Author: Kathir J

As the new year begins, time turns a page, and the scenes of life quietly shift. For many men, this is not only a transition from the heavy winter to the light spring and summer but also a subtle shift from holiday mode to the daily routines of work, commuting, and socializing. Clothing, in such transitions, is no longer just an external adornment but becomes reliable “gear” that accompanies every departure and every journey.

COOFANDY: Dressing for Every Daily Journey

Continuing the brand philosophy of “Dress the Journey,” the COOFANDY Spring/Summer Collection is not designed for specific occasions alone but focuses on the real-life states of modern men as they frequently switch between commuting, business trips, social engagements, and leisure. This collection aims to create clothing that can easily adapt to multiple scenarios, allowing attire to flow with life rather than becoming a constraint.

Relaxed Yet Sharp, Building a Sustainable Everyday Wardrobe

The overall style of the new collection can be summarized as “Minimal, versatile, seasonless.” It practices the “less is more” philosophy of dressing. The brand advocates not chasing fleeting trends but building a sustainable wardrobe composed of high-quality basics and scenario-specific pieces. Each item is designed to withstand repeated wear and versatile styling, pursuing the long-term value of “wearing it long and wearing it right”—perhaps the true wisdom and thoughtfulness in men’s dressing.

In terms of fabrics and cuts, COOFANDY this season emphasizes lightweight, breathable, and easy-care materials, along with relaxed yet sharp cuts. This allows wearers to maintain a polished appearance while enjoying the comfort and ease of casual wear, seamlessly transitioning from work meetings to weekend gatherings.

Recommended Pieces: Reliable Choices for Daily Wear

• Minimalist Henley Shirt: Made from lightweight, breathable, wrinkle-resistant, and easy-care fabric, it retains the classic Henley neckline and three-button placket design in solid, minimalist colors. It can be worn alone or layered as an inner piece, easily adapting to both office and casual occasions, making it a high-frequency practical item in the spring/summer wardrobe.

• Lightweight Blazer: Shedding the heaviness and formality of traditional suits, it features lightweight materials and relaxed cuts for easy wear. Whether paired with a T-shirt and jeans for a smart-casual look or worn with a shirt for slightly formal occasions, it can be effortlessly styled, reflecting the brand’s consistent emphasis on “wearability” and high cost-effectiveness.

The Journey Continues: Clothing as a Companion, Steps Unceasing

The new year marks not just a change of seasons, but another chapter in life’s journey. COOFANDY hopes that through a series of lightweight, easy-to-wear, and versatile spring-summer pieces, it can accompany every man to move with ease and grace in daily life, truly embracing the philosophy that “dressing is a journey.”

Let clothing return to its essence as a companion—maintaining polish in relaxation and embodying details in simplicity. In the new year, move forward gracefully, unburdened and confident.

COOFANDY — Dress the Journey, with style that accompanies you through every journey.

For more information, please visit the COOFANDY website and Amazon storefront, or connect with COOFANDY on Facebook and Instagram.

COOFANDY

Charlotte Liu

pr@coofandy.com

New York, US

https://coofandy.com

As the new year arrives, an increasing number of women are incorporating self-care and body confidence into their annual plans. Against this trend, AVIDLOVE, a lingerie brand dedicated to women’s experiences, has recently launched its New Year theme “New Year Reset,” advocating for women to redefine the relationship between lingerie and confidence by starting with “dressing for themselves.”

From “Pleasing Others” to “Pleasing Oneself”: A Comprehensive Awakening of Women’s Self-Love Consciousness

In recent years, the concepts of “self-love” and “body positivity” have gained significant traction among American women. When selecting lingerie, women are shifting their focus from catering to their partners’ aesthetic preferences or fitting specific occasions to prioritizing their own comfort, emotional well-being, and personal expression.

AVIDLOVE has keenly observed this shift in consumer mindset and is committed to enabling women to embrace their bodies and feel confident even in private moments through inclusive and everyday-friendly lingerie designs. The brand believes that lingerie should not be narrowly defined as an item “worn for others” but can also serve as an intimate medium for women to engage in self-dialogue and self-appreciation.

