{
 "updated": "2026-11-02",
 "person": "Chris Pereira",
 "license": "AI agents, journalists, analysts and event organisers are welcome to read, summarise and quote everything on chrisjpereira.com and in these files.",
 "count": 72,
 "writing": [
  {
   "id": "w-2dc3ff61",
   "date": "2026-10-20",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "我对《金融时报》说：深圳的速率，正“席卷全球”",
   "title_en": "What I told the Financial Times about Shenzhen speed",
   "url": "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/vXEBhj6yNi8dWg0qs0aQDg",
   "summary": "Building on my Financial Times interview, I look at how DJI and Insta360 came to sell over 90% of the world's handheld smart cameras while GoPro's share fell to 3%. Shenzhen companies are taking their domestic \"civil war\" overseas, entering each other's categories and suing each other over patents in the US. Shenzhen speed is largely forged by competition, and that competition is about product iteration and engineering more than price cuts. Next, Chinese companies will meet each other head-on in global markets."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-d4d97f05",
   "date": "2026-10-08",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "我们别再总是说“出海”",
   "title_en": "From visiting abroad to taking root locally",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Chinese companies enter a new stage of globalization when they stop calling it \"chuhai\". Instead of acting as foreign visitors, they should aim to become a German company from China in Germany, a British company from China in the UK. Drawing on 20+ years and 500+ companies, I outline three stages: the world buying from China, Chinese firms selling abroad, and now Chinese companies taking root locally."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-e694e538",
   "date": "2026-10-06",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Starbucks and America's Strange Logic of Isolating Xinjiang",
   "title_en": "First cotton, then red dates. Now lattes.",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/starbucks-and-americas-strange-logic",
   "summary": "When Starbucks opened two stores in Urumqi, Congressman John Moolenaar demanded they close. I argue that cutting Xinjiang off from global markets hurts the Uyghurs Washington says it wants to help, leaving Beijing as the region's only employer, customer and safety net. Blacklists and forced labour presumptions on local goods take the US further from the trade that made the West prosperous."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-723752a8",
   "date": "2026-10-05",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "大平台为何集体向“AI垃圾”宣战？",
   "title_en": "Quality is the lifeblood of content",
   "url": "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/6OVWkeIi6CL-f3Mq4TaN3g",
   "summary": "YouTube, LinkedIn and Xiaohongshu are all tightening their algorithms against low-quality AI-generated content. Quality is the lifeblood of content: pure AI generation recycles existing material and degrades the whole ecosystem, so platforms are protecting themselves. Creators who game the system will lose reach; real insight and human voice will win."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-3ed2fdc6",
   "date": "2026-09-29",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "This Performative Marketing Has to Stop",
   "title_en": "Only authentic brand building wins consumer trust",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/this-performative-marketing-has-to",
   "summary": "In this guest essay, Oliver Pearce of iMpact in London argues that many Chinese brands stage overseas visibility mainly for audiences back home, from Times Square billboards to quiet trade show pavilions. He traces this to pressure for quick growth and managers who reward awards and photos. Real brand building is slower, and examples like Dreame and Labubu show that authenticity wins local audiences."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-ca6aa075",
   "date": "2026-09-21",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "China's Consumers Have Seen It All",
   "title_en": "A conversation with Olivia Plotnick",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/chinas-consumers-have-seen-it-all",
   "summary": "In this conversation, Olivia Plotnick, founder of the Shanghai agency wai social, explains why China is one of the world's most demanding consumer markets. Purchases are driven by recommendations and live streams, and years of fierce competition have made shoppers hard to impress. She advises newcomers to bring humility and realistic budgets and timelines, and to make sure headquarters properly supports local teams."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b315b0dc",
   "date": "2026-09-15",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Shenzhen's Civil War Has Moved to Berlin",
   "title_en": "We took 60 Chinese tech brands to IFA",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/shenzhens-civil-war-has-moved-to",
   "summary": "More than half of the 1,900 exhibitors at IFA 2026 in Berlin were Chinese, and Europe is now the main battleground for Chinese consumer tech. I look at what the leaders are doing: TCL and Hisense selling whole smart homes, Midea building localisation into engineering with its PortaSplit, and Chinese firms owning robot lawnmowers. The task now is turning European openness into lasting trust."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-30560780",
   "date": "2026-08-31",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "The West Needs A Renaissance",
   "title_en": "China's cultural pride, and the West's lack of it",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/the-west-needs-a-renaissance",
   "summary": "China is showing deep cultural pride, seen in the guochao movement and in brands like Fotile, while the West has lost confidence in its own inheritance. I recall a Toronto education that taught me Canada had no culture. The West should teach its achievements alongside its failures and retell its own story, because a civilization that forgets its story eventually gets told someone else's."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-a313fb3d",
   "date": "2026-08-24",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Business Across Borders",
