30 Years of change in China - Kaiser Kuo

Kaiser Kuo

This summer journalist and internet expert Kaiser Kuo left his position at Baidu, to return to the US and works as a host of the Sinica podcast at China-focused media startup SupChina. At CCTV he looks back at almost 30 years of change, he experienced. The 1980s saw still most profound change, he tells. Then the software, the mentality changed profoundly. Later it was mostly the hardware of the country that adjusted to those earlier changes.

Kaiser Kuo is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more internet experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

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Preparing for the online world war from China - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

The internet in China has been dominated by four huge players, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and Sina Weibo. After crushing their domestic competitors, they are now ready for the online world war, says VC William Bao Bean at Next16 the German audience about startups. "You're under-funded, too slow and don't work hard enough."

Next16:

Think of it as a world war, says William. Each of the big four were good at one thing in the beginning - and it was different for all of them. The first generation entrepreneurs didn't retire and become VCs. They stayed and crushed the competition. And now they're fighting with each other. Then they're go to the rest of Asia. And eventually they'll come to Europe and the US. And their game plan is to control ALL commerce... 

Cabs and food delivery have been a war, says William. Half of China has been eating 50% off for a year through VC money. Over $2bn has been spent on taxi subsidies per company. Über fought to a draw. They did well... 

You have to run the business from China, not Germany. Let it go - and expect things to break. You need to break things to succeed in China. China is investing in startups and 4.4 times the rate of Europe as a whole. 99% of companies do not below in China. You're under-funded, too slow and don't work hard enough.

More at Next16.

William Bao Bean is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more experts on innovation? Do check out this list.  

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Internet companies hand out lavish gifts to staff - Wei Gu

+Wei Gu 

Chinese companies are handing out their traditional New Years presents to their employees, and the wealth of the successful internet companies is shares in an extravagant way, tells recruiter Ed Zheng of Korn Ferry to WSJ wealth editor Wei Gu. Retaining staff is just one reason for the lavish gifts.

Wei Gu is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for the 7 China major trends in 2015? Check out here. 

Are you looking for more e-commerce experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Check out our list here.

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Censored by LinkedIn - Shaun Rein

+Shaun Rein 

When LinkedIn gained access to the attractive Chinese market, it had to make sure it would adhere to the country´s laws and regulations, including the censorship. Now, at June 4 we know what that means. Business analyst Shaun Rein tells the Wall Street Journal how he was censored.

The Wall Street Journal:

Shaun Rein, the head of consulting firm China Market Research Group, said he received a notice last week from LinkedIn indicating he could no longer post to different groups on the site without first receiving approval by a moderator. Mr. Rein, who has been posting regularly on LinkedIn for about six years, said the change came after he posted about difficulties faced by U.S. firms in China following the back-and-forth between the two over cyberespionage.

"I've been backing up my contacts because I'm worried they'll block me and I won't be able to reach anyone," said Mr. Rein, adding that on LinkedIn "people are looking to show their knowledge and sell their services; if you can't have a discussion, that's an issue."Mr. Rein said his firm has completed three projects for LinkedIn in the past. LinkedIn declined to respond to Mr. Rein's comments.

More at the Wall Street Journal.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´ request form.

Are you interested in more speakers on the internet at the China Speakers Bureau? Here is a recent list.

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20 Years of Internet: China´s profound transformation – Kaiser Kuo

Kaiser Kuo

Twenty years ago the internet in China became available for the public, and no other change has made such an impact on the Chinese society, says Kaiser Kuo, director international communication at China´s largest search engine Baidu at CNN.

CNN:

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's first connection with the Internet -- a technological breakthrough that has had a particularly massive impact on the world's most populous country.

"It's been utterly transformational," said Kaiser Kuo, director of international communications at Baidu, China's largest search engine. "The advent of the Internet has been a great leveler in terms of access to knowledge, to education materials, to goods and services.

"A school teacher in a rural mountain village with just an Internet connection has access to the same teaching material as her counterpart teaching in the best school in Beijing. A consumer in a hinterland country town can buy the very latest in consumer electronics, or books or fashion just the same as someone in Shanghai. And practically anyone anywhere can set up a virtual store to reach a nationwide market."

More at CNN.

Kaiser Kuo is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill or speakers´ request form.

Are you a media representative, and do you want to talk to one of our speakers? Do drop us a line.

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Number fetishism: what do 2 million internet monitors in China actually mean?

Headquarters of the NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. Español: Instalaciones generales de la NSA en Fort Meade, Maryland. Русский: Штаб-квартира АНБ, Форт-Мид, Мэриленд, США (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The number of two million civil servants monitoring China's internet has become a story of mythical proportions. The source of the number is dodgy, and the fact that it is such a nice round number suggests that whoever has been making it up, was rather looking for a nice story, than telling how it really works.
This kind of number fetishism is nothing new for media. For decades they are reporting about China's GDP figures, while the only certainty we have is that they are wrong.
In the case of the two million internet monitors the story is even worse: it actually suggests that those government officials are doing something bad. There is a vague link to censorship, while the original story seemed to be more positive: it helps the government (at many levels) to understand what the internet users want.
First, the number of two million is actually very small. I just monitored over the weekend a discussion on table tennis in China, and the estimation is that 25 million people are actively involved in this sport. So, actually, two million internet monitors is a pretty low number.
Second, the internet is an ideal tool, not only for governments, but also for companies, organizations and even individuals to monitor what is going on. You might remembers that some companies like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft make a living out of that outside China.
So, not only China, but more countries need to monitor the internet more closely. They can learn from it, and most countries, including China, do not put enough resources in monitoring the internet. Well, the USA with her NSA investments might be the exception, but I do think more and transparent monitoring is needed.