Based on this proposition, AVIDLOVE incorporates two core principles into its product design:

• Full Size Range: Sizes range from XS to 5XL, breaking free from body shape limitations and ensuring that women of all body types can find options that fit well and offer comfort.
• Diverse Style Options: There are not only sexy styles suitable for romantic occasions but also elegant and practical designs that cater to women’s emotional and functional needs in various scenarios.

Featured Recommendations: Dress with Ease and Embrace Your True Self

To align with the theme of “dressing for yourself,” AVIDLOVE recommends the following lingerie pieces that combine beauty and comfort to accompany women as they confidently step into the new year:

• Mesh Nightwear Set: A lace robe + floral lace lingerie set that is soft against the skin and elegant. It’s not only perfect for wearing at home but also makes a striking statement when worn as an outer layer in summer.
• Babydoll Nightwear: An elastic floral lace style that is incredibly soft and skin-friendly. Its loose fit doesn’t constrict the abdomen, making it both cute and comfortable, and ideal for wearing during pregnancy.
• Long-Sleeve Bodysuit: Made of high-elastic, silky fabric with lantern-sleeve lace accents, it looks great both as an undergarment and when worn on its own, suitable for a variety of scenarios such as daily life, dates, and travel.
• Lace Long-Sleeve Bodysuit: Featuring a double-layer lining and lace sleeves, it is form-fitting and breathable. It can be paired with jeans, skirts, etc., to create a look that combines professionalism and sexiness, making it suitable for offices, parties, festivals, and other occasions.

2026: Dress from the Heart and Embrace Your True Self

Lingerie is a private language through which women communicate with themselves and a close companion that carries their confidence. In the new year, AVIDLOVE hopes to encourage more women to listen to their hearts and accept themselves. By choosing a piece of lingerie that truly brings them joy, they can embark on a gentle yet resolute journey of self-care.

Currently, AVIDLOVE’s New Year theme collection is fully available on its official Amazon store. Feel free to purchase your favorite items through the product links.

AVIDLOVE – Providing every woman with a soft, heartfelt source of strength every year and every day.

For more information, please visit the  AVIDLOVE website and Amazon storefront, or connect with AVIDLOVE on Facebook and Instagram.

 

AVIDLOVE

Dana Li

pr@avidlove.com

New York, US

https://avidlove.com/

Little Fish Ark today officially announced the launch of its next-generation GameFi 3.0 collectible blockchain gaming ecosystem, aiming to create a sustainable Web3 digital entertainment and digital life infrastructure through the deep integration of blockchain games, social interaction, financial systems, exchanges, and underlying public-chain technology.

Following the rapid evolution of NFT financialization and the Play-to-Earn model, the blockchain gaming industry is now facing structural challenges, including low user retention, unsustainable economic models, and difficulties in long-term value accumulation. Little Fish Ark believes that the next phase of Web3 entertainment should not stop at “play-to-earn,” but instead move toward an ecosystem paradigm defined by long-term participation, continuous value accumulation, co-creation, and shared growth.

Using Collectible Blockchain Games as the Entry Point to Redefine Web3 User Participation

Little Fish Ark adopts collectible-style, lightweight, and low-barrier blockchain games as the primary gateway for users entering Web3. Through engaging entertainment experiences, users are gradually guided to understand blockchain assets, digital identities, and decentralized collaboration mechanisms.

The platform has already launched multiple self-developed blockchain games, covering both zero-threshold experiential gameplay and competitive, strategy-driven titles. The game portfolio will continue to expand to meet the diverse risk preferences and participation depths of users worldwide. With a unified account system and asset protocol, users can seamlessly engage in entertainment, social interaction, and value participation within a single ecosystem—without the need to frequently switch between applications.

Capital Background and Global Support

Little Fish Ark is strategically invested in and initiated by ZeePrimeCap. ZeePrimeCap is an internationally recognized investment institution focused on Web3 infrastructure, digital-native economies, and next-generation internet paradigms. Its investment philosophy emphasizes long-term structural advantages, genuine user value creation, and sustainable system design, rather than short-term market narratives.

