Latest news with #ChinaDaily
Mint
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Chinese customs stop travellers carrying Pop Mart's Labubu and Molly dolls at airports; here's why
As the prices of Pop Mart toys have increased with the Beijing-based retailer's global expansion, the Chinese customs authorities have repeatedly stopped suspected smugglers, reported China Daily. According to the report, the Chinese customs agents have intercepted and seized undeclared toys multiple times from passengers who reportedly seek to profit from resales. The customs agents recently confiscated as many as 318 toys from three travellers at Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Hunan province. In another case, a passenger at Hefei Xinqiao International Airport in Anhui province was caught with 94 toys. The media report claims that travellers are reportedly buying the toys overseas and bringing them back into China. Due to currency fluctuations or local discounts, Pop Mart toys are sometimes sold at lower prices offshore than in China. Currently, the firm has more than 500 stores in over 30 countries and is expanding internationally. 'To put it simply, the high price is both about hype and the effect of international popularity,' China Daily quoted Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform think tank, as saying. 'Chinese consumers and businesspeople are interested, more or less,' he added. 'Business opportunities that can promote consumption cannot be missed.' Various reports claim that a few Pop Mart stores outside China have attracted long queues, large crowds and even fights. The Pop Mart's retail chain on 19 May announced on Instagram that it would pause sales of its toy line for The Monsters at its UK stores until further notice. It cited safety concerns following chaotic scenes at some of its stores, added the report. Labubu, one of Pop Mart's famous toys, was created by Hong Kong-born designer Lung Ka-sing. It is a series of stuffed elflike monsters with furry bodies, pointed ears and sharp teeth. The company's Molly figurines, also designed by a Hong Kong artist, resemble a cartoonish young girl with emerald eyes. Both toy series were seen being carried by world-famous celebrities, such as Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink. This has given the toys extra edge over other toys and fuelled the craze for it. The report mentioned that a Molly figurine was valued at the equivalent of $208 but could be resold in China for $320. Also, once priced at 99 yuan ($13.8), a Labubu 'hidden edition' doll now sells for more than 2,000 yuan. According to Peng, efforts are required to stop people smuggling the dolls. 'Combating smuggling has always been a difficult problem, but as long as you persist, it will be effective, which can be seen in China's fight against online fraud,' Peng said. However, Hong Kong-based lawyer Joe Simone thinks otherwise and says the crackdown is unlikely to escalate. According to him, the traveller would pay a fine for inaccurately declaring merchandise, and the case would be shut. 'The authorities can only catch so much. How often does customs even look through your luggage?' he asked.
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
China may relax rare earth export curbs for some chip companies
China may relax curbs on exports of rare earths for Chinese and European semiconductor firms and other companies in their supply chain, state media said on Wednesday. In April, China put seven rare earths and related products on an export control list, forcing all exporters to apply for licences, regardless of the nationality of overseas customers. While a few licences have since been granted to exporters of rare earth magnets , used in the semiconductor, auto and defence industries, the complex licensing process can take months, and is already causing confusion at customs. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. On Wednesday, the official China Daily said China could relax the controls for the supply chains of Chinese and European semiconductor companies, citing a single source. The rare earth controls were discussed at a meeting between Chinese and European semiconductor firms hosted by China's commerce ministry on Tuesday, the paper said, where Chinese officials explained the application process. Live Events "The meeting provided European Chamber members the opportunity to express in person the urgent need to accelerate approval processes, to ensure the stability of their supply chains," said Jens Esklund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories "This is imperative, as many European production lines will come to a halt very soon due to the shortage of crucial inputs," he added in a statement to Reuters.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
China may relax rare earth export curbs for some chip companies
BEIJING (Reuters) - China may relax curbs on exports of rare earths for Chinese and European semiconductor firms and other companies in their supply chain, state media said on Wednesday. In April, China put seven rare earths and related products on an export control list, forcing all exporters to apply for licences, regardless of the nationality of overseas customers. While a few licences have since been granted to exporters of rare earth magnets, used in the semiconductor, auto and defence industries, the complex licensing process can take months, and is already causing confusion at customs. On Wednesday, the official China Daily said China could relax the controls for the supply chains of Chinese and European semiconductor companies, citing a single source. The rare earth controls were discussed at a meeting between Chinese and European semiconductor firms hosted by China's commerce ministry on Tuesday, the paper said, where Chinese officials explained the application process. "The meeting provided European Chamber members the opportunity to express in person the urgent need to accelerate approval processes, to ensure the stability of their supply chains," said Jens Esklund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. "This is imperative, as many European production lines will come to a halt very soon due to the shortage of crucial inputs," he added in a statement to Reuters.
