Hainan: visa for talents - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean

Bureaucratic rules have hampered China's access to international talents, for example, because of troublesome rules on visas for experts. But Hainan is going to do this better, says innovation expert and managing director of the Chinaccelarator in Shanghai William Bao Bean to the South China Morning Post.

The South China Morning Post:

Another key piece of the start-up puzzle is access to talent. While Hainan introduced a visa free policy in May 2018, allowing visitors from 59 countries – including the US, the UK, France, Germany, and Japan to stay for up to 30 days – a tech hub it needs more engineers, not beachgoers. 

So the red tape previously involved in getting a working