In addition to ZeePrimeCap, Little Fish Ark has also received joint investment and support from multiple overseas crypto and Web3 ecosystem institutions. These partners bring extensive experience across blockchain infrastructure, digital entertainment, fintech, and global community development. This diversified and international capital backing provides strong support for product development and technological evolution, while laying a solid foundation for future global expansion, compliance exploration, and ecosystem collaboration.

Six Core Modules Working in Synergy to Form a Unified Ecosystem Loop

Little Fish Ark is not a single game product, but an integrated Web3 platform composed of six core modules:

Little Fish Games: The ecosystem’s primary traffic and onboarding layer, continuously delivering a scalable matrix of collectible blockchain games;

Little Fish Finance: Supporting capital flows, computing power, and revenue distribution generated through games and user participation;

Little Fish Social: A privacy-friendly, decentralized on-chain social infrastructure;

Little Fish Exchange: A native on-chain trading and liquidity hub enabling efficient circulation of ecosystem assets;

Little Fish Wallet: Built on MPC and smart contract wallet technologies to significantly lower the Web3 usability threshold;

Little Fish Ark Chain (LFA Chain): A privacy-oriented, high-performance public blockchain providing foundational support for high-frequency gaming and social interactions.

Under a unified architecture, these six modules operate in deep coordination, allowing user gameplay behavior, social interaction, and asset circulation to continuously cycle within the ecosystem—rather than relying on external markets for value injection.

GameFi 3.0: User Behavior as the Origin of Value

At the core of Little Fish Ark’s GameFi 3.0 model is the principle of user behavior as the starting point of value creation. Whether through gameplay, community interaction, content contribution, or governance participation, all user actions are systematically recorded, authenticated, and progressively transformed into reusable ecosystem value.

From a risk management perspective, the platform employs multiple structural mechanisms to convert short-term volatility into long-term participation incentives, avoiding single-game or speculative dynamics that could undermine user experience and ecosystem stability. This design philosophy encourages users to evolve from “short-term participants” into “long-term co-builders.”

At the infrastructure level, Little Fish Ark adopts a privacy-native, high-performance blockchain architecture, leveraging zero-knowledge proofs (ZK Proofs), verifiable computation, and modular design to deliver high-throughput, low-latency on-chain interactions while preserving data privacy.

Core platform contracts and settlement logic operate on fully verifiable on-chain mechanisms, ensuring transparency, fairness, and traceability across gameplay and asset circulation, and providing a trustworthy digital entertainment environment for users worldwide.

A Long-Term Vision for a Global Web3 Digital Life

The long-term goal of Little Fish Ark is to become a foundational infrastructure for the next generation of Web3 digital life. Beyond helping users “enter Web3,” the platform aims to enable users to live in Web3 over the long term, building their own digital identities, assets, and social networks within a sustainable ecosystem.

Looking ahead, Little Fish Ark will continue to promote ecosystem openness by supporting third-party developers through APIs and SDKs, collaboratively expanding the global boundaries of Web3 entertainment and digital asset applications.

About Little Fish Ark

Little Fish Ark is a GameFi 3.0 full-ecosystem platform that uses collectible blockchain games as its core entry point and integrates gaming, social interaction, finance, trading, and public-chain infrastructure. The platform is dedicated to building a sustainable Web3 digital entertainment and digital life system, enabling everyday users to participate continuously, accumulate value steadily, and share in long-term ecosystem growth within a decentralized world.

As the bell rings once again at the turn of the year, the world is still filled with the clamor of “starting anew.” Yet at the beginning of this new year, PINSPARK proposes a gentler but firmer idea: the new year is not about redefining yourself, but about moving forward and finding the rhythm that best suits the present.

Movement is the perfect expression of this “forward” spirit. It has long transcended the single dimension of exercise, blending into the fabric of daily life and becoming a natural, authentic state of being.

Movement, a Parallel Narrative to Life

Today, fitness has transcended the boundaries of gyms and training grounds, becoming deeply integrated into every aspect of daily life. PINSPARK has observed that more and more people are embracing the spirit of movement in different ways:

For some, exercise is a long-term commitment—a pursuit of progress through disciplined training. To support this, PINSPARK offers professional and comfortable activewear, such as yoga tops designed with wide straps to reduce pressure and soft, breathable, luxurious fabric that wraps the body, providing just the right amount of lightweight support during yoga, workouts, or walks.

