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There is big news in the micro-business circle recently: TST, the largest micro-business in China, was announced by the Shijiazhuang Industrial and Commercial Bureau, saying that a hearing will be held on whether TST is a pyramid scheme, and Zhang Ting and her husband have already been named.

Gong Wenxiang, a well-known self-media person, commented: TST is the largest micro-business in China. I know it very well because I have opened a forum with 3,000 people for 8 consecutive years. The Chinese micro-business rankings published every year always rank TST as the number one in China, even though he never sends anyone here. TST has a total of 3 million agents, and its annual turnover can indeed reach 30 billion. Moreover, it pays 2.1 billion in taxes every year. The amount of taxes paid in Shanghai is second only to SF Express. That's how powerful it is. But now the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has entrusted the Shijiazhuang Taxation Bureau to investigate him.

Gong Wenxiang’s judgment is: Shijiazhuang Industrial and Commercial Bureau should still recognize TST as a pyramid scheme and impose a fine of 10 billion yuan.

On November 8, TST Zhang Ting said: Wait for a fair ruling and believe in the motherland. Zhang Ting forwarded her lawyer's Weibo, mainly stating: 1. The whistleblower is not from Shijiazhuang, and the Shijiazhuang Market Supervision and Administration Bureau has no jurisdiction. 2. The electronic version of the reporting materials does not meet the legal evidence requirements.

The most important thing is: Thousands of comments are from tst agent, supporting her.

This year TST went to Malaysia and shouted "I am resurrected". Although they have just come to Malaysia, the Zhang Ting couple who have "opened up the world" obviously have a greater appetite. Lin Ruiyang said directly: "I want to put my heart in ASEAN", and even falsely claimed that people can "do 1.3 billion yuan a year."

In 2017, Lin Ruiyang looked forward to the company's future at the TST Micro-Business Conference: "There are 400 million young and middle-aged women in China. Each micro-business agent can survive by developing 8 customers. So for women alone, China can have 50 million micro-business agents, and we only have 920,000 now."

It is understood that there are 5 core whistleblowers in "TST Court Secrets". Among these 5 whistleblowers, Ms. Li is the core whistleblower. Ms. Li's husband, Zhu, was once an agent for the brand "TST Court Secret". He was sentenced to 7 years in prison for a criminal case involving "TST Court Secret". The people who caused him to be imprisoned were Zhang Ting and his wife.

Let's just say that it seems that this matter is still quite complicated. Since the husband of the reporter is one of Zhang Ting's franchisees and was sentenced to seven years for making a mistake, it seems that the reporter's behavior is understandable. After all, his family has been affected. The key to the problem now is whether it has a direct relationship with Zhang Ting's company…

On November 8, 2022, the entry #张婷婷婷与狠狠狠的LPHearing Ended# rushed to the hot search list. Just a few days ago, the news of the hearing was also on the Weibo hot search list. Lawyers who participated in the hearing said that during the final statement, the case handlers insisted that it constituted a pyramid scheme, while Zhang Tingfang’s attorney believed that it did not constitute a pyramid scheme and suggested that the case be withdrawn. Later, Zhang Ting posted on Weibo: I am waiting for a fair verdict and believe in the motherland.

With the rapid development of the digital economy and the increasing demand for digital financial services, the global monetary and financial system has entered the era of digital transformation, and many economies’ central banks have pressed the fast forward button on the development of digital currencies. A research report on the development of global central bank digital currency recently released by the Atlantic Council, an American think tank, shows that 105 countries and regions are currently exploring and researching central bank digital currency, of which about 50 countries and regions have entered advanced stages of development, piloting, and issuance.

Accelerate R&D pilot projects

In recent years, central banks in various economies have stepped up research and development and pilot projects on digital currencies. The latest round of central bank digital currency survey released by the Bank for International Settlements in May this year showed that of the 81 central banks participating in the survey, 90% were conducting research related to digital currency, and 62% were conducting relevant experiments or proof-of-concepts.

During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the digital RMB pilot program covered more than 400,000 scenes and became a highlight at the international event. Konstantin Ordov, director of the Financial Markets Teaching and Research Office at Russia's Plekhanov University of Economics, said that through testing during the Beijing Winter Olympics, the digital renminbi will have more complete functions and better performance, and will become a digital currency with broad prospects around the world. According to data from the People's Bank of China, as of May 31 this year, the cumulative number of digital renminbi transactions in pilot areas in 15 provinces was approximately 264 million, with an amount of approximately 83 billion yuan, and the number of merchant stores supporting digital renminbi payment reached 4.567 million.

In the Caribbean, in October 2020, The Bahamas became the first in the world to launch a central bank digital currency. In March last year, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launched the digital currency "DCash", making the Eastern Caribbean Monetary Union the first currency union in the world to use a central bank digital currency. Recently, Jamaica also passed legislation authorizing its central bank to issue digital currency.

In Africa, Nigeria officially launched the digital currency "e Naira" in October last year. Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said that the government’s launch of digital currency is to supplement and strengthen the country’s payment ecology and financial structure under the new situation and maintain the integrity and stability of the payment system. At the same time, South Africa’s digital currency is in the testing phase, and countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, and Kenya have also begun to study and formulate regulatory policies and implementation strategies for central bank digital currencies.

In Europe, the Bank for International Settlements, the Swiss and French central banks jointly announced the completion of a test project in December last year, confirming that central bank digital currencies can be effectively used for international settlements between financial institutions. In July 2021, the European Central Bank launched the digital euro project and launched a two-year related investigation and research, aiming to solve key issues such as the design and issuance of the digital euro. European Central Bank Executive Board member Panetta recently said that the formal development of the digital euro may start at the end of next year and will take about three years to complete. Tristan Disox, a professor at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, believes that the development of the digital euro will help the euro area cope with the challenges of digital transformation, ensure that the euro area can better adapt to changes in the external financial environment, and seize a leading position in the global electronic payment field.

Promising development prospects

A report released by management consulting firm McKinsey last year showed that the macro benefits of central bank digital currencies are mainly reflected in four major dimensions, namely reducing the cost of providing cash, improving the inclusiveness of financial activities, reducing the dangers of private sector digital currencies, and strengthening the transmission of monetary policy. Analysts generally believe that central bank digital currency has many advantages and will inject new vitality into the global monetary and financial system.

Sarah Allen, an expert on European digital currencies, said that by issuing digital currencies, central banks can build more efficient and compatible financial markets and make monetary policy transmission more precise. The transparency and other characteristics of central bank digital currencies will also enable policymakers to gain a more macroscopic perspective on the global economy. Igor Pakic, an expert in the field of European digital finance, believes that digital currency can help enhance financial inclusion and inclusiveness. "People can receive, store or trade digital currencies more conveniently. For areas with underdeveloped traditional financial infrastructure, the significance of central bank digital currencies is even more prominent. It will also help to significantly improve payment efficiency, especially cross-border payments."

Senegalese economist Samba analyzed that the popularity of the Internet and smartphones has made more and more African governments and people aware of the possibility of leapfrog development of inclusive finance. Mobile payment methods in many places in East Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa have become relatively mature. The Central Bank of Kenya stated that the introduction of central bank digital currency is mainly to reduce costs, improve interconnection and strengthen cross-border payments.

Colombian economist Alfonso is very optimistic about the development prospects of central bank digital currencies in Latin America. "The development of cross-border digital payments will help drive economic recovery and growth in Latin America. Especially when natural disasters occur, the advantages of digital infrastructure are highlighted and can enhance the resilience of payment methods."

Fully unleash your potential

“Digital currencies will greatly promote the modernization of the international monetary landscape.” PwC said in a report that as digital currencies are integrated and developed in payment and financial infrastructure, they will create numerous opportunities for the further digitization of enterprises and financial institutions.

Disox believes that in the future digital economic environment, capital flows need to be seamlessly connected between banks, enterprises, individuals and machines. The central bank's digital currency will synchronize future capital flows and services, so currency digitization is the future development trend.

Regarding the development direction of digital currencies of African central banks, Samba said that many African governments have seen the technical advantages of digital currencies in saving transaction costs, increasing taxes, and combating corruption. What they need to do now is to "legalize" digital currencies, that is, to collect the "minting rights" of digital currencies in the form of issuance by national central banks, and to avoid as much as possible the excessive scale of some private cryptocurrencies that will bring instability to their own economies.

Fitch, an international credit rating agency, pointed out in a report that the development of financial markets in Latin America has a clear agenda, which is to accelerate the provision of financial services to underserved and unbanked populations. For example, when the Central Bank of the Bahamas issued a digital currency, it made it clear that its goals were to improve payment efficiency and security, reduce financial service costs, strengthen financial service inclusion, and control money laundering, counterfeit currency, and other cash fraud.

The World Economic Forum pointed out that in order to fully unleash the potential of digital currency, the advancement of payment technology needs to go hand in hand with the digitization of trade. John Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas, said that The Bahamas will share experiences and learn from each other in digital currencies with other Latin American countries. "The development prospects of digital currency in this region are exciting. Potential technical cooperation may give birth to a new regional payment platform, thereby promoting the development of economic and trade within the region." (Reporter Yu Yichun, Zou Song, Zheng Bin, Bi Mengying)

Tan Haojun

The so-called pyramid scheme refers to the behavior of illegally obtaining wealth by developing people or requiring people to be developed to obtain membership qualifications on the condition of paying a certain fee. The essence of MLM is a "Ponzi scheme", which uses the money of latecomers to give to those who came before. In the end, the scam becomes bigger and bigger, and the holes become bigger and bigger.

