Jim Fields is an American entrepreneur who has spent over 15 years living and building businesses in China. He speaks fluent Mandarin, began his career at Adobe in Silicon Valley, and moved to China, where he worked at Nokia and Reckitt Benckiser before founding Relay Video in 2016 - a Beijing-based creative marketing agency that helped Chinese tech companies including Xiaomi, Tencent, and Lenovo tell their stories to global audiences. He later founded Relay Club, an influencer management platform for Chinese brands going outbound. He now serves as Chief Growth Officer at Nuon Medical and is involved with Oren Medical, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer within the Kaiyan Medical Group.

In this episode, Jim talks about his journey from Silicon Valley to China, what he learned building Relay Video, and the most common mistakes Chinese tech companies make when trying to go global. He explains why he pivoted from marketing into medtech, and breaks down both companies he works with today: Nuon Medical, which embeds clinical technologies like red light therapy, microcurrent, and PEMF directly into cosmetics applicators for brands including Clarins and Vagheggi, and Oren Medical, which manufactures red light therapy and medical wellness devices with over 300 patents across six FDA-cleared facilities.

Jim also discusses his TEDx talk arguing that light is a fourth macronutrient alongside oxygen, water, and food - the science behind red and near-infrared light therapy and why he believes it belongs in everyday consumer products. He covers the beauty tech market in China versus the West, how US-China trade tensions and tariffs affect a cross-border business like his, and what he's learned from 15-plus years of building across both markets.

Discussion Points

· Jim's journey from Silicon Valley to 15+ years building businesses in China

· Relay Video's thesis: Chinese brands are the brands of the future but need help telling their stories globally

· The most common mistakes Chinese tech companies make when going global, from working with Xiaomi, Tencent, and Lenovo

· The pivot from marketing to medtech and how Jim's China background connects to his work in beauty tech

· Nuon Medical: embedding clinical technologies (light therapy, microcurrent, PEMF) into cosmetics packaging

· Jim's TEDx argument that light is a fourth macronutrient - the science behind red and near-infrared light therapy

· Oren Medical: China's medical device manufacturing sophistication, 300+ patents, six FDA-cleared facilities

· Beauty tech market maturity in China versus the West and where China is leading

· How US-China trade tensions and tariffs affect a cross-border business built on Chinese manufacturing

· Lessons from 15-plus years building businesses that span China and the West

Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. It was a tournament full of drama, upsets, and cultural moments - not least in China, where Xiaohongshu streamed all 104 matches for free and Norwegian striker Erling Haaland generated nearly 1.8 billion views on the platform. China's national team, meanwhile, watched from home. Again. Mark Dreyer has spent nearly two decades trying to explain that paradox.

Mark is the founder of China Sports Insider, author of Sporting Superpower: An Insider's View on China's Quest to Be the Best, and one of the most respected English-language journalists covering sport in China. His recent piece in The Economist on the state of Chinese football went viral, laying out why a country with enormous resources, a football-obsessed president, and 1.4 billion people has qualified for the World Cup exactly once - in 2002 - and shows few signs of returning anytime soon.

In this episode, Mark gives his verdict on the 2026 World Cup - the football, the format, and the final. As a dual English-Canadian citizen, he also has personal stakes in two teams: England, who reached the semi-finals before losing to Argentina and finished third with a thrilling 6-4 win over France, and Canada, who bowed out in the round of 16. He breaks down the state of Chinese football at every level - the national team, the domestic league, and the youth development pipeline - and explains why the problems run much deeper than money or political will can fix.

Mark also digs into how China consumed this World Cup differently: Xiaohongshu's landmark streaming deal, the Haaland phenomenon and what it reveals about how Chinese fans engage with foreign athletes, and whether China will ever host - let alone win - a World Cup of its own.

Discussion Points

· Overall verdict on the 2026 World Cup: the football, the 48-team format, North America as hosts, and Spain's win over Argentina

· England's semi-final run and third-place finish, and Canada's round of 16 exit - Mark's personal take as a dual citizen

· North America as a three-country host and whether England or China could host a future World Cup

· The state of the Chinese men's national team: why investment and political will haven't translated into results

· Youth football in China: structural problems, academic pressure, and what a genuine grassroots culture would require

· The Chinese Super League post-boom-and-bust: where the domestic league stands after the salary caps and corruption investigations

· Xiaohongshu's landmark streaming deal: all 104 matches free of charge, and what it signals about sports broadcasting in China

· The Haaland phenomenon: 1.8 billion Xiaohongshu views, 'Ha Bao,' romance game edits, and what it tells us about Chinese fan culture

· Xi Jinping's three football ambitions - host, qualify, win - and which, if any, are achievable

· The single most important thing that needs to change for Chinese football to genuinely improve

Most influencers build an audience on one platform and stay there. Crystal Yu operates across two ecosystems that couldn't be more different: Instagram in the West and Xiaohongshu in China. The content strategies, audience expectations, brand partnership dynamics, and even the definition of authenticity diverge significantly between them. Crystal has built a following on both, and in this episode, she pulls back the curtain on what that actually looks like.

Crystal walks us through how she became an influencer, what she's learned about creating content for two very different platforms, and how she approaches each one differently. She also breaks down the business side of influencing — fee structures, how brand partnerships come together, and what brands consistently get wrong when approaching creators for collaborations.

For brands and marketers trying to understand how influencer marketing works in China versus the West, this episode offers a rare insider perspective. Crystal explains how Chinese brands approach collaborations differently from Western brands, why authenticity means something different on Xiaohongshu than it does on Instagram, and how to build trust with audiences on both sides of the divide.

Discussion Points

· How Crystal became an influencer and whether it was a deliberate choice or an organic evolution

· The key differences between Instagram and Xiaohongshu as platforms: audience expectations, content formats, and culture

· How Crystal's content strategy differs across platforms and whether she creates separate content for each

· The business side of influencing: fee structures, compensation models, and how deals are structured

· How brand partnerships come together: inbound vs outbound, agency involvement, and selection criteria

· What brands consistently get wrong when approaching influencer collaborations, and what makes one successful

· How Chinese and Western brands approach influencer partnerships differently

· Balancing sponsored content with audience trust, especially on Xiaohongshu, where authenticity is paramount

· Where influencer marketing is heading over the next few years, particularly in China

· Advice for anyone looking to build a cross-platform presence or pursue influencing as a career