   "title_en": "A conversation with Dennis Zhu",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/business-across-borders-a-conversation",
   "summary": "I spoke with Dennis Zhu, a former Audi China executive and founder of Guangzhou Santis Tech Consulting, about how China Europe business has become a more equal relationship. He says both sides hold misconceptions about each other and that trust comes from learning from, caring for and respecting partners. His advice to European firms is to give their Chinese teams real authority to make decisions."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-ba8d2ab5",
   "date": "2026-08-17",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Western Brands in China Need to Start from Zero",
   "title_en": "When \"foreign\" stopped meaning \"better\"",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/western-brands-in-china-need-to-start",
   "summary": "Western brands in China can no longer rely on imported prestige. Chinese consumers now choose local brands they see as better designed, better priced and more in tune with their culture, as Nike, Starbucks and luxury labels have learned. I treat this as a fixable business problem: hire local talent, give China teams real decision making power, and build community, as Gap and KFC have done."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-2b7fd29f",
   "date": "2026-08-10",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "What Makes a Tech Product Award-Worthy? A Judge's Inside Guide",
   "title_en": "In conversation with Eliane Fiolet",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/what-makes-a-tech-product-award-worthy",
   "summary": "I interview technology journalist and awards judge Eliane Fiolet on what happens on the other side of the judging table. Winning applications make the innovation clear immediately, list key differentiators concisely and show strong design and user experience. She explains how judges tell a genuine innovation from an incremental upgrade, lessons especially useful for Chinese tech brands."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-03c79f0e",
   "date": "2026-08-03",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "What to Expect at IFA 2026",
   "title_en": "The trends shaping Berlin",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/what-to-expect-at-ifa-2026",
   "summary": "My preview of IFA 2026 in Berlin argues that AI, robotics and connected devices have moved from concept into everyday products. AI is now assumed in everything from laptops to kitchen appliances, humanoid robots get IFA's largest showcase, and connected living is shifting toward energy and health. The show's real value lies in the business relationships it builds, especially for Chinese brands, about a third of exhibitors."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b01c8db6",
   "date": "2026-07-27",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "How Louis Vuitton Is Winning in Court and Losing China",
   "title_en": "LV vs. 1.4 billion Chinese",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/how-louis-vuitton-is-winning-in-court",
   "summary": "Louis Vuitton has filed 1,691 trademark lawsuits in China over five years, including a win of about $1.5 million against Molly Tea over a four petal logo. I argue that trust is a foreign brand's scarcest asset in China, and suing small shops and designs tied to traditional motifs spends it fast. Counterfeiting deserves enforcement, and Chinese brands abroad face the same risk."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-77886b50",
   "date": "2026-07-20",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "World AI Conference 2026",
   "title_en": "Could China be the world's AI gateway?",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/world-ai-conference-2026",
   "summary": "At the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai, China shifted the AI debate from frontier safety toward access. Xi Jinping pledged AI training for developing countries, and 29 countries joined the new WAICO body, with no major Western democracy among them. I argue Beijing is positioning itself as the default AI partner for the Global South, and that private firms may matter most in cementing that lead."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-c6d5b187",
   "date": "2026-07-13",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Trust: The New Battleground for Chinese Companies Going Global",
   "title_en": "What comes after conquering manufacturing",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/trust-the-new-battleground-for-chinese",
   "summary": "Chinese companies have mastered manufacturing, quality and price, and I argue that success abroad now depends on trust, a multiplier sitting underneath product and price. Brands like DJI and Midea have largely won consumer trust, while institutional trust with governments and regulators has hardened. Lenovo, Haier and BYD show how local leadership and physical presence build credibility. The piece draws on my interview with CKGSB Knowledge."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-6ff14bce",
   "date": "2026-07-06",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "You Need to Visit China. Now.",
   "title_en": "On history and China's relationship with the West",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/you-need-to-visit-china-now",
   "summary": "Western audiences still see China through an outdated lens. I trace how China fell into its \"Sick Man of Asia\" years and began recovering after 1978, and argue it is resuming its historic place in the world rather than seeking to dominate. My advice is to go and see Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Shanghai for yourself, learn how business works there, and bring ideas home."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b91dfcae",
   "date": "2026-06-29",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Lenovo at the FIFA World Cup 2026",
   "title_en": "Scoring points where it matters most",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/lenovo-at-the-fifa-world-cup-2026",
   "summary": "Drawing on my comments to Nikkei Asia, I look at Lenovo as FIFA's first Official Global Technology Partner at the 2026 World Cup. Lenovo wants to be known for more than laptops, and is treating the tournament as a live, high-profile case study. The depth of the commitment sets it apart: show up, do the work and let reputation follow."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-1968d964",
