Weekly E-Commerce Roundup: Zhang Yiming Says ByteDance 'Rejects Model Distillation'; U.S. Customs Has Refunded Roughly $100 Billion in Tariffs

【Ebrun Original】Zhang Yiming says ByteDance "rejects model distillation"; U.S. Customs has refunded roughly $100 billion in tariffs; AI influencer Fang Taozi charges over 250,000 yuan for a 60-second ad spot; Jia Guolong launches new brand Tianbian Yangduo.

## Corporate & Industry Headlines

### ByteDance

1. **Zhang Yiming's latest remarks: ByteDance "rejects model distillation"**

On August 6, internal sources at ByteDance revealed that the rapid development of open-source models from domestic competitors this year has put greater pressure on the company. During a recent internal meeting, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming stated that model development should adhere to long-termism and delayed gratification, rather than using others' outputs to chase temporary rankings on leaderboards. Zhang rarely speaks at meetings of the company's Seed R&D team, but this time he explicitly stated that ByteDance "should be willing to sacrifice part of its short-term returns for long-term goals."

ByteDance has imposed an internal ban on distilling open-source models, and has even strengthened related restrictions through measures such as API detection. Zhang believes that distillation will hinder genuine long-term technological breakthroughs.

2. **ByteDance all-hands meeting: Integrate Doubao, Feishu and Volcano Engine, shift AI business focus to B2B productivity**

On August 6, ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo explained the background behind the integration of Doubao, Feishu and Volcano Engine at the mid-year all-hands meeting, noting that AI's development in productivity has outpaced expectations, making B2B business more important. Over 90% of new Feishu customers now simultaneously purchase Feishu's AI products.

Liang summarized ByteDance's business strategic principles as "high priority, simplified core structure, long-term optimization". The three core business lines are AI, information platforms and transaction services, which are closely interconnected and all advance the company's mission by converting computing power into intelligence. Douyin, as the "core" business, drives e-commerce and local services growth, and Doubao will also become a "core" business in the future. (Source: Sina Finance)

3. **Douyin Local Services growth beats expectations, full-year GMV target raised mid-year**

Benefiting from synergies with Douyin's core UGC content, short video and search traffic for local services have grown faster than expected, driving Douyin Local Services' transaction volume in the first half of 2026 to surge more than 50% year-on-year, exceeding its set target. The platform has raised its full-year transaction volume target at mid-year.

The standalone app "Doushengsheng" has become another key growth driver. In addition, Doushengsheng has launched a "find stores" entry to further enhance user stickiness and build user awareness of the platform as a destination for locating local stores. Driven by the dual wheels of "find products, find stores", it has formed more synergies with the main Douyin app. Currently, Doushengsheng's daily active users have exceeded 15 million, and its position as a local services entry point continues to strengthen.

### Alibaba

1. **Cainiao launches "Global 3-Day Delivery": 72-hour door-to-door cross-border logistics speed upgraded again**

On August 5, Cainiao Group officially launched its "Global 3-Day Delivery" cross-border logistics service in Shenzhen. From the previous "Global 10-Day Delivery" to the "Global 5-Day Delivery" launched three years ago, and now the "Global 3-Day Delivery", Cainiao has turned "72-hour global door-to-door delivery" into reality.

"Global 3-Day Delivery" applies not only to shipments from China to the rest of the world, but also to cross-border shipments between global markets. On 15 core cross-border routes, including China to Europe, routes between pan-European countries, and routes between Middle Eastern countries, Cainiao has already achieved door-to-door delivery within 3 calendar days after consumers place orders.

### Meituan

1. **Testing offline sales, Meituan's Songshu Convenience launches "store-warehouse integrated" pilot**

Following the opening of offline physical stores by Elefant Supermarket, Meituan's Songshu Convenience recently launched its first "store-warehouse integrated" pilot in Shanghai. On top of its original online front-warehouse fulfillment services, the store has opened to offline customers for the first time.

Ebrun learned that Songshu Convenience's move adds new functions to its original warehouses to expand revenue channels for its outlets. For Songshu Convenience, which operates a self-built supply chain and a strictly managed franchise model, larger order volumes translate into higher supply chain efficiency. The combination of online and offline channels can precisely drive this positive cycle. As of July 31, 2026, Songshu Convenience has reached 1,000 stores, covering more than 100 cities.

