The latest marketing news from China
10 Key Marketing Developments in China (May 2026)
China’s marketing space moves fast. Here are ten things worth paying attention to right now:
- Baidu’s Advertising Recovery Signals Market Upturn
Baidu reported a 3% year-on-year revenue increase for Q1 2025, reaching ¥32.45 billion ($4.5 billion). This shows real momentum in China’s digital advertising sector, driven by better business confidence and higher consumer activity. - NVIDIA Adapts to U.S. Export Curbs with Custom Chips
NVIDIA’s China market share dropped from 95% to 50% after U.S. restrictions. The company responded by developing a new Blackwell architecture-based chip for Chinese clients. CEO Jensen Huang called the export controls a “failure” but confirmed China remains central to global AI development. - Private Sector Gets Legal Backing
China’s Private Sector Promotion Law took effect, giving private companies legal protection for fair competition, innovation, and market access. Private enterprises account for 60% of GDP, 70% of tech innovation, and 80% of employment. Small-cap tech stocks responded positively on the day of implementation. - CATL’s Hong Kong IPO
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) saw shares rise 16% on its Hong Kong debut, raising HK$35.7 billion ($4.55 billion). Funds go toward expanding battery production in Hungary to meet European EV demand. - Temu and Shein Face EU Parcel Duties
Chinese e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein are dealing with new EU tariffs on low-value parcels, with a proposed €2 fee per shipment under €159. Similar measures already apply in the U.S., putting pressure on their cost-driven growth model in Western markets. - 3SBio and Pfizer Cancer Drug Partnership
Hong Kong-listed 3SBio secured a $100 million equity investment in partnership with Pfizer. The deal marks a significant moment for China’s biopharma sector and shows real global confidence in domestic pharmaceutical innovation. - Bilibili’s Mobile Gaming Revenue Jumps
Bilibili reported a 76% jump in mobile gaming revenue to ¥1.73 billion ($239 million) in Q1 2025. Users now spend an average of 108 minutes per day on the platform, driven by youth-focused content. - China-Latin America Trade at Record Levels
Bilateral trade between China and Latin America hit $518.47 billion in 2024, boosted by BRI infrastructure projects and trade agreements. BYD and COSCO Shipping are expanding across renewable energy, mining, and agriculture in the region. - PBOC Cuts Rates
China cut its one-year loan prime rate to 3% and the five-year rate to 3.5%, the first cuts since October 2024. Deposit rates were also lowered to encourage consumer spending and corporate borrowing. - Tech Zones Post Strong Growth
Advanced technology hubs, which host 70% of China’s innovation centers, grew output by 7.1% year-on-year in Q1 2025. Focus areas include AI prototypes and brain-computer interface chips.
Louis Vuitton Picks TNT as Brand Ambassador
Louis Vuitton named TNT (Teens in Times), a group of seven Chinese boys aged 16 to 20, as brand ambassadors. The campaign video came out ahead of the spring 2023 men’s fashion show. This was the house’s first major ambassador move since the death of Virgil Abloh. The group was launched in 2019 and each member has between 14 and 20 million Weibo followers.
The campaign generated over 2.7 million views, and the Weibo livestream of the Spring 2023 show attracted 52 million viewers in a single day. Louis Vuitton had been looking for a new Chinese face since the Kris Wu controversy in 2021, and the TNT partnership confirmed the brand’s continued commitment to the Chinese market.
First Aid Beauty Taps “Sisters Who Make Waves”
First Aid Beauty, a Procter & Gamble skincare brand, announced Taiwanese singer Cyndi Wang as ambassador in June. Wang was one of the most popular stars of the early 2010s and was competing in the third season of “Sisters Who Make Waves” at the time. The brand added free gifts on WeChat and in its JD.com flagship.
The hashtag #FearlessI’mReady got 22 million views in one week. Not bad for a foreign skincare brand most Chinese consumers had never heard of. The campaign worked partly because of Wang’s performance on the show, and partly because the nostalgic angle connected well with millennial consumers who remembered her peak years.
Tmall Global Goes After the Skateboarding Market
Tmall Global’s “Summer Skateboard Program” launched on June 19 ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, which was delayed from 2022 by COVID. The campaign brought in 15 international skateboarding brands including Santa Cruz and Carver.
The hashtag #SummerSkateboardProgram got 3.1 million views in a week. Skateboarding is part of a broader outdoor sports wave in China’s Gen Z, alongside Frisbee, rock climbing, and cycling. Tmall reports triple-digit year-on-year growth in skateboarding equipment sales in 2022, and Xiaohongshu posts on the subject rose 312% over the same period. The Asian Games gave the category real mainstream visibility.
CTA Services: Douyin, RED, and WeChat Marketing
Staying on top of China marketing news is only useful if you can act on it. At Chinese Tourists Agency, we help brands turn these signals into campaigns that work:
- Douyin: KOL campaigns, paid video traffic, and short-form content strategies for brand discovery
- Xiaohongshu (RED): Seeding, community management, and UGC campaigns that build trust with Chinese consumers
- WeChat: Official account setup, mini-programs, and CRM tools for ongoing customer relationships
If something in this news round-up is relevant to your business, contact us and we can talk through what it means for your China strategy.
Pedro Wang is the founder of Chinese Tourists Agency, a Chinese digital marketing agency based in Shanghai. He follows China’s marketing developments closely and advises international brands on entering and growing in the Chinese market.