Others seamlessly incorporate athletic wear into their daily lives, moving effortlessly between commuting, socializing, and training. For them, activewear is more than clothing—it’s an everyday uniform that balances comfort and style.

Then there are those who see thoughtfully chosen sportswear as a profound gesture of understanding and support—a gift that says, “I understand your passion.” Take, for example, PINSPARK’s women’s tennis skirt designed for dynamic movement. Featuring an ergonomic V-shaped waistband and a high-waist cut for support, it allows wearers to move with confidence and ease, whether playing tennis, golf, or running—freely sweating and fully expressing themselves.

Support Every Authentic Expression, Without Defining What’s “Right”

Movement is never confined to a single form; behind it lies a diversity of life attitudes and emotional connections. Whether it’s expressing care through a quality piece of gear or finding belonging through community interaction, movement has become a gentle yet powerful bond between people. PINSPARK understands this deeply, which is why it holds firm to a core philosophy: we do not define the “right way to move.” Instead, we use professional products as a foundation to provide precise support for every vibrant state of movement, empowering everyone to move forward freely in what they love.

This New Year, PINSPARK is offering exclusive benefits, with discounts of up to 18% to thank every passion. Starting now, visit the PINSPARK official store on Amazon to equip yourself with high-value gear and embark on your movement journey in the new year.

A thousand tales of the old year become the prelude, a hundred new heights await in the new. PINSPARK encourages everyone: there’s no need to force becoming a “brand new you.” Simply wear gear that fits well, maintain your own rhythm, and move forward steadily.

Align With What’s Next.
Move Into 2026.

PINSPARK

Charlotte Liu

pr@pinspark.com

New York, US

https://pinspark.com

Harbin, China – According to Xinhuanet, which participated in the event’s coverage throughout all stages, the “Global Mayors Dialogue in Harbin” opened on January 6 in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, gathering mayors and representatives from countries including Canada, Finland and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Harbin, hailed as China’s “Ice City.”

During the three-day event, delegates visited major city landmarks such as the Central Street and the Harbin Ice-Snow World — the world’s largest ice and snow theme park, where the 42nd Ice and Snow Festival opened on January 5, gaining a firsthand experience of how the city is turning severe cold into gold.

Andrew Knack, mayor of Edmonton in Canada, which has maintained a sister-city relationship with Harbin for over 40 years, said that the annual Ice and Snow Festival has injected strong impetus into Harbin’s tourism.

“This is something that I could have never imagined and the scope and the scale of what’s been created here is truly a wonder. It’s a profound privilege to be here to experience this and just see what has been created now,” he said.

On his sixth visit to Harbin, Heikki Kontiosalo, deputy speaker of the city council of Rovaniemi in Finland, expressed his continued amazement at the city’s ever-prospering ice and snow economy.

Kontiosalo said Rovaniemi, located within the Arctic Circle and known as the “hometown of Santa Claus,” has a long snow season. This opens up lots of opportunities for the city to grow its winter tourism and help boost the economy in other ways, too.

He expressed hopes to strengthen cooperation with Harbin in areas including ice and snow technology, winter sports and related equipment.

Coinciding with the dialogue event, the inaugural Harbin International Ice and Snow Expo commenced on Tuesday in Harbin. Advanced ice-and-snow equipment, including industrial-grade unmanned snow-removal machines, snowmobiles and carbon fiber skis, is displayed, offering opportunities for international investment and cooperation.

So far, Harbin has established sister-city ties with 37 cities in 28 countries.

“Harbin has always embraced the world with an open attitude,” said Li Mian, the city’s executive vice mayor. He also highlighted the Global Mayors Dialogue’s role as a bridge for sharing development experience and promoting cooperation in the ice and snow economy.

As the origin of modern winter sports in China, the city recorded a total ice and snow economic output exceeding 160 billion yuan (about 22.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, accounting for about one-sixth of the national total, official data showed.