Reuters
17 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
China may relax rare earth export curbs for some chip companies
BEIJING, May 28 (Reuters) - China may relax curbs on exports of rare earths for Chinese and European semiconductor firms and other companies in their supply chain, state media said on Wednesday. In April, China put seven rare earths and related products on an export control list, forcing all exporters to apply for licences, regardless of the nationality of overseas customers. While a few licences have since been granted to exporters of rare earth magnets, used in the semiconductor, auto and defence industries, the complex licensing process can take months, and is already causing confusion at customs. On Wednesday, the official China Daily said China could relax the controls for the supply chains of Chinese and European semiconductor companies, citing a single source. The rare earth controls were discussed at a meeting between Chinese and European semiconductor firms hosted by China's commerce ministry on Tuesday, the paper said, where Chinese officials explained the application process. "The meeting provided European Chamber members the opportunity to express in person the urgent need to accelerate approval processes, to ensure the stability of their supply chains," said Jens Esklund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. "This is imperative, as many European production lines will come to a halt very soon due to the shortage of crucial inputs," he added in a statement to Reuters.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Fakes, bots and trade jitters: The other US-China conflict
WASHINGTON, May 27 — From false claims of Americans panic-buying Chinese goods to bot-driven attacks on US brands, a tide of misinformation is casting a shadow over a temporary trade truce between Washington and Beijing. The world's two biggest economies agreed earlier this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a surprise de-escalation in their bitter trade war following high-level talks in Geneva. But an alternate reality is unfolding across social media platforms, including China's Douyin and Weibo, where a surge of falsehoods is fueling anti-American sentiment that could undermine the fragile truce. One online video, which garnered millions of views across those platforms and TikTok, claims to show panicked American shoppers snapping up Chinese-branded television sets in the aftermath of trade tensions. But in reality, that was old footage from 2018 showing Black Friday shopping frenzy at a US supermarket. The falsehood was further amplified by Chinese state media outlets, including China Daily, which ran headlines such as: 'Americans are starting to stock up like crazy amid tariffs and snapping up Chinese-branded TVs.' A news clip on its website — more recycled footage from 2018 — bears a 'file footage' watermark in the upper left corner, apparently to shield the outlet from legal liability. Other unfounded claims emerged on Chinese platforms about Americans flying to China to shop for Chinese goods, and that US citizens — reeling from the economic fallout of the trade war — were queuing up to purchase supplies in bulk. 'These narratives are almost certainly curated by the state, which has become increasingly fluent in harnessing social media,' Andrew Mertha, director of the SAIS China Global Research Center at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP. '(They) help align Chinese public opinion with governmental strategy, in this case demonstrating — albeit inaccurately, certainly prematurely — that 'the US is already feeling the pain, so China must stay the course.'' Economic jitters US President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs have sent jitters through the world economy, unnerving investors and roiling financial markets. Under the May 12 truce, the United States agreed to temporarily reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 per cent from 145 per cent, while China said it would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 per cent from 125 per cent. Some of the false narratives emerged before the agreement but have continued to spread online, fuelling confusion and a broader wave of information chaos. 'A lot of friends in China asked me: Are there no eggs in the United States? Is it very unsafe? Are people rushing to buy things? Have you stockpiled anything?' Vivian Wei, a Chicago-based content creator, told AFP. 'Some people even (suggested) not to come to the United States for tourism or study.' The rumours prompted Wei to tour several supermarkets across Chicago, only to find shelves stocked. While American shoppers seemed unfazed by the swirl of online misinformation, Wei observed that the 'Chinese were getting very excited.' 'Digital blitz' Last month, disinformation security firm Cyabra uncovered an anti-US influence campaign on the Elon Musk-owned X involving thousands of fake or bot-operated accounts. They targeted global brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Amazon, amplifying the unfounded narrative that they produced goods in China while branding them as 'Made in France' or 'Made in Italy.' The accounts blamed Trump's trade policies for enabling such deceptive marketing practices, while urging consumers to ditch those brands and purchase products directly from China. 'This was a digital blitz. A third of the accounts weren't real, but the backlash they triggered was,' Dan Brahmy, chief executive of Cyabra, told AFP. 'Fake profiles hijacked luxury brands, pushed anti-US narratives, and steered buyers away without raising suspicion. That's what makes it effective.' Last month, AFP also uncovered viral TikTok videos by Chinese content creators promoting the spurious claim that international luxury brands were secretly manufacturing their products in China. The targeted brands did not respond to the claim, which appeared to be part of a sprawling campaign exploiting US-China trade tensions to market counterfeit luxury goods. The false narratives are unlikely to fade as trade negotiations continue, experts say. 'I believe these narratives will continue and will evolve in parallel with strengthening the Chinese government's negotiating position,' said Mertha from Johns Hopkins University. — AFP