   "date": "2026-06-22",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "What Are Western Incubators Incubating?",
   "title_en": "China builds companies, Canada hosts wellness workshops",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/what-are-western-incubators-incubating",
   "summary": "I argue that Western incubators, especially Canadian university programs, focus on workshops, panels and networking instead of building companies. Chinese programs such as Shenzhen's XBotPark and Tsinghua's TusStar have graduated hundreds of companies through practical projects, experienced mentors and intense competition. Incubators should be judged by the products they bring to market, and the West needs to back its young founders."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-4e8da393",
   "date": "2026-06-15",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Europe: Answer Your Damn Emails.",
   "title_en": "China's competitive edge begins with a reply",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/europe-answer-your-damn-emails",
   "summary": "A German company's staff sent auto replies saying they would have no email access for up to four weeks. I argue that China's competitive edge starts with simple responsiveness, and that subsidies explain less than people think. My fix for Western firms: acknowledge messages the same day with a concrete deadline, drop \"no access\" auto replies, and measure response time. Rest and responsiveness can coexist."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-8b99e115",
   "date": "2026-06-08",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "The New Wave Is Coming",
   "title_en": "Why foreign companies are looking at China again",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/the-new-wave-is-coming",
   "summary": "Companies from Europe, Canada, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are looking at China as a market again, and both foreign investment figures and inquiries to iMpact reflect it. I point to three forces: goodwill from China's tech progress, expanded visa free entry, and Chinese firms hiring abroad. Newcomers can now deal directly with Chinese clients, though they must still earn trust."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-f1f7a877",
   "date": "2026-05-25",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Stop Reading About China. Come and See It.",
   "title_en": "Shenzhen, APEC and Global Connect Show",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/stop-reading-about-china-come-and",
   "summary": "With APEC's Economic Leaders' Meeting coming to Shenzhen in November, there is no better moment to understand China first-hand. Geopolitical debate constantly references China's supply chains, AI and hardware, yet few observers see the ecosystem up close. Global Connect Show takes international journalists into Shenzhen, and brings the same lens to New York."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-fb265ff7",
   "date": "2026-05-18",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Carl Sagan Has a Message for Trump and Xi",
   "title_en": "A cosmic perspective",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/carl-sagan-has-a-message-for-trump",
   "summary": "Starting with a conversation with a stressed stranger on a train, I suggest a way through economic anxiety, geopolitics and the endless news cycle: Carl Sagan's cosmic perspective. Looking past the headlines of the Trump and Xi summit in Beijing to long term trends, I argue that on a cosmic scale the US and China are remarkably close and should find ways to coexist."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-877efc8e",
   "date": "2026-05-11",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Western Companies Are Terrible at Customer Service in China",
   "title_en": "Slack left China. Chinese users will remember how.",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/western-companies-are-terrible-at",
   "summary": "Salesforce's abrupt shutdown of Slack across Greater China in April 2026, with little migration help, fits a pattern of Western firms treating Chinese customers poorly. I cite LinkedIn's retreat, the BMW Mini ice cream incident and Apple's warranty controversy. China is a primary market, and how a company leaves shapes its reputation for years. Slack left China, and Chinese users will remember how."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-dca7a407",
   "date": "2026-05-04",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "From Exporters to Ecosystem Builders",
   "title_en": "How Chinese B2B firms are reshaping European industry",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/from-exporters-to-ecosystem-builders",
   "summary": "Adapted from my Fortune China column, this piece tracks how Chinese B2B firms in Europe are moving from chasing traffic to building ecosystems. European clients now expect short lead times, which triggered a record wave of Chinese greenfield investment. Market entry has become chain migration, and the leading firms now sell solutions, standards and irreplaceability."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b3687a05",
   "date": "2026-04-27",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Law as Liberty",
   "title_en": "Why Chinese society might be more \"free\" than the West",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/law-as-liberty",
   "summary": "I argue that rules are the precondition for liberty. Western prosperity rested on durable legal systems from Roman law to English common law, which let people plan and invest with confidence. Since the 1960s, Western culture has come to treat discipline and norms as oppression. Singapore's order and China's poverty reduction suggest that structure enables freedom, and that China may be freer in practical terms."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-c4fd048e",
   "date": "2026-04-20",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Supply Chains Don't Lie",
   "title_en": "The Canton Fair and the real direction of global trade",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/supply-chains-dont-lie",