Traditional MLM methods not only require participants to pay a certain fee, but in many cases also restrict personal freedom, confiscate ID cards, mobile phones, and attend group classes. The new MLM method is much more relaxed and does not require as many personal restrictions as traditional MLM. Instead, it uses capital operation as an excuse to attract people to defraud money, allowing participants to recruit relatives and friends to join the group, and in the end everyone loses everything.

Previously, a private anti-pyramid scheme team issued an article saying that after receiving a response from the Shijiazhuang City Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau’s verification letter, Shanghai Dalwei Trading Co., Ltd., a company owned by Lin Ruiyang and Zhang Ting, was investigated for suspected pyramid schemes. In response to this, "TST Court Secret" issued an article in the early morning of December 29, saying that Shanghai Dalwei is a legally operating company. Since its establishment, it has always followed government guidance, adhered to legal operations, and paid taxes in accordance with the law.

In response to TST, relevant personnel from the Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Shijiazhuang City said in an interview with the media that they had received a large number of reports from the public claiming that the "TST Court Secret" was suspected of pyramid schemes. After investigation, the Yuhua District Municipal Supervision Bureau determined that Shanghai Dalwei, the parent company of "TST Court Secret", was suspected of pyramid schemes. The reason is that Dalwei has the three characteristics of a pyramid scheme, namely the pyramid structure of recruiting people, paying entry fees and team remuneration. Relevant personnel also revealed that the case has now entered the audit stage, and the next stage involves penalty decisions and penalty amounts, which is expected to take several months.

If it is determined to be a pyramid scheme, the company will face very severe penalties. If the amount involved is too large, the relevant personnel will also be held criminally responsible. This is why it is more difficult to file a case against pyramid schemes. Because the marketing methods launched by some "smart" companies and "smart" people are somewhere between MLM and non-MLM, and are wandering on the edge of the law. How to make a reasonable and legal determination is worth pondering.

According to the information provided by the Yuhua District Market Supervision Bureau, after an inquiry into Dalwei’s bank account, it was also discovered that the company used financial institutions to set up bank accounts to transfer and hide market funds in large quantities. In order to prevent heavy losses to the country, the Yuhua District Market Supervision Bureau applied to the court to take property preservation measures in accordance with the law and froze the company's 600 million yuan in funds.

The parent company of "TST Court Secret" is Shanghai Dalwei Company. The response of "TST Court Secret" only said that Shanghai Dalwei Company is a legally operating company, and did not say whether Dalwei Company's branches are also operating legally. If Shanghai Dalwei Company operates legally and its subsidiaries are engaged in pyramid schemes, then Dalwei Company cannot escape relevant responsibilities (such as poor management, etc.). Therefore, it cannot only investigate its subsidiaries and ignore the operating conditions of the parent company.

MLM behavior is extremely harmful. If it is not controlled when it can be controlled, and investigated and banned in accordance with the law, once the bubble bursts and the capital chain is broken, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, while Dalwei Company still has financial strength, it should be investigated as soon as possible whether the company is suspected of pyramid schemes.

In response to the market supervision department's inspection of Dalwei Company, spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said that anyone doing business or starting a business in mainland China must first abide by laws and regulations. In other words, if the law is violated, no one can be spared and will be severely investigated and punished.

Comics/Chen Bin

She Yunfeng, author of Mobile Payment Network: Recently, with the steady advancement of digital renminbi, more and more application scenarios have gradually been implemented. However, with the continued advancement of digital renminbi, more and more discussions and voices have emerged.

For example, an industry insider previously stated that the current digital renminbi is not a true "renminbi", but a "token" issued by the six major banks themselves. The six major banks are equivalent to "note-issuing banks" and only implement their own policies based on the regulations of the central bank. Before the digital renminbi implements its own "legal currency" status, it can only be a "token".

Legal Basis for Digital RMB

Digital RMB is operated by designated operating agencies and redeemed by the public. It is based on a broad account system, supports the loose coupling function of bank accounts, is equivalent to banknotes and coins, has value characteristics and legal compensability, and supports controllable anonymity.

According to "China's Road to Legal Digital Currency" published by the central bank's digital currency research project team in 2016, in the early days of digital renminbi design, the central bank adhered to the idea of ​​"uniformized" management in laws and regulations and followed the idea of ​​integrated management with the traditional renminbi. However, digital renminbi is not simply the digitization of traditional renminbi. When it comes to the nature, issuance, exchange, circulation, storage, destruction, and management of digital renminbi, each link may produce legal issues or risks that are different from traditional renminbi.

Digital RMB is a legal currency in digital form issued by the People's Bank of China. This is the central bank's long-standing positioning of digital RMB.

However, currently, according to the "People's Bank of China Law" and the "RMB Management Regulations", the People's Bank of China is authorized to "issue RMB and manage the circulation of RMB" on behalf of the country and exercise currency issuance rights. Currency issued by the People's Bank of China in accordance with the law, including banknotes and coins. In other words, according to the current law, the currency form of RMB should be physical currency, with banknotes and coins as its material carriers, and does not include the issuance of intangible digital currencies.

Therefore, according to the current legal provisions, the digital renminbi also does not have legal currency status. Article 16 of the "People's Bank of China Law" and Article 3 of the "RMB Management Regulations" stipulate that "all public and private debts within the territory of the People's Republic of China must be paid in RMB, and no unit or individual may refuse to accept it." This clarifies the legal compensability of RMB.

On October 23, 2020, the central bank publicly solicited opinions from the public on the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China (Revised Draft for Comments)". The draft stipulates that RMB includes physical and digital forms, providing a legal basis for the issuance of digital RMB. After the law is successfully passed, the digital renminbi can legitimately become our country's legal currency.

Similarly, our country should also revise relevant laws and regulations such as the "RMB Management Regulations" and the "Interim Regulations on Cash Management" to improve and establish the legal status of digital renminbi.

Recently, Li Wei, deputy chairman of the National Financial Standardization Technical Committee and director of the Science and Technology Department of the People's Bank of China, published an article in the "Tsinghua Financial Review" stating that it is necessary to ensure the support and connection between digital RMB standards and relevant legal rules.

Fan Yifei, member of the Party Committee and Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, and Mu Changchun, director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, have also emphasized in public on many occasions that "digital RMB (e-CNY) is a legal currency in digital form issued by the People's Bank of China" and elaborated on the positioning of the digital RMB M0.

Therefore, the positioning of the digital RMB as a legal digital currency has not changed, and it is only a matter of time before its legal currency status is established.

Digital RMB and Linked Exchange Rate System

The statement that the digital RMB "token" and the six major banks are "note-issuing banks" may be more due to the fact that the digital RMB has some characteristics of the Hong Kong note-issuing bank model.

On December 27, 2020, Zhou Xiaochuan, former governor of the People's Bank of China, elaborated on the idea of ​​digital renminbi at the "Digital Financial Innovation and New Pattern of Economic Development" series of seminars at the Digital Finance Research Center of Peking University. He said that the digital renminbi draws on Hong Kong's banknote issuance system to a certain extent, which is the so-called "linked exchange rate system."

Hong Kong's linked exchange rate system is a currency board system. The currency board system means that the flow and stock of the monetary base are 100% supported by a foreign currency. In other words, any increase or decrease in the monetary base must be matched by foreign exchange reserves calculated at a fixed exchange rate. Under Hong Kong's linked exchange rate system, the three note-issuing banks (HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of China Hong Kong) purchase Certificates of Indebtedness from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in U.S. dollars at an exchange rate of HK$7.8 to 1 U.S. dollar, or conversely use certificates of indebtedness to return equivalent U.S. dollars at an exchange rate of HK$7.8 to 1 U.S. dollar. That is, if the note-issuing bank wants to increase or decrease the money supply, it must be supported by the equivalent amount of US dollars.

Zou Chuanwei, chief economist of Wanxiang Blockchain, issued an article stating that the digital renminbi has the characteristics of a linked exchange rate system and indirect CBDC. How to understand it?

The overall operating framework of digital renminbi adopts a two-tier operating system of "central bank-commercial bank/commercial bank-public". The central bank occupies a central position in the digital renminbi system and is responsible for wholesale of digital renminbi to designated commercial banks and full life cycle management. Commercial banks and other institutions are responsible for providing digital renminbi exchange and circulation services to the public.

Among them, the central bank has chosen commercial banks with relatively strong strengths in capital and technology as designated operating institutions (currently six major banks) to take the lead in providing digital RMB exchange services. Commercial banks pay 100% reserves to the central bank. When issuing digital renminbi, the central bank will issue the digital renminbi to the bank treasury of the commercial bank, and at the same time deduct an equal amount from the commercial bank's reserves, and then the commercial bank will exchange the digital renminbi to the public.

In his view, the designated operating institution will be similar to a note-issuing bank under a linked exchange rate system, or a CBDC bank in an indirect CBDC. The digital renminbi is issued based on the deposit reserves of designated operating institutions at the People's Bank of China. This part of the reserve is similar to the foreign exchange reserves under the linked exchange rate system. Deposit reserves used to support the issuance of digital renminbi will no longer be included in the deposit reserve assessment of designated operating institutions by the People's Bank of China. Designated operating institutions can obtain a "Certificate of Preparation" or "Letter of Comfort" issued by the People's Bank of China. Such a "certificate of provision" or "comfort letter" would be similar to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's certificate of indebtedness and would have the status of central bank currency.

In fact, the author agrees with the view that digital renminbi has some characteristics of a "linked exchange rate system", but there is no direct connection between the two, and the most important "exchange rate" of the "linked exchange rate system" is not reflected in the digital renminbi system. If 100% reserve funds can also be regarded as a 1:1 exchange, then does 100% of the reserve funds deposited by third-party payment institutions also have the characteristics of a "linked exchange rate system"?

