Even Chinese Boycott Their Own! US & EU Tariffs Crush E-Commerce, Massive Losses!

How bad is Temu's quality? Even Chinese people are boycotting it. It's all trash and toxic junk. The US and Europe impose heavy tariffs. Chinese e-commerce platforms are suffering massive losses. Huawei Watch is reading heartbeats from fruits. But smart toilets that won't open. And self-driving EVs crashing into danger. The truth behind China's far ahead. Technology is exposed. Shocking! Nearly 1 million shut down. Major restaurant giants collapse. Hundreds of billions vanish into thin air. Exposes Xi Jinping's two major poisonous tactics for controlling the world. Panama president responds to CCP. Will not accept foreign coercion. China's rights over Panama Canal ports revoked. Happy Lunar New Year from the decoding China team. Wishing you prosperity in the year of the horse. How bad is Temu's quality? Even Chinese people are boycotting it. It's all trash and toxic junk. The US and Europe impose heavy tariffs. Chinese e-commerce platforms are suffering massive losses. Temu, a low-cost online retail platform owned by a Chinese company and operated under Pinduoduo, has attracted enormous attention in international markets in recent years while facing growing waves of criticism. The quality of products sold on Temu has been described as so poor that even overseas Chinese consumers are increasingly reluctant to shop on the platform. First-hand consumer experiences are now steadily exposing the darker side behind Temu's aggressively promoted ultra-low-price model. For example, a so-called tactical USB flashlight advertised as durable turns out to be entirely plastic with large gaps and crude workmanship. A Damascus steel kitchen knife features nothing more than laser-printed patterns with a blade so thin it bends under a slight twist. A bone-cutting knife produces a brittle, unsettling sound upon impact, revealing weak metal structure and serious safety concerns. Criticism has not been limited to individual users. Consumers across the United States and Europe have voiced strong dissatisfaction. One American buyer reported that a kettle purchased on Temu melted at the handle and spout after being used just once. One foreign user showcased Nike shoes purchased on Temu that looked truly ridiculous. Another foreign user shared their surprise at an electric rice cooker purchased on Temu which turned out to be a mini-toy version. And those AirPods looked more like two cheap speakers than anything else. Another user labeled Temu a trash app, stating that many products are three-no goods, no production date, no manufacturer information, and no production address. Numerous shoppers admit they buy only because of the low prices, yet every delivery leaves them disappointed. Some note that at similar prices, Amazon offers far greater reliability. These complaints have moved beyond personal grievances and drawn the attention of regulatory authorities worldwide. In South Korea, the Seoul government tested 31 children-related products sold on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Results showed that eight products contained harmful substances exceeding safety standards, some by dozens of times. Children's handbags were found to contain phthalates at 55. Six times the permitted limit. Water pipe toys exceeded limits by 33 times. And even pencils and wooden toys failed safety checks. These findings raise serious concerns within the Korean government. Europe has faced similar problems. According to German media and consumer group tests, the European toy industry and broader product safety checks revealed extremely high non-compliance rates for items from Temu. In one major study, 18 out of 19 toys purchased from Temu violated European Union safety regulations. A failure rate of about 95%. Identified risks included cuts, choking hazards, strangulation, puncture wounds, and chemical injuries. One slime toy was found to contain boron levels 11 times higher than EU standards. Experts point to a major loophole in Europe's duty-free exemption for parcels valued under 150 euros. With hundreds of thousands of cross-border e-commerce packages arriving at EU customs every day, comprehensive inspections are virtually impossible. This allows unsafe and low-quality products to bypass oversight and reach consumers. Beyond quality issues, Temu's business model has triggered fierce backlash from sellers. Many merchants report that the platform withholds payments for up to three months, imposes penalties three to five times the transaction value, and continuously pressures sellers to lower prices. Those who fail to meet Temu's desired ultra-low pricing Some sellers handling 1,000 to 2,000 orders per day say their revenues are completely frozen, forcing many shops to shut down. A cross-border e-commerce businessman explained that the rule whoever is cheaper gets to sell effectively forces sellers to sacrifice quality. He stated bluntly that he would not even dare to use such low-quality products himself. Yet the platform continues selling them to consumers. Chinese e-commerce platforms are spreading harm. The world is calling for their elimination. Temu is also accused of using deceptive advertising to penetrate international markets, including gambling-style promotions such as roulette games promising rewards that are rarely delivered. In South Korea, the Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into Temu for suspected violations of e-commerce and advertising laws. In Spain, Temu became one of the most criticized shopping platforms within months of launch, with users alleging fake prize campaigns that collect personal data without delivering rewards. Temu is no longer viewed solely as a consumer quality or pricing issue. The platform has also been accused of harvesting user data. These concerns have now reached the U.S. political arena. Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio have publicly urged the U.S. government to investigate Temu. In an open letter, Senator Cotton wrote that, Like TikTok and other invasive Chinese applications, Temu has no place in the United States. He warned that Temu poses a threat to American manufacturers, investors, online retailers, and, most critically, the personal privacy of every American. He called on the administration to investigate Temu and grant authorities the necessary powers to protect Americans from what he described as a dangerous Chinese application. Marco Rubio echoed similar warnings. According to Rubio, the ultra-low prices offered by Temu and Shane are not the result of fair competition, but stem from Chinese Communist Party support, intellectual property theft, trade exploitation, and the use of forced labor, in violation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. This applies not only to Temu. On August 29, 2025, President Donald Trump fundamentally dismantled the de minimis tax exemption, ending the era of tax-free small parcels entering the United States. While the policy eventually expanded globally, it was explicitly designed to neutralize the dominance of Chinese e-commerce giants like Temu, Shane, and TikTok Shop. Under these regulations, Chinese shipments were hit with aggressive tariffs, initially reaching up to 120% of the item's value, or a flat fee per package in some cases. The European Union, EU, has not stood idly by. Amid pressure from the flood of cheap Chinese goods, which accounted for up to 91% of small parcels in 2024, the EU decided to end the era of tax exemptions for packages under €150. On November 13, 2025, the European Council officially reached a political agreement. Starting July 1, 2026, a flat customs fee of €3 will apply per item in parcels valued under €150. Huawei Watch is reading heartbeats from fruits, but smart toilets that won't open, and self-driving EVs crashing into danger. The truth behind China's far ahead. Technology is exposed. A recent video circulating widely on social media shows a Huawei smartwatch capable of detecting heartbeats in virtually anything. In the video, a user places the Huawei smartwatch on an orange, and the screen immediately displays data such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Under the same test conditions, the Apple Watch shows no data at all. More strikingly, a netizen in Beijing placed a Huawei Fit2 smartwatch on a nylon toy, and the device once again displayed heart rate and blood oxygen data as if it were measuring a living body. In the wearable technology industry, this seemingly absurd test has become a revealing litmus test. It exposes the quality of Chinese technology, the lack of rigorous sensor validation mechanisms, allowing devices to generate data that looks scientific but is in reality meaningless. This phenomenon is far from isolated. Another viral video shows a voice-controlled smart toilet repeatedly failing to perform the most basic command, opening the lid. The AI assistant remains polite, repeatedly asking for the correct phrasing and even suggesting switching to English, while the toilet itself remains completely unresponsive. The user, on the verge of a physiological emergency, is left helpless as the system continues to apologize. The video is not staged. It is a real user experience, leaving viewers both amused and deeply frustrated. At the same time, so-called smart features in Chinese electric vehicles are coming under increasing scrutiny. One Huawei IDO-M9 owner attempted to use the remote door opening function by the roadside. After failing once, the owner tried again and again, more than a dozen times, only for the door to remain firmly closed. Netizens mocked the situation, saying, Huawei is treating car owners like monkeys. Many users point out that the success rate of the M9's remote door opening feature is extremely low. In real-world use, it is often less convenient than simply opening the door manually or using facial recognition. The system frequently fails under certain lighting conditions or at slightly incorrect distances. The issue goes beyond inconvenience. Another owner discovered that the steering wheel on an IDO-M8 was misaligned. When the driver released the wheel, the car immediately drifted into another lane, forcing manual correction to avoid danger. This raises a serious question. Who would trust their life to a smart driving system like this? Even