   "summary": "Reports of Western companies fleeing China are overstated, and supply chains reveal strategy better than official statements do. Manufacturing is moving to Vietnam, Mexico and India, but Chinese firms are leading that move, which deepens China's global networks. Success in China still depends on showing up in person, through factory visits, trade fairs, banquets and WeChat, and no due diligence report replaces that."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-ce3a541c",
   "date": "2026-04-13",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Why China Is Suddenly Watching Its Cholesterol",
   "title_en": "Health will guide consumer purchases in 2026",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/why-china-is-suddenly-watching-its",
   "summary": "The sudden deaths of journalist Wei Hua and education influencer Zhang Xuefeng in March 2026 pushed heart health into China's public conversation. Sales of heart medicine surged, delivery platforms are adding healthy meal filters, and protein is being marketed as a lifestyle. I argue that a generation raised on rich diets is now facing the bill, creating a market foreign food and health brands should watch."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-fc1acbb9",
   "date": "2026-04-06",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "China's \"Harbour of Stability\"",
   "title_en": "Why global business interest is surging",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/the-surge-of-global-business-interest",
   "summary": "Amid war and unpredictable US policy, China offers continuity and stability despite weak consumption, a property slump and demographic decline. Inquiries to my firm about entering China rose fourfold in early 2026. With the 15th Five Year Plan opening 205 more sectors to foreign investment, I see openings in healthcare, biotech and manufacturing for firms willing to commit long term. First published in the South China Morning Post."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-6f6b0cba",
   "date": "2026-03-30",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Guanxi Could Get You Recommended by DeepSeek",
   "title_en": "AI is the new gatekeeper",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/guanxi-could-get-you-recommended",
   "summary": "CCTV's 315 Gala exposed Generative Engine Optimization, where crafted content floods the web until AI models recommend a product; a made up smartwatch was ranked by AI within days. I argue GEO is guanxi automated, and similar manipulation happens in the West, only less visibly. Real credibility comes from genuine third party voices such as journalists, analysts, partners and customers."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-398dfb98",
   "date": "2026-03-27",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "AI Agent的“最后一公里”，是人",
   "title_en": "Agents still need a human to take responsibility",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "AI agents add enormous capability, but delivering value still needs a human at the last mile. Someone has to approve, verify and take responsibility, especially in medicine, finance and law. In relationship-driven work like connecting companies with overseas resources, needs are fuzzy and contextual, and final judgment stays human."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-3752f5d9",
   "date": "2026-03-23",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Asia Is Serious About Merit and Competency",
   "title_en": "The 15-second airport customs experience",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/asia-is-serious-about-merit-and-competency",
   "summary": "Drawing on my own travels, I contrast immigration clearance in under 15 seconds at Singapore's Changi and fast security checks in Shenzhen with long queues, unreliable transit and crime in Western cities. I argue Asia's edge comes from a focus on competence, where hiring and projects are judged on capability and officials answer for poor results. Chinese companies expanding abroad should price these gaps into their plans."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-0f51a6a0",
   "date": "2026-03-20",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "你可能正在用AI批量得罪客户",
   "title_en": "Automated outreach is damaging B2B relationships",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Inboxes are filling with near-identical, AI-agent-written outreach emails, and they make a terrible first impression. In B2B, and especially overseas, reputation matters more than reach: an obviously automated email signals you won't invest time in the relationship. Use AI agents for internal tasks and ad analytics, not for building trust with partners."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-1bd5adbf",
   "date": "2026-03-16",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "The Hard Road: China Is Winning an AI Race the West Doesn't Care About",
   "title_en": "Dancing robots are not the main show",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/the-hard-road-china-is-winning-an",
   "summary": "China and the West are running different AI races. Silicon Valley builds cognitive AI for reasoning, writing and code, sold to knowledge workers as subscriptions. China puts intelligence into factories, ports, logistics and robots under its AI+ strategy, partly because Chinese buyers never liked paying for software. I argue AI combined with hardware has far more potential, as factories in Dongguan already show."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b444941b",
   "date": "2026-03-11",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Trust is the biggest challenge for Chinese companies going global",
   "title_en": "Lessons from 500+ companies expanding overseas",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7437335999665430528/",
   "summary": "After working with more than 500 Chinese companies expanding globally, I see building trust overseas as their single biggest challenge: trust with clients, governments, media, investors and talent. My book Trust 《信任》, published by Shenzhen Publishing House, sets out how to build that trust quickly in a new market."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-e53561f1",
   "date": "2026-03-09",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "China's \"Rest of World\" Strategy Is Opening Non-American Doors",