### Pinduoduo

1. **Pinduoduo adds "AI Toys" category and opens merchant recruitment**

Pinduoduo has added a new "AI Toys" category and has started recruiting relevant merchants. In terms of category placement, AI Toys are classified under "Toys/Strollers/Educational Products/Building Blocks/Models - Early Education/Smart Toys - AI Toys". The platform's current key recruitment areas include AI emotional companion dolls, AI desktop robots, AI robot pets, AI educational toys, and AI trendy collectible figures.

2. **Pinduoduo cracks down on misleading product promotions**

Recently, Pinduoduo released the "Announcement on Special Governance to Curb Violations of Inconsistent Product Descriptions", launching a special campaign targeting issues such as inconsistent descriptions, fictitious products, and misleading promotions in product information releases. The campaign covers two major scenarios: physical goods and virtual goods.

For physical goods, Pinduoduo explicitly requires merchants not to release products that violate objective laws, nor to list fictitious products that do not exist in reality or cannot be actually delivered. In addition, the platform states that merchants shall not falsify product varieties, specifications or attributes, including releasing plant or animal varieties that do not exist in nature, or falsifying information such as product color, style, and model. For example, the "human-shaped ginseng fruit seedling" is actually created by putting a "human-shaped mold" on ginseng fruit during the young fruit period to restrict its growth, which cannot be achieved by natural planting of seedlings. Other examples include "peanut trees" and "long-eared carrier pigeons", which are products that do not actually exist in nature.

For merchants with violations such as inconsistent product descriptions, Pinduoduo said it will take corresponding measures based on the severity of the violation. These measures include partial or full removal of products, sales bans, removal from resource slots, restrictions on advertising placement, as well as restrictions on new product launches, product listings, and access to store funds.

### Xiaohongshu

1. **Xiaohongshu increases AI investment: Enters AI social sector, starts in-house development of AI companion products**

Xiaohongshu is comprehensively accelerating its AI strategy, expanding into areas such as AI social products and AI community interaction tools, shifting from back-end technology applications to front-end in-house development, productization and ecological development. Xiaohongshu is currently intensively recruiting AI application R&D talents. Among them, the responsibilities of the "AI Social Product Manager" position include leading the design and development of AI companion products, exploring in-depth applications of AI in dimensions such as emotional connection, interest matching, and personalized interaction, to build a warm AI companion experience. (Source: Sina Tech)

2. **Xiaohongshu adds categories such as movie tickets and fitness membership vouchers, further expanding local services product system**

On August 4, Xiaohongshu released the "Notice on Soliciting Opinions on Revising the ", proposing to add multiple business categories including movie tickets, localized life service vouchers, and lifestyle and entertainment recharges.

According to the announcement, the platform plans to add three types of business categories. Under the first-level category "Vouchers", it will add movie tickets, as well as localized life service vouchers such as fitness membership vouchers, massage vouchers, and photography portrait vouchers. Under the first-level category "Virtual Recharge", it will add a lifestyle and entertainment recharge category, including App Store recharges.

## Cross-Border & E-Commerce

1. **U.S. Customs has refunded roughly $100 billion in tariffs**

Data disclosed by officials of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to the U.S. Court of International Trade on August 4 shows that U.S. Customs has refunded approximately $100 billion in tariffs previously imposed under the U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act. CBP officials said that more than $128 billion in tariff refund requests have been accepted. The current refunded amount accounts for about 60% of the $165 billion in tariffs imposed by the Trump administration under the act. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

2. **Amazon launches AI automatic translation feature for product images**

Amazon announced the launch of an automatic product image translation feature, which uses AI technology to help sellers automatically convert product images containing text information into the language version preferred by consumers, to improve the display effect of product information in cross-border sales.

It is understood that the feature currently covers 13 sites including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and is applicable to all non-media product sellers in these markets. The translated product images will be displayed on the product detail page and in Image Manager.

3. **Temu joins European cross-border business organization to accelerate integration into local e-commerce ecosystem**

Temu has officially joined CB Commerce, a Brussels-based European cross-border business organization, becoming one of its newest members. CB Commerce brings together EU retailers, e-commerce platforms and industry partners. Temu will participate in the organization's business acceleration projects in the future, conduct deeper cooperation with European local seller communities, and open relevant entry resources to support the development of the regional e-commerce ecosystem.

