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
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com