China Weekly Hangout

What can China learn from Singapore on sustainability. Join the +China Weekly Hangout where Shanghai-based sustainability expert +Richard Brubaker will share his recent experiences in Singapore. You can read our initial announcement here, or register for participation here. 

On January 24 the +China Weekly Hangout discussed with +Richard Brubaker of AllRoadsLeadtoChina and CEIBS on the rampant pollution in China. Is it getting worse, and what can be done? Moderator: +Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

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Has China's internet returned to 'normal'? - China Weekly Hangout

Beijing March 2011 (Photo credit: Remko Tanis)

The controls on China's internet have always been a nuisance - especially for those working on international business from China. But during the past months, trouble increased, supposedly because of the power transition from the Hu Jintao to the Xi Jinping team, during the party congress and the March' National People's Congress. In December we even hosted a +China Weekly Hangout   about VPN's, as China's censors seemed to target more actively those workarounds of the censorship.
The frustration grew and the troubled internet connections popped up regularly as one of the reason for people to leave China. Of course, never was the filtered internet the only reason, but for people like internet entrepreneur +Marc van der Chijs it was certainly one.
But Xi Jinping is now in place, the meetings are over, so the question is whether the internet is back to 'normal', as far as China has a normal internet. We are looking for your input.

The +China Weekly Hangout will discuss the current state of China's internet, and we might even speculate on what we can expect in the near future, as loosening media controls, and checks on the internet, does not seem to be on the agenda.
We are looking for people who have on the ground experience with the internet, and can help us to piece together a picture for the near future. Are you interested? You can register to participate at our event page here.
The hangout will be held on Thursday 25 April, 10pm Beijing Time, 4pm CEST (Europe) and 10pm EST (US/Canada)
You can watch the event here, on our event page and on YouTube, if you do not participate directly. Until the event you can send questions and remarks by leaving a comment here, or at our event page. During the event you can leave messages via Twitter, Google+ and our YouTube channel (do add the hash tag #CWHCWH).
For some good background, you can read a special of +The Economist on the internet in China or listen to the Sinica Podcast with auther +Gady Epstein, interviewed by +Kaiser Kuo and +Jeremy Goldkorn.



The previously announced hangout on North Korea has been postponed, as the current crisis seems to have fizzled out a bit. But we are sure we might get new opportunities.

On December 20, 2012 the +China Weekly Hangout discussed the problems with VPN's with +Sam Xu, +John R. Otto and +Gabriel Rüeck. Moderation was in the hands of +Fons Tuinstra of the +China Speakers Bureau.

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Why I left China - Marc van der Chijs

Marc van der  Chijs

Foreigners have always been leaving China, but every now and then a high-profile departure hits the headlines. In CNN formerly Shanghai-based entrepreneur Marc van der Chijs explains why he left for Vancouver, Canada.

Marc van der Chijs:

Over the years, doing business had become more and more difficult for a non-Chinese. Although many areas have opened up for foreign investment, outsiders are not always able to do business on equal terms with Chinese entrepreneurs. 

For example, foreigners need more capital to set up a business. Once you have a business up and running, it will be more closely scrutinized than Chinese firms. There are still tons of business opportunities available in China, but I generally felt less welcome in recent years as a foreign entrepreneur. 

Much more important than this, however, was the fact that air pollution and food quality were getting worse in my adopted home. 

I have a family with two young kids, and found myself wondering about the health effects of long-term exposure to hazardous air. Without children, the pollution may not have been as important a factor to me, but I want my kids to grow up in a healthy environment. I also missed being able to exercise outside, having been forced to run indoors on a treadmill for several years -- even while training for marathons.

More about too slow internet connections and pollution in CNN.

Marc van der Chijs is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

In one of its earlier sessions, in September 2012, the China Weekly Hangout discussed why foreigners are leaving China, with three China veterans, two of whom left China. Andrew Hupert joining us from Chicago, Richard Brubaker from Shanghai and Fons Tuinstra from Lausanne, Switzerland.

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CWH: global ambitions of China's internet companies - update

Sunset of the Forbidden City, Beijing (northwest cornor of the Forbidden City) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tomorrow we plan to hold our China Weekly Hangout on the global aspirations of China's internet companies. (Here is our initial announcement.) 

Confirmed guest for tomorrow are Steven Millward of Tech in Asia (aka @SirSteven) and Paul Denlinger of the China Vortex. 

We are working on a few others, and if you want to join the official hangout, raise your hand at our official event page. Both here and at our event page, you will shortly before the start of the event (10pm Beijing time, 3pm CET and 9pm EST) see the YouTube link to the hangout. If you have questions or remark, please put them at our event page.

Moderation is done by Fons Tuinstra of the China Speakers Bureau.

Tomorrow's China Weekly Hangout will be split in two: in the first section we give an overview of the developments up to know, in the second we will focus on the likely strategy and discuss how Chinese companies can avoid the mistakes US internet companies made when they entered China. Each section is expected to last between 10 and 15 minutes.

Next week is planned the delayed China Weekly Hangout on nuclear power in China. Expected guest are Chris Brown of the Asia Cleantech Gateway and Richard Brubaker, Adjunct Professor of Management, Sustainability and Responsible Leadership at China Europe International Business School.

If you want to have regular updates on the upcoming sessions of the China Weekly Hangout, do register for our Google+ page. 

Last month at the China Weekly Hangout Janet Carmosky, Greg Anderson and Fons Tuinstra discussed China possibilities as a source of innovation.

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