Temu said the European market is a key direction of its long-term strategic layout. By joining CB Commerce, an industry exchange platform, Temu plans to further strengthen continuous communication with the European industry, adapt more accurately to EU cross-border business rules and the consumer market environment, and promote localized operations on the basis of compliance. In addition, Temu also hopes to provide European small and medium-sized sellers with a new channel to connect with global consumers.

4. **Shopee Malaysia adjusts commission rates for local Marketplace sellers**

Shopee Malaysia's commission system for local Marketplace sellers has undergone multiple adjustments. Starting from August 14, 2026, the platform will update its commission rate table based on product clusters. Orders for textbooks and workbooks listed in the Malaysian Ministry of Education (KPM) catalog will be eligible for a fixed 3% reduction in commission rates, a policy that only applies to non-Mall local Marketplace sellers.

In addition, starting from August 1, new sellers will start paying commissions after their first product has been listed for more than 120 days or they have completed more than 200 cumulative orders (whichever comes first), marking the end of the platform's previous early commission-free protection period. At the same time, the zero or reduced commission policy for more than 100 daily necessity categories (including rice, flour, oil, salt, eggs, dairy, meat, seafood, etc.) implemented since May 21 will continue to be in effect.

## Other Notable News

1. **AI influencer Fang Taozi charges over 250,000 yuan for a 60-second ad spot**

Recently, "Fang Taozi", the AI female lead in the AI short drama *The Laid-off Girl*, began livestream e-commerce sales, with the first product being colored contact lenses, sparking widespread attention. Data from Douyin's Star Map platform shows that Fang Taozi charges 168,000 yuan for 1-20 second videos, 208,000 yuan for 21-60 second videos, and 258,000 yuan for videos over 60 seconds. This quotation exceeds that of most real-life influencers with millions of followers, and even surpasses that of many influencers with tens of millions of followers.

2. **Judgment in Jiangxiaobai's lawsuit against East Buy announced: East Buy found guilty of commercial defamation, ordered to pay 300,000 yuan in compensation**

On August 3, 2026, the Supreme People's Court released typical cases of legally regulating platform operations and protecting consumers' legitimate rights and interests, which for the first time disclosed the judgment result of the lawsuit filed by Jiangxiaobai against East Buy two years ago.

In July 2024, East Buy anchor "Tian Quan" made remarks related to baijiu during a live broadcast that sparked widespread attention. The relevant statements included: "If you look at Jiangxiaobai's packaging now, there are no words 'baijiu' on it, because it is not allowed" and "If you buy Jiangjin Xiaoqu, it doesn't have this mark (the small golden mark), because it is not solid-state distilled, so it cannot be considered solid-state (fermented) wine", among others.

In response, Jiangxiaobai issued a statement accusing the remarks of misleading consumers and disparaging the Jiangxiaobai brand, and filed a lawsuit after complaining to relevant regulatory authorities. The court ultimately ruled that the relevant Beijing-based e-commerce company constituted commercial defamation, and ordered it to compensate the Chongqing-based baijiu company a total of 300,000 yuan for economic losses and reasonable expenses. After the first-instance judgment, neither party appealed. (Source: Interface News)

3. **Duan Yongping responds to reducing Pop Mart stake: Not a direct sell-off in the secondary market, but the performance of an option contract**

On August 5, according to Hong Kong Stock Exchange disclosure of interests, the shareholding ratio of Pop Mart's H shares held by the fund managed by Duan Yongping dropped from 7.65% to 5.55% on July 30, 2026. Duan stated on the Xueqiu investment platform that this stake reduction was not a direct sell-off in the secondary market, but was caused by the delivery of corresponding shares in accordance with the terms of an option contract.

4. **Following Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles, Jia Guolong launches new brand "Tianbian Yangduo"**

Following the launch of Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles, Xibei founder Jia Guolong will launch a new brand "Tianbian Yangduo", and plans to open its first national store on the 5th floor of Fengke Wanda in Beijing on August 7. The official WeChat public account of Tianbian Dianxiaoer released the above news on August 4. A video posted by the account shows that "Tianbian Yangduo" will focus on in-store processing of fresh Inner Mongolia lamb, and ends with the words "Tianbian brand rejuvenation".

