs Taobao describes the two primary retail platforms inside Alibaba’s ecommerce ecosystem. Taobao operates as a discovery marketplace where consumers explore products and compare sellers. Tmall functions as a brand-controlled retail platform where verified flagship stores convert that discovery into trusted purchases.

Search interest around Tmall vs Taobao often assumes the two platforms compete for the same role inside China’s e-commerce market. In reality, Alibaba structured them as complementary layers within a unified commerce system.

Much more at Ashley Dudarenok’s website.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more consumer experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Pleas

China’s landmark decision on blocking Meta’s 2bn Manus purchase – Winston Ma

 

Winston Ma

China’s financial authorities shocked the financial world by blocking a 2 billion dollar deal by Meta to purchase AI startup Manus. Financial expert Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University, explains at CNBC how unwinding a done deal might be a landmark decision for China, but in no way exceptional, as the US has a longstanding practice of cancelling deals for national security reasons.

Winston Ma is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more financial experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How brands use social platforms for their sales – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Branding expert Ashley Dudarenok uses Alibaba’s Tmall as an example for brands that successfully use e-commerce to generate sales, she explains on her website  ‘Social platforms generate interest. The Tmall platform converts that interest into purchases through brand-controlled retail infrastructure,” she writes.

Ashley Dudarenok:

China’s e-commerce environment has changed rapidly in recent years. Product discovery now happens widely on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and other content platforms where creators influence demand, reflecting the rapid rise of social commerce in China. When consumers reach the purchase stage, many still complete the transaction on Tmall China.

The platform provides a structured retail environment where brands operate verified stores, manage promotions, and control the final transaction experience. This structure explains why Tmall ecommerce remains central to brand strategy in 2026.

Social platforms generate interest. The Tmall platform converts that interest into purchases through brand-controlled retail infrastructure.

More at Ashley’s website.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more branding experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

US-China balance on the edge – Kaiser Kuo

 

Kaiser Kuo (right)

China veteran and Sinica podcast host Kaiser Kuo discusses at the Asia Society in Hong Kong the balance in the relationship between China and the US. Ying Chan interviews him.

 Kaiser Kuo is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form,

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How China feels the fallout of the Iran war – Shaun Rein

 

Shaun Rein

China was pretty well off in the first month of the Iran war, but its economy is now feeling the backlash that other economies already felt earlier because of the lack of energy, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein at the Thinkers’ Forum. Now the global economy is going to hit a wall, he adds.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more strategic experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

What is RedNote, Xiaohongshu – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok dives on het weblog into the successful Chinese platform Xiaohongshu, outside China also known as the Little Red Book or RedNote. Now that the platform is expanding beyond China and Chinese travellers, the world is taking note of this feature.

Ashley Dudarenok:

When people search what is RedNote, they are often trying to understand why this platform appears so often in discussions about China’s consumer trends. RedNote refers to a lifestyle community where millions of users document their real experiences with products, routines, travel, and everyday purchases. These posts create a large archive of practical reviews that readers explore before deciding what to buy.

Interest in RedNote expanded beyond China in early 2025, when the platform saw a surge in international attention. During the period when a potential TikTok ban in the United States was widely discussed, the platform reportedly added nearly 3.4 million new US users in a single day and more than 700,000 people within 48 hours, according to Reuters.

This sudden influx introduced the Xiaohongshu ecosystem to a broader global audience and helped establish RedNote as the international reference point in media discussions about the platform.

This article explains how RedNote evolved into a trusted research space within China’s digital commerce ecosystem. It examines how notes guide product discovery, how user experiences influence purchasing confidence, and why the platform plays a distinctive role in China’s social commerce landscape.

More at the RedNote.

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more stories by Ashley Dudarenok? Do check out this list.

How sustainability takes over consumers in China – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

While spending of China’s consumers is still tight, some issues like sustainability make a difference in retail, says consumer expert Ashley Dudarenok in ChoZan. She explains why green should also be practical for them.

Ashley Dudarenok:

Sustainable retail in China is entering a more commercially serious stage. In ChoZan’s Top 12 China Consumer Trends in 2026 report, practical green purchasing appears as a mainstream consumer shift, not a niche lifestyle choice.

The key insight is simple. Chinese consumers increasingly care about sustainability, yet they still judge green products through the same filters they apply to any other purchase: value for money, quality, safety, convenience, and proof.

That matters because many brands still speak about sustainability in broad, abstract terms. Chinese consumers are asking a more grounded question. Does this product reduce waste, lower running costs, feel safer, or make daily life simpler?

When the answer is clear, adoption can move fast. When the answer is vague, shoppers move on.

Younger shoppers are helping push this change into the mainstream. They are more likely to look for recyclable materials, lower waste packaging, and products that align with a more responsible lifestyle.

At the same time, they are highly selective. They expect green claims to stand up to scrutiny, and they are quick to punish brands that charge more without offering a clear reason.

For retail leaders, that means sustainable practices in retail cannot sit in a side campaign. They need to show up in core product choices, packaging, sourcing, and channel design.

Much more at ChoZan

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more consumer experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

China is five years ahead of us – Bjorn Ognibeni

 

Bjorn Ognibeni

How far is China ahead of the Western world? Bjorn Ognibeni advised German companies over the past twenty years on their China policies and looks into this question at the Evolve Commerce Club.

Bjorn Ognibeni is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

What is Bytedance’ Doubao AI? – Ashley Dudarenok

 

Ashley Dudarenok

Innovation expert Ashley Dudarenok dives into Doubao AI, one of the main contenders in China’s AI race for ChoZan. “ByteDance integrates the assistant into its social, cloud, and hardware ecosystems,” she writes.

Ashley Dudarenok:

Doubao AI has become a central figure in China’s generative AI race. Developed by ByteDance, the company behind TikTok and Douyin, it was launched in August 2023 and quickly rose to prominence. By early 2026, it had over 155 million weekly active users, more than any other AI chatbot in China.

During the Lunar New Year holiday in February 2026, the app’s daily active users surpassed 100 million. This surge was driven by a partnership with the Spring Festival Gala, during which the assistant handled 1.9 billion queries in a single evening. These numbers place Doubao AI among the world’s largest generative AI platforms.

Many international observers still ask what Doubao is and what its meaning is in the AI ecosystem. In simple terms, Doubao AI is ByteDance’s generative AI assistant and model platform designed to power chat, automation, and multimodal applications across consumer and enterprise environments.

To understand why it is so influential, one must look beyond the simple idea of a chatbot and consider how ByteDance operates within the ecosystem of Chinese social media platforms, where content, discovery, and digital services intersect.

ByteDance integrates the assistant into its social, cloud, and hardware ecosystems. This article explores what Doubao AI is, how its technology works, its capabilities, how it compares with global peers, and how businesses can evaluate its relevance in 2026.

Much more at ChoZan

Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.