DFC Studio is a digital and e-commerce agency specializing in helping foreign companies develop and grow in the Chinese market. The agency offers services like market entry strategies, social media management, e-commerce solutions, and influencer marketing.

DFC Studio

DFC Studio | 717 followers on LinkedIn. We help companies build &amp; develop impactful brand. | DFC Studio est un studio digital Franco-Chinois spécialisé dans le social commerce basé à Pékin et à Lyon.

Notre mission est de localiser et de développer votre marque en Chine auprès d’une audience qualifiée pour accroitre rapidement votre visibilité et vos ventes sur ce marché unique à fort potentiel.

Nos consultants aux profils internationaux seront là pour vous accompagner tout au long de votre développement, en commençant par votre stratégie de localisation, sur la création de contenu impactant, sur l’animation de vos réseaux sociaux et la gestion de votre e-boutique.

General Manager France & Partner - at DFC Studio

Stephane Charrier

E-Commerce Founder @ theIPS and PRIVET | Marketing, Branding

Olivier PICHON

Associate Director Of International Development at Soanseng

Jean-Pablo Kabawou 宝龙

Head of strategy & Partner

Wenpeiyu Zhang

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🚫 WeChat owner Tencent will ban virtual influencers from livestreaming on its Video Accounts platform to promote real-time interaction with live hosts. This move contrasts with rival platforms' lenient stance on AI-powered anchors and follows a public feedback period on new regulations targeting low-quality content. 👨🏻💻 Alibaba-owned DingTalk is planning global expansion after a successful pilot with Chinese enterprises operating overseas, according to 36Kr. The company is assembling a diverse team and hiring regional managers in Southeast Asia to support the project, aiming to build on its base of over 700 million users and 120,000 paying customers. ☕ Luckin Coffee, the Chinese counterpart to Starbucks, plans to enter the Malaysian market with a local partner as it expands beyond Singapore, its first foreign location, according to Malaysia’s The Edge. The partnership includes an ambitious five-year store expansion plan. US-listed Luckin Coffee has 18,590 stores globally as of March 31, with 32 in Singapore and the rest in China. 🎮 Tencent’s mobile game Honor of Kings ranked second in the global mobile game market in May, grossing $219 million, according to Sensor Tower. Another Tencent title, Dungeon and Fighter, released in China on May 21, earned over $100 million in just 10 days, securing the eighth spot globally. 🐼 Chongqing Zoo's giant panda quadruplets, symbolizing "double joy and happiness" in Chinese, just celebrated their fifth birthday with a special party. Born on June 23, male twins Shuangshuang and Chongchong and female twins Xixi and Qingqing delight fans worldwide with their charming dining habits, often captured on camera sitting around a table with "good manners."