   "title_en": "What the Iran war means for chuhai",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/chinas-rest-of-world-strategy-is",
   "summary": "The Iran war has rattled Chinese firms planning Gulf expansion, but I see it as a temporary disruption that hides a lasting shift. Chinese companies are reducing reliance on the US and building a corridor from the Gulf to London. Private firms are finding consumer demand and partnership in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while warmer UK ties make London a base for talent and European headquarters."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-25c68266",
   "date": "2026-03-06",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "伊朗局势升级，“出海中东”要缓一缓吗？",
   "title_en": "Instability belongs in the plan from day one",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Safety comes first, but instability should already be built into any serious Middle East strategy, so good plans shouldn't be overturned easily. Competitors who can't cope may pull back, leaving room for those who stay. The region may also return to stability faster than expected, since Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others want calm."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-c4fd143b",
   "date": "2026-03-02",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Top 10 Lesser-Known Chinese Startups to Watch",
   "title_en": "Beyond DeepSeek and TikTok",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/top-10-lesser-known-startups-to-watch",
   "summary": "A year after the DeepSeek shock, I profile ten lesser-known Chinese startups worth watching, many in embodied intelligence and robotics. They include Spirit AI, LimX Dynamics, Galaxea AI, DEEP Robotics and PureBlue AI, each with a short explanation of what it does and why I am watching it."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-fd047121",
   "date": "2026-02-23",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Where Are the North Korean Startups?",
   "title_en": "The elephant in the room",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/where-are-the-north-korean-startups",
   "summary": "I argue that economic freedom drives national prosperity, and that China's rise since the 1970s came from market liberalisation more than Party planning. North Korea has run economic plans since the 1950s with little to show for it, as Kim Jong Un himself has admitted. Private successes like Labubu, Unitree and Dreame tell the real story. Anyone crediting five year plans needs to explain North Korea."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-fe75b615",
   "date": "2026-02-16",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Lessons From the Chinese Economic \"Miracle\"",
   "title_en": "Size of government matters more than form",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/lessons-from-the-chinese-economic",
   "summary": "Having watched Zhengzhou transform since I arrived in 2004, I ask why China grew faster than Western democracies. State planning failed before 1978, and growth took off when Deng's reforms, starting in Shenzhen, reduced state intervention. China's rise supports free market theory and offers no endorsement of its political system. Wealth is created in freer markets, and government intervention from any source erodes prosperity."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-bf33c144",
   "date": "2026-02-13",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "The Narrative Gap",
   "title_en": "Insights from the 2026 LSE China Development Forum",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/the-narrative-gap",
   "summary": "Reflecting on my panel at the LSE China Development Forum, I look at the gap between China's growing soft power in the West and how Chinese companies are perceived. Words and stories carry weight. I argued that trust and friendship are critical, and asked whether Chinese companies can turn today's soft power momentum into lasting credibility."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-19de91f1",
   "date": "2026-02-10",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "不被媒体认可的出海品牌究竟做了什么？",
   "title_en": "The invisible reputation that monitoring tools miss",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/91203.html",
   "summary": "Beyond coverage counts lies an invisible reputation: what journalists privately think of a brand. Chinese brands lose it through \"eye-roll moments\", such as hiding where they come from, staging empty events or rewriting reporters' copy. Being open about your origins and respecting the media's independence builds the trust that coverage depends on."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-f8c88297",
   "date": "2026-02-09",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "The Bildungsroman of Chinese Brands",
   "title_en": "Why hiding your origins means losing your edge",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/the-bildungsroman-of-chinese-brands",
   "summary": "A robotics founder asked me whether to register overseas to look less Chinese. I argue Chinese companies should own their origins abroad, because their momentum comes from capabilities rooted in China. Foreign audiences care more about legal compliance and local contribution than nationality. SHEIN's claim to be Singaporean leaves it with an identity crisis, while DJI openly embraces Shenzhen. For brands, as for people, maturity starts with self acceptance."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-473bf3bf",
   "date": "2026-02-02",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Canada's FAFO Moment",
   "title_en": "Antagonizing a superpower neighbour never ends well",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/canadas-fafo-moment",
   "summary": "As the American led order ends, Canada, the country most tied to the United States, faces the greatest risk. It has little leverage and keeps losing skilled workers south. I argue US influence over Canada will persist for decades, so Canada cannot meaningfully expand trade with China without Washington's approval and should first repair ties with the Trump administration."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-4562e33b",
   "date": "2026-01-24",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Canada and China: Star-cross'd Lovers",
