Belgian electronic music festival Tomorrowland comes to Shanghai for the first time in July 2025.
hero esports
Hello, I’m Evelyn. I am writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection. This is a snapshot of what I’ve seen and heard from local businesses.
The rise of artificial intelligence may be creating an unexpected winner for China: the experience economy.
big story
Money may be pouring into AI, but for BAI Capital’s Annabelle Yuron, the Chinese consumer is still king.
An “unintended consequence” of AI, she said, is a change in the way humans interact with each other and the business that surrounds them. This means now is the ‘best time’ to tap into future consumer trends, which require a greater focus on offline experiences.
Beijing-based BAI Capital, which has roots in German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, raised $800 million for its latest US dollar fund in May. Although relatively unusual in China’s venture capital world, China’s venture capital industry has recently become more reliant on local investors for Chinese yuan-denominated funds.
Long said he focuses on three things when making investments. Companies must be regulatory neutral, consumer-facing, and market-oriented.
“Not all technology needs to be geeky, it needs to be aerospace, quantum computing, so-called hardcore,” she said. “If I could invest in ByteDance, the next TikTok, I would be happy to invest in it, along with Nintendo, Sony and Panasonic from China. I see that happening now.”
Global investors have long focused on the potential of China’s hundreds of millions of consumers. But since the pandemic, spending has remained sluggish, with money instead flowing into AI, chips and hardware. Retail sales turned negative in May, but grew by 1% in June.
To boost spending, China launched a nationwide trade-in subsidy program in 2024 to encourage consumers to trade in their old goods for new ones. Meanwhile, local authorities are trying other ways to get residents and foreign tourists to spend their money.
The traditional Wangfujing shopping district in downtown Beijing is reinventing itself with more in-person experiences, including virtual reality and the opening of themed areas featuring movie characters. icheeeeInternet drama.
Sharon Tan, CEO of consulting firm Beijing Livion International, which is working on the Wangfujing project, said the company is also considering involving Vogue’s parent company, Condé Nast. Tan told reporters this month that young people’s demands will ultimately shape the consumer space. Condé Nast did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
In new measures announced on July 13, Chinese policymakers made it clear that their focus over the next five years will be to support experiential consumption such as performing arts and sports.
“Genuine offline social connections”
Belgium’s Tomorrowland electronic music festival came to China last year, with its first event held in Shanghai. The event was held in partnership with Dino Ying’s Hero Esports and INS Land supported by BAI.
“As artificial intelligence becomes more and more prevalent, online content will become more homogeneous and AI slop will become more and more common,” Yin said. “Thus, we believe consumers will increasingly seek a return to authentic offline social connections. People will have an increased need for face-to-face interactions.”
The focus on offline comes from someone deeply involved in China’s first premium video game, Black Myth: Wukong, which became an overnight success two years ago.
But Hero Esports is moving quickly. Initial discussions about Tomorrowland’s expansion into China have just begun in early 2025, Yin said. By November of that year, the first festival was live, with plans to return in October of this year. The Inn’s INS Land complex also operates a nightclub and other entertainment venues throughout the year.
BAI’s Long said that if a ticket to a venue costs 200 to 300 yuan ($30 to $44) today, it will be 10 times more expensive in the future. “Because the offline experience of smelling sweat and dancing to real music with real people is the ultimate luxury.”
need to know
US trade official says ‘very few’ Nvidia H200 AI chips are being shipped to China
“The bottom line is that there are very few shipments contrary to the H200 license, and the equivalent is being made. The amount of chips is very small,” Jeffrey Kessler, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, said at a Congressional hearing.
“Listing is a must”: Chinese humanoid startups are rushing to launch IPOs
LimX founder Will Chan compared the situation to electric car startups in China. “If (the company) does not go public after its technology matures, it may disappear like WM Motor,” he said in Chinese, as translated by CNBC.
BrainCo is betting the future of brain technology is wearables
The company’s bionic hand, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, reads electrical signals in the amputee’s nerves and muscles and translates intended movements into finger movements.
very soon
July 16th-29th: 2026 APEC Digital Week in Chengdu
July 27: Chinese memory chip company CXMT is reported to be listed.