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🛍️ During China’s 618 shopping festival, major retailers like Taobao, JD, and Xiaohongshu saw positive metrics despite reduced consumer spending. Pinduoduo's aggressive pricing and Taobao's homepage revamp contributed to their success, with Taobao also doubling its 88VIP loyalty members. JD partnered with Hunan TV for a special event to boost engagement, and Xiaohongshu tripled its orders from last year. 📱 In Q1 2024, Huawei’s HarmonyOS surpassed Apple’s iOS in China, becoming the second most-used OS behind Android, according to Counterpoint Research. HarmonyOS’s market share rose from 8% to 17% year-over-year, while iOS’s share fell from 20% to 16%. Additionally, HarmonyOS's 5G adoption reached 50%, and Huawei released version 4.2 for its Mate 40 series. 🐟 A team at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an has developed manta ray-like submersibles for coral reef monitoring, inspired by marine organisms since 2006. These submersibles, used for tracking threats like crown-of-thorns starfish, can dive deep and stay submerged longer. Shark attacks are rare, but playful young whales and microorganism attachments are challenges mitigated by warning sounds and hydrogel coatings. 🚁 Lilium, a German aviation firm backed by Tencent, has established its regional headquarters in Shenzhen, China, in collaboration with the Bao’an district government. As the first European manufacturer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) aircraft to set up a regional office in the district, Lilium aims to meet local safety standards and obtain airworthiness certification for commercial operations. This move aligns with China's push to develop its "low-altitude economy," and follows Lilium's establishment of a wholly-owned Shenzhen subsidiary with a registered capital of €1.9 million ($2 million). 🚚 Meituan announced a plan to buy back up to $2 billion in shares, citing sufficient financial resources to support the repurchases while maintaining a strong financial position. This follows the company's solid first-quarter earnings, with a 25% revenue increase and a 60% profit rise to RMB 5.4 billion. Meituan's shares have surged over 80% since January, and the company has already spent about $995 million on buybacks this year.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🎥 Kuaishou introduced "Kling," a text-to-video model capable of generating two-minute, 1080p videos. In a demo, Kling created a video of a cat driving through downtown based on simple text prompts. Kuaishou claims Kling can animate realistic motions and make people dance from photos. Developed by Kuaishou's LLM team using Sora-like technology, Kling is available for invitation testing on the Kuaiying app. 🐉 During the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, China saw 110 million domestic trips, a 6.3% increase from last year. Tourists spent 40.35 billion yuan ($5.57 billion), up 8.1%. Many opted for weekend getaways, engaging in activities like fruit picking, farming experiences, and camping. Traditional events like dragon boat races and zongzi workshops were popular. Young travelers favored destinations like Yunnan, Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Guizhou, and Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, spurred by the TV series "My Altay." 👓 On June 10, at WWDC 2024, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the Apple Vision Pro's international launch. Pre-orders in China start June 14, with sales beginning June 28, alongside Japan and Singapore. The headset, priced from RMB 29,999 ($4,135) to RMB 32,999 ($4,549), requires separate optical inserts starting at RMB 799 ($110). 🚗 China has approved a pilot program allowing nine major automakers, including BYD, SAIC, and NIO, to test medium-to-high automation vehicles on public roads. This initiative, launched by central government departments, aims to advance the deployment of intelligent vehicles and establish regulations for their use. The selected companies must submit detailed testing and safety plans for temporary permits to operate their autonomous vehicles on select roads. 🚁 DJI announced a historic high-altitude drone test on Mount Everest, marking the first civilian drone round-trip between 5,300 and 6,000 meters. From April 25 to May 1, DJI's FlyCart 30 drone demonstrated its capabilities above the Everest Base Camp, reaching a record altitude of 6,191.80 meters and successfully transporting a 15-kilogram payload. The drone can carry oxygen cylinders up the mountain and return with garbage.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🛍️ JD's "buy 9.9, enjoy free shipping" channel saw a massive surge in shoppers from lower-tier cities during the first hour of the 618 shopping festival, with over 75% of users from third-tier and lower cities. Major brands like Apple and Xiaomi quickly exceeded RMB 100 million in transaction value. Rival Alibaba reported that 185 brands, including Apple and Xiaomi, surpassed RMB 100 million in merchandise volume on Tmall by 9 p.m. on May 31. 🧠 Tencent launched an AI assistant app called Yuanbao, marking its entry into the competitive AI assistant market. Yuanbao, built on Tencent’s Hunyuan model, offers AI-based search, summaries, and document analysis, integrating with the WeChat ecosystem. This distinguishes it from rivals like Baidu and ByteDance. Tencent claims Yuanbao benefits from WeChat’s nearly 1.4 billion users, enhancing content richness and timeliness. Yuanbao offers various AI agents for tasks like English practice, translation, and avatar generation. 🚕 Chinese ride-hailing platform Didi reported a 14.9% year-on-year revenue growth in Q1, with total trips up 30.3% to 3.75 billion. Daily trips hit record highs of 32.5 million in China and 8.7 million overseas. Operating profit improved to RMB 900 million ($124 million), despite a net loss of RMB 1.4 billion due to reduced investment income from its stake in Xpeng. Didi aims for 10% daily trip growth in 2024, targeting 33 million rides per day. 🎮 Developed by Nexon and published by Tencent Games, the mobile version of Dungeon and Fighter has topped China's iOS App Store charts for ten days since its May 21 launch. Bloomberg reported first-week revenue of over $140 million. Analyst Xiao Feng Zeng noted the game could generate $1 billion annually if momentum continues. 🌚The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released images of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe and its lander on the far side of the moon. A movable camera on the probe captured photos of the lander, ascender, and the landing area. The data was sent back to Earth via the Queqiao-2 relay satellite and processed by the ground application system.