Shenzhen should be more than a showcase

Detailed summary

Since early 2026, Chinamaxxing has gained significant traction on TikTok and other social media platforms, with videos and posts covering a wide range of topics, from everyday…

Riding on the back of the Chinamaxxing trend sweeping Western social media, a group of 26 journalists, experts, social media influencers, and Gen Z representatives from 16 countries visited Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Hengqin from Oct 19 to 23, exploring technological advances and their real-world applications, ecological wetlands, and the ancient streets of towns with a rich history of overseas Chinese emigration.

Since early 2026, Chinamaxxing has gained significant traction on TikTok and other social media platforms, with videos and posts covering a wide range of topics, from everyday habits, food, wellness and traditional culture to cutting-edge technologies and modern lifestyles in China.

As Chinamaxxing continues to attract growing attention online, the 2026 "A Date With China · Meet Guangdong" tour offered journalists and social media content creators an opportunity to experience the country firsthand. Shenzhen and Guangdong as a whole serve as windows through which the world can gain a closer understanding of China. During their visits, participants gained insights into Shenzhen's relentless innovation and its emergence as a high-tech hub, Guangdong's approach to opening-up, and the history of a province that pioneered China's trade with the outside world.

If visits like this tour represent people-to-people exchange at the grassroots level, the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen will bring together leaders for the highest-level engagement among APEC economies. The stakes are high as leaders sit down to address shared concerns and seek solutions to advance openness, innovation and cooperation, the three priority areas of APEC 2026.

At the 37th APEC Ministerial Meeting held via video conference on Nov 3, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao highlighted the challenges facing the world economy, including growing risks of fragmentation in industrial and supply chains and sluggish global economic growth.

Shenzhen, the host city, undoubtedly…

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