Regional Insights from China, May 2021

The retail sector:

The retail sector — and more specifically e-commerce — is one of the few sectors that has truly benefitted from the pandemic, with brands experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand as consumers turned online following store closures. The nation’s top four e-commerce brands — Taobao, Tmall, Alibaba.com and JD.com — have all seen significant brand value growth. Taobao (brand value $53.3 billion) and Tmall (brand value $49.2 billion) have entered the top 10 for the first-time following 44 percent and 60 percent brand value increases, respectively.

WeChat emerges as China’s strongest brand, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 95.4 out of 100. As one of China’s home-grown tech successes it also enjoyed a rapid boost in brand value, increasing by 25 percent to $67.9 billion and jumping five spots to claim 2nd place among the nation’s most valuable brands. During the pandemic, WeChat ran several government-mandated health code apps to keep track of those traveling or in quarantine, providing access to real-time data on COVID-19, online consultations, and self-diagnosis services powered by artificial intelligence to over 300 million users.

International relations & education:

The Boao Forum for Asia celebrated its 20th Anniversary in April 2021. Governors from 29 countries discussed how to join hands to strengthen global governance and advance the belt and road cooperation at a time of change. During the BFA, an opening ceremony was held in Haikou to celebrate the collaboration of a China Study Center between Massey University and University of Hainan. The Study Center will be open to international students at Massey who cannot return to New Zealand due to closed borders.