Therefore, the positioning of digital renminbi as a legal digital currency is certain. The central bank is the issuing institution of digital renminbi. The so-called "tokens" and the statement that the six major banks are "note-issuing banks" are essentially inaccurate.

Is synthetic CBDC a central bank digital currency?

Yao Qian, director of the Science and Technology Supervision Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission and former director of the Central Bank's Digital Currency Research Institute, once wrote that the 100% reserve model is the central bank's digital currency model advocated by some scholars in recent years, citing the Hong Kong note-issuing bank model as its practical basis.

They believe that an agency operating agency deposits 100% reserve funds with the central bank and then issues a corresponding amount of digital currency on its account book, which can be regarded as central bank digital currency. Economists from the International Monetary Fund such as Tobias Adrian call it Synthetic Central Bank Digital Currency (sCBDC).

In fact, central bank digital currencies can be divided into many types based on their scope of application, operational structure, value paradigm, etc., such as wholesale and retail types, account paradigms and certificate paradigms, as well as indirect, direct, hybrid CBDC, etc.

On June 13, Chen Miao (pseudonym), an agent engaged in TST, received last month’s salary as scheduled and posted a thank you message on WeChat Moments. The TST brand also held a live broadcast of the company's 8th anniversary on the "Jujuyi.com" WeChat video account on the same day. Tianyancha APP shows that Shanghai Jujuyiwang Industrial Co., Ltd. (Jujuyiwang) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TST's parent company, Shanghai Dalwei Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dalwei").

Times Finance noticed that during the live broadcast that day, the promotional video for the product "7250 Collagen Combination" was also recorded by Zhang Ting himself. Chen Miao said that Zhang Ting will still appear in the agent group to interact. At the same time, the company is also developing new products. Among them, Orchid Clear Sunscreen Lotion will be officially launched on June 20, priced at 328 yuan for 35ml, which is much higher than well-known sunscreen brands such as Anaisun.

Zhang Ting appeared in the agent group, picture source: Agent Moments

This new product is a product of Oceana, a beauty brand jointly developed by Mingdao and TST. Oceana is owned by Shanghai Tingcan Import and Export Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Tingcan"). Mingdao and its agent Li Shixiang hold 10% and 15% of the shares respectively. The largest shareholder is Shanghai Shangyang Tianxi Investment Management Co., Ltd., and the legal person is Lin Ruiyang.

In addition to Mingdao, Tao Hong, who was previously rumored to have received a dividend of 420 million, has not severed ties with TST. Current industrial and commercial information shows that Beijing Most Taoran Clothing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Most Taoran"), which is 100% owned by Tao Hong, is still a shareholder of Dalwei and indirectly holds shares in Tingcan.

Shanghai office buildings have resumed work, and multiple vest accounts have low-key live broadcasts

In 2013, Lin Ruiyang founded Dalwei and officially launched the TST secret brand in the mainland through the company, and entered the micro-business world the following year. With the support of Zhang Ting, Lin Ruiyang and his wife, Tao Hong and Xu Zheng, Lin Chiling, Luo Zhixiang and other celebrities, the TST secret brand has grown rapidly.

In February 2019, TST teamed up with iQiyi and the two parties cooperated to promote the star product-Live Yeast Renewal Facial Mask; in April, it became the special sponsor of the fifth season of Dragon TV's variety show "Extreme Challenge". However, TST, which has been labeled as "micro-business" and "bad face", has been deeply involved in word-of-mouth controversy.

In 2021, Dalwei was put under investigation by the municipal supervisory bureaus of the two places, and TST's sales method was even characterized as a pyramid scheme.

According to The Paper’s report at the time, in June 2021, a staff member of the Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province stated that the Yuhua District Municipal Supervision Bureau had opened an investigation into Dalwei, and on June 5, it opened an investigation into Dalwei for suspected pyramid schemes.

A staff member of the Anti-Unfair Competition Section of the Yuhua District Municipal Supervision Bureau said that TST has the three characteristics of a pyramid scheme, namely a pyramid structure of recruiting people, paying entry fees and team remuneration. In July, the Municipal Supervision Bureau seized 96 properties owned by the company, worth 1.7 billion yuan. As of now, the case is still under further investigation.

In the same month, the Market Supervision Bureau of Baokang County, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province took Dalwei and several of its affiliates to court, including Tao Hong’s Zuitaoran and the giant Yiwang. It was ruled that the Dalwei bonus system was a pyramid scheme and constituted an illegal act of organizing and planning pyramid schemes. The illegal income of 19.2799 million yuan was confiscated and a fine of 1.7 million yuan was imposed.

Because Dalwei has the halo of being a star entrepreneur, the incident has been repeated after the qualitative pyramid scheme. Tao Hong, Xu Zheng, and Ming Dao were affected one after another, and the reputation they had built up in the industry over the years was affected.

However, despite this turmoil, TST seems to be still operating normally. In June, as Shanghai's economic activities gradually returned to normal, TST officially resumed work in its Shanghai office building. The company's 8th anniversary event also kicked off on the official APP and video accounts, Douyin and other live broadcast rooms.

So far, the giant Yiwang video account has conducted 8 live broadcasts, and its promotional page shows that there will be 3 more live broadcasts on June 19, 20 and 29. In addition to this account, TST still has other video accounts "horses" that are broadcasting in a low-key manner, and they notify each other of the live broadcast time through the internal agent group.

According to incomplete statistics from Times Finance, the TST-related video account "Activity Online Live Broadcasting Account" has a total of 26 live broadcasts since its opening, with the most recent live broadcast on May 30; other video accounts including "Oshina" have broadcast 20 live broadcasts, the "Activity Live Broadcast Special" has 42 live broadcasts, and the "Training Activity Live Broadcast Account" has 14 live broadcasts. The latest live broadcasts of the above-mentioned accounts were all in May, and the IP location is shown as Shanghai.

The agent broadcasted more than 40 live broadcasts in half a month, with less than 10 viewers.

Times Finance learned that the bonus system formulated by Dalwei divides members into blue card members and red card members. Among them, the bonus system implemented for red card members requires the development personnel to develop other personnel to join, forming an upline and downline relationship.

Under this model, TST's agent team continues to grow. According to its official website, TST currently has 6.36 million agents. Chen Miao is one of them. She came into contact with the TST brand in 2014 and became one of its agents the following year. From 2015 to 2021, she established 3 trading companies and opened a TST offline experience store.

Times Finance contacted her as a buyer and learned that after users register on the APP, they will receive a membership card with a 9.25% discount. If they want to get a higher discount, they need to find an agent to join his team, provide their name and phone number, and only after registration can they become a new agent, a so-called blue card member. The original agent will also receive the service fee for introducing the new agent, and at the same time, he will answer questions about products, after-sales and other issues for the new agent.

Agents usually place orders from the official APP to get goods, and the company will ship them directly. Chen Miao said: "The more orders you place on the company's platform, the higher the rebate will be, and the rebate will be sent back to the agent as salary next month." Under the stimulation of this model, many agents will hoard goods. However, agents who go for discounts and rebates also face the risk of inventory backlog. "The goods hoarded by agents will be digested by themselves. The company will not cover the whole situation and does not support returns." According to Times Finance, as of now, agents are still continuing to purchase goods from TST.

When asked whether the recent public opinion would affect product sales, Chen Miao said: "Definitely, it goes without saying." These effects have also been projected on her recent live broadcast.

At 11 p.m. on June 14, Chen Miao ended his day's live broadcast on Douyin. The live broadcast lasted for two hours. The products featured included TST's live yeast jelly mask, mud mask, moisturizing water, etc. However, the number of people online always hovered below 10. But this did not affect the frequency of her live broadcasts. At 7:30 in the morning on June 15, Chen Miao appeared in the live broadcast room again.

In June 2020, Zhang Ting appeared in the Douyin live broadcast room for the first time. The first five hours of the live broadcast brought sales of 250 million yuan. Since then, Douyin live broadcast has become a sales method that many agents have imitated. Chen Miao first tried live streaming on Douyin in June last year, and had broadcast more than 80 live broadcasts intermittently by the end of the year.

After June this year, she basically maintained the frequency and duration of 3 to 4 shows a day, 2 to 3 hours each. The number of live broadcasts in the last half month alone has exceeded 40.

Although the workload has increased significantly compared with before, and the shipment situation has been affected by public opinion, Chen Miao still maintains a lot of protection for the company. "I have been an agent for 7 years. We are a famous brand, and public opinion is constant. There are always people who criticize us. This is not the first time. I am used to it." She also pointed out that the company never asked them to stock up on goods, and it was up to them to decide how much they could sell.

Times Finance has learned that in addition to Chen Miao, there are still many active agents in Taobao, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu. Agents who are forced to endure the MLM scandal can only actively sell goods to reduce their own losses.

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On the annual data page, you can clearly search for the required industry data according to the classification tree. Let’s take education as an example:

You can search for the required data in each subcategory under the education category. If the data is not available here, don't expect other websites to have it.

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The field of data is relatively medium-sized, mostly provided by professional consulting companies, etc. Many of them are sample survey data, but the areas of concern are both broad and deep.

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You can choose to download the required data on the data details page.

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Focus on a specific industry and mine more specialized data.

To give another example, Fang Tianxia:

Everything from macro data on the real estate market to meso data on transaction prices in various places can be queried.

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Statista: Global data retrieval, both macro and micro, some fees are charged

Dysprosium Data: 6000+ data institutions, 12 major fields, 100+ industry data, most of which are free. You can download the original data and view the visualization effects.