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : ⚽ Alibaba has signed iconic English football player David Beckham as a global ambassador for its e-commerce platform AliExpress. An advertising video featuring Beckham promotes the platform's "free shipping and returns" feature. Alibaba's International Digital Commerce Group, including AliExpress, Lazada, and Trendyol, has shown the fastest growth among the company's six main units. This partnership follows Alibaba's sponsorship of Euro 2024, with AliExpress anticipating increased traffic for Chinese cross-border merchants. 🎯 Douyin, the short video platform, aims for an ambitious RMB 4 trillion ($552.3 billion) in e-commerce transactions this year, according to 36Kr. This represents a more than 30% increase from 2023. Douyin’s e-commerce success is driven by its large user base and effective integration of video-sharing with shopping. The ByteDance-owned app continues to gain market share from older e-commerce players like Alibaba, whose Taobao and Tmall platforms saw mid-single-digit declines in order volumes last year. 🧠 On May 24th, Alibaba Group released its annual report, revealing a $800 million investment for a 36% stake in AI startup Moonshot AI. Moonshot AI, founded in April 2023, launched Kimi Chat and raised over $1 billion in six months. This investment marks a significant step for Alibaba in the rapidly growing AI sector. 👀 Douyin, TikTok's Chinese sibling app, introduced a "hotspot content" verification mechanism to strengthen platform governance. Accounts involved in trending events must provide proof of identification within 24 hours or face being blocked. Content creators must label fictional stories, with penalties for non-compliance ranging from a 30-day ban to indefinite suspension. This move follows the deletion of influencer Maoyibei's accounts after her fabricated story about a boy's missing homework books in Paris went viral. 🔥 On May 22, Pinduoduo released its Q1 2024 financial report, revealing revenues of 86.8 billion yuan, a 131% year-on-year increase, and net profits of 27.978 billion yuan, up 246%. This surpassed market expectations of 76.86 billion yuan in revenue, boosting Pinduoduo's pre-market share price by over 13%. With this release, Pinduoduo's market value once again surpassed Alibaba's. Despite strong revenue and profit growth, increased sales and marketing expenses present challenges. Pinduoduo's domestic and cross-border business, including Temu, is expanding amid intensifying price and service competition in the e-commerce market.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 📦 Chinese e-commerce player JD.com (JingDong) has escalated the country’s on-demand delivery battle as it rebrands its retail service and promises to deliver purchased items in as little as 9 minutes. The company announced the upgrade on Monday on its official WeChat account. The brand new business integrates JD’s previous one-hour delivery service and JD Daojia, and is now named JD Miaosong, meaning products delivered in seconds. The dedicated section for Miaosong is located on the homepage of JD’s main app, with shoppers able to select and buy flowers and cakes, coffees and medicines and with orders of RMB 29 ($4) and over eligible for free shipping. JD’s rivals generally promise delivery within half an hour with their on-demand services at present. 🚕 Baidu announced its robotaxi business is expected to break even by Q4 and aims to be profitable by 2025. The company unveiled the RT6, a self-driving car priced at RMB 204,600 ($28,316). Baidu plans to deploy 1,000 RT6 vehicles in Wuhan by year-end. Despite investing RMB 20 billion in 2020, Baidu is committed to advancing self-driving technologies. This follows the Chinese government's decision to allow Tesla to test robotaxis in the country. 📈Tencent’s profit jumped 54% to RMB 50.3 billion ($7.1 billion) in the first quarter thanks to the Chinese tech giant’s so-called “high-quality revenue streams,” chairman and CEO Pony Ma told investors during the firm’s earnings call. The referred to streams include advertising in Video Accounts and WeChat Search, and e-commerce technology service fees. Quarterly revenue landed at RMB 159.5 billion, representing a 6% year-on-year increase. Specifically, online advertising generated RMB 26.5 billion during the period, a 26% increase that made it the company’s most successful unit in terms of revenue growth during the quarter. 🔋China’s Gotion High-tech on May 17 unveiled a Tesla-like yet cheaper cylindrical battery as well as a more common prismatic battery with ultra-fast charging among its latest products. Additionally, the Volkswagen-invested battery maker announced its participation in the global race to make all-solid-state batteries, as China looks to catch up with rivals in producing an alternative battery success story. Speaking to reporters during its annual technology conference, Gotion’s management stated that the company would continue its global expansion despite uncertain geopolitical conditions. 🔥Trend of China Social Media: A classic French ballad “Les Champs-Elysees” has made many Chinese viewers know the French singer Joyce Jonathan. It was her first stage performance in Mango TV's international cultural exchange program ChengFeng 2024, and on the second stage broadcast on October 10, Joyce sang "Behind" with Chinese singer Han Xue. Her fluent Chinese pronunciation and their tacit chorus moved many viewers. The topic has been discussed by more than 75,000 people on Weibo.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🛍️Chinese e-commerce platform JD will launch its 618 mid-year shopping event on May 31, themed “quality and affordability” to address local consumers' price sensitivity. JD has eliminated its presale period, following Taobao and competitor Pinduoduo's simpler shopping approach. The event will start with a "10-billion yuan discount day," and low-price activities will continue throughout the over two-week promotion period. 🇫🇷This year marks the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged both nations to start a new chapter, emphasizing strategic stability and inviting President Macron to visit China again. Xi highlighted the potential for enhanced cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. During the visit, the two countries signed 18 agreements in aviation, agriculture, cultural exchange, green development, and SME cooperation. 