PDD Holdings may not be a household name, but the Chinese firm’s discount e-commerce platforms Temu and Pinduoduo have become retail juggernauts, helping PDD nearly double its revenue to $35 billion in 2023. Temu, the international platform popular in the U.S., attracts tens of millions of users outside China hunting for bargains on clothing, electronics, and home goods. In China, Pinduoduo has become a formidable rival to dominant JD.com and Alibaba. Temu attracts tens of millions of users with shockingly low prices, helped by a trade rule that allows it to avoid paying certain taxes on goods entering the U.S. Its success has attracted intense scrutiny, including accusations by U.S. lawmakers that it sells products made by forced labor; the company has called them “completely ungrounded.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
Contact us at letters@time.com