more alarming, another video shows a Huawei IDO-M9 failing to recognize a large truck ahead while the intelligent driving mode was activated. The vehicle continued forward without braking. There were two people inside the car. Had the driver not slammed on the brakes at the last moment, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Meanwhile, serious accidents involving domestic electric vehicles continue to surface. On January 10th, in Dongying, Shandong province, a BYD vehicle was split in half after a collision. Images of the chaotic scene spread rapidly online. People began asking a blunt question. Is this really what world-leading electric vehicles look like? The controversy extends to materials and construction. Multiple domestic EVs have been found using plastic for critical components such as fenders and even doors. Mechanics report that parts of the vehicle body can be torn apart by hand. Extreme cost-cutting has sparked widespread concern that passenger safety is being sacrificed. Public infrastructure tells a similar story. Wheelchair ramps that cannot be used. Sinks that splash water all over users. Restroom counters more than one meter high. These designs force people to ask, who are these products actually designed for? In the robotics sector, a wave of failure videos involving domestic robots has turned into online ridicule. At a shopping mall in Ningbo, a robot performing for customers suddenly delivered a roundhouse kick that sent its teammate flying several meters away. The struck robot staggered backward, its joints making loud clicking noises before collapsing to the floor. Similar incidents keep emerging. Robots losing balance, twitching uncontrollably, collapsing mid-performance. Experts point to multiple causes including weak balance control systems, software algorithms designed more for demos than real autonomy, and unreliable hardware materials. All of this exposes a widening gap between the image of being far ahead in technology and the reality of everyday use. China is the world's second largest economy, second globally in R&D spending, home to the largest number of researchers and has led the world in academic publications and patent filings for years. Yet its national innovation ranking sits only at 11th globally, revealing low efficiency and converting massive investment into real technological capability. Huge resources are being poured into flashy demonstrations, promotional videos, and parameter races, while fundamental issues of safety, reliability, and user experience remain unresolved. A culture of performance-driven showmanship has distorted the path to genuine innovation. Against the backdrop of an intensifying US, China technology confrontation and an increasingly fragile Chinese economy, the technology superpower dream promoted by the Chinese Communist Party is likely to remain just that, a dream. Shocking, nearly 1 million shut down, major restaurant giants collapse, hundreds of billions vanish into thin air. A blogger shared a video saying, come watch this. Can you believe it? This was last night at 6 p.m. I took a photo at Heidi Lau, including our table. There were only three tables in total. The number of wait staff was even greater than the customers with three or four waiters surrounding our hot pot. Just earlier, I saw a news clip saying our GDP grew by 5% this quarter in 2025. Where did that growth come from? Where's the growth? Heidi Lau, once famous for its service-first philosophy, had already closed 300 stores three years ago, and closure news continues to pour in. Heidi Lau's struggles are not isolated. They reflect the broader challenges facing China's restaurant industry. In 2024, a record number of restaurants, nearly 3 million, closed nationwide amid slowing consumer spending and economic deflation. In the first half of 2025, while over 1 million new registrations occurred, hundreds of thousands more shut down, continuing the brutal wave. The restaurant chain Jiu Mao Jiu in Hong Kong and mainland operations, once as prominent as Heidi Lau, has seen its market value evaporate by over 48 billion yuan in four years, a staggering 94% decline, from a peak of 55 billion yuan to just 3 billion yuan. At its height, its table turnover rate reached 4.9 times per day, surpassing even Heidi Lau, with average per-customer spending as high as 80 yuan. Now, prosperity has faded. The latest data shows table turnover has dropped to 2, 2 times per day, and per-customer spending has fallen to 73 yuan. Similarly, hotpot chain Shabu Shabu, once a top hotspot stock, is projected to earn about 1.9 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year decline of 18.9%, with a net loss estimated between 18 million and 100 million yuan. Since 2021, the company has been in continuous losses totaling over 1.3 billion yuan. In the first half of 2025 alone, Shabu Shabu closed 52 stores across China. Currently, the wave of corporate closures and restaurant shutdowns persists across mainland China, with major chains like Burger King, KFC, Aji Steakhouse, and Haidilao leading the trend. Industry insiders note that offline businesses in China are undergoing a new round of structural