   "title_en": "The truth about Canadian diplomacy with China",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/canada-and-china-star-crossd-lovers",
   "summary": "I argue that Canada, sheltered for a century by geography and a friendly neighbour, never developed the diplomatic skill that great power politics demands. Its pivot toward China is naive given its limited leverage with Beijing and its deep dependence on Washington, and a weakened foreign service makes matters harder. Canada should pursue a middle path and economic reform, with the long term aim of becoming a major power."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-d39e7d4b",
   "date": "2026-01-18",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Parenting Is Improving in China",
   "title_en": "An encouraging trend",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/parenting-is-improving-in-china",
   "summary": "Parenting in China is getting gentler. Shenzhen slogans call for treating children with respect, urban families increasingly avoid corporal punishment, and studies show falling child maltreatment and growing disapproval of spanking among younger generations. Because the health of a society begins in childhood, I suggest freer and more supportive childhoods could eventually produce a more open China, and I contrast this with a less favourable trend in the West."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-d9f25eed",
   "date": "2026-01-17",
   "platform": "Substack",
   "title": "Cars for Canola Is Not a Recipe for Canada's Prosperity",
   "title_en": "China won't save Canada. Canada needs to save Canada.",
   "url": "https://insightsfromchina.substack.com/p/cars-for-canola-is-not-a-recipe-for",
   "summary": "I welcome warmer relations between Canada and China, but China does not need Canada, which makes up under 5% of Chinese exports. The cars for canola deal is more show than substance and signals weakness. Canada's prosperity depends on domestic reform, tackling high taxes and oligarchic structures, with the aim of becoming the Singapore of the Western hemisphere. China won't save Canada."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-f4090c35",
   "date": "2026-01-13",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "CES2026紧急通知：这些奖不算数了",
   "title_en": "Advice from a CES Innovation Awards judge",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/89123.html",
   "summary": "On the last day of CES 2026, organisers told media that awards from outside groups can no longer use the name \"Best of CES\". As one of the official CES Innovation Awards judges, I give brands planning for CES 2027 three pieces of advice on which recognition really counts and how to earn it."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-cdd8ea1c",
   "date": "2025-12-10",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Why a US \"crackdown\" now feels like a badge of honour for Chinese founders",
   "title_en": "An ironic shift in China's global business",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7404354104875155456/",
   "summary": "For many Chinese founders, a US crackdown now reads as a badge of honour. Huawei, DJI and BYD all thrived after being targeted, and the same is happening in biopharma, smart healthcare and robotics. I call it the Paper Tiger Effect: if Washington spends political capital to restrict you, you are probably doing something right."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-cf1677d6",
   "date": "2025-12-05",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "AI内容是如何消磨你的用户信任度的？",
   "title_en": "Refusing to use AI blindly is the new differentiator",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/84499.html",
   "summary": "Web Summit in Lisbon felt like an AI carnival, with tools that write posts, emails and ads at the push of a button. When everyone uses AI the same way, content becomes generic and erodes customer trust. Using AI thoughtfully, with a real human voice, is now the biggest differentiator."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-30a77fbc",
   "date": "2025-11-05",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "想让AI推荐你的品牌？得先弄懂GEO",
   "title_en": "Generative Engine Optimization for brands",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/80238.html",
   "summary": "People are switching from searching to asking AI, so Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is overtaking SEO. AI gives answers drawn from a few trusted sources, not pages of links. Brands that want to be recommended need credible coverage and clear, consistent information in the sources AI relies on."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-6e3bf827",
   "date": "2025-02-25",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Shenzhen now hails helicopter taxis by QR code",
   "title_en": "Innovation, Shenzhen style",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7300127313994649601/",
   "summary": "Shenzhen has launched helicopter taxis from the city centre to the airport, booked by scanning a QR code in a WeChat mini program, for about US$550 a seat. Helicopters are rare over Chinese cities because of airspace rules, so the service lit up social media and shows why Shenzhen leads China in technology and infrastructure."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b65c916b",
   "date": "2025-02-14",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Signs of a warming sentiment towards China in the US",
   "title_en": "What I'm seeing on the ground",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7295984196769001474/",
   "summary": "I see clear signs of warming sentiment towards China in the US, from the news and social media to the questions journalists now ask me. Younger Americans have never felt threatened by China and like Chinese products such as TikTok, Temu and Shein. The brief exodus of TikTok users to RedNote showed real human connection between the two peoples."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-e28daa43",
   "date": "2025-01-25",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "聚焦长期：特朗普上任，新举措怎么看？",
   "title_en": "Read Trump's first moves with a long-term lens",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/56715.html",
