WorldcrunchFrédéric Schaeffer is the correspondent for Les Echos in Shanghai, where he covers Chinese political and economic news.
Dafen has long been the world capital of oil painting copies. After years of reproducing masterpieces on an assembly line, these painters would now like to be considered true artists and make a living from their creations. But in this ancient village in southern China, copies pay more than originals.
Shein, a Chinese retailer, has rapidly risen to compete with the likes of H&M and Zara — and even Amazon. But now France is leading the West’s crackdown on the questionable practices of so-called “fast fashion.” Here’s deep look inside the company’s working and sourcing practices.
Driven by advances in artificial intelligence, the development of human-shaped robots is accelerating on both sides of the Pacific. China see it as a way of accelerating modernization of its industrial base, while American venture capitalists are betting on their mass adoption in warehouses and factories.