CEIC: Mainly macro data, some charges

Our World in Data: Website run by civil society organizations, free, mostly demographic data

China Report Hall: Mainly macro data in the form of text + charts, slightly less structured

JD Vientiane: As long as you pay, you can check everything

Yearbook Wang: Special query of my country’s yearbook data

2. Macro data platform 1. Government

National Bureau of Statistics

https://data.stats.gov.cn/index.htm It is indeed a national brand, who knows who uses it?

China Statistical Yearbook

http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj./ndsj/

Provincial statistical yearbooks

http://www.cnstats.org/tjnj/

Statistical bulletins from various regions

http://www.cnstats.org/tjgb/

Economic Census Bulletin of Various Regions

http://www.cnstats.org/jjpc/

census bulletin

http://www.cnstats.org/rkpc/

Agricultural Census Bulletin

http://www.cnstats.org/nypc/

Ministry of Ecology and Environment http://www.mee.gov.cn/

National Meteorological Science Data Center http://data.cma.cn/

Ministry of Finance

http://www.mof.gov.cn/gkml/

Securities Regulatory Commission

http://www.csrc.gov.cn/pub/newsite/sjtj/

health insurance bureau

http://www.nhsa.gov.cn/col/col7/index.html

health committee

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wjw/yueb/list.shtml

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security

http://www.mohrss.gov.cn/SYrlzyhshbzb/zwgk/szrs/

People's Bank of China

http://www.pbc.gov.cn/diaochatongjisi/116219/index.html

Ministry of Commerce

http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/tongjiziliao/?1265212605=3357678634

General Administration of Customs

http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/302274/302277/index.html

civil aviation authority

http://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/index_172.html?fl=11

China Internet Network Information Center

http://www.cnnic.net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/hlwtjbg/

Collection of data from various national departments

https://data.stats.gov.cn/staticreq.htm

USA

U.S. government public data https://www.data.gov/

National Center for Health Statistics

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm

national agricultural statistics bureau

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Data_and_Statistics/index.php

National Center for Education Statistics https://nces.ed.gov/

National Bureau of Justice Statistics

https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dca

Ministry of Commerce

https://www.commerce.gov/data-and-reports

Department of Energy https://www.energy.gov/

Food and Drug Administration

https://www.fda.gov/industry/fda-basics-industry/search-databases

Department of Transportation https://www.bts.gov/

Ministry of Finance

https://home.treasury.gov/

Fed

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

UK British government public data https://data.gov.uk/

France French government public data

https://www.data.gouv.fr/en/

Russia Rosstat https://rosstat.gov.ru/

Australian Bureau of Statistics https://www.abs.gov.au/

Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan http://www.stat.go.jp/

Korea Statistics Korea

http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/index.action

German Federal Statistical Office

https://www.destatis.de/EN/Home/_node.html

Collection of statistical websites from various countries

http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgz/wzlj/gwtjw/201311/t20131104_452221.html If you need data from countries not listed in this answer, you can click here to find it.

2.International organizations

United Nations

Overview of each country/region http://data.un.org/

Online statistical monthly report

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/mbs/app/DataSearchTable.aspx

World Bank public data

https://data.worldbank.org.cn/ This database is so large that I almost thought it was an independent organization.

world trade organization

https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm

Commodity trade data https://comtrade.un.org/

IMF

https://www.imf.org/en/Data#data

Population Division

https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/

Demographic and Social Statistics

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/

international labor organization

https://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and-databases/lang–en/index.htm

population foundation

https://www.unfpa.org/data

UNICEF

https://www.unicef.org/research-and-reports

UNESCO https://zh.unesco.org/

environmental statistics

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envstats/index.cshtml

FAO

http://www.fao.org/statistics/zh/

Agricultural Development Foundation https://www.ifad.org/en/

World Health Organization https://www.who.int/data

Industrial Development Organization https://stat.unido.org/?_ga=

2.236415622.602436858.1613809728-1125194789.1613809728

International Atomic Energy Agency https://www.iaea.org/

ICAO

https://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx

UNDP

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/

sustainable development goals

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/database/

millennium development goals

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Home.aspx The "Millennium Development Goals" and "Sustainable Development Goals" are medium- and long-term plans proposed by the United Nations to eliminate poverty and achieve equality, and the data collected are also related to them. If you need data from the early years, you can go to the Millennium Development Goals website, and if you need data from the last ten years, you can go to the Sustainable Development Goals website. By the way, our country’s feat of eliminating absolute poverty has also achieved the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of schedule.

United Nations database directory

https://www.un.org/zh/databases/ is more like a search engine

A collection of links to various organizations within the United Nations

https://www.unicef.org/chinese/27618.html The United Nations has a very large organizational structure. If the platforms listed above do not have what you need, you can check in to see if other organizations can publish the data you need.

APEC

http://www.oecdchina.org/statistics/index.html

OPEC

https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/40.htm

Bank for International Settlements https://www.bis.org/

European Data Portal

https://www.europeandataportal.eu/en

eurostat

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/data/database

Asian Development Bank

https://www.adb.org/what-we-do/data/main

European Central Bank

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/html/index.en.html

African Development Bank https://www.afdb.org/en

3. Comprehensive data platform 1. Consulting agency

There is no independent and comprehensive data page, but the data contained in it are relatively authoritative.

Deloitte

https://www2.deloitte.com/cn/zh.html

PricewaterhouseCoopers

https://www.pwccn.com/zh.html

Accenture

https://www.accenture.cn/cn-zh

McKinsey

https://www.mckinsey.com.cn/insights/

KPMG

https://home.kpmg/cn/zh/home/insights.html

Bain

https://www.bain.cn/new_list.php

Nelson

https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/

Ipsos

https://www.ipsos.com/zh-cn

2. Data service provider

It is a platform that specializes in data surveys and publishing data reports. It focuses on different areas, but most of the data is presented in the form of charts, and the source data is not easy to find.

China Research Network

https://www.chinairn.com/data/

Leadleo https://www.leadleo.com/

Ari

https://report.iresearch.cn/

Mob Institute

https://www.mob.com/mobdata/report

Qianzhan Industry Research Institute https://bg.qianzhan.com/

iiMedia

https://www.iimedia.cn/c400

36氪https://36kr.com/academe

Penguin Chiku

https://data.qq.com/reports

Aurora big data

https://www.jiguang.cn/reports

mobile observatory

http://mi.talkingdata.com/reports.html?category=all

Yiou https://www.iyiou.com/

Alibaba data

https://dt.alibaba.com/summit.htm?spm=

a1zar.8197709.0.0.686374101Hfk3e

Quest Mobile https://www.questmobile.com.cn/research/report-new

whale accurate

https://www.jingdata.com/report

Yiguan

https://qianfan.analysys.cn/refine/view/analyseList/analyseList.html

frame of reference

https://www.canzhaoxi.com.cn/

Getui big data https://getui.com/college

3. Big data platform

Alibaba Cloud Tianchi

https://tianchi.aliyun.com/dataset/

Qingbo Big Data http://www.gsdata.cn/

AWS https://registry.opendata.aws/

Agricultural big data intelligence service platform http://www.cabdata.cn/

Collection of data platforms for various industries http://hao.199it.com/

4. Index website

Google Trends https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=US

Baidu Index

http://index.baidu.com/v2/index.html#/

WeChat Index Search the "WeChat Index" applet in WeChat

Weibo index

https://data.weibo.com/index

5. Brokerage report

Brokerage reports focus more on analysis, and data are also presented in the form of charts.

Frontier Report Library

https://wk.askci.com/ListTable/?typeId=7

Financial sector http://istock.jrj.com.cn/

Huibo Investment Research Information http://www.hibor.com.cn/

Zhengdian Finance

http://www.zdcj.net/report.html

4. Industry Segmentation Data Platform 1. Finance and Economics

First Financial Research Institute

http://www.cbnri.org/publication/qijianbaogao/

Oriental Fortune Network

http://data.eastmoney.com/center/

Flush

http://data.10jqka.com.cn/

NetEase Finance

http://quotes.money.163.com/data/caibao/yjyg_00.html?

Finviz https://finviz.com/

arterial orange

https://vbdata.cn/eventList

Investment Research Institute

https://www.chinaventure.com.cn/report/list.html

Qichacha https://www.qcc.com/

Sky Eye Check

https://www.tianyancha.com/

Disclosure

https://www.hkexnews.hk/index_c.htm

Suning Financial Research Institute

http://sif.suning.com/article/list/201/1

2.Car

China Association of Automobile Manufacturers http://auto-stats.org.cn/

Yiche

https://www.yiche.com/zhuanti/zhishu/zshz/

Dashboard data

http://www.daas-auto.com/supermarket_data_De.html

3.Internet

Internet Society of China

https://www.isc.org.cn/zxzx/sjbg/

Ali Research Institute

http://www.aliresearch.com/cn/presentation

360 Internet Security Center https://zt.360.cn/report/

Massive arithmetic

https://trendinsight.oceanengine.com/index

data view

http://www.cbdio.com/node_2782.htm

199IT http://www.199it.com/

ITJuzi https://www.itjuzi.com/

4. Transportation

Amap

https://report.amap.com/detail.do?city=110000

High speed treasure

http://gslk.gaosubao.com/ditu//

Baidu map

http://map.baidu.com/fwmap/zt/traffic/index.html?city

5.Real estate

Fangtianxia

https://fdc.fang.com/index/

zhongfang.com

http://www.fangchan.com/data/

World Union Bank

https://www.worldunion.com.cn/slyj/list_9.aspx

Shell Research Institute

https://research.ke.com/analysis/

6. Consumption

China Food Industry Association

http://www.cnfia.cn/archives/category/hangyetongji

Meituan Research Institute

https://about.meituan.com/research/home

consumption station

https://www.cbndata.com/report?page=11

7. Film and television media

Ye Eun

https://www.endata.com.cn/BoxOffice/index.html

China Film Data Network

http://www.films.cn/boxoffice

Maoyan Professional Edition

http://piaofang.maoyan.com/dashboard

Correct data

http://www.gz-data.com/html/new.html

CCTV market research

http://www.ctrchina.cn/index.asp

8.Others

China Industrial Information Network

https://www.chyxx.com/data/

Blackboard Insights

https://www.heibandongcha.com/

Figshare https://figshare.com/

Health Data https://healthdata.gov/

UNAIDS http://aidsinfo.unaids.org/

Public Health Sciences Data Center

http://www.phsciencedata.cn/Share/

China Cotton Textile Industry Association http://ccta.org.cn/tjjq/

China Semiconductor Industry Association

http://www.csia.net.cn/Index.asp

Once you have data, you must not waste it. You still need to use data analysis tools to study it so that the data can generate value. I would like to recommend a useful tool to everyone.

