For some China retailers, US still offers path to profit, one toy or tea order at a time
On a recent Sunday afternoon in lower Manhattan, a small shop inside the Oculus, a soaring curvilinear mall at the World Trade Center, stands out for the bustling crowd thronging its space.
'We're out of stock,' more than one employee can be heard telling customers.
This is not one of New York's many top-brand boutiques but Pop Mart, a Chinese designer toy brand that has become a sensation in the United States.
Its signature 'blind box', containing collectable figurines revealed only when the box is opened, runs for a mere US$20.
In a sign of the buzz around Pop Mart, Xie Feng, Beijing's ambassador to Washington, recently cited one of its offerings, Labubu, as an example of a Chinese brand touching American consumers' hearts.
During remarks at a US-China Business Council event in Washington in June, Xie mentioned the toy in the same breath as
DeepSeek , the Chinese AI firm that took its burgeoning industry by surprise earlier this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
29 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump's Golden Dome: will the numbers add up to deter China in the Indo-Pacific?
America's view of China as a 'pacing threat' has shaped its defence priorities as the military seeks to maintain an edge over a rapidly modernising PLA. In the first of a three-part series on how US budget tensions will affect efforts to deter China, we look at the Golden Dome missile defence system. Advertisement China's expanding military footprint in the Indo-Pacific is now a focus of America's defence strategy, with a renewed emphasis on space-based capabilities since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Central to this is Trump's ambitious bid to revamp the US Space Force and create a 'next generation' missile defence system – the so-called Golden Dome Analysts say that if it gets built, the multibillion-dollar shield could bolster the US' capacity to protect itself from long-range missiles while also deterring China's military in the Indo-Pacific region, including in the event of a conflict near the Taiwan Strait. But questions remain over the feasibility and cost of the project, which would rely on a network of satellites and space-based sensors to intercept missiles. 'Signal to China' The project was announced days after Trump was inaugurated in January, when he issued an executive order calling for an 'Iron Dome for America' – borrowing the name of Israel's vaunted missile defence system.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Elon Musk renews criticism of Trump spending bill, calls for new political party
Billionaire Elon Musk reiterated his criticism of US President Donald Trump's spending legislation on Monday, arguing that it underscores the need for a new political party. The Tesla chief slammed the 'insane spending' of the bill, particularly the measure that increases the debt ceiling by US$5 trillion. 'It is obvious … that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,' Musk wrote on X. Musk has repeatedly expressed frustration with what he sees as bipartisan indifference to ballooning government debt. Earlier this month, he publicly clashed with Trump over the bill before backtracking later. The bitter public feud has led to volatility for Tesla, with shares of the company seeing wild price swings that erased around US$150 billion of its market value, though it has since recovered.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
EU and Canada back down on US trade amid Trump strong-arm tactics: report
US President Donald Trump 's strong-arm tactics against American trading partners appeared to bear some fruit on Monday following reports that the European Union was willing to pay 10 per cent higher levies on many of its exports, after another climbdown by Canada on Sunday. In considering the 10 per cent increase, however, the 27-member EU wanted a US commitment to reduce tariffs in return affecting pharmaceuticals , alcohol, semiconductors and c ommercial aircraft , Bloomberg reported on Monday. Brussels was also pushing Washington to effectively ease sectoral US tariffs of 25 per cent import taxes on cars and car parts and 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, Bloomberg added, citing people familiar with the matter. The apparent concession by the EU follows a decision by Canada to drop a 3 per cent digital services tax that the US president did not like. This came after Trump announced on social media on Friday that 'we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately'. Play The administration had added that it would decide without any consultation with Ottawa what forthcoming US tariff levels Canada would face.