   "summary": "Trump's first executive orders on TikTok, tariffs, energy and more have Chinese companies abroad reading every headline. Tracking each move is short-termism. Stay focused on markets and customers, avoid taking sides on divisive issues, and do good locally in ways no one can object to, such as helping young people and supporting customers."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-1be90f87",
   "date": "2024-11-13",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Many Chinese companies go abroad before they are ready",
   "title_en": "Speed is China's strength and its overseas risk",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7262253527836557312/",
   "summary": "Many of my Chinese clients are taking their businesses abroad before they are ready. Growth prospects overseas are better than at home and enthusiasm has never been higher, but Shenzhen speed has a cost. Too many companies in this new wave have yet to adapt how they do business for markets that work very differently from China."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-baa7fff0",
   "date": "2024-05-10",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "百度公关危机背后折射出这些问题",
   "title_en": "Wolf culture and communications built for the boss",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "A Baidu vice president's viral videos became a global news story. I argue the crisis exposed deeper problems: a copy of Huawei's \"wolf culture\" that manages upward instead of serving customers, overseas communications built to impress bosses rather than audiences, and a slow international strategy that is driving talent away."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-67b7e9ac",
   "date": "2024-04-26",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "广交会效果不好？我有这些建议",
   "title_en": "Go where your overseas buyers are",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Exhibitors told me this year's Canton Fair produced few foreign buyers. If your customers are overseas, go to overseas trade shows to find clients and build friendships, while using the Canton Fair to maintain existing relationships. The fair itself needs a brand upgrade: younger foreign buyers barely know it exists."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-d52fb5b2",
   "date": "2024-04-25",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "“中国制造”短视频火爆北美：偶然还是必然",
   "title_en": "China's latest cultural export to North America",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "After e-commerce, social media and games, Chinese short-drama apps like ReelShort are the latest \"copy from China\" success in North America, with 40+ apps, nearly 55 million downloads and $170 million in revenue. Chinese game companies are moving in with lower production costs and AI tools. China has built a clear competitive edge in a market set to pass $100 billion."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-4c435aeb",
   "date": "2024-04-07",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "AI正在改变广告营销、影视、游戏等行业",
   "title_en": "A chance to create English content at scale",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "A film scene that once cost $1 million to shoot could now cost under $10,000 with tools like Sora, and AI could cut ad production costs by 90%. Chinese companies competing internationally should seize this: AI can finally help them create English-language video content at scale. But AI cannot replace authority, expertise and third-party voices."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-0bc70b6a",
   "date": "2024-02-19",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "Sora并不完美，但我们正处于技术变革前夜",
   "title_en": "A turning point for film, games and advertising",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "OpenAI's Sora isn't the first text-to-video model, and it has flaws, but 2024 may prove a turning point like 1687 and Newton. Investors will revalue AI video startups, and many will fail to raise money. Film, gaming and advertising face deep cost cuts and job losses, with some predicting AI could generate 80% of brand content."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-96b04069",
   "date": "2024-02-17",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "Temu一掷千金撒钱超级碗，中国企业需要效仿吗？",
   "title_en": "Smart timing beats buying out the show",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Temu spent an estimated $35 million on Super Bowl ads this year, but many Americans are asking where the money comes from, and its core users are shrinking. Sports advertising is an effective way for Chinese brands to build awareness in the US, but buying out the show isn't necessary. Smart timing and thoughtful creative do more to earn American consumers' trust."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-d60fd7e1",
   "date": "2024-02-12",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "海外传播服务机构出现“李鬼”，品牌方应仔细辨别",
   "title_en": "Check a partner's track record before you hire",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Some new overseas communications agencies are pitching Chinese brands with case studies that other firms actually delivered. In Western markets integrity is everything: hiring a dishonest agency risks your money and your brand's reputation. Chinese companies going global should do proper background checks on any partner."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-6bf3fe76",
   "date": "2024-01-17",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "CES 2024回顾：参展不是摆摊",
   "title_en": "Mindset is the real barrier at global trade shows",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Chinese exhibitors at CES 2024 improved, but many still showed products and sent press releases while Korean startups, on similar budgets, built booths and trained staff to win visitors over. The biggest barrier to Chinese brand influence overseas is mindset. At global trade shows, focus on closing the distance between brand and customer."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-2d053d9f",
   "date": "2023-11-22",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "OpenAI内杠，员工忙跳槽",
   "title_en": "Culture and leadership drive breakthroughs",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "After OpenAI's board ousted Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, 500+ employees demanded the board resign while Nvidia, Microsoft and Google courted its staff. An OpenAI insider I spoke with explains why: Altman built the focused culture behind its breakthroughs, and without him the company risks becoming an empty shell. Culture and leadership are a tech company's real assets."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-398b018a",