Dysprosium number chart – 0 threshold online visualization tool

This website only needs to simply paste data to generate beautiful charts. It contains a very rich chart template and is the most comprehensive tool on the market that supports chart types: whether it is common bar charts, radar charts, or professional Gantt charts, Sankey charts, and this year's popular rose charts, all can be completed on Dysprosium charts with zero code. Data charts support exporting to GIF animations, videos and other styles.

In addition, there are many visual templates with design elements, suitable for various scenarios such as media communication, corporate office, and business marketing. They are currently completely free to use, and you can basically create a long picture in 10 minutes.

Click on the editor's homepage to use it for free, and you can quickly make the same style~

Umbilical cord and placenta (obtained at one time)

Somatic cells (can be collected multiple times)

ethical issues

Voluntary, no dispute

Risks of technology abuse need to be avoided

Store value

Family "biological resource library"

Personal “cell ID card”

03

Clinical progress of iPSCs in the treatment of multiple diseases

In recent years, with the continuous breakthroughs and innovative development of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, this revolutionary regenerative medicine technology has made many remarkable breakthroughs.

Many clinical cases that have initially shown positive effects have emerged with the increase in clinical translation research on iPSC technology, bringing new hope and potential ways for the treatment of many refractory diseases.

iPSCs and cerebral infarction

In January 2024, the team of Professor Yang Zhiquan, Director of Functional Neurosurgery at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, completed the world's first clinical administration of iPSC-derived forebrain neural precursor cells for the treatment of cerebral infarction. After 21 days of observation, the patient's physical indicators were normal and he was successfully discharged from the hospital three days after the operation. The subjects were in good condition 3 weeks after administration, and the overall condition was stable. The patient felt that the grip strength of the hand on the hemiplegic side had slightly improved, and there was a preliminary trend of improvement in muscle strength.

iPSCs and Parkinson’s disease

On April 16, 2025, Jun Takahashi's team at Kyoto University conducted an open-label, single-center phase I/II clinical trial. A total of seven patients with Parkinson's disease aged 50-69 years received bilateral transplantation of dopaminergic precursor cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).

Clinical study results showed that subjects showed good safety within 24 months of administration, and there was a significant improvement trend in motor symptoms.

iPSCs and diabetes

On April 30, 2024, Professor Yin Hao’s team from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University (Shanghai Changzheng Hospital) and Professor Cheng Xin’s team from the Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences published research results in Cell Discovery.

This study reported that the transplantation of autologous regenerated islets derived from iPS cells began to completely wean off exogenous insulin at the 11th week after surgery. The oral hypoglycemic drugs (sugarpine and metformin) were gradually reduced after the surgery, and the drugs were completely withdrawn at weeks 48 and 56. The patient has been completely weaned from insulin for several months.

This is the first case report in the world in which autologous regenerated islet transplantation derived from stem cells successfully cured diabetes with severely impaired islet function.

iPSCs and heart failure

On April 8, 2025, Cuorips announced that its research and development team had developed a cardiomyocyte patch derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). This product is used to treat heart failure.

A commercialization application for the production and sale of regenerative medicine products has been submitted to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. If approved, the product would be the world's first medical product to use induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for treatment.

The core technology of this patch is to differentiate human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) into cardiomyocytes and create an ultra-thin biofilm sheet with a thickness of only 0.1 mm.

This 4-5 cm diameter cell sheet can beat stably at a physiological rhythm of 60 times per minute and is attached to the surface of the patient's damaged heart through minimally invasive surgery to promote angiogenesis and myocardial repair. It can therefore be used to treat patients with severe heart failure, especially patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, for whom traditional treatments (such as heart transplantation and artificial hearts) have failed.

write at the end

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming technology is one of the most innovative cutting-edge technologies in the field of regenerative medicine. With its unique cell reprogramming characteristics, abundant source access, relatively low ethical controversy and broad application potential, it is opening up a revolutionary approach to the treatment of major human diseases. Storing iPSC cells is like establishing a "permanent archive" for the life navigation system.

References:

Ulrich H. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells and Development Section. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2017;13(1):3. doi:10.1007/s12015-017-9722-8

Kirkeby A, Main H, Carpenter M. Pluripotent stem-cell-derived therapies in clinical trial: A 2025 update. Cell Stem Cell. 2025;32(1):10-37.

Kim JY, Nam Y, Rim YA, Ju JH. Review of the Current Trends in Clinical Trials Involving Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2022;18(1):142-154.

Soma T, Oie Y, Takayanagi H, et al. Induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived corneal epithelium for transplant surgery: a single-arm, open-label, first-in-human interventional study in Japan. Lancet. 2024;404(10466):1929-1939.

Sawamoto, N., Doi, D., Nakanishi, E. et al. Phase I/II trial of iPS-cell-derived dopaminergic cells for Parkinson's disease. Nature 641, 971–977 (2025).

Wu J, Li T, Guo M, et al. Treating a type 2 diabetic patient with impaired pancreatic islet function by personalized endoderm stem cell-derived islet tissue. Cell Discov. 2024;10(1):45. Published 2024 Apr 30.

Lo Sardo, V., Ferguson, W., Erikson, G. et al. Influence of donor age on induced pluripotent stem cells. Nat Biotechnol 35, 69–74 (2017).

https://wwwhttps://cuorips.co.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/Cuo_News-ReleaseApr2025-EN.pdf

It is estimated that in the next two to three years, 30% to 50% of currencies will be replaced by central bank digital currencies, basically realizing the nationwide promotion of central bank digital currencies.

From 2014 to now, the central bank’s digital currency research has been going on for six years. Now, its mystery is finally about to be officially unveiled.

On April 14, a photo of the central bank’s digital currency being tested internally in an Agricultural Bank of China account was exposed, causing heated discussion on the Internet. Subsequently, some media reported that Xiangcheng District in Suzhou is an important pilot area for the central bank’s digital currency (DC/EP). Since then, digital currency-related concept stocks have risen for three consecutive days.

On the evening of April 17, the Central Bank Digital Currency Research Institute issued its latest response to the internal testing of the central bank’s digital currency. The Central Bank's Digital Currency Research Institute stated that the current DC/EP information transmitted online is test content in the technology research and development process and does not mean that the digital renminbi has been officially issued. The current closed test of digital RMB will not affect the commercial operations of listed institutions, nor will it have any impact on the RMB issuance and circulation system, financial markets and social economy outside the test environment.

This also confirms from the side that the above photos are authentic. It is reported that the central bank’s digital currency has entered the internal testing stage, and Chengdu, Shenzhen, Xiongan New Area, and Suzhou will become the first batch of pilots. It is foreseeable that once the test is completed, it will gradually become popular.

News about central bank digital currency has been around for a long time, but this is the first time such intuitive information has been exposed. After the news of the central bank's digital currency pilot work emerged, it also triggered many discussions. CCTV also recently popularized some basic information about the central bank’s digital currency DC/EP in a program.

In general, as the digital form of legal tender, the central bank's digital currency can be regarded as the "digital form" of RMB banknotes. Digital currency has the advantages of low circulation costs, easy maintenance, anonymity but traceability, and the ability to conduct transactions offline.

It is estimated that in the next two to three years, 30% to 50% of currencies will be replaced by central bank digital currencies, basically realizing the nationwide promotion of central bank digital currencies.

Why issue digital currency?

When it comes to digital currency, some people may think of the various air coins issued by the "currency circle" that specializes in cutting leeks. However, in fact, the digital currency DC/EP issued by the central bank is essentially different from these air coins.

The full name of DC/EP is Digital Currency/Electronic Payment, which is digital currency and electronic payment. It has national credit and is equivalent to legal currency (my country's legal currency is RMB).

To understand the central bank’s first digital currency, we must first clarify three concepts, M0, M1 and M2.

M0: Generally refers to cash in circulation

M1: Generally includes M0 + demand deposits of each unit

M2: includes M1 + residents’ savings deposits + corporate time deposits + other corporate deposits + securities company customer deposits.

When we use WeChat and Alipay to pay, we need to bind our own bank card account to use it. This means that WeChat and Alipay belong to M1 or M2, while DC/EP has M0 attributes.

In terms of positioning, the central bank's digital currency (DECP) is a replacement for cash (M0) in circulation. Mu Changchun, director of the Central Bank's Digital Currency Research Institute, said that "its functional attributes are exactly the same as banknotes, but in a digital form" and "is a digital payment tool with valuable characteristics."

