Markets

Dangdang founder Li Guoqing married Zhang Danhong, a Peking University alumna, on August 16th, 2025. The wedding was attended by prominent figures like Charles Zhang and Michael Yu Minhong. Cui Yongyuan gifted the couple a calligraphy piece. This follows Li’s finalized divorce from Yu Yu in June. Li denied rumors of selling wedding tickets, encouraging donations to rural education instead. He described the wedding as a “retake” on love, with only close family and friends invited.

Ele.me is rebranding its delivery personnel as “City Knights,” investing in enhanced benefits, incentives, welfare, and career development. This includes redesigned uniforms and recognition programs, aiming to professionalize the rider role. The move coincides with significant growth for both Ele.me and Taobao Flash Sales, with a 3.5-fold increase in active riders and a 40% surge in average rider income. Numerous brands across various sectors are leveraging Taobao Flash Sales, leading to substantial transaction volume increases. The “City Knight” initiative seeks to solidify Ele.me’s market position and address worker rights concerns.

Travelzoo launches new Club Offers for Canadian members, featuring curated travel deals. Highlights include a $1499 Japan trip with flights, 50% off Whistler ski-in/ski-out suites, a $1299 Mexico 5-star escape with a $200 credit, a $169 Toronto hotel stay, and a $999 Prague getaway. These deals, vetted by Travelzoo’s experts, offer significant savings. Availability is limited, and travelers can access deals by becoming Travelzoo Club Members.

Tech figure Luo Yonghao claimed Dong Yuhui’s “With Hui Tong Xing” venture generates a yearly income of 2-3 billion yuan and that Dong needed a loan for housing before leaving New Oriental. “With Hui Tong Xing” denied the claims. New Oriental’s stock surged after Dong’s initial success but plummeted after his official departure in July 2024, erasing HK$3 billion in value, amid concerns about New Oriental’s future without his influence. Dong himself has refuted earlier reports placing his annual income near 2.85 billion yuan, calling them rumours.

Laifen’s CEO, Ye Hongxin, publicly criticized a former employee, Pan Jian, on Weibo, alleging biased reviews and unethical conduct. The dispute arose after a tech blogger’s review questioned Laifen’s shaver performance. Ye accused Pan of colluding with internal employees for inflated content collaboration fees and hindering investment. The online discussion also highlights concerns about transparency within China’s influencer marketing and the reliability of third-party product reviews.

Cambricon, a Chinese AI chip company, has received approval from the Shanghai Stock Exchange for a RMB 4 billion private placement. The funds will be used for AI chip and software platform development, particularly for large-scale AI models, and to supplement working capital. Cambricon’s Q1 2025 revenue surged by 4230.22% year-on-year, with net profit also significantly increasing. The company focuses on cloud, edge products, and IP licensing, aiming to build a comprehensive AI ecosystem.

A Morgan Stanley report reveals high profitability in AI inference, with average profit margins exceeding 50% for “AI inference factories.” NVIDIA’s GB200 NVL72 leads with a near 78% profit margin, followed by Google’s TPU v6e pod (74.9%) and AWS’s Trn2 UltraServer (62.5%). Huawei’s Ascend CloudMatrix 384 achieves 47.9%. AMD’s MI300X and MI355X, however, show significant negative profit margins due to insufficient token generation efficiency.

China honored Luan Enjie, the first chief commander of its Lunar Exploration Program, with the “Touching China 2024” award. Luan, instrumental in the Chang’e missions, expressed his dedication to further space exploration, stating the “Chinese people’s footsteps will extend further.” The Lunar Exploration Program is China’s third major space endeavor. His contributions, including the naming of asteroid “Luan Enjie Star,” are a testament to China’s advancements. Despite personal sacrifices, Luan affirms his commitment to the space industry, highlighting China’s ambition in space exploration.

Huawei’s Richard Yu addressed the company’s use of the phrase “leading far ahead” in a recent interview, clarifying he uses it sparingly, reserved for genuine achievements. He highlighted the significant impact of U.S. sanctions, causing smartphone shipments to plummet from 240-250 million annually to just over 20 million. Yu also refuted rumors of a fine imposed by Ren Zhengfei for using the phrase, stating it has been overused and the rumors were false. The company aims to only use the term when definitively leading in a specific area.

Travelzoo (TZOO) is introducing “Club Offers” in Germany, providing exclusive, curated travel deals for members. Offers include discounted hotel stays in Rome and getaways to Kos and various locations within Germany. These deals, meticulously vetted by Travelzoo, offer significant savings. Membership is required to access these limited-inventory offers.