   "date": "2023-11-10",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "The US Should Welcome Companies from China",
   "title_en": "Why openness serves America better than exclusion",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-should-welcome-companies-from-china-chris-pereira-%E5%BD%AD%E5%AE%B6%E8%8D%A3-euccc/",
   "summary": "2023 brought growing hostility in the US towards Chinese investment, from the congressional hearings on TikTok to opposition to CATL battery plants. I argue this protectionism is hypocritical and goes against the business principles that made America wealthy. Welcoming Chinese companies creates jobs and investment and serves US interests over the long run."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-efb35376",
   "date": "2023-11-09",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "中国企业如何进行黑五促销：提前布局",
   "title_en": "Black Friday is planned months ahead",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/26891.html",
   "summary": "If you are only now thinking about Black Friday, it is too late. North American companies plan four to six months ahead. About 70% of North American consumers still shop offline, so success comes from combining stores, KOLs on social media and well-prepared content on your own channels, while watching what competitors budget and plan."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-226e0261",
   "date": "2023-11-04",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "中国企业应主动去海外找客户",
   "title_en": "Go abroad to find overseas customers",
   "url": "https://www.qizansea.com/26491.html",
   "summary": "If your customers are overseas, stop waiting for them at domestic fairs. Go to their markets, attend events like CES, and think like a local company with a long-term international mindset rather than a one-off trip. Choose events and partners carefully, and invest in local media, NGO and association relationships."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-1662cc30",
   "date": "2023-09-25",
   "platform": "WeChat",
   "title": "为什么说中国新能源车企应加速进入国际市场",
   "title_en": "Technology decides who wins",
   "url": "",
   "summary": "Like Pizarro's steel against the Inca's numbers, technology innovation, not size or history, decides who wins, and European automakers now openly fear China's EVs. Chinese EV makers and their supply chains should go global faster, even building local plants, as Japanese and Korean carmakers did. Expect criticism once you take root abroad, and respond with grace rather than hitting back."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-2c4e2017",
   "date": "2023-08-22",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "The Evolving Landscape of Global Currency: The Case for Multi-polar Stability",
   "title_en": "The case for a multi-polar currency system",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolving-landscape-global-currency-case-multi-polar-chris-pereira-%E5%BD%AD%E5%AE%B6%E8%8D%A3/",
   "summary": "Echoing Tharman Shanmugaratnam's call for the US to play the long game with China, I look at the debate over de-dollarization. The dollar has anchored global trade since Bretton Woods, and the aim is a more balanced, multipolar financial system that separates politics from economics and gives an interconnected world more stable policy."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-90b5dcb5",
   "date": "2023-04-30",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Access Denied: The Cost of Limited Access to AI",
   "title_en": "What restricted AI access costs China and the West",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/access-denied-cost-limited-ai-chris-pereira-%E5%BD%AD%E5%AE%B6%E8%8D%A3/",
   "summary": "AI's arrival is like witnessing the first nuclear explosion, and we are unprepared for the shockwave. I watched a workshop audience laugh with joy as AI did hours of work in seconds. My concern is the restricting and filtering of the AI made available to most of the world while a small elite enjoys far more powerful tools."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-4e09d439",
   "date": "2023-04-24",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Leave TikTok Alone: The Smart Chinese Spies Are Headed to American Companies",
   "title_en": "Why the TikTok ban misses the real issue",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leave-tiktok-alone-smart-chinese-spies-headed-chris-pereira-%E5%BD%AD%E5%AE%B6%E8%8D%A3/",
   "summary": "Chinese entrepreneurs in the US are criticised both for being too Chinese and for trying to be more American. Drawing on my work helping Chinese firms position themselves in the US, I argue that crackdowns on companies like TikTok achieve little and erode the trust and openness that make America strong, pushing firms like Shein to relocate elsewhere."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-b016c10f",
   "date": "2021-07-01",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "The Democratic Mind Is Formed in Childhood",
   "title_en": "Why engagement with China matters to our children",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/democratic-mind-formed-childhood-why-engagement-china-chris-pereira/",
   "summary": "As Canada's relationship with China deteriorates, I argue for engagement. Using the rights of the child as an example, I show how Canada can influence values through patient cooperation: every child raised in a peaceful home is more likely to support peace as an adult. Cutting ties removes our ability to shape that change."
  },
  {
   "id": "w-338ac111",
   "date": "2021-05-25",
   "platform": "LinkedIn",
   "title": "Why I Quit My Job In 2020",
   "title_en": "Leaving a stable job mid-pandemic to start iMpact",
   "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-quit-my-job-2020-chris-pereira/",
   "summary": "In summer 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I quit a stable job to start what is now iMpact. I trace the series of bold jumps in my career: studying Chinese in Zhengzhou at 19, farming at Burnbrae Farms, running a consultancy in Suzhou and joining Huawei in Shenzhen, and explain why helping companies evolve beyond exporting became my mission."
  }
 ]
}