Currently, "Tianbian Yangduo"'s first Beijing store has been listed on Dianping, with an average per capita consumption of 45 yuan. Its signature dishes include roasted air-dried lamb skewers, roasted fried rice fresh lamb chop skewers, fresh lamb spicy crust pizza, and Hohhot lamb shaomai, among others.

5. "Lanzhou Lamian" renamed "Qinghai Lamian" in multiple regions

Recently, the pilot renaming of "Lanzhou Lamian" to "Qinghai Lamian" in multiple regions has sparked heated discussion. It is reported that there is no such term as "Lanzhou Lamian" in Lanzhou itself; the authentic local noodle dish is called Lanzhou Beef Noodles.

In the 1980s, people from Hualong and Jianzha in Qinghai Province went to other parts of China to make a living, opened stores under the "Lanzhou Lamian" sign, and eventually opened more than 30,000 stores across the country, generating annual revenue of more than 24 billion yuan. In June 2026, 72 noodle restaurants in Tianjin collectively removed the "Lanzhou Lamian" sign that had been in use for 40 years and replaced it with "Qinghai Lamian" signage.

Public records show that all applications for the "Lanzhou Lamian" trademark have been rejected and the trademark is invalid, while multiple "Lanzhou Beef Noodles" trademarks registered by the Lanzhou Beef Noodle Industry Association remain valid. (Source: Yangtse Evening Post)

6. **Pangdonglai to implement strategic contraction in the next three years, suspend external support to focus on internal development**

On August 5, Pangdonglai founder Yu Donglai disclosed the company's three-year plan. Pangdonglai will suspend all external support and industry conferences, and concentrate resources on building the Xuchang "Dream City" project, the second and third phases of its logistics center, and team training, requiring employees to reach the state of "enthusiastic, professional, rigorous and creative" by 2029.

After 2030, Pangdonglai will complete its remaining supermarket projects, then cease business expansion and transform to focus on cultural and management research.

7. **Zong Fuli's half-brother appointed chairman of new company, actual controller is Du Jianying**

According to Tianyancha, Hangzhou Tianqi Youpin Food Co., Ltd. was established on July 31, with a registered capital of 3 million yuan, and its business scope includes internet sales, food import and export, and food sales, among others. The company is jointly owned by Zhejiang Sanjie Investment Management Co., Ltd. and Bairuiyuan Wolfberry Co., Ltd. Equity penetration shows that Du Jianying is the actual controller of the company, and Zong Jichang serves as its chairman, general manager and legal representative.

In July 2025, Zong Jichang, Zong Jieli and Zong Jisheng sued Zong Fuli. The three plaintiffs were confirmed by their lawyers as Zong Fuli's "half-siblings", seeking to prevent Zong Fuli from disposing of assets in a HSBC bank account and to recover $2.1 billion in trust benefits promised by their father Zong Qinghou during his lifetime. (Sources: National Business Daily, Finance World)

8. **U.S. sanctions Chinese companies including Qiaqia Food and Synear Food**

A relevant working group led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has updated its import restriction list for Chinese companies, which will take effect on August 3 local time in the U.S. A number of Chinese companies, including Qiaqia Food, Synear Food, and Septwolves, have been added to the restriction list, imposing import restrictions on their related products entering the U.S. market. This means that Chinese foods such as sunflower seeds, dumplings and tangyuan that were once available on U.S. consumers' tables, as well as Chinese clothing brands that have been in the global market for many years, now face higher trade access thresholds. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

9. **OpenAI's official store sells ChatGPT basketballs, which are currently out of stock**

Previously, OpenAI announced the launch of its first co-branded hardware, the CodexMicro keyboard. In addition to hardware peripherals, OpenAI's official store has also launched a series of souvenir peripherals, including ChatGPT basketballs and Codex T-shirts. It is worth noting that all these products fall under the "SupplyCo." category.

According to the official description, SupplyCo. was originally just a small batch of peripherals made for employees, but it quickly became popular almost as soon as it was launched. At some point, these items are no longer simple peripherals, but have gradually become physical symbols of the company's culture. A search shows that multiple products in OpenAI's official store, including the ChatGPT basketball and Codex T-shirt, are marked as out of stock. (Source: Oriental Finance)