Round Table China

Hundreds of yuan for a desk buddy that won't lift a finger to help you sounds like a bad deal. No chores, no career advice, just the occasional funny noise. Yet an entire generation seems to think otherwise. China's booming market for AI companions is built on charm over brainpower, and the companies behind it are betting that connection matters more than capability. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

Fresh watermelons in Chinese markets practically all year round are just the beginning. Behind that year-round produce sits a much larger experiment in connecting 1.4 billion consumers and producers into one seamless national market. As global businesses gather in Shanghai for the ninth CIIE this week, the focus turns to what a unified national market actually means on the ground and who stands to gain from it. On the show: Steve, Fei Fei & Yushan

A morning routine becomes an optimized system, and a few favorite songs become a curated playlist. Social media in China and also elsewhere in the world has turned ordinary life into something to label, package, and present, and that playful habit of naming is exactly what makes internet slang so much fun to learn. On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

Across China, more public hospitals are now stepping into the childcare business, offering care for children under three. Could that make childcare more affordable for young families? On the show: Steve, Yushan & Yushun

Badminton players in China are finally catching a break after two years of steep price increases. Cheaper raw materials and synthetic shuttlecocks squeezing the feather market are quietly reshaping the industry. Casual players welcome the lower prices, while premium brands go their own way. What's really driving the change, and where does the shuttlecock industry go next? On the show: Steve, Yushun & Xingyu