Global Media Dialogue of 2026 Concludes in Shanghai

A deep dialogue on China's consumer market concluded today at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. At the Global Media Dialogue of 2026 for Chinese and International Media, three leading experts from industry and academia shared their latest observations on consumption trends with journalists from home and abroad. The gathering was themed “China's Consumption Through a Global Lens: Divergence, Consensus, and Innovation.”

Qin Shuo, founder of Chin@Moments, directly challenged the prevailing narrative of "consumption weakness" in his speech. While acknowledging K-shaped polarization as a real phenomenon, he argued it captures only a fraction of the full picture. Drawing on extensive first-hand research, he demonstrated that physical goods consumption has not downgraded; rather, it has become exceptionally vibrant. Chinese consumption, Qin noted, is evolving from a phase of "copying and following" to one with its own "independent rhythm." E-commerce has fundamentally restructured China's consumer geography, enabling high-quality products and extreme value-for-money offerings to reach lower-tier markets simultaneously, he noted. County-level markets no longer lag behind first-tier cities in a linear gradient; instead, they are being reached in parallel as new consumption frontiers. The central thesis of Qin’s address was that the Chinese market is not contracting but undergoing rational evolution toward “higher quality, good yet affordable.”

Liu Gongrun, vice president of the CEIBS Lujiazui International Financial Research Institute, traced the fundamental shift in consumption logic from "Can we afford it?" to "Is it worth it?" and "How do we buy better?" He contended that the true engine of Chinese consumption innovation is not e-commerce discounts or live-streaming commerce, but the full-chain reconstruction of “demand-supply chain-scenarios.”On the rise of "Guochao" (China-chic) domestic brands, Liu argued that this trend is not a substitute for consumption downgrading, but rather a rebalancing of "cost performance" and "heart performance" (emotional value). Shanghai's continued ability to attract global consumer attention, he observed, stems from its unique capacity to showcase simultaneously an “innovative China" and a “China with cultural depth."

Wu Mianqing, chief executive of Baiguan Technology, offered an alternative data-driven perspective, identifying deep shifts in Chinese residents' consumption mentality. He highlighted emerging tech consumption patterns -- from AI services to robotics -- and analyzed the structural characteristics behind the consumer market's warming trend since the fourth quarter of last year. Factoring in the significant wealth effects of capital markets on household spending, he presented forward-looking, data-supported projections for Chinese consumption trends over the next five years to 10 years.

In the subsequent exchange session, Chinese and international journalists engaged with the three speakers on the drivers of inbound consumption growth in Shanghai, the momentum behind consumption innovation, and how to frame China's consumption story for global audiences. Participants noted that as global perspectives on Chinese consumption grow increasingly polarized, dialogues grounded in frontline research, hard data, and rigorous academic frameworks provide essential professional anchors for understanding the market's complex realities beyond simplistic binary narratives.