No industry is safe from Chinese Netizen’s scrutiny. Not even Formula 1. During Sunday’s Grand Prix Bottas finished 14th, ending his chances of possibly becoming world champion. Afterwards a television broadcaster asked him: “If there was one day from 2020 you could skip from your calendar would it be today?” Bottas replied: “Today, yes,” then added jokingly, “or maybe the day when someone bought a bat in Wuhan.” Following heavy criticism of Bottas’s remarks on Chinese social media, Mercedes issued a clarification from their official account on Weibo. Read on for the full story!

Following years of success attracting outbound tourist-shoppers to stores worldwide and, more recently, seeing Chinese consumers shopping locally, Canada Goose recently announced plans to double its retail footprint in China by opening four new stores in the country by March 2021 (representing 60% of its new stores globally).

Germany, long famous for its beer, sausages, soccer and sedans, is now increasingly catching the eye of young Chinese consumers seeking premium cosmetics and health products. It’s happening thanks to a new class of digitally-minded German brands establishing a strong presence in China through e-commerce, said Karl Wehner, managing director of the Germany, Austria and Switzerland markets at Alibaba Group.

Last week our very own Michael Norris moderated a panel with Pablo Mauron and Maggie Fu, where they discussed all things livestream e-commerce. Michael posted afterwards: “What struck me was there are a growing number of examples where livestreaming is used for brand-building, rather than sales channel.” At present, luxury arguably leads the way in this “brand-building first” use of livestream. Read a short summary of the discussion on Technode.

If you’re really looking to use video content to engage with audiences, you’ll need a customized approach to each platform. Each platform has its own unique user base, different content quality expectations, and in the case of Bilibili, some cultural unwritten contempt towards other platforms. If you try and cut corners with your content strategies in China, you’ll end up with a bunch of savvy netizens hating on you – and that’s not a good look.

Good news for friends and partners in Italy – top leaders are calling for closer bilateral ties, including more people-to-people exchanges and trade. SMEs in Italy who are looking to enter China can still apply for our Restart 2020 Program. Restart 2020 is a 180-day plan to stabilize and optimize your operations in China. Whatever stage your business is at, our team will work with you to set and execute against a 180-day plan. We start with a blank canvas. What 180 days looks like, and what can be achieved, is completely up to you. It could execution against a revised go-to-market strategy, a daring shake-up of distribution channels, a new product launch, a refreshed product portfolio or a thriving online community. We are a partner that can work as fast or as steady as you need. That’s an important quality in a challenging time.

It took less than a year for an obscure Italian fashion brand to win over China’s Generation Z. This video from Sixth Tone shows how China’s Gen Z came to know the infamous one-size-only-fits-small fashion label, and what it says about beauty standards in China today. Spoiler Alert: The key is Little Red Book + Influencers

A new report suggests consumer spending in China will be back on track next year. There are many positive signs that show that consumption is on the rise. Mintel, a consultancy, predicts China’s consumption is likely to climb at a compound annual growth rate of 7.3 percent from next year to 2024.