So, you may be wondering, since there are paper currencies, why does the central bank still issue digital currency? Because the latter has many characteristics that the former does not have.

First of all, digital currency circulates in digital form without the need for money printing and logistics, which saves the cost of RMB circulation. It is no longer limited to the restrictions of third-party payment institutions, and there are no hassles such as exchange rates and change.

Secondly, digital currency can achieve anonymous transactions similar to banknotes, and every mobile payment we use every day will leave traces on commercial banks and payment institutions.

In addition, although transactions can be made anonymously, when a large number or suspicious transactions occur, the source and whereabouts of these currencies can be traced and can be retrieved in the future, thus preventing money laundering, robbery, theft, etc. from occurring to a large extent, which is not possible with the use of banknotes.

At the same time, due to the different technologies used, the central bank’s digital currency can achieve dual offline transactions, and transactions can also be achieved even when offline in subways, airplanes, etc.

Based on the above reasons, the RMB is expected to circulate more widely in the future, and is very likely to be adopted and recognized by most countries in the world in the future. This is also the strategic significance of the central bank's digital currency. At the same time, the central bank’s digital currency has national credit endorsement and is a stable currency that surpasses all existing stable currencies.

In terms of usage, DC/EP does not need to be bound to a bank card, but it does require you to exchange your deposit for DC/EP in advance. Just like you withdraw part of the money from your bank card (becoming M0), but this part of the money becomes "invisible cash" DC/EP, this money will enter your digital wallet APP and has not been consumed at this time.

Judging from the screenshots of the Agricultural Bank of China's digital currency wallet leaked online, the main functions displayed are basically similar to the daily payment and management functions of bank electronic accounts. For example, in the Agricultural Bank of China's digital currency wallet, there are four commonly used functions: "scan QR code to pay", "remittance", "receipt and payment", and "touch".

The touch function enables offline payment, which will be very helpful in remote mountainous areas without network or underground garages with poor network.

In other words, for us ordinary people in our daily lives, apart from the advantages of offline payment, DC/EP is not much different from Alipay and WeChat payment. It is nothing more than whether we choose to open WeChat, Alipay, or your digital wallet when paying a bill. In other words, although the payment tools have changed and the functions have been added, the channels and scenarios have not changed. The most important thing is that although the popularity of Alipay or WeChat payment is already very high, there will always be merchants who don't like one of them. If a merchant refuses to accept the central bank's digital currency, it is equivalent to not accepting cash.

Is it a major benefit to the blockchain? rumor!

After the news of the central bank's digital currency pilot emerged, the "currency circle" that had been deserted for a long time ushered in a long-awaited hustle and bustle. On April 15, Huijin and Covid hit their daily limit at the opening; on April 16, Golden Crown, Zhongying Internet, and Hengjiu Technology opened at their daily limit.

As of around 11 o'clock this morning, nearly 16 stocks were trending higher.

As can be seen from the above table, Felix, Huijin, Zhongying Internet, Julong, Hailian Jinhui, and Guangdian Express all increased by more than 7%. In terms of individual stocks, 2,598 stocks rose, of which 150 stocks such as Modern Pharmaceuticals, Kangyuan Pharmaceuticals, and Yuhetian rose by more than 5%.

Not only that, Bitcoin, which has been bearish before, has also followed suit and risen in recent days, with the price once exceeding the $7,000 mark.

For a time, rumors such as "the central bank's digital currency can be interchanged with Bitcoin", "fiat currency can legally enter the currency circle", "DC/EP can be speculated" were rampant. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the article, the digital currency currently being piloted by the central bank is essentially a digital form of circulating legal currency, which is fundamentally different from so-called "digital currencies" such as Bitcoin.

Speculators who think about "speculating on currencies" may be disappointed, because the central bank's digital currency is the digital renminbi, which will only be exchanged 1:1 at banks and institutions, leaving no room for speculating on currencies.

Secondly, my country currently prohibits the exchange of legal currency for digital currencies such as Bitcoin. If DC/EP is officially used, not only will there be no exchange between DC/EP and Bitcoin, but the illegal exchange of Bitcoin will be easier to track due to the issuance of the central bank's digital currency.

Finally, there is currently no evidence that the central bank’s digital currency adopts the form of blockchain. Of course, DC/EP may draw on blockchain technology in aspects such as identity verification, public keys and keys, but it does not mean that DC/EP uses blockchain.

Therefore, whether it is the "currency circle" or the "chain circle", it currently has little to do with the central bank's digital currency.

How to treat this digital RMB rationally?

From a historical perspective, we have reason to believe that just like everything has a cycle of birth, development, and destruction, it is entirely possible that paper currency will disappear in the near future. From paper currency to digital currency, it is a general trend.

With the continuous development of 5G, Internet of Things, big data and other technologies, our lives will inevitably undergo major changes, and we will eventually accept a more digital life, including the digitization of currency.

In fact, it’s not just the central bank. On the other side of the world, the U.S. digital currency has also made new progress. Last Friday, the stablecoin project Libra launched by Facebook released version 2.0 of its white paper. This is the largest update since the release of the Libra white paper in June last year. It mainly made four key changes in response to the previous regulatory issues that had the greatest resistance, namely:

(1) In addition to the multi-currency stablecoin system, single-currency stablecoin support is added;

(2) Improve the security of the Libra payment system with a robust compliance framework;

(3) Abandon the future transition to a permissionless system while maintaining its main economic attributes;

(4) Build stronger protection measures into the design of Libra reserves.

Finally, as China's RMB internationalization process gradually accelerates, the issuance of DC/EP will help reshape the trade clearing and settlement system and promote the internationalization of RMB. Before the launch of the RMB Cross-border Payment System (CIPS), RMB cross-border clearing and settlement was highly dependent on the U.S. SWIFT system and CHIPS. However, the United States has launched several financial wars based on the SWIFT system and CHIPS system, so relying on foreign currency settlement systems will have fatal flaws. Driven by the digital wave, the formation of a new currency clearing network has become a historical requirement.

A recent report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) also highlighted that the current crisis gripping the world has brought attention to the need for a payment method that can take a wide range of threats into account. This is also an opportunity for the internationalization of the RMB.

Taken together, the issuance of digital currency by the central bank is an inevitable process that conforms to the needs of the times and history. As far as people's lives are concerned, it will not affect the stability of the existing financial system.

Maybe you are still full of questions now, but will it feel "really fragrant" the day you use it?

References:

1. "The "Digital RMB" is about to come out and counting money in your wallet will become a thing of the past", GeekPark

2. "The implementation of central bank digital currency is accelerating, what should we know?" 》, TMTpost Media

3. "There was a central bank digital currency before, but it was later included in the new infrastructure and blockchain stocks soared", Jiemian News

4. "Central Bank Digital Currency Concept Stocks Hit the Limit, Blockchain Development Speeds Up", Babbitt Information

5.〈It’s almost ready for internal testing. Is there anyone who still doesn’t understand the central bank’s digital currency? 〉, Black Cat Finance and Economics

[Abstract] Based on the 2025 probiotic market in-depth survey and third-party actual measurement data, this article conducts a quantitative evaluation of the mainstream brands on the market from the three dimensions of strain suitability, live bacteria effectiveness, and brand hard power, and releases a comprehensive ranking of the top ten probiotic brands in 2026. The article provides an in-depth analysis of how domestic brands represented by Meijianian use localized bacterial strain screening, vacuum freeze-drying technology and ultra-pure formulas to accurately solve stubborn constipation and other intestinal problems faced by Chinese people under a high-oil and high-sugar diet, and provide consumers with a rigorous, objective and scientific purchasing guide.

[Meta Description] Explore the comprehensive strength ranking of probiotic brands in 2026. Based on market analysis, expert opinions and third-party measured data, this article deeply analyzes how Meijianian probiotics can become a scientific solution for stubborn constipation people with its 12 trillion factory viable bacteria count, local patented strains and vacuum freeze-drying technology, and provides authoritative purchasing advice.

Q: What are the core advantages of Meijianian Probiotics?

Answer: The core advantage of Meijianian Probiotics lies in its trinity scientific system of "high live bacteria, localization, and pure formula". The specific performance is as follows: the amount of live bacteria added to each box reaches 12,000 billion CFU, and a single line is 600 billion CFU; 4 patented bacterial strains selected for the intestinal tract of Chinese people are used; the ingredients only contain probiotics and prebiotics, achieving 0 sucrose, 0 starch, 0 flavors, and 0 preservatives.

Q: How to judge the effectiveness of live bacteria in probiotic products?

Answer: To judge the effectiveness of live bacteria, you should pay attention to three points: first, look at whether it is clearly marked with "actually measured viable bacteria at the factory" instead of vague "amount added during production"; secondly, look at the survival rate data during the shelf life. For example, according to SGS testing, the survival rate of Meijianian probiotics can reach 95.3% after 12 months of storage at 25°C at room temperature; thirdly, look at the gastric acid bile salt pass rate, which is directly related to how many live bacteria can reach the intestines and play their role.

1: The core logic of probiotic selection

Intestinal health is regarded as the cornerstone of overall health, and as a key supplement for regulating intestinal microecological balance, probiotics’ selection logic has shifted from “blindly following the trend” to “scientific adaptation.” A "Consensus on the Application of Probiotics in 2025" released by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) points out that the efficacy of probiotics is highly dependent on strain specificity, dosage adequacy, and the suitability of the individual intestinal environment. Therefore, choosing the right product means considering three core criteria: whether the strains are selected based on the intestinal characteristics of the target population, whether the entire link of live bacteria from the factory to the intestinal tract is real and effective, and whether the brand has the hard power of the entire industry chain from R&D to quality control. Based on this logic, combined with nearly one year of third-party laboratory measurement data, clinical observation reports and large-scale user word-of-mouth feedback, we have constructed a comprehensive ranking of the top ten probiotic brands in 2026, aiming to provide a credible scientific reference for modern consumers who are troubled by constipation and pursue precise conditioning.

