The Negotiation

Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China and one of the most trusted English-language voices on China's technology sector, is back to break down everything happening in China’s tech landscape, from DeepSeek to humanoid robots. Rui runs in-person tech immersion trips to China for investors and executives, giving her a ground-level view of what's actually being built and deployed - not just what's being a...

For North American sports in China, the appetite is there - millions of fans, growing middle-class purchasing power, a government actively promoting winter sports and athletic culture. However, the path from interest to revenue remains complicated. Leif Rogers has spent his career navigating exactly that path. As Founder and CEO of Red Phoenix Entertainment, he helps North American athletes, leagu...

The headlines about China's economy often tell two contradictory stories at once: recovery and stagnation, consumer confidence and persistent caution, tech boom and structural drag. Making sense of what's actually happening requires someone who's tracking the data closely, week by week, from the ground up. Robert Wu does exactly that through Baiguan, a consultancy and popular newsletter that cover...

Most global businesses enter Asia with a playbook built elsewhere. The pricing models, growth assumptions, labour structures, and definitions of value that worked in North America or Europe get applied to markets that operate by fundamentally different rules. The result, as Eric Stryson has observed across nearly two decades of on-the-ground leadership work in Asia, is failure - not dramatic failu...

Lisa Nan, Beauty Editor at Jing Daily, joins The Negotiation to break down what's really happening in China's beauty and luxury markets right now. From the rise of C-beauty brands challenging international players to the unexpected virality of Kris Jenner as China's 'money goddess,' Lisa tracks the trends that are reshaping how brands sell in the world's largest beauty market. In this episode, Lis...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley welcomes Dr. Nici Sweaney, founder of AI Her Way and one of the most compelling voices on ethical AI adoption, gender equity in technology, and responsible AI systems. Nici has an extraordinary background. She started in butterfly ecology, spent 17 years as a quantitative scientist in academia, and has worked with the United Nations, World Bank...

In this rapid-fire update episode of The Negotiation , our host, Todd Embley, sits down with Jacob Cooke, CEO and Co-Founder of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, for a fast-paced conversation covering the biggest developments in China's e-commerce and AI landscape. Jake unpacks Alibaba's recent earnings—why he's encouraged despite weak earnings—and breaks down the significance of their new AI busines...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley welcomes Colin Jeavons, Founder and CEO of Nomix Group—a forward-thinking holding company reshaping digital commerce through AI, performance marketing, and creator-driven commerce. Colin is a veteran of the digital space with over 25 years of experience, from the early days of commercial search in the late 1990s to today's AI-powered shopping r...

In this special episode of The Negotiation , WPIC CEO Jacob Cooke steps in as host to interview Bijan Ahmadi, Executive Director & COO at the Canada China Business Council—one of the leading organizations supporting Canadian businesses in China and strengthening bilateral commercial ties. This episode offers a unique perspective: Jacob was in Beijing during Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley welcomes Tom Simpson, Managing Director of China Operations and China Chief Representative for the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC)—one of the leading organizations supporting UK businesses in China and strengthening bilateral commercial ties. Tom joins the show to unpack Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's recent visit to China—the first by...

In this episode of The Negotiation podcast , host Todd Embley welcomes back Justin Downes, President of Axis Leisure Management and one of the foremost experts on skiing and winter sports development in Asia. With nearly two decades of experience shaping China’s ski and snowboard industry — including playing a role in the infrastructure behind the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics — Justin brings a rar...

In this episode of The Negotiation Podcast , host Todd Embley sits down with Nichola Quail , Founder and CEO of Insights Exchange and a leading global market research strategist. Nichola works at the intersection of strategy, research, and execution, helping brands access the right insights to make smarter decisions in complex and fast-changing markets. Nichola shares her career journey and the mo...

In this episode of The Negotiation Podcast , host Todd Embley is joined by Jacob Cooke , CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, to unpack the significance of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing —the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years. Jacob provides a timely analysis of what this visit signals for Canada–China relations after nearly a decade of diplomatic and trade...

