China Digital Digest Weekly: Exploring the Chinese Digital Landscape

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. Tencent Beats Estimates With 47% Profit Jump, Driven by Video Gaming

https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/tencent-logs-47-jump-in-third-quarter-profit-on-strong-gaming-ad-growth

Tencent Holdings, operator of China’s biggest social media app and the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue, beat analyst estimates with a 47 percent profit jump in the third quarter, helped by renewed growth in the video gaming segment.

Profit reached 53.2 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion) in the three months ended September, up from 36.2 billion yuan in the same period a year ago. That exceeded the consensus estimates of 45.3 billion yuan. Revenue for the Shenzhen-based firm reached 167.2 billion yuan, up 8 percent year on year from 154.6 billion. It was in line with analyst estimates of 167.9 billion yuan.

2. Alibaba’s Quarterly Profit Surges 58% on Strong Cloud, Ecommerce Growth

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/15/alibaba-baba-q2.html

Alibaba Group Holding’s New York-listed stock gained 5 percent in pre-market trading after it posted a surprise increase in its September quarter net profit, as strong growth in its cloud computing and offshore e-commerce businesses offset the fall in domestic retail sales caused by China’s consumption slump.

Net income surged 58 percent to 43.9 billion yuan (US$6 billion) in the quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of 25.7 billion yuan. Revenue rose 5 per cent to 236.5 billion yuan, missing the 239.4 billion yuan expected by analysts. Revenue for the Cloud Intelligence Group, one of the company’s most important growth engines, rose 7 percent to 29.6 billion yuan. That beat the 6 percent increase in the previous quarter, marking the unit’s fastest quarterly growth over the past two years.

3. Meituan Is Testing the ‘Takeout Version of Xiaohongshu’

https://pandaily.com/meituan-is-testing-the-takeout-version-of-xiaohongshu/

Meituan is testing a new feature called “Local Eating” in cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Integrated into the Meituan App’s food delivery service, this feature functions as a takeout-oriented version of “Xiaohongshu.”

It enables users and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to share their takeaway experiences by creating content, helping others discover hidden gems and recommended merchants.

Users can conveniently place orders by clicking on a “buy these products” option linked to the shared content. The service also includes an AI-powered writing assistant to make content creation easier for users.

4. Temu Considers Launching A Third-Party Platform Model

https://scmspectrum.com/temu-considers-launching-a-third-party-platform-model/

Temu, a leading player in cross-border e-commerce, is exploring a third-party platform model to expand its operations and adapt to shifting global market conditions.

As the e-commerce landscape evolves, Temu is preparing for potential challenges, including possible U.S. trade restrictions following Trump’s re-election. To stay ahead, the company is diversifying its approach. Its semi-hosting model allows merchants to ship goods directly to overseas warehouses, offering them greater control over inventory and pricing.

In addition, Temu is piloting a third-party platform model, similar to Taobao. This model enables merchants to manage their own stores, select products, and ship orders directly to consumers, further empowering sellers and enhancing operational flexibility.

5. Baidu Launches Xiaodu AI Glasses: World’s First AI Glasses Powered by Chinese Language Model

https://www.gizmochina.com/2024/11/12/baidu-unveils-xiaodu-ai-glasses-first-ai-glasses-native-chinese/

On November 12, at the Baidu World Conference, Chinese tech giant Baidu officially launched the Xiaodu AI Glasses, calling them the “world’s first AI glasses equipped with a native Chinese language model.”

According to Baidu, the Xiaodu AI Glasses are run on Baidu’s large language model Ernie and offer six main features: first-person perspective photography, real-time Q&A while walking, calorie recognition, object encyclopedia, audio-visual translation, and intelligent reminders. The AI-powered Smart Glasses weigh just 45 grams and come equipped with a 16MP ultra-wide-angle camera featuring AI stabilization for smooth and steady shots.

They offer an impressive standby time of up to 56 hours and support over 5 hours of continuous audio playback, with a rapid full charge in only 30 minutes. For audio, the glasses utilize a four-microphone array to capture sound effectively, while open-ear anti-leakage speakers deliver clear audio for an immersive, hands-free experience.

6. ByteDance Offers Top Performers More Stock Options

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/tiktok-parent-bytedance-offers-share-buyback-at-268-billion-valuation.html

ByteDance has promised to grant top-performing employees additional stock options from next year, as hopes rise that Donald Trump’s re-election as US president could ease the political pressure faced by TikTok in one of its most important markets.

A better outlook for TikTok has buoyed the valuation of ByteDance, which has risen to around US$300 billion in its new round of share buybacks for institutional investors, up from US$268 billion last December but still lower than US$400 billion in 2021. Buybacks by private companies are often a way for shareholders to make a return on their early investments, especially when there is no liquidity event like an initial public offering or acquisition.

7. Douyin Launches ‘V Project’, Introduces AI Avatar Feature

https://www.tubefilter.com/2024/11/20/bytedance-douyin-tiktok-ai-chatbot-creator-avatars/

Douyin is advancing a project called “V” that aims to expand the boundaries of live streaming and interaction. The “V” signifies endless possibilities for exploration, innovation, and breakthroughs.

The goal of the V project is to make Douyin more fun by providing users with a more interesting interactive experience through virtual interactions, gamified gameplay, and other methods. Through the V project, creators can develop avatars similar to their own personality traits and thinking habits, allowing users to interact with AI avatars of creators. They can also engage in various types of virtual creation and intellectual property management to make virtual interactions more enjoyable.

Users can experience a variety of gameplay options such as Douyin mini-games, social games, live interactive features on platforms like live streaming and social media channels. The project’s products include live game interactions already available within the Douyin app as well as recently promoted AI avatar functions.

8. TikTok Adds New Gen AI Video Creation Tools for Marketers

https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/digital/tiktok-makes-ai-driven-ad-tool-available-globally/115329972

TikTok’s adding a new AI tool for marketers, with business users now able to generate video clips within its Symphony Creative Studio element.

TikTok’s new video generation process will be able to create TikTok-aligned video clips for you, based on a product description or URL, with the system able to drag in images from the URL to build into an AI generated video clip. The idea is that this process will make it easier for all brands to get into TikTok, without requiring video creation nous, or platform knowledge, as the videos created will be formatted in the style of popular TikTok trends.

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.