Joy Group, the parent company behind C-beauty brands Judydoll and Joocyee, will open a store in Malaysia by the end of the year, after debuting its first overseas boutiques in Singapore last year. 

“Southeast Asia has a huge consumer market, and people are generally very accepting of Chinese products,” Fanqi Kong, Joy Group’s general manager of international business, tells Fortune. Joy Group opened its Singapore office in 2024, which it designated as a regional hub to tap other Southeast Asian markets.

In 2025, the group’s retail sales exceeded $730 million, of which $87 million came from overseas sales. Vietnam is now Joy Group’s top overseas market.

Joy is part of a broader push by Chinese consumer brands to go global, a decision so common it’s even spawned a business buzzword, chuhai. Brutal competition at home has pushed Chinese brands like BYD, Geely, Huawei and Xiaomi to venture into overseas markets. 

Chinese companies initially focused on Western markets like the U.S. and Europe in their global push. But many are now pivoting to Southeast Asia, where Chinese brands have found greater success, due to geographical proximity, cultural similarities, and generally young populations. 

Between 2019 and 2024, Chinese color cosmetics and skincare brands in Southeast Asia reported compound annual growth rates of 70% and 115% respectively, according to data analytics firm Euromonitor.

“There was a perception among Chinese businesses that exporting their products to the most established markets is the best way to promote their brand,” says Dianna Chang, an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS). “But now, they’re finding a lot of relevance in Southeast Asia—it’s closer to home and encompasses many emerging economies with young populations.” 

How Chinese brands got ahead

Consumers previously wrote off Chinese goods as inferior, as Chinese manufacturers prioritized quick market entry over original designs. “There were jokes going around about how Chery QQ cars wouldn’t pass the crash test,” says Lewis Lim, an associate professor from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU). “And when Xiaomi entered the smartphone market in 2014, it was seen as a functional, affordable option—you couldn’t expect too much from it, but it worked.”

Yet over time, Chinese workers picked up technical know-how by working for foreign multinationals. “Some of the most advanced cosmetics were manufactured in China in the past, so workers learned how to make them,” says Chang. “Skincare is built a lot on chemistry, so the foundational understanding of material science also matters.” 

China has also poured large sums of money into research and development. In 2024, China invested $1.03 trillion into R&D, ahead of the U.S.’s $1.01 trillion, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 

“The one big difference between the Chinese expansion and previous efforts from Japanese and Korean brands is that they are backed by a government eager to increase its soft, cultural power across the world, especially starting with its Asian neighborhood,” says Seshan Ramaswami, a marketing expert from the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Chinese firms have also learned to better market their products internationally. “They’re learning from foreign brands about the importance of branding, storytelling and packaging,” says Chang. “For instance, some C-beauty brands have opted to focus more on Chinese heritage, and weave in elements of traditional Chinese medicine.”

The growing popularity of Chinese pop culture—including minute-long microdramas and TikTok reels of ‘cyberpunk’ cities like Chongqing—is also boosting the popularity of C-beauty brands. “After drinking boba tea and watching Chinese dramas, it’s natural for people to begin to accept and purchase C-beauty products,” Lim says.

C-beauty firms are broadening their product offerings to cater to a wider array of customers. Joy Group has expanded its shade ranges to include deeper skin tone options, and is rolling out sunscreen cushions and waterproof lip ink designed for Southeast Asia’s hot and humid climate. 

“Within Southeast Asia, we’re experimenting with a self-operating model, and building our own local entities and teams,” says Kong. Apart from its few boutiques in Singapore, Joy Group sells its goods through e-commerce platforms like Shopee, Lazada and Tiktok Shop and in omnichannel retail stores like Sephora, Lazada, and Watsons.

Going beyond Southeast Asia

C-beauty giants haven’t abandoned lucrative Western markets. Flower Knows, the viral fairy-themed C-beauty brand, entered the U.S. in 2024 via retail partnerships with Ulta Beauty and Urban Outfitters; Joy Group pushed into the European market last year, after acquiring Italian dermatological hair care brand Foltène. Many newer C-beauty brands, like Florasis, Perfect Diary and Catkin, also debuted with English names to boost their international appeal.

Yet whether C-beauty brands can effectively break into more culturally distinct markets, like the West and the Middle East, remains to be seen. 

“It would be easier for ‘hard’ products like EVs, since the competitive advantage mainly lies in the strength of the technology,” Lim concludes, pointing to how BYD cars are already selling well globally. “But products like cosmetics have to be adapted to the biological needs of your skin, so it might be hard for C-beauty brands to break into other markets as easily.”

Global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels this year and for the next four years afterwards, the United Nations warned Thursday.

The 11 hottest individual years ever recorded all happened from 2015 onwards and the UN’s weather and climate agency said the trend was set to continue, with a new hottest-ever year “likely” before 2031.

There is a 75 percent chance that the 2026-2030 five-year average temperature will surpass the key threshold of 1.5C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

The WMO outlook comes as western Europe swelters under a “heat dome” of warm air, breaking temperature records for May in Britain and France.

