ZHENGZHOU, China, March 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — More than six decades after the United States journalist Edgar Snow returned to China to document a nation in transformation, a new generation of foreign visitors is walking in his footsteps — and reaching the same conclusion he did: understanding China requires seeing it with one’s own eyes.

That consensus ran through Saturday’s thematic forum titled “Telling Story Well: From Empathetic Communication to Cultural Identity”, held in Zhengzhou, Henan province, as part of the 2026 China Internet Media Forum. The forum is hosted by the Bureau of Cyber Communications, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and organized by China Daily Website.

More than 200 participants from home and abroad — content creators, scholars, business figures, and descendants of Snow himself — gathered to share stories of personal immersion in Chinese culture, each echoing the belief that authentic connection cannot be achieved through headlines or abstract narratives alone.

Snow, whose 1937 book Red Star Over China introduced generations of Western readers to the Chinese revolution, later traveled to Henan province in 1960, capturing a “newly born” People’s Republic of China in his writings.

His journey formed the historical anchor for this week’s gathering, which featured a field tour retracing his path through Zhengzhou and Luoyang.

“From the Snow’s era to today, this conviction has never changed: when more people see with their own eyes, understanding happens,” Adam Foster, grandnephew of Helen Foster Snow — Edgar’s wife and a celebrated journalist in her own right — and founding chairman of the Helen Foster Snow Foundation, said.

Foster, who participated in the Henan tour, described his experience as “almost a personal journey”.

“I want to understand the journey that he went on to understand the Chinese people,” he said, adding that he was struck by the region’s “earth-shaking” changes since Snow’s time.

That theme of firsthand discovery echoed across five thematic sessions — “China Bound”, “Shopping in China”, “Study in China”, “Becoming Chinese”, and “Opportunity China” — where speakers from a mix of countries shared their individual paths of immersion.

Anayat Ali, a doctoral candidate at Tongji University from India and a travel blogger, contrasted his early struggles navigating China with his current appreciation for its infrastructure and everyday life. “The best way to understand China is not through the headlines or textbooks, but with your own eyes, your own feet and an open heart,” he told the audience.

The “Shopping in China” session highlighted the commercial dimension of cultural exchange.

He Lihong, president of the Yiwu Brands Association, traced her path from a street vendor in Yiwu, Zhejiang province – dubbed the world’s capital of small commodities – to leading a collective push for Chinese products to gain global recognition. “The city cannot forever be a silent world factory,” she said. “We must become a globally recognized brand.”

In the “Study in China” session, Joel Mikael Walker, a German practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine who has spent a decade in Henan, reflected on how language and culture became inseparable.

“When we understand each other’s lives, the differences become smaller,” he said, speaking in the Henan dialect. “Health is a common pursuit for all humanity — that makes TCM an international language.”

The “Becoming Chinese” session tapped into a broader cultural wave: over recent months, the #BecomingChinese has surged across social media, with international users documenting their immersion in everything from traditional medicine to daily routines.

For Lucas Deckers, a Belgian influencer, the movement is not about losing one’s origins but finding resonance.

He traced his connection with China to his grandfather’s visit in 1981, 17 years before he was born. His grandfather, who traveled to China at a time when the country looked very different, returned with stories that planted a seed of curiosity. That seed eventually drew Deckers to China, where he now lives in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, documenting his journey from learning Mandarin to embracing the country’s diverse ethnic cultures.

“For me, becoming Chinese is not about crossing cultural differences — it is about finding psychological resonance, a sense of belonging,” he said.

A panel discussion, “Opportunity China,” brought together global affairs expert David Gosset, Deputy Director of the Center for China and Globalization Victor Gao, and Special Representative on China of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Zafar Uddin Mahmood.

Mahmood, who first came to China in 1976, urged content creators to look beyond viral appeal and convey the deeper story of China’s development. “Historical sites, food, shopping — all are important,” he said. “But in today’s complex international environment, we must also introduce the new China. Where do these opportunities come from? Today, in my country, 30 percent of people use solar panels — because China produces vast quantities at affordable prices. The same is true for electric vehicles. I hope influencers will not focus solely on traffic, but also share these key aspects of China with the world.”