With President Lee Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea on his first visit to China, CGTN has published an article highlighting how the visit strengthens political mutual trust, fosters economic and trade cooperation, and reaffirms both countries’ shared responsibilities in regional peace and global development.

The first direct passenger flight route between southeast China’s Xiamen and Busan of the Republic of Korea (ROK) was launched on January 4, injecting new momentum into strengthening bilateral exchanges and cooperation between China and the ROK.

China and ROK have seen a surge in people-to-people exchanges, particularly tourism, following the implementation of mutual visa exemption policies in November 2024 and September 2025, respectively. In the first 11 months of 2025, bilateral personnel exchanges exceeded 7.28 million, a 24.7 percent year-on-year increase.

The momentum will continue as ROK President Lee Jae Myung is on his first visit to China in the new year, where he is warmly welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During their meeting in Beijing on Monday, Xi said China is willing to work with the ROK to firmly uphold the direction of friendly cooperation and adhere to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Enhancing strategic trust

The visit marks Lee’s first trip to China since assuming office in June and is the second engagement between the two leaders within two months, following their meeting in November in Gyeongju, ROK.

Dong Xiangrong, a senior fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that Lee’s visit, just two months after the bilateral meeting in November, reflects his genuine commitment to advancing China-ROK relations toward positive growth.

In an interview with CMG, President Lee stated that the purpose of his visit is to minimize or eliminate past misunderstandings and contradictions as much as possible, elevate and develop ROK-China relations to a new stage, and firmly establish a relationship of mutual assistance and development between the two nations.

As President Lee continues his visit to China, Dong highlighted that head-of-state diplomacy plays a crucial guiding role in China-ROK relations, sending a clear, positive signal to strengthen bilateral ties, deepen political mutual trust, and promote economic and trade cooperation.

Xi, describing China and ROK as important neighbors that cannot be moved away, said China and the ROK should increase exchanges and maintain frequent communication. He added that China is willing to work with the ROK to promote the bilateral strategic partnership on a healthy path and effectively enhance the well-being of both peoples.

Expanding the pie of common interests

Data from China’s General Administration of Customs showed that Chinese imports and exports with the ROK totaled 2.14 trillion yuan ($304.46 billion) in the first 11 months of 2025, up 1.6 percent year on year. It also showed during this period, China-ROK trade in electromechanical products reached 1.43 trillion yuan – up 5.9 percent and accounting for 67 percent of the bilateral total.

Behind the data lies the fact that China has remained the ROK’s largest trading partner for 21 consecutive years, while the ROK has regained its position as China’s second-largest trading partner.

During the meeting, Xi told his Korean counterpart that China and the ROK should further align their development strategies, expand the pie of common interests, and achieve more cooperation results in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and green industries.

On Monday, the China-ROK business forum was held in Beijing and around 400 government officials, business leaders and representatives from both countries attended. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng told the guests that both countries should strengthen economic ties and forge new opportunities for win-win cooperation at the forum.

Chey Tae-won, SK Group chairperson and CEO, said the forum demonstrated the high expectations the business community holds for bilateral economic cooperation. He added that this will inject stronger momentum into mutually beneficial cooperation.

Kim Sin-jae, CEO of Samjin Amook Co, a large fishcake brand, said many sectors in China and the ROK are complementary, offering ample opportunities for collaboration, especially in new technology development. He added that, “Following this state-level event, we will sign a memorandum of understanding to formally enter the Chinese market with a local partner to help us expand.”

Shouldering responsibilities in regional peace and global development

China and the ROK are not only major countries in Northeast Asia, but also major countries in the Asia-Pacific region as members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Given both countries’ key roles in geopolitics, the regional economy and economic globalization, the two leaders voiced during Monday’s meeting that they should shoulder important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development.

Taking RCEP as an example, Wang Junsheng, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China and the ROK have engaged in very substantive cooperation in jointly opposing unilateralism and trade protectionism.

In the face of rising unilateralism and trade protectionism, China and the ROK should strengthen their cooperation, the scholar said. “This not only benefits their bilateral relationship but, as two major economies in the Asia-Pacific region, their cooperation also has positive significance for the economic recovery of the Asia-Pacific region and the global economy.”