adjustments, and the closure wave is likely to continue. As the world's second-largest fast-food burger chain, Burger King entered the Chinese market in 2005. By the end of June 2025, its store count in China had fallen from 1,474 at the end of 2024 to 1,367, a net reduction of 107 stores in just six months. KFC and McDonald's, once-ever green giants in the industry, are also continually shrinking operations to survive. Under the ongoing wave of domestic business closures, coffee brands and chains are struggling too. Starbucks and Luckin' Coffee, among others, face difficulties. In November 2025, Starbucks announced a shocking decision. Selling up to 60 percent of its China retail business to investment firm Boyu Capital in a deal valuing the operations at approximately $4 billion, with the total enterprise value exceeding $13 billion, including retained interests and licensing fees. As China's economic downturn deepens, the restaurant closure wave has spread beyond the mainland and is heavily impacting long-established brands in Hong Kong. According to media reports, factors such as economic recession and Hong Kong residents traveling to the mainland for cheaper consumption have led to roughly 200 restaurant closures in Hong Kong in the first half of 2025 alone, including many iconic decades-old establishments. Meanwhile, in mainland China, closures extend far beyond restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops. Supermarkets, malls, fitness centers, education institutions, fashion stores, and bookstores are also shutting down en masse. With the collapse of the real estate bubble, shrinking middle-class assets, high unemployment, frequent salary arrears among civil servants, and widespread business layoffs, social income expectations have plummeted. People no longer have confidence in future consumption. The once-booming dining industry, previously fueled by social gatherings and business needs, is rapidly shrinking, with chain brands and high-end restaurants hit hardest. Furthermore, the Chinese Communist Party's alcohol restrictions have severely suppressed demand for business dinners and other premium dining experiences. This wave of closures across industries is not merely a market cycle. It reflects a structural collapse stemming from the long-term damage inflicted by the CCP's authoritarian political system on China's economy. Intertwined with public hopelessness about the future, residents are unwilling to consume, businesses hesitate to invest, and constant policy shifts have left society in stagnation. The restaurant closure wave mirrors the overall weakness of the real economy and could mark the beginning of a prolonged economic winter in China. Exposes Xi Jinping's two major poisonous tactics for controlling the world. Since Xi Jinping, during discussions with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un at the Beijing military parade on September 3, 2025, touched on the possibility of extending human life through organ transplantation, claiming humans could live to 150 years old, the Chinese Communist Party's practice of live organ harvesting has drawn intense attention and discussion both domestically and internationally. Recently, Kunming First People's Hospital in Yunnan Province reportedly conducted 31 human organ procurement and transplantation surgeries in a single day, raising serious questions about the source of the organs. Poet and financial writer Su Xiaohei revealed on his platform that a major figure in Beijing had dropped explosive information, claiming Xi Jinping uses two major poisonous tactics to control the world and certain key figures in Western countries. It is said that Xi Jinping has elevated his united front warfare against the world to a new level of weaponry. One such weapon is viruses using bioweapons to control the world. The second is organ transplantation to control Western politicians. Su Xiaohei said the CCP treats human life like grass and does not regard people as human beings. Through organ transplantation, it has allegedly controlled many Western politicians, including politicians and parliamentarians from the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as numerous entrepreneurs and businessmen who have had organ transplants in China. In addition, powerful figures from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore have also reportedly gone to China for organ replacements. Once they receive these organs, they are firmly held in the CCP's grip and obediently carry out united front work for the party. Su Xiaohei pointed out that the entire world has been corrupted on a systemic level. The Chinese people are truly pitiable. In wartime, they are cannon fodder. In peacetime, they are leeks harvested again and again. But leeks grow back after being cut. What is even more tragic is that in peacetime, Chinese people have been reduced to state-owned organs. According to the white paper on China's missing persons released in 2020, China sees up to 1 million people go missing every year, including more than 200,000 children and adolescents. To date, this data has not been updated, and the actual figures could be far more horrifying. In