
ByteDance launched Doubao 2.0 just before the Chinese New Year, reaching roughly 155 million weekly active users and touting a pro version that rivals Western models at a tenth of the cost. Alibaba countered with a 3 billion‑yuan voucher campaign tied to its Qwen app, spiking daily active users from 7 million to 58 million and unveiling Qwen 3.5 with 397 billion parameters and support for 201 languages. Both firms are exploiting the holiday’s digital vacuum to accelerate AI adoption, while investing heavily in infrastructure—ByteDance alone plans over 160 billion yuan this year.

The episode examines how China’s historic social contract—economic prosperity and stability in exchange for political passivity—has begun to unravel, especially as the middle class faces a real‑estate crisis and young graduates confront stagnant wages. It links the ancient "Mandate of...

The episode reflects on the start of the Lunar New Year as a moment to pause and look ahead at China’s evolving role in a shifting global order. Using Wang Wei’s poem, the host argues that while major structures and...

The episode examines China's rapid expansion of the humanoid robotics industry, driven by government subsidies and venture capital, and the resulting overcapacity warning from the National Development and Reform Commission. It highlights the high costs, limited real-world demand, and technical...

The episode examines the growing divergence between China’s onshore stock markets and Hong Kong’s offshore market, arguing that this split reflects a deepening mistrust of Xi Jinping’s political control over finance. While mainland indices appear stable, the offshore market is...

The episode explains that China’s official macro debt ratio hit a record 302.3% of GDP in 2025, driven primarily by government borrowing while household and private company debt fell. It highlights the real‑estate crisis as the catalyst that halted household...