Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. Chinese AI Unicorn MiniMax Scores Big in US With Talkie Chatbot App
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) unicorn MiniMax has become the mainland’s latest social-media star overseas, on the back of its popular Talkie chatbot entertainment app.
Data from market research firm Sensor Tower showed that Talkie – part of the fast-growing “companion AI” market segment – was the fourth most-downloaded AI app in the United States in the first half of 2024, ahead of Google-backed rival Character.ai which ranked 10th. Globally, Talkie recorded 17 million downloads in the first eight months of the year, trailing Character.ai with nearly 19 million downloads in the same period, according to a Sensor Tower report last month. Using generative AI (GenAI) technology, both apps enable users to create and have conversations with virtual characters based on fiction or real people.
2. TikTok CEO Vows to Earn Global Trust, As App Challenges US Ban
TikTok, the Chinese-owned short-video app fighting a ban in the US, is determined to earn trust in every market where it operates, CEO Chew Shou Zi said at a summit in Saudi Arabia’s capital city.
Chew, who spoke in a roughly 15-minute chat during the FII conclave in Riyadh, is leading TikTok’s efforts to prevent the US government from forcing the globally popular platform to divest from its Beijing-based owner ByteDance or face a ban in the US. TikTok filed a legal challenge a month after US President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that gave the company until January to complete the sale, citing national security concerns. A three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has been reviewing the case, with a decision expected by December to allow time for any Supreme Court appeal.
3. Alibaba’s Black Friday Alternative Hits US With AliExpress Singles’ Day Sales
AliExpress, Alibaba Group Holding’s international ecommerce platform, is bringing the world’s largest online shopping sales event, Singles’ Day, to the US for the first time, giving Americans an alternative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday for snagging deals ahead of the holidays.
The technology giant will kick off sales in the US on Friday, with discounts of up to 90 per cent on a wide range of products – from tech gadgets to home essentials and beauty products. Friday will start the three-day presale period, when consumers can browse discounts and add products to their carts. Final purchases on the full selection of products can be made from November 11 to November 18.
4. UK Lawmakers Could Question Shein Over Workers’ Rights Early Next Year
British lawmakers could question executives of online fast-fashion group Shein on workers’ rights as early as January, ahead of a possible London listing, according to the head of a parliamentary committee.
The House of Commons’ Business and Trade Committee has opened an inquiry into employment rights. It plans to examine the new Labour government’s employment rights bill in the context of protection for UK workers, but will also look at how to ensure adequate protection against poor labour standards overseas, including concerns over forced labour in international supply chains.
5. Shein touted As Model Unicorn in China’s ‘new Quality Productive Force’ Push
State-owned media has highlighted Shein, the China-founded fast-fashion giant, as a model company reshaping the country’s garments supply chain, even as it faces uncertainties over a UK initial public offering (IPO) and slower growth overseas.
Shanghai Securities News, under the state-run Xinhua News Agency, published the first of its “Unicorn Growth Series”, with Shein as the featured company. The series is intended to emphasise the role of unicorn companies, or start-ups worth more than US$1 billion, as the vanguard of “new quality productive forces” – a term introduced by President Xi Jinping in September last year to describe productivity gains driven by technology innovation.
Shein, which sells budget clothing to a global customer base from its vast network of suppliers in the Pearl River Delta, was praised for its contribution to industry upgrading, in a report titled “The Growth Miracle of Fashion Company Shein”.
6. Temu’s Debut in Vietnam Faces Scrutiny After Indonesian Ban
Temu, the cross-border shopping platform owned by Chinese ecommerce giant PDD Holdings, faces heightened government scrutiny in Vietnam, posing new challenges for the company’s expansion plans in Southeast Asia.
The budget-shopping platform, which is legally domiciled in Boston, is applying for formal approval to operate in Vietnam, after its recent launch in the country raised regulatory compliance questions, according to local media outlet Vietnam Net.Temu debuted in Vietnam early in October, wooing shoppers with perks that included up to 90 per cent discounts and referral bonuses. Soon after, Vietnam’s industry and trade ministry warned consumers against buying on unregistered platforms, citing concerns over the quality of cheap products being offered, local news outlet Lao Dong reported.
7. EU to Investigate China’s Temu Over Suspected Illegal Products And ‘addictive’ Platform
The European Union has launched an investigation into Chinese online marketplace Temu, under suspicions that it is not cracking down on the sale of illegal products and that the platform’s design is “addictive” for users.
The investigation comes under the European Commission’s Digital Services Act, a powerful instrument that gives it sweeping powers over online businesses operating in the 27-member bloc. If found guilty, Temu could face fines amounting to 6 percent of its annual global revenue.
The commission has asked Temu at several points in recent months to supply more information about its efforts to stop the sale of illegal items on the platform. It also asked for information about “risks relating to consumer protection, public health and users’ well-being”. Based on Temu’s responses, the commission decided to launch an in-depth investigation.
8. Chinese Ecommerce Platform JD.Com to Accept Alipay As ‘walled Gardens’ Fall
Chinese ecommerce platform JD.com has started accepting Alipay for payments after the announcement of its logistics deal with rival Alibaba Group Holding’s Cainiao, another sign that the “walled gardens” in China’s tech world are continuing to break down.
Alipay, the largest mobile wallet in China operated by Ant Group, was made available for consumers shopping on JD.com, the payment service provider said in a Weibo post. JD.com and Alibaba have been arch rivals in China’s ecommerce industry for years, but both face fresh competition from new players such as PDD Holdings and ByteDance-owned Douyin, the sister app of TikTok.
9. Alibaba’s YuanjingOS Lays Off Employees: After YunOS, It Also Gives Up on the Metaverse OS
Alibaba’s YuanjingOS – a team that once invested several billion yuan and had hundreds of employees – underwent large-scale layoffs. Many employees reported October 31 as their “last day,” affecting teams in Hangzhou and Shanghai. This is another operating system that Alibaba has voluntarily exited from after YunOS.
YuanjingOS is known as a metaverse cloud streaming operating system and application computing architecture for the next generation of the Internet, which is a brand of real-time cloud rendering, meta-application computing technology, and metaverse services founded by Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
10. ByteDance’s Zhang Yiming BecomesChina's richest man
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming tops the list of China’s richest people, according to the Hurun Research Institute. He is also the first individual born in the 1980s to top the Hurun list.
The institute, which publishes the annual Hurun China Rich List, found that the total wealth of entrepreneurs on the list this year was $3 trillion, down 10% from the previous year. The number of billionaires based on their net worth in U.S. dollars was also down 142, to 753. Hurun tallied 1,185 billionaires since 2021.
11. ByteDance Plans to Establish An AI R＆D Center in Europe
Chinese tech giant ByteDance is reportedly planning to build an artificial intelligence research and development center in Europe.
Looking at the level of AI technology across various European countries, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and France are relatively advanced. Among them, both Switzerland and the UK have many renowned institutions. The strong technical capabilities and talent density of ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne make Switzerland a top-notch robotics innovation center worldwide. Moreover, Switzerland is where Google has established the most offices overseas apart from India, with over 5,000 employees covering various businesses such as Google Assistant, YouTube, Cloud, Commerce Research Geo Core Ads etc.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of our latest report, click here.
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