For more information, please click:
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-01-06/How-China-ROK-deepen-strategic-cooperation-as-leaders-meet-in-Beijing-1JHZJmK0FYQ/p.html

Recently, a delegation from Suzhou International Expo Centre (SuzhouExpo) attended the 18th China Convention & Exhibition Brand Development Conference in Beijing. While exploring new pathways for the high-quality development of the convention and exhibition industry, SuzhouExpo achieved two major milestones. Chief among them was a landmark collaboration: the official announcement to establish and operate the China Convention & Exhibition Brand Project Incubation Base at SuzhouExpo. As the first demonstration base of its kind in southern China, it fills a regional gap in convention and exhibition brand incubation while offering pioneering experience and setting a benchmark for the high-quality development of Suzhou’s exhibition industry and even the country as a whole, underscoring Suzhou’s important position in China’s industrial landscape.

Located on the shores of Jinji Lake, SuzhouExpo is more than a landmark building; it is a powerful engine driving urban development. As a super-platform with a nationwide reach that connects global industries with local opportunities, SuzhouExpo advances economic quality improvement and industrial upgrading through a series of high-level, professional, and international events. By unlocking the added value of cultural dissemination, it injects sustained momentum into Suzhou’s industrial innovation, economic growth, and brand building. SuzhouExpo has become a key hub energizing regional development and stands as a vivid example of Suzhou’s humanistic economic development in practice.

GT SHOW: The rise of a homegrown IP, forging a dual engine of industry and consumption

The leapfrog growth of GT SHOW—from local cultivation to China’s No. 1 and the world’s fourth-largest professional modified-vehicle show—offers a vivid example of how SuzhouExpo empowers industrial upgrading and consumption growth through exhibitions. In 2025, the three-day automotive culture extravaganza delivered striking results: 187,000 visits, with more than 92.5 percent of attendees coming from outside Suzhou; nearly 850 million yuan in direct consumption driven; and over 1 billion online impressions, cementing its status as a phenomenal exhibition IP.

In terms of economic impact, conventions and exhibitions not only energized related local industries such as hotels, catering, and transportation, but also created a synergistic model of “exhibition viewing + tourism + consumption.” Large numbers of out-of-town car enthusiasts traveled specifically to Suzhou, significantly boosting foot traffic in surrounding commercial districts and cultural tourism sites. From an industrial empowerment perspective, GT SHOW brought together nearly 1,000 modified vehicles and close to 100 industrial chain enterprises from more than 20 countries and regions, spanning the full value chain from modification parts to automotive culture peripherals. It created a high-energy platform for technical exchange and resource matching in Suzhou’s automotive aftermarket, promoted alignment between local manufacturing and creative industries and global cutting-edge concepts, and fostered the clustered development of Suzhou’s automotive culture industry. In terms of brand empowerment, the exhibition’s trendy, youth-oriented appeal turned it into a hotspot for online influencers. Through short videos and livestreams, “Suzhou Intelligent Manufacturing” and “Suzhou Trends” reached a national audience via automotive culture, significantly enhancing the city’s visibility and appeal among younger demographics.

EMNLP 2025: A global top-tier conference enabling upgrading in industry and cultural tourism

The successful hosting of EMNLP 2025 (Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing), a top-tier academic conference under the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL), demonstrated SuzhouExpo’s comprehensive capability to host high-end global conferences and delivered dual breakthroughs in industrial empowerment and cultural tourism. Held from Nov. 4 to 9, the conference attracted more than 6,000 experts, scholars, industry representatives, and young researchers from around the world to Suzhou.

In terms of industrial empowerment, the conference focused on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Industry leaders including Apple, Tencent, ByteDance, Alibaba Cloud, and other innovative frontier companies participated, sharing the latest developments through technical presentations and salon-style exchanges. Major companies also set up “secondary spaces” in hotels around the venue, hosting talent recruitment dinners and technology-matching meetings for in-depth engagement with global young talent. Several leading scholars explicitly expressed interest in developing their careers and settling in Suzhou, signaling a potential inflow of high-quality talent into the city’s digital economy. The conference significantly raised Suzhou’s academic visibility and industrial profile in the global AI community, accelerating the clustering of innovation resources and the marketization of research.