“Becoming Chinese is not only a fashion — it is a trend, it is a megatrend,” Gao said, noting that after years of what he described as vilification of China abroad, “it is time for the world to know China as it is.”

Gosset, a French sinologist, cautioned against reducing cross-cultural exchange to surface-level trends, calling on youth to strive to become citizens of the world and appreciate “the differences while finding common ground”.

The forum closed with the launch of several projects aimed at enhancing the experience of international visitors and residents in China, part of broader efforts to facilitate cultural exchange.

BEIJING, March 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The “Artificial Intelligence + Industry” Forum, a parallel session of the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference, was held in Beijing on March 27, focusing on large-scale commercial application of AI, fostering new business models and formats native to AI, deepening the development and utilization of data resources, and improving AI governance.

The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and organized by Science and Technology Daily (S&T Daily) and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China.

Wu Jing, president of S&T Daily, said the forum was a concrete measure to carry out the national strategic deployment to accelerate the development of next-generation AI.

Experts and entrepreneurs shared their thoughts on how AI is shaping the industrial development.

It is widely acknowledged in the sector that AI will empower the automated system of manufacturing in an all-round way, said Yu Haibin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Institute of AI for Industries, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in his keynote speech.

Yu said in complex, uncertain and dynamically changing environments, the new generation systems can autonomously perceive, make decisions and execute without human intervention. With the integration of large models and embodied AI, cyber-physical systems will possess an exceptional ability to adapt to specific objectives, heralding the advent of “super-automated factories.”

Such reshaping of productive forces is not only demonstrated in the underlying logic of technologies, but also in the upgrade of industrial application paradigms.

Yin Dawei, vice president of Baidu AI Cloud, said, China’s AI industry is entering a new stage of large-scale development, with the shift from large models to intelligent agents emerging as the most prominent technological trend.

Baidu AI Cloud leverages its full-stack capabilities—spanning chips, cloud, models and agents—to support the evolution of intelligent agents from conversational bots to professional assistants with complex reasoning capabilities.

Yin said the maturation of this “intelligent agent infrastructure” will enable developers to rapidly build multimodal applications in scenarios such as transportation and industry, closing the loop from model services to enterprise-level services.

Liu Xin, director of Transport Planning and Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, said embodied AI is driving the evolution of transportation vehicles into autonomous agents. In the construction of smart roads and waterways, it is transforming systems from passive response into active prevention.

A platform for matching application scenarios and technology supply nationwide developed by S&T Daily was launched at the forum. It will serve as a bridge connecting scenario providers—such as governments, enterprises and industrial parks—with technology suppliers, including tech companies and research institutions.

It will reduce the costs associated with matching scenario demand and supply, enhance the efficiency of scenario development, and accelerate the practical application of technological achievements.

The platform will also provide specialized services for matching application scenarios in the “AI+Industry” sector.

CYBEX Set New Revenue and Profit Records Under Strong Momentum
Further Gaining Market Shares in Turbulent Global Environment

Highlights:

• CYBEX set new records for both revenue and profit, with revenue rising sharply by 13.0% to approximately HK$5,047.4 million
• Evenflo delivered a strong performance in the stroller category, while the continued and successful implementation of its digital strategy led to robust growth in the DTC channel
• gb recorded strong growth in the car seats segment and has optimized its product mix
• The Group’s one-dragon vertically integrated platform has mitigated risks associated with reliance on any single market and enabled agile, flexible responses to market volatilities

HONG KONG, March 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Goodbaby International Holdings Limited (“Goodbaby International” or the “Company”, HKEX stock code: 1086, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group“), a leading global parenting brands company, has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2025 (the “Year”).

During the Year, the Group’s revenue totaled approximately HK$8,659.2 million (2024: approximately HK$8,765.9 million). Reported gross profit was approximately HK$4,434.0 million, reported operating profit was approximately HK$419.5 million, and reported net profit was approximately HK$218.4 million.