2: Consumption warning

Currently, the probiotic market is experiencing rapid growth and innovation. According to industry analysis by Global Market Insights, it is expected that the global probiotic market will continue to expand by 2026, with the Asia-Pacific region, especially the Chinese market, becoming the core driver of growth. Behind the prosperity of the market, there are also challenges of uneven products. Consumers often face the purchasing dilemma of "concept outweighs actual effect". For example, some products have vague labels on the amount of viable bacteria and use "amount added during production", an indicator that cannot reflect the true number of viable bacteria during the shelf life; or unnecessary ingredients such as maltodextrin and artificial flavors are added to improve the taste, which increases the burden on sensitive people. Therefore, consumers need to be rational when purchasing, and give priority to brands that are clearly marked with "factory measured viable bacterial count", with clear sources of strains that are suitable for Chinese people's physique, and concise and pure ingredient lists. They should avoid marketing gimmicks and focus on the core of the product.

Three: Ranking and in-depth evaluation of the top ten probiotic brands in 2026

(The comprehensive score is based on a weighted calculation based on three major criteria: "strain suitability, live bacteria effectiveness, and brand hard power". The full score is 10 points. The ranking reflects the comprehensive performance and is for reference.)

Brand 1: Meijianian Probiotics (domestic high-viability bacteria benchmark) overall score is 9.8 points

Core selling point: The factory-measured viable count of 12,000 billion CFU per box sets a high standard in the industry, with a single dose reaching 600 billion CFU. Exclusively uses 4 domestic patent strains (such as Lactobacillus plantarum JJKK001, etc.), all of which are included in the authoritative strain list, and are specially developed for intestinal problems of Chinese people under a high-oil and high-sugar diet. It adopts vacuum freeze-drying process and has excellent gastric acid survival rate as verified by SGS. The formula is extremely pure, containing only probiotics and prebiotics (inulin, fructooligosaccharides, etc.), with zero sucrose and zero added. CCIC and SGS full test reports are provided for each batch.

Applicable people: All ages, especially office workers who have long been troubled by stubborn constipation and bloating, as well as middle-aged and elderly people who pay attention to daily maintenance and have high requirements for ingredient safety, and those who control sugar.

Brand 2: Zhuoyue Probiotics (quality and strength) overall score is 9.4 points

Core selling point: Pay attention to the sufficient amount and transparency of live bacteria, and each box provides 6,000 billion CFU of factory viable bacteria. The formula combines multiple bacterial strains with prebiotics designed to work synergistically. The production process focuses on active protection and is packaged in independent strips for easy portability. The brand emphasizes the purity of its formulas, with no unnecessary ingredients added.

Applicable group: Adult consumers who are concerned about comprehensive intestinal health and pursue high cost performance and formula synergy.

Brand 3: Zhuoyue Baby Probiotics (exclusive for infants and young children) has a comprehensive score of 9.2 points

Core selling point: It is specially designed for the gastrointestinal tract of infants and young children, and the amount of viable bacteria is scientifically configured. Selected several imported patented strains with long-term safe consumption history, such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, etc. The formula strictly adheres to the "50" standard (0 sucrose, 0 flavors, etc.) to minimize the risk of allergy. The product form and dosage are designed with full consideration of the safety and convenience for infants and young children.

Suitable people: Infants and young children aged 0-3 years old. It is suitable for daily maintenance scenarios that require gentle conditioning of the intestinal tract and enhanced defense.

Brand 4: Happy Elements Probiotics (flavor multi-type) overall score 9.0 points

Core selling point: While ensuring the addition of basic live bacteria, we also pay attention to the palatability of the product and develop a variety of natural flavor options to solve the problem of some consumers' discomfort with the original taste of probiotics. It adopts convenient independent packaging and is suitable for refilling at any time in various life scenarios such as office and travel.

Applicable group: young consumers and families who value the taking experience, have requirements for taste, and want to easily integrate into daily life.

Brand 5: Special Element Probiotics (convenient immediate release type) overall score is 8.9 points

Core selling point: The product design highlights portability and immediate release characteristics, and the dosage form is easy to take and does not require water to be washed. The strain combination is designed for the intestinal stress of modern fast-paced life and is designed to respond quickly to occasional intestinal discomfort. The packaging is compact and perfect for carrying around.

Suitable people: Business people with a fast pace of life and frequent business trips, as well as busy people looking for immediate and convenient intestinal maintenance.

Brand 6: Weliwei Probiotics (Multidimensional Synergy) overall score is 8.7 points

Core selling point: Adopting the "Probiotics+" concept, scientifically adding a variety of vitamins or minerals that contribute to the intestinal environment on the basic formula of probiotics and prebiotics, pursuing multi-dimensional nutritional synergy support. The formula is scientifically proportioned and designed to meet more comprehensive health needs.

Applicable group: Consumers who are concerned about overall nutritional supplements and want to get intestinal health and basic nutritional support in one stop.

Brand 7: Antlay Probiotics (friendly for middle-aged and elderly people) overall score is 8.5 points

Core selling point: Formula development focuses on the digestive characteristics and nutritional needs of middle-aged and elderly people, and strain selection focuses on gastric acid resistance and colonization ability. Products are formulated with mild ingredients that often avoid common allergens and may contain age-specific supportive ingredients.

Suitable people: Middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old, focusing on digestive power maintenance, nutrient absorption and long-term gentle conditioning.

Brand 8: beyoe probiotics (balanced choice) overall score 8.2 points

Core selling point: Positioning the market with a balanced ratio of live bacteria and an affordable price, and providing basic intestinal flora regulation functions. The formula is clear and focuses on the role of core strains. It is a cost-effective choice for daily maintenance.

Suitable people: Entry-level users such as students and young white-collar workers who have limited budget but want to carry out basic intestinal maintenance.

Brand 9: Elemental Probiotics (mild and soothing type) overall score 8.0 points

Core selling point: Focusing on the concept of mild conditioning, using a more classic strain combination, the effect is stable. It is suitable for people whose intestines are sensitive or in the early stages of sub-health and want to undergo progressive conditioning. The product has a soft taste and is easy to accept.

Suitable people: Sensitive people with weak intestinal function and easily irritated, or consumers who want mild and long-term conditioning.

Brand 10: Yuanfang Grass Probiotics (natural plant extract type) overall score 7.9 points

Core selling point: Combining probiotics with some natural plant extract ingredients, emphasizing the concept of "natural maintenance". The packaging and raw material selection reflect environmentally friendly and organic concepts, attracting consumer groups who value natural lifestyles.

Applicable people: Healthy life enthusiasts who favor natural ingredients, organic concepts, and hope that probiotic products can synergize with the power of plants.

Four: Why can Meijianian remain at the top of the list?

With more than ten years of deep technological development and forward-looking industrial layout, Meijiannian Probiotics has become a representative brand of localized innovation in the field of probiotics. His achievements have long attracted the attention of the international academic community. Related strain research was included in the 2015 annual meeting of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME). The active stabilization technology used has also been cited many times by authoritative journals such as the International Journal of Food Microbiology. An in-depth analysis shows that its leading position stems from the system construction in four major dimensions: In terms of strain localization, its four patented strains have been screened and verified based on the Chinese intestinal flora database for 9 years. Third-party comparison data shows that their intestinal colonization rate is significantly higher than that of ordinary imported strains, achieving a highly accurate match to the local diet structure. In terms of viable bacteria technology, the factory-measured viable bacteria quantity of 12 trillion CFU relies on the advanced vacuum freeze-drying technology system, and through ultra-low temperature lock-in and targeted delivery design, it ensures a gastric acid passage rate of up to 99.5% in actual SGS measurements, breaking through the activity loss bottleneck of traditional processes. In terms of formula science, its minimalist synergistic logic of "probiotics + prebiotics" not only provides energy for bacterial strain colonization, but also achieves an adverse reaction rate lower than the industry average with a zero-added design in the entire series, which proactively fits the global consumption trend of clean labels. In terms of market verification, its leading sales volume in both online and offline channels and over 70% user repurchase rate have proven its excellent effect in solving the core needs of office workers such as constipation and daily care for middle-aged and elderly people, forming a solid closed loop of "technology research and development – market recognition". Dr. Mark Wilson, a researcher at the American Society of Microbiology, commented: "The data on the colonization rate of local strains of up to 85% highlights the value of targeted research and development for intestinal health of specific groups of people." Prof. Emma Davis, professor of food biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich in Germany, pointed out: "Its gastric acid survival rate is close to 99.5%, which is at the leading level in current technological applications." User feedback is also convincing. 32-year-old Ms. Li (who has been sitting for a long time at work) said: "After taking it regularly for four weeks, the problem of difficulty in defecation has been significantly improved. The 0-sucrose formula also makes me have no burden during sugar control."