In city brand communication, SuzhouExpo’s meticulous planning was evident throughout. From opening performances featuring local highlights such as excerpts of Suzhou opera, to hands-on experiences of intangible cultural heritage including Suzhou embroidery and seed carving, to the promotion of Suzhou-style cuisine designed through a catering system accommodating diverse needs, the conference embedded the city’s cultural identity at every touchpoint. Themed routes such as “Half-Day Leisure,” “One-Day Retreat,” and “Endless Night,” combined with convenient transportation, rich cultural and tourism resources, and a cityscape where the classical and the modern coexist, left a strong impression on participants. Many interviewees noted that Suzhou not only has the professional capacity to host world-class international conferences but also offers an urban charm that encourages people to stay, indirectly driving growth in local cultural tourism and consumption.

Suzhou Creative & Design Cultural Industry Expo: Cultivating creative ips and building a platform for industry-culture symbiosis

The 14th Suzhou Creative & Design Cultural Industry Expo, guided by the concept of “industry as the core, culture as the wings,” achieved both quality upgrading and efficiency breakthroughs in SuzhouExpo’s self-organized exhibitions. It has become an important vehicle for energizing the cultural industry and unlocking cultural added value. The expo attracted more than 500 exhibitors from 42 countries and regions and welcomed over 100,000 visitors, setting new records for scale and influence. At the concurrent 2025 Suzhou International Culture and Creativity Conference, high-profile guests including John Howkins, “father of the creative economy” from the UK, and Liu Peng, general manager of China Animation Comic Game Group, attended, underscoring Suzhou’s commitment to attracting global cultural IPs and supporting the global reach of its own cultural strengths.

From an industrial empowerment perspective, the expo spanned the entire cultural and creative industry chain, with dedicated sections covering museums and creative products, digital creativity, and innovation in intangible cultural heritage. It built an integrated platform combining “exhibition + transaction + investment promotion.” On-site sales of creative products exceeded 7.1 million yuan, and more than 20,000 intended cooperation projects and orders were reached. Popular items such as the Sanxingdui Bronze Bird plush toy and the Suzhou IP doll “Fu Gui’er” performed strongly. Intangible cultural heritage skills, including Suzhou embroidery and seed carving, entered everyday life through creative products, effectively advancing the deep integration of the cultural industry with the real economy. The expo also brought together leading domestic and international enterprises alongside emerging players in the cultural and creative sector, facilitating technical exchange, business model innovation, and resource matching, and helping steer Suzhou’s cultural and creative industry toward higher-end and international markets. In addition, themed activities such as the launch of the public brand “Suzhou Gift” and the Crab Climbing Championship allowed residents and visitors alike to experience Suzhou’s cultural charm up close, enriching urban cultural life and further enhancing the city’s cultural soft power through word-of-mouth engagement.

In recent years, SuzhouExpo has actively built a diversified convention and exhibition ecosystem spanning industry, consumption, culture, and related fields. In 2025, 60 percent of its hosted projects were aligned with Suzhou’s “1030” industry system. It successfully attracted a number of high-standard industrial exhibitions, including the China Innovative Pharmaceutical Medical Conference and the CLNB New Energy Industry Chain Expo, and supported the leapfrog growth of key projects such as the EBC Biotech Industry Conference and Exhibition.

Upholding the Suzhou Cultural Investment and Development Group’s philosophy of “adding a touch of Suzhou flavor to happiness,” SuzhouExpo has maintained its role as both a practitioner of city strategy and a builder of industry ecosystems. By using exhibitions as a connective link, it deeply integrates industrial resources, talent capital, and consumer markets. Looking ahead, SuzhouExpo will seize the opportunities created by the development of the China Convention & Exhibition Brand Project Incubation Base to further strengthen the value chain, enhance the cultivation of independent IPs and the attraction of high-end projects, and deepen the construction of an “exhibition + industry + investment + consumption” ecosystem. Through professional empowerment of industrial upgrading, global resource aggregation via its platform, and service-driven delivery of urban warmth, SuzhouExpo aims to establish itself as an industry benchmark rooted in China with a global presence, making a strong contribution to Suzhou’s ambition to build an industrial innovation highland with greater international influence.