 In this episode of The Negotiation Podcast , host Todd Embley is joined by Richard Kimber , an Australian and Hong Kong–admitted lawyer who has helped more than 400 companies enter and operate in the Chinese market. Richard brings decades of experience advising international businesses across sectors, including agribusiness, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, sports, and education. His work s...

In Part 2 of our conversation with Professor Lizhi Liu, we shift from the origins of China’s e-commerce boom to the competitive dynamics shaping its present—and its future. Lizhi breaks down how major platforms like Taobao/Tmall, JD, and Pinduoduo have shaped institutional innovation through intense competition, and what their strategies reveal about China’s digital governance model. We discuss th...

In this first installment of our two-part conversation with Professor Lizhi Liu, Todd sits down with one of the leading scholars shaping global understanding of China’s digital economy. Lizhi’s award-winning book, From Click to Boom , explores how political institutions and digital platforms co-evolved to fuel the world’s most sophisticated e-commerce ecosystem. In this episode, Lizhi walks us thr...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley sits down with Elysia Guo, a rising voice in China’s influencer economy and an entrepreneur who has built a unique career at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and digital influence. Elysia shares her journey from a strategy consultant to becoming a full-time content creator and brand collaborator, offering an inside look into China’s fa...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley welcomes back Olivia Plotnick, Founder of Wai Social and one of the most insightful voices on Chinese consumer culture and digital marketing. Olivia recently embarked on a remarkable journey across 32 cities in China over 60 days, immersing herself in the country’s diverse regional cultures and uncovering how people live, shop, and connect with...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley welcomes back Crystal Tai. Crystal is a journalist, cultural strategy researcher, and Managing Partner at Nüora Global Advisors. Formerly Senior Managing Editor at Jing Daily, her work explores how changing values + consumer behaviors, and social movements shape business trends and global markets.  In this episode, Crystal shares her insights o...

In this episode of The Negotiation , host Todd Embley sits down with David Perez-Des Rosiers, Director of the Beijing Chapter of the Canada-China Business Council (CCBC). The CCBC has been a cornerstone of Canada–China business relations for over four decades, supporting Canadian enterprises as they navigate opportunities and challenges in China. David shares his perspective on the chamber’s work,...

In this episode of The Negotiation , we are joined by Nicole Lin , Business Development Country Manager at Tmall Global . This conversation comes ahead of the China Cross-Border Summit in Los Angeles on October 16, 2025 , co-hosted by WPIC and Tmall Global. Nicole shares how Tmall Global is helping brands of all sizes access China’s enormous consumer market without requiring a local entity, explai...

In this episode of The Negotiation , we welcome Emmanuel Poupelle , WPIC Marketing + Technologies’ Director of Growth for Europe, to explore how European lifestyle and health brands can succeed in China’s fast-changing consumer landscape. Originally recorded as a webinar, there were so many incredible insights brought to the discussion that we felt it was well worth publishing as a podcast as well...

In this episode of The Negotiation , we speak with Clementine Pippa Ebel , a cultural strategist and expert on China’s rapidly growing outdoor sports market . Clementine works for KAILAS , one of China’s top domestic outdoor gear brands, and brings unique insight into how Chinese consumers are embracing trail running , hiking , camping , and the broader Gorpcore lifestyle . We explore how outdoor...

In Part 2 of our interview with EIU economist Tianchen Xu, we turn our focus to the Chinese consumer. Is spending recovering? What’s happening in the housing market? And are the big headline sales events like 618 masking deeper issues in consumer confidence? Tianchen walks us through the mixed signals emerging from China’s domestic economy, from retail sales rebounds to the drag of the property se...

In Part 1 of our conversation with Tianchen Xu, Senior Economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, we dig into China’s macro performance in the first half of 2025—and what the future may hold. Tianchen analyzes Q1’s headline 5.4% growth, discusses why the London trade truce between the US and China matters, and highlights what Western media narratives often miss when reporting on China’s economy...