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 would 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. Apple Embraces Live Streaming on Alibaba’s Tmall for the First Time

https://pandaily.com/apple-to-hold-its-first-ever-e-commerce-live-event/

US tech giant Apple will host its first live-shopping event on China’s Tmall marketplace this week, embracing a sales practice that has drawn more than 500 million users in the world’s largest internet market. Apple’s official store on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall posted a teaser about its first live streaming-shopping event, saying it will include products such as iPhone 14 and iWatch. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

2. Alibaba, Northern China’s Tianjin Pledge Deeper Collaboration In AI, Cloud Tech

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-forges-pact-deepen-collaboration-093000762.html

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and the municipal government of Tianjin have pledged “deeper collaboration” in the development of hi-tech fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and big data in the northern coastal metropolis.

That pact was forged at the conclusion of a meeting between Alibaba chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong, Tianjin Communist Party Secretary Chen Miner, and city mayor Zhang Gong, according to a report by the Tianjin Daily, a newspaper run by the municipal government. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

3. Food Delivery Giant Meituan Sees Revenue Increase on Post-Covid Demand Rebound

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/food-delivery-giant-meituan-reports-093000121.html

Chinese food delivery and on-demand services giant Meituan reported a 26.7 percent rise in first-quarter revenue from a year ago, as demand surged after China’s reopening from Covid-19 restrictions.

The Beijing-based firm said its total revenue was 58.62 billion yuan (USD 8.3 billion) for the three months to end-March, up from 46.3 billion yuan (USD 6.5 billion) a year earlier. Meanwhile, Meituan returned to a net profit of 3.36 billion yuan from a net loss of 5.7 billion yuan a year ago, thanks to cost-cutting efforts, such as the restructuring of its ride-hailing units.

4. Amazon China Responds to the Suspension of Its App Store

https://daoinsights.com/news/amazon-china-responds-to-the-suspension-of-its-app-store/

In response to the suspension of its app store, Amazon China has issued a statement on its official WeChat, stating that the suspension of the Amazon App Store service will not affect any current Amazon business operations in China.

The statement said that the discontinuation of the Amazon Appstore service will not affect any of Amazon’s current business operations in China, including Amazon’s overseas purchases, Amazon’s global store openings, and Amazon’s official website in China, Amazon.cn.

5. PopMart Unveils First Mobile Game ‘Dream Home’

https://games.mxdwn.com/news/pop-marts-first-mobile-game-dream-home/

Giant toy retailer Pop Mart has revealed its first self-developed mobile game called ‘Dream Home’. The game was introduced to the public through a promotional video with the theme of ‘Regain Childlike Innocence, Build Dream Home’.

This so-called ‘Dream Home’ offers players a unique combination of fashion-themed simulation management and party gameplay. Upon entering the game, users are directly transported into a boundless world where they can construct their magnificent abandoned sky home called Cloud Whale Island.

6. Baidu Announces “AI Partner” And “AI BOT”

https://pandaily.com/baidu-announces-ai-partner-and-ai-bot/

Baidu unveiled beta features such as “AI Partner” and “AI BOT”, and showcased its beta product NEW APP at the 2023 Baidu Mobile Ecosystem Conference.

As the 618 Shopping Festival approaches, Baidu concurrently launched its new smart e-commerce brand “Baidu Preferred”, releasing a series of innovative technologies and intelligent merchant operation schemes including an AI shopping guide assistant, an e-commerce AI anchor production platform, and a merchant operation capability model.

He Junjie, Senior Vice President of Baidu Group and General Manager of the Mobile Ecosystem Business Group (MEG), stated that large language models like Wenxin Yiyi and ChatGPT are aimed at making AI “bigger”. This restructuring of the mobile ecosystem is dedicated to making AI “smaller”, more specific, and accessible to everyone.

7. Alibaba Moves to Quash Job Cut ‘Rumours’, Pledging 15,000 Hires In 2023

https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/alibaba-to-hire-15000-employees-dismisses-rumours-of-job-cuts/

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding has denied speculation that it is planning mass layoffs and pledged to hire 15,000 new employees in 2023 after media reports that it is cutting 7 percent of jobs at its cloud unit.

Alibaba said its six units are planning to make a total of 15,000 new hires this year including 3,000 fresh graduates, according to a post on the company’s official account on China’s Twitter-like site Weibo. The firm’s recruitment site is offering thousands of new posts each day, Alibaba said.

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 the May report, click here.