recent years, numerous cases of disappearances, most of them involving children, have continuously appeared daily on social media platforms. One paradox stands out. China has a highly developed Skynet surveillance system. Why can't missing children be found? According to data estimates from cybersecurity research institutions, since 2021, China has had approximately 700 million surveillance cameras, roughly one camera for every two people. Eric Mai, an anti-CCP activist from a county-level city in Jiangsu Province, who previously worked at a local public security bureau's law enforcement and case handling center under the Public Security Brigade, revealed in a July interview with The Epoch Times that the government is not unable to find missing children. It simply does not look for them. Eric explained that with so many surveillance cameras across China, whether it's a child or an adult, as long as there is a photo or name, the Skynet system can automatically verify their location in less than five seconds. If they can't be found, it's because their organs have been harvested. Eric also disclosed that nowadays, even ordinary tertiary, Class A hospitals in local areas can perform organ transplants. Ten years ago, applications and waiting lists were required. Now, if an organ is needed in the morning, a fresh, newly harvested one is available by the afternoon. The CCP claims to have 100 million party members, so there must be a certain proportion of normal people to sustain it, he said. Panama president responds to CCP will not accept foreign coercion. China's rights over Panama Canal ports revoked. In early February 2025, Panama's Supreme Court ruled to revoke the port operating rights at both ends of the Panama Canal previously held by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, Cheung Kong Hutchison Holdings. The Chinese Communist Party immediately threatened that if Panama cancelled the port contracts, it would pay a heavy price. However, Panama president José Raúl Molino issued a globally shocking and extremely tough statement regarding the port concession rights held by CK Hutchison. He clearly declared that the operating rights of the two ports at the key gateways of the canal will never again be granted to any single company and stressed that the court's ruling is final and conclusive. Molino's hardline stance not only breaks Panama's long-standing tradition of pragmatic balance between the United States and China, but also directly challenges Beijing's bottom line. Tsai Pei-chui, associate researcher at Taiwan's National Defense Security Research Institute, explained, Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in 2025, he has repeatedly threatened to take back the Panama Canal, not ruling out the use of military means. The reason is that China's influence has already infiltrated and threatened U.S. military security. In America's own backyard on the American continent, directly affecting U.S. national security. This extreme pressure from the U.S. government has naturally forced the Panamanian government to choose between being taken over militarily and economically by the United States or proactively eliminating Chinese influence. Therefore, Panama's statement this time can be seen as submitting a loyalty pledge to the United States. Bloomberg, citing informed sources, reported that Chinese authorities are now requiring state-owned enterprises to suspend negotiations on new projects with Panama, instructing shipping companies to evaluate rerouting options and directing customs to strengthen inspections of imports from Panama, such as bananas and coffee. The CCP warned Panama that it would pay a heavy price for the Supreme Court's ruling. In response, President Molino stated, Panama is a country with dignity and will absolutely not allow itself to be threatened by any nation. Zia-pei-chui added, Because Panama officially withdrew from China's Belt and Road Initiative in February 2025, this shows that the Molino government has already set its strategic direction, no longer worrying about offending Beijing. Furthermore, this may be an opportunity to clean house. The port contracts with China, signed since 1997, have long been criticized domestically in Panama for lack of transparency and interest transfers. President Molino is trying to defend Panama's image of judicial independence, emphasizing that Panama is a country ruled by law, not one that obeys pressure from foreign governments. Analysts believe Panama's shift is a classic microcosm of how small countries seek survival amid great power rivalry. From being friendly with both sides to choosing one side, although Beijing's economic influence is enormous, it is difficult for China to provide Panama with equivalent security guarantees on the American continent. That's it for this special holiday update. We want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support over the past year. Your viewership is what keeps Decoding China running. If you value our independent analysis, please consider subscribing and hitting the notification bell. Wishing you and your family a prosperous year of the horse. Thanks for watching and stay tuned.