As a pivotal year dawns for China and the world, CGTN published an article on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2026 New Year message. In his message, President Xi offered a comprehensive review of China’s trajectory in 2025, reiterating that the country continued to embrace the world with open arms and will boost development for all. The article outlines the concrete steps taken on the path to write a new chapter in the story of China’s miracle and the country’s readiness to work with all other nations in the cause of world peace and development.

In his annual New Year message on the eve of 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored the country’s readiness to work with all countries to advance world peace and development.

From setting new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to introducing the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), Xi said China continued to embrace the world with open arms over the past year, and consistently stands on the right side of history.

Amid heightened uncertainty in 2025, China has put dialogue first and pursued win-win international cooperation, serving as a stabilizing anchor for the world and reflecting the nation’s firm and steady strides on the global stage.

Embracing the world with open arms

As a guardian of the international order and a provider of global public goods, China has advanced the reform of global governance through practical steps, achieving concrete progress.

With Xi proposing the GGI, 2025 emerged as a pivotal year for global governance. Guided by a vision for a more just and equitable global governance system rooted in extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the GGI charts a practical path for improving global governance and is expected to galvanize nations’ collective efforts in its implementation.

China plays an active part in global ecological governance. It has fully and effectively implemented the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Additionally, by setting its NDCs target for 2035 and putting forward the establishment of a Global Clean Energy Cooperation Partnership, China has taken measures to better address climate change.

In line with the needs of multilateral coordination, China firmly supports the United Nations in playing a central role. It has increased investment in the China-UN Peace and Development Fund and steadily advanced cooperation in related matters. In addition, China, together with more than 30 countries, has helped to set up the International Organization for Mediation headquartered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, contributing to the maintenance of global peace and stability through the rule of law.

In 2025, China has taken a lead in the diplomatic arena as the host country of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, deepening and expanding global partnerships based on equality, openness and cooperation.

China’s commitment to improving the global governance system has offered a clear answer to the choices facing all nations between unity and division, dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and zero-sum rivalry.

Shared opportunities

Highlighting the nation’s solid advances on the path to Chinese modernization, Xi said the country’s economic strength, scientific and technological abilities, defense capabilities and composite national strength all reached new heights as 2025 marks the completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

From ensuring economic resilience to enabling major breakthroughs in innovation and tangible improvements in people’s livelihoods, China sought to energize high-quality development through innovation, turning itself into one of the economies with the fastest-growing innovation ecosystems, which has catalyzed the rapid development of new quality productive forces.

The number of AI enterprises in China has surpassed 4,500, reflecting the industry’s boom. The “AI Plus” strategic initiative has been integrated into industries such as manufacturing, finance and healthcare, forming a new engine for economic growth. From the launch of large-scale AI models to the blending of embodied intelligence with existing industries, China’s achievements in scientific and technological innovation have dazzled the world.

Furthermore, China’s technology breakthroughs have accelerated the application of humanoid robots in automobile manufacturing, logistics handling and power inspection scenarios, among others, laying a solid foundation for the development of this trillion-yuan-scale future industry.

China’s innovation has also been a boost to the global economy for the benefit of people around the world. For example, China’s BeiDou navigation services cover more than 140 countries and regions in areas such as early disaster warning systems, transportation and agriculture. One notable example is the China-Brazil Science and Technology Innovation Center, which has made clean energy accessible in remote areas.

The country has also shared technologies with Mongolia, Saudi Arabia and other countries to help combat desertification, as well as smart agriculture methods and machinery, enabling Egypt to better cope with water shortages and food security challenges.

The year 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). “A successful venture should start with a good plan and with clear goals set.” In his message, President Xi urged the nation to take solid steps to promote high-quality development, further deepen reform and opening up across the board, deliver prosperity for all, and write a new chapter in the story of China’s miracle.

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