📱China’s second-largest short video platform Kuaishou plans to open an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to CFO Jin Bing, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Besides the Middle East, Kuaishou aims to expand into North Africa and Brazil, regions with user behavior similar to its domestic base. The international version, Kwai, already has over 20 million monthly active users in the Middle East and North Africa. 🥡Chinese food delivery giant Meituan’s Hong Kong platform KeeTa led the market in order volume in March, securing a 44% share and surpassing rival Foodpanda for the first time. Encouraged by these results, Meituan CEO Wang Xing mentioned the company is "actively evaluating opportunities in other markets," following a Bloomberg report about a potential entry into Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. 🚗 Chinese lithium-ion battery maker CATL and French shipping company CMA CGM will form a joint venture to explore comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction solutions, CATL announced on Wednesday. They will collaborate on carbon neutrality initiatives, including developing electric boats, commercial vehicles, and logistics, without giving specifics. This effort marks CATL's push beyond EV battery manufacturing into maritime and aviation sectors. CATL chairman Robin Zeng, accompanying Chinese President Xi Jinping on his state visit to Europe, attended a signing ceremony in France on Tuesday.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🇫🇷Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to France, Serbia and Hungary from May 5 to 10, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday. "Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France, it is of great importance in building on the past and opening up the future for the bilateral relationship," said Lin. China looks forward to working with the French side to take this visit as an opportunity to further consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, push the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, and inject new impetus into the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations, Lin added. 📦 China's express delivery industry saw robust expansion in the first four months of 2024. Express courier firms nationwide had handled over 50 billion parcels as of April 29, 32 days ahead of 2023, data from the State Post Bureau (SPB) showed. Over 100 million express packages went through the rural areas this year on a daily basis, with the business volume surging in the central and western regions. 🎮 The National Press and Publication Administration of China (NPPA) released 95 approval licenses for domestic games for April, including 94 mobile games, seven PC games, and one PlayStation console game. April’s 95 licenses are a decrease compared to March’s 107 approved titles, and the 111 and 115 given the green light in February and January respectively. 🚗 BMW announced on Friday it will invest RMB 20 billion ($2.8 billion) to expand a production facility in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, as the German auto major aims to begin assembling its upcoming “Neue Klasse” electric vehicles locally in 2026. Construction of a RMB 10 billion battery plant in Shenyang is also underway, which is set to begin operation with 2,000 new jobs in 2026. ✈️Air China announced on Friday that it has signed an agreement with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to purchase 100 C919 aircraft. The 100 aircraft are planned to be delivered in batches from 2024 to 2031. The total price of the 100 C919 aircraft is around $10.8 billion, according to the latest catalog prices provided by COMAC.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 🚀 According to Bloomberg, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that China will maintain its position as the leading global economic powerhouse for the next five years. The growth expected in China's economy during this period is anticipated to surpass the collective growth of all the Group of Seven (G7) nations combined. By the year 2029, China is predicted to contribute approximately 21% of the world's new economic activity, while the entire G7 is projected to contribute around 20%. The report also highlights that a significant portion of global economic growth, approximately 75%, will be driven by just 20 countries. Among these, China, India, the United States, and Indonesia are expected to account for over half of the total growth, according to Bloomberg's analysis. 💻 In the first quarter, Chinese PC maker Lenovo secured the top spot in terms of global PC shipments with a 24% market share, reaching 13.7 million units, up by 8% year-on-year. The other four leading brands were HP (21% market share), Dell (16%), Apple (14%), and Acer (11%). Counterpoint predicts that 2024 will mark the advent of AI PCs (including desktops and laptops), with 45% of new laptop shipments this year predicted to feature AI functionality. 🚗 BYD unveiled the first supercar under its premium off-road electric vehicle brand called Fangchengbao, which promises ultimate performance and luxury with bold design treatments — the latest example of Chinese automakers going upscale and competing in the high-end segment. The all-electric concept hypercar, called Super 9, features a space shuttle-inspired cabin with carbon fiber racing seats as standard, as well as a futuristic design without a windsheld, making the two-seater an open-top model. Wolfgang Egger, head designer at BYD and formerly chief of design at Audi, said that the interior was “one of the best places in the world where you can experience the highest level of emotion and speed.” 📈 China’s search engine operator Baidu said Tuesday the number of users of its AI-driven ERNIE Bot has doubled to over 200 million in four months, declaring itself a leader in artificial intelligence, as competitors rush into the sector. The company also added that ERNIE now handles 200 million daily queries. Baidu’s chatbot has revived confidence in the company’s monetization of AI, with its 200 million users offering new potential avenues for growth. 💼 A total of 3.03 million new urban jobs were created in China in the first quarter of 2024, according to data released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Tuesday. The surveyed urban unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.2% in March, an official for the ministry said at a news briefing, adding that the overall employment situation remains stable.