CYBEX achieves record results and expands global leadership amid challenging market conditions

Despite a challenging business environment, CYBEX achieved record revenue and profit, underscoring the brand’s exceptional resilience and considerable market influence. Supported by strong market demand for its products across the world, CYBEX recorded robust revenue growth of 13.0% to approximately HK$5,047.4 million (2024: approximately HK$4,467.3 million). Benefiting from positive operating leverage, CYBEX’s operating profit grew faster than its revenue, highlighting the brand’s focus on continuously improving business profitability. The sustained outstanding performance was driven by CYBEX’s solid brand position, diversified and innovative product portfolio, and continued expansion of its global omni-channel distribution network. During the Year, CYBEX opened two flagship stores in New York and Berlin, respectively, further reinforcing its leadership in “Strategic Big Cities” and enriching its omni-channel distribution network. The opening of the New York store also further boosted CYBEX’s momentum in the North American market, despite challenges from tariffs and price increases. Moreover, CYBEX garnered several international awards for product fashion design, safety, and functionality, further reinforcing its global leadership as a premium “technical-lifestyle” brand.

Evenflo achieves strong stroller growth and effective cost controls

Evenflo recorded revenue of approximately HK$2,118.1 million (2024: approximately HK$2,385.3 million). The decline was mainly attributable to lower sales in the car seat category and low-priced and older products in other categories. Nevertheless, the brand delivered strong performance in the stroller category through a record number of new launches, which partially offset the overall revenue decline. The brand also achieved strong growth in its DTC channel by leveraging a successful digital strategy. Additionally, Evenflo implemented mitigation measures, including stringent cost controls and a streamlined organization structure, which led to improved expense performance in the second half of the year.

gb’s product portfolio and channel upgrades lead to margin improvement

gb’s revenue was approximately HK$745.5 million (2024: approximately HK$918.1 million) for the Year. The revenue decline was mainly due to a strategic shift toward upgrading the product portfolio and focusing on the durables category (with strong growth recorded in the car seat segment), compounded by reduced sales of low-priced and older products. The brand enhanced consumer experience through improved fashion design and transitioned to offering one-stop solutions, resulting in strong growth in the car seat segment and a more optimized product mix. The channel mix was further optimized by prioritizing self-owned channels, adjusting the retail store network, and strengthening in-house management of online retail stores, all of which contributed to the gross margin improvement.

During the Year, the Blue Chip and other business recorded revenue of approximately HK$748.2 million. The Group’s relationship with its Blue Chip customers remained healthy and stable, and it continued to efficiently provide quality products and services for its customers.

Outlook

Looking ahead to 2026, the global economy is expected to remain volatile. Despite the challenges, the Group will continue to leverage its competitiveness strengths, respond swiftly to market changes, and pursue sustainable development opportunities. CYBEX will capitalize on its strong brand momentum and global omni-channel capabilities to further expand its market share worldwide. Evenflo will prioritize restoring revenue growth and profitability under its new management team, supported by continued product and channel enhancements. gb will focus on business turnaround by strengthening content marketing, growing the durables category, and enhancing the DTC strategy through strict cost discipline. And the Blue Chip business is expected to record moderate development as tariff policy uncertainties and fierce competition are expected to continue to impact its major customers’ business.

Mr. Tongyou LIU, Executive Director and Group CEO of Goodbaby International, said, “Over the past year, the macroeconomic environment has been extremely challenging. The Group responded proactively, overcoming difficulties and maintaining steady business development. Among its brands, CYBEX stood out with particularly impressive results, achieving strong growth in both revenue and profit, and demonstrating remarkable brand resilience and market influence. Looking ahead, the global political and economic landscape is expected to remain complex and uncertain. The Group will continue to strengthen its brands through its continuously expanded omni-channel networks and infrastructure across both existing and new markets. It will also further improve its global supply chain to enable faster market response and better utilize regional strengths, driving the Group’s long-term sustainable development.”

About Goodbaby International Holdings Limited

Goodbaby International Holdings Ltd. (stock code: 1086) is a world-leading parenting brands company. The Group serves millions of families around the world with its excellent portfolio of brands through design, research and development, manufacture, marketing and sales of children’s car safety seats, strollers, apparel and home textile products, feeding, nursing and personal care products, cribs, bicycles and tricycles and other children’s products.

For more information, please visit Goodbaby’s corporate website:
www.gbinternational.com.hk.