“Global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels in the next five years,” the agency said.

“It is likely (86 percent chance) that one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the warmest year on record.”

El Nino effect on 2027

“There is an El Nino predicted for the end of 2026, which increases the chances of the following year, 2027, being the next record-breaking year,” said Leon Hermanson, lead author of the WMO’s Global Annual-to-Decadal Update.

The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high at around 1.55C above the pre-industrial average.

El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.

It typically takes place every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months.

1.3C to 1.9C range

The 2015 Paris climate accords aimed to limit global warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels – and preferably below 1.5C.

The targets are calculated relative to the 1850-1900 average, before humanity widely began industrially burning coal, oil and gas, which emit carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas largely responsible for climate change.

“Annual global mean near-surface temperatures during 2026-2030 are predicted to range between 1.3C and 1.9C above the 1850-1900 average,” the WMO update said.

The WMO said there was a 91 percent chance that global average temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5C above the pre-industrial baseline for at least one year between 2026 and 2030.

Furthermore, there is a 75-percent chance that the entire 2026-2030 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C above the 1850-1900 average.

However, it is considered exceptionally unlikely – less than one percent – that any single year will exceed 2C above the pre-industrial baseline in the next five years.

Arctic heat warning

The 1.5C barrier is expected to be broken with increasing frequency.

The 1.5C and 2C limits in the Paris accords refer to sustained long-term warming – typically over 20 years – so temporary breaches do not necessarily mean the long-term goal is out of reach.

Last year was one of the three warmest years on record, with the globally averaged near-surface temperature estimated at more than 1.43C above the 1850-1900 baseline.

The report was produced by Britain’s Met Office national weather service and the WMO’s lead centre for annual to decadal climate prediction. It compiles forecasts from 13 different institutes.

The report said Arctic temperatures over the next five northern hemisphere winters (November to March) were predicted to be 2.8C above average temperatures for 1991-2020 – more than triple the global temperature anomaly for the same period.

Predicted precipitation patterns for May to September from 2026 to 2030 forecast wet anomalies in the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska and Siberia, as well as dry anomalies over the Amazon.

Source: FRANCE 24 with AFP

–Agencies 

The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, after officials identified more than 250 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths linked to the disease. 

Officials warned that the true scope of the outbreak could potentially be much larger than what has been reported so far, as health workers raced to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease. 

The WHO said the outbreak fell short of the criteria for a “pandemic emergency,” like COVID-19, and advised against closing international borders. 

Its emergency declaration said eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths had been reported as of Saturday in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, the outbreak’s epicenter. Two more laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were also reported in Kampala, Uganda within a day of each other. Those two cases were confirmed in people who had traveled from Congo and had “no apparent link to each other,” according to the WHO.

The Africa CDC has reported 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths in Congo, although regional health officials said at a news conference Saturday that they have identified upwards of 300 probable cases overall.

Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday. Locals in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, said they were afraid for their lives amid frequent burials. 

“Every day, people are dying … and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three or even more people,” said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia. 

Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said late Friday there have been eight laboratory-confirmed cases, and among them four deaths.

Test results confirmed it is the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the disease that has been less prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks. This is Congo’s 17th outbreak since Ebola first emerged in the country in 1976.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal. 

The Bundibugyo virus has only been responsible for two previous Ebola outbreaks, according to CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder. One, in Uganda in 2007, resulted in 55 cases. The other, in the Congo in 2012, resulted in 57 cases. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for this strain of Ebola, Gounder said, noting “medical professionals seem very concerned about the possibility or the ability to contain this.” 

The suspected index case in the latest outbreak is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia, Kamba said. He said the case dates back to April 24.

He did not say whether samples from the nurse were tested, but said the person presented symptoms suggestive of Ebola.

Outbreak spreads to neighboring Uganda 

Uganda confirmed Friday an Ebola case that authorities said was “imported” from Congo. The person died at the Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on May 14.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.

Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said it was preparing a “large-scale response” and called the rapid spread of the outbreak “extremely concerning,” according to the Agence France-Presse.

The body of the patient who died in Kampala was later taken back to Congo and no other local case has been confirmed, Uganda’s health ministry said.

On Saturday, people were being screened at the entrance of the Kibuli Muslim Hospital.

Ismail Kigongo, who resides in Kampala, said the new outbreak reminded him of his father, whom he lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I really get scared because I remember burying my father without looking at his body,” he said.

Kenya, Uganda’s neighbor, said Saturday there is only a “moderate risk of importation” of the Ebola virus due to regional travel. Kenya’s government said it has formed an Ebola preparedness team and has strengthened surveillance at all points of entry.

Logistical challenges complicate outbreak management 

Congo often faces logistical challenges in delivering expertise and supplies to affected regions during disease outbreaks. 

As Africa’s second-largest country by land area, Congo’s provinces are far from one another and mostly battling conflict. Ituri, for instance, is around 620 miles from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, and is ravaged by violence from Islamic State-backed militants.

“What we know very well [is] that the country has experience, but the region where it is happening is highly volatile with the humanitarian situation going on and the population moving around from South Sudan to Uganda and other parts,” said Dr. Abdi Rahman Mahamud, WHO director of health emergency alert and response operations, during a news conference Friday.

The disease has so far been confirmed in three health zones in Ituri province, including the capital city, Bunia, and the areas of Rwampara and Mongwalu, where the outbreak is concentrated.

Only 13 blood samples have been tested at the National Institute of Biomedical Research; eight tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain. The remaining five could not be analyzed due to insufficient sample volume, the health minister said.

In Bunia, Ituri’s main city, businesses and regular activities in public places appeared normal on Friday.

Resident Adeline Awekonimungu said she hopes the outbreak is quickly contained. “My recommendation is that the government take this matter seriously and that it takes charge of the hospitals so that this matter can be brought under control,” she said.

Ebola risk to Americans is low, CDC says

U.S. health officials describe the risk to Americans as low, but did not directly answer questions about whether any Americans may have been exposed to the Ebola virus in Africa.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with other health officials “to ensure the outbreak is managed and prevent further spread of Ebola,” said Dr. Satish Pillai, the manager of the CDC’s response to the outbreak, in a call with reporters Sunday.

The agency has an office with 30 personnel in Congo, and is working to deploy additional CDC workers to respond to the outbreak, Pillai said.

The agency on Friday issued travel advisories urging Americans traveling in Congo and Uganda to avoid people who have symptoms like fever, muscle pain and rash. The CDC also is “putting in appropriate measures for identifying individuals with any symptoms” at ports of entry, Pillai said, but CDC officials did not immediately respond to follow-up questions asking for more detail.

Doctor who survived Ebola questions U.S. response 

The U.S. has been the single largest external player in Ebola outbreak response in the past, but experts worry the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development and its withdrawal of the country from the WHO may impact such efforts.

A New York doctor who contracted and survived Ebola more than 10 years ago told CBS News on Friday that he is “really concerned” for healthcare workers treating Ebola patients. Medical staff have “very close contact with people when they’re most contagious,” said Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency room physician and public health professor at Brown University. 

Spencer said the U.S. does not have the capacity right now to respond quickly to global outbreaks. He suggested to CBS News there may be a connection between the shutdown of USAID and the fact that the latest outbreak was not announced until Friday. 

“Before the second Trump administration, USAID would have been on the ground,” Spencer said. “The CDC would have been on the ground at a moment’s notice, maybe even before a moment’s notice, of a new outbreak of Ebola because we were in a bunch of countries. We created relationships beforehand.”

Spencer also pointed to absences in the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response and other health agencies. However, he said the U.S. is still capable of dealing with the outbreak. 

Ebola “is not that great at spreading,” he said, and highlighted the United States’ response to a deadly outbreak of a rare strain of hantavirus aboard a Dutch cruise ship. 

“We’ve seen over the past couple weeks with the national quarantine unit we have in Nebraska and the over-a-dozen centers that we have around the U.S. that are capable of taking care of very high consequence pathogens like hantavirus and Ebola,” Spencer said. “These were all commitments that we made as a country, particularly and partly because of cases like my own a decade ago.”

Futures tied to the Dow Jones industrial average fell 174 points, or 0.35%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.26%, and Nasdaq futures lost 0.32%.

U.S. oil futures rose 1.75% to $107.26 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 1.32% to $110.70. Gold fell 0.37% to $4,545 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar was up 0.09% against the euro and up 0.06% against the yen. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed 1.6 basis points to 4.611%.

Last week’s euphoria came to screeching halt on Friday, when the U.S.-China summit failed to produce a breakthrough that would reopen the strait and allow oil supplies to flow again.

Given the fading hopes that energy-fueled inflation will come back down soon, bonds sold off sharply, with U.S., German, Japanese, and U.K. yields all soaring while stocks tumbled. For the first time in two decades, the 30-year Treasury yield hit 5% as Wall Street priced in greater odds for rate hikes.

At the same time, talks between the U.S. and Iran have stalled, keeping the strait shut. Frustrated that the diplomatic channel remains in limbo, President Donald Trump is weighing his military options.

Axios reported that he met with members of his national security team at his Virginia golf club on Saturday to discuss Iran. Another meeting in the White House Situation Room is planned for Tuesday.

Trump told Axios “the clock is ticking” for Iran and warned if the regime doesn’t make a better deal “they are going to get hit much harder.”

But the clock is also ticking on the oil market. Shortages are worsening, and Wall Street sees an imminent tipping point ahead.

JPMorgan predicted that commercial oil inventories in the developed world could “approach operational stress levels” by early June. Capital Economics warned oil stockpiles could reach “critically low levels” by the end of June.

Similarly, analysts at UBS also said oil inventories are approaching record lows, warning that “buffers have now largely been exhausted.”

As stockpiles go even lower, UBS said oil prices could become more volatile and highlighted the “risk of panic buying if physical dislocation intensifies and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.”