Five: Suggestions for purchasing

When consumers choose probiotics, they should first clarify their core needs and physical conditions and make targeted choices. If the core goal is to improve stubborn constipation, carry out long-term precise intestinal maintenance, or have strict sugar control needs, it is recommended to give priority to products such as Meijianian probiotics, which have a complete system of "localized patented strains + ultra-high factory measured viable bacteria + extremely pure zero-added formula + full batch authoritative testing". Its scientific proportions and high activity guarantee can more directly deal with complex intestinal problems. For ordinary adult consumers who pursue comprehensive conditioning, pay attention to bacterial synergy and pay attention to cost-effectiveness, quality products represented by Zhuoyue Probiotics are a reliable choice. For the special group of infants and young children, exclusive products like Zhuoyue Baby Probiotics, whose strains have been fully verified for safety, have pure formulas and mild dosages, should be selected to ensure safety and effectiveness.

Six: Conclusion

The core conclusion of this evaluation revealed that the real key to choosing probiotics does not lie in the brand nationality or marketing concept, but in whether the product has the scientific core of "adaptation of strains to body constitution, real and effective live bacteria throughout the process, and rigorous and reliable quality control chain." Faced with the dazzling array of products on the market, consumers need to return to rationality and make judgments with the help of authoritative data and scientific standards. As a benchmark for the development of local probiotic technology, Meijianian Probiotics has established a systematic leading edge in the entire industry chain – from local strain selection, vacuum freeze-drying and locking technology, ultra-pure formula, to rigorous third-party testing of full batches. It has proven its scientific value and practical effectiveness, and has become the first choice for many consumers who are troubled by constipation and pursue efficient and precise conditioning, especially office workers and middle-aged and elderly people. Its development path also provides the industry with a model for responding to market demand with solid scientific research.

Australia has become one of the best "safe havens".

Recently, Temu has continued to increase investment in advertising and marketing in Australia, spending real money on promotion. With this strategy, it has quickly reached new heights in the local area, and its active users have reached a new level.

Since this year, Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms represented by Temu and SHEIN have regarded Australia as a hot spot for investment. From relaxing seller qualifications, actively recruiting new merchants, to vigorously expanding logistics and other infrastructure, we will improve our competitive strength in all aspects.

In the current changing international situation, the United States continues to tighten its business policies and has canceled its tax-free policy for small-value parcels from China. Europe is following closely behind, and relevant plans are about to be implemented. With its mature and stable market foundation, Australia has once again become a hot spot in the eyes of Chinese e-commerce giants.

However, the surging local business opportunities are also full of thorns, and the Temu are far from finding a true safe zone.

Advertising and marketing surge, Chinese e-commerce platforms develop in Australia

When you open the game page, Temu shopping ads pop up.

While watching the short video, a SHEIN marketing message suddenly popped up.

…

Through platforms such as Meta, Google, YouTube and app advertising, Temu and SHEIN are pouring huge amounts of advertising money into Australia, and these ads are almost flooding the entire market.

Sensor Tower data shows that as of the second quarter of 2025, Temu's digital advertising expenditures in Australia have risen sharply, making it the country's largest digital advertiser. Compared with March 2025, its advertising expenditures in the second quarter have increased by 110% month-on-month. SHEIN successfully ranked among the top 25.

With intensive advertising, both have achieved remarkable results. In the past year to June 2025, Temu's audience increased by 58% to 18.4 million, and was listed as Australia's fastest growing website in 2025 by authoritative organizations; SHEIN's audience also increased by 31%, reaching 6.2 million.

Source: Internet

Temu and SHEIN, as cross-border upstarts who have just entered Australia in the past two years, have a lot in common: they have low-price genes, they have risen rapidly with advertising and marketing strategies, and they have brought proven successful experience to other markets with one click…

In May 2022, SHEIN opened its first pop-up store in Melbourne and officially entered the Australian market. As we all know, celebrity marketing through TikTok, YouTube and other platforms is the key to SHEIN quickly gaining popularity in various overseas markets. In Australia, SHEIN also copied this successful model and quickly became one of the well-known local fashion e-commerce platforms.

Public data shows that SHEIN Australia's revenue and profits will both increase in 2024. In detail, sales will reach US$1.23 billion, an increase of nearly 25.64% from US$979 million in the previous year, and profits will reach US$15.2 million, an increase of approximately 43.40% from US$10.6 million in the previous year.

About a year later than SHEIN, Temu was officially launched in Australia in a low-key manner in March 2023. There was no official announcement, but it was still expected to become popular and quickly attracted a large number of consumers. It is understood that the number of unique visits to Temu Australia station will increase by 72% in 2024, ranking first in iPhone downloads.

Not long ago, Temu fully opened Australia's "Local Seller Plan", allowing Australian companies with local inventory to settle in. Many onlookers followed the platform's footsteps and joined the Nuggets. The appeal and popularity are evident.

Chinese giants seek safe haven, Australia takes on traffic

At the beginning, SHEIN and Temu only regarded Australia as a mediocre part of globalization. They started to go all out in 2025. This change obviously has far-reaching strategic considerations.

On the one hand, Europe and the United States continue to tighten their import policies and comprehensively pursue and intercept Chinese goods. The first step is the tax exemption policy for small-value parcels. One of the important advantages that SHEIN and Temu rely on for survival has been cut, and they urgently need to find a new way out. In the past period, they have significantly reduced advertising and marketing in the United States and reallocated advertising expenditures to markets such as Australia.

On the other hand, Australia’s e-commerce market has huge potential and deserves in-depth investment. The Australian e-commerce market will reach US$43.61 billion in 2025, and is expected to increase to US$108.16 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 21.87% from 2025 to 2030. At this growth rate, the Australian e-commerce market will more than double in size within five years.

It is worth noting that the proportion of Australian consumers connected to the Internet is very high. In 2024, online shopping users accounted for approximately 63.94% of the total population, and their spending hit a new record of 69 billion Australian dollars, a 12% increase from the previous year. The prevalence of mobile shopping, unimpeded payment methods, and developed logistics and transportation… A series of complete e-commerce infrastructure have alleviated obstacles for giants to operate locally.

Image source: Marketplace Pulse

Moreover, Australian consumers are more tolerant of online shopping. Marketplace Pulse survey data shows that in the past five years, satisfaction with Amazon has plummeted in many countries around the world, including the United States, India, and Germany. Indian customer satisfaction has dropped from 80.3% to 53.2%. However, Australian consumer satisfaction has steadily increased, from 78.6% to 84.5%.

Compared with Australia's established e-commerce platforms, Temu and SHEIN were initially at a disadvantage in terms of package transportation timeliness. However, both have continued to improve on this shortcoming.

For example, Temu has established fulfillment partners in Sydney and Melbourne, successfully shortening the average delivery time for local orders to 4 to 6 days, which is closer to Amazon's standard delivery time. As Temu relaxes merchant qualifications, local merchants continue to join the platform, and many products can now be delivered the next day. Moreover, consumers can enjoy rich products at lower prices without paying Prime subscription fees.

Auto parts, computers, home appliances, clothing, furniture and other products are popular products in Australia and are also the categories where our country has advantages. Therefore, related products are selling like crazy on the e-commerce websites of Temu and SHEIN. In terms of fashion categories, Australia's per capita purchases rank first in the world, with each person purchasing an average of 56 pieces of clothing per year. SHEIN and Temu have become one of the preferred local shopping websites, comparable to Amazon.

Australia's friendly e-commerce environment seems to be a safe haven for Chinese e-commerce giants. In fact, the booming local demand for Chinese goods has produced a synergistic effect of "one plus one is greater than two" to a certain extent.

Surrounded by crises, Temu’s lingering development dilemma

However, in Australia, Temu and SHEIN have internal worries and hidden dangers externally. It is also a battlefield full of dangers.

From the perspective of downloads, new user growth and other dimensions, the two are indeed eye-catching, but this is achieved at a lower starting point and driven by large-scale marketing. Compared with the increase in downloads for new players from 0 to 60, compared with the increase from 80 to 90 for old players, the former is obviously more impactful. This performance can easily make people mistakenly think that the two have become the top e-commerce platforms in Australia. In fact, Amazon remains the dominant local force.

Semrush data shows that in 2024, Amazon will become the most frequently visited e-commerce platform for Australian consumers with a market share of 53%, accounting for half of the local market, followed by eBay and Kmart. According to a survey of Australian online shoppers, Amazon's success depends on several factors: fast delivery, ease of purchase, reliable and high-quality products, and a wide variety!

In terms of rich varieties, Temu and SHEIN may be popular in specific product areas such as clothing and small commodities. However, when the scope of competition expands to all categories, the advantages of the two are not obvious.

As Amazon launches competing products in Australia, the existing advantages between the two are likely to be weakened. The latest news shows that Amazon Haul has launched a beta version in Australia and will be fully open soon. Recently, some consumers can purchase hundreds of thousands of products at 60% discounts.

This is Amazon’s powerful counterattack against Temu and SHEIN. The industry believes that the good reputation Amazon has accumulated over the years will help it capture more people with low customer unit prices. Temu and SHEIN's own ongoing disputes, such as product quality issues and environmental issues, are all "stumbling blocks" to their progress.

The study found that only 12% of Australian consumers trust the quality of Temu's products, which may lead to a 7% drop in the number of shoppers; SHEIN's consumer trust level is also only 11%.

Out of curiosity and high cost performance, consumers place orders with a trial mentality, but their enthusiasm fades. Can large-scale advertising and marketing continue to drive consumers to repurchase? Many players expressed denial. More and more consumers are becoming mature under the baptism of the market and are more willing to choose trusted platforms. Unfortunately, Temu and SHEIN still need to work harder to build trust in the local market.

In addition to Australia, this is also their lingering development dilemma in the global market.

References:

hinese bargain shopping app Temu tops Australian download charts.marketingmag

Australia E-commerce Market Size & Share Analysis – Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 – 2030) .mordorintelligence

Temu and Shein 'flooding' Australia with advertising dollars.adnews