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China’s 618 shopping festival reached a record RMB 855.6 billion in GMV, up 15.2% YoY, according to Syntun, though daily spending fell as the event ex…

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China’s 618 shopping festival reached a record RMB 855.6 billion in GMV, up 15.2% YoY, according to Syntun, though daily spending fell as the event extended over several weeks. <a href="/company/alibaba">Alibaba's</a> Tmall and <a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> led sales, while subsidies and early promotions lifted May retail figures amid consumer caution and discount fatigue.

Nintendo has yet to release the Switch 2 in mainland China, but Hong Kong units are being resold on <a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> and Taobao for over RMB 4,000, underscoring strong demand despite no official launch plans. Analysts warn that prolonged delays could fuel piracy and gray market expansion.

<a href="/company/kuaishou">Kuaishou’s</a> 618 campaign saw strong GMV growth across shelf and content scenes, with search GMV up 143% and short video GMV rising 29% YoY. GMV from big-ticket items jumped 219%, while the number of sellers surpassing RMB 100 million grew 61%.

<a href="/company/jd">JD.com</a> ended its 618 festival with over 2.2 billion orders and more than 100% YoY growth in user numbers. Appliance and home category sales surged, with 15 new products surpassing RMB 100 million. Live stream sales rose 285%, while hot weather drove demand for AI-powered air conditioners and summer goods. JD Mall’s offline stores also posted triple-digit gains.

Meta is hiring Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, key figures behind <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> startup Safe Superintelligence and VC firm NFDG. The duo will work with Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang, brought on through a USD 14.3 billion deal. Meta will also take a stake in NFDG.

Google is using YouTube videos to train <a href="/industry/ai">AI</a> models like Veo 3 and Gemini, but many creators say they were not informed. While YouTube’s terms permit content use, experts warn the practice could undercut creators by producing competing content without credit or consent, raising concerns over AI, copyright, and digital identity.

Export orders on Alibaba.com rose 42% YoY during this year’s 618 event, with GMV up nearly 30% amid early Christmas demand from the US and Europe, where order volumes jumped 55% and 84% respectively. Some suppliers saw sales double, prompting Alibaba to extend US promotions through August and ramp up ad placements across Europe.

Panasonic has partnered with Unitree Robotics to launch <a href="/industry/robotics">humanoid robot</a> sales assistants in retail stores, marking the robots’ first major commercial deployment beyond performances. Debuting at Panasonic’s Hangzhou park, the robots can reportedly explain products, assess customer needs, and calculate offers in real time.

China’s central bank governor said the yuan will play a larger role in a multipolar currency system, warning against overreliance on the US dollar. His remarks came amid rising geopolitical tensions and aligned with efforts to expand the digital yuan, CIPS network, and outbound investment channels.

Chinese customs authorities have seized over 46,000 counterfeit Labubu toys across Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Shanghai as demand for the viral <a href="/company/pop-mart">Pop Mart</a> collectible fuels a surge in knockoffs. State media warned of a growing black market chain mixing fakes with genuine dolls and called for stricter IP enforcement and platform oversight.

A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded during a June 18 static fire test in Texas, likely due to a nitrogen tank failure, marking the first ground test loss in years. No injuries were reported, but the blast adds to ongoing setbacks for a vehicle central to NASA’s moon plans and Elon Musk’s Mars ambitions.

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The Shanghai-based startup is developing AI-powered robots to automate industrial grinding, a process still largely manually done.

Most surface grinding is still done by hand, and Tosso wants to change that

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China’s 618 festival hits record GMV

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