🇨🇳 What's up China? Check out our weekly news selection : 📈 China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2024, reaching 29.63 trillion yuan ($4.17 trillion), data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Despite the high-base effect, the latest data suggests that the economy expanded at a much faster pace than forecasted in the first quarter, said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research at JLL Greater China. 🎮 Blizzard China announced today a renewed game publishing deal with NetEase to re-introduce Blizzard games to Chinese players. Blizzard’s games will return to the Chinese market in the summer of 2024, while Microsoft Gaming aims to introduce NetEase’s new games to Xbox consoles and other platforms by forming a strategic partnership with the Chinese gaming firm. The renewed publishing agreement covers Blizzard’s flagship games World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft. 🚗 China’s Zeekr and Xpeng Motors will begin delivering their electric vehicles to Thailand this year while eyeing expansion to other Southeast Asian countries, as they seek further overseas growth amid slowing opportunities at home. Southeast Asia’s largest car producer and exporter, Thailand has also become a strategic location for Chinese automakers wishing to diversify their operations and reduce geopolitical risks, according to researchers from the Global Policy Institute. EVs accounted for around 10% of car sales in Thailand last year, and the government has aimed to increase that percentage to around 30% of its annual production of 2.5 million by 2030, making the country a regional manufacturing hub for EVs. 🇫🇷 The 18th Croisements Festival is destined to be extraordinary, as 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as well as the Year of France-China Cultural Tourism. Recently, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, the current China-France Cultural Spring Ambassador Michelle Yeoh and Jean Todt announced the opening of the "China-France Cultural Spring - Special Presentation on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France”. 💰 China’s online marketplace JD will invest RMB 1 billion ($138 million) in cash in an attempt to incentivize short video creators and content agencies as the e-commerce player eyes the content form as a way to retain consumers’ attention on its shopping platform. Announcing the move, the company said it is in the process of “incubating top-tier influencers,” with plans to cultivate 100 star influencers by year-end.JD said qualifying influencers covering certain categories, including electronics, home appliances, fashion, and health, will be able to receive weekly bonuses of up to RMB 30,000.

DFC-

COM:DFC-STUDIO

DFC Studio