Can toys and companions fill China's emotional needs? | CNA Correspondent

China has a new buzzword: Emotional value. It is used to explain everything from blind box obsessions and AI companions to why young people are hiring strangers to climb mountains with them. In this episode of the CNA Correspondent podcast, Genevieve Woo and Correspondent Krystal Chia explore the rise of China’s emotional economy and examine what this growing search for comfort and connection reveals about modern Chinese society.

Highlights:
01:05 What is “emotional value”?
01:48 Why young adults are driving demand
04:33 Are people buying comfort and companionship?
06:31 Not a new phenomenon
08:20 Climbing Mount Tai with a companion
11:35 A revolutionary shift in Chinese society
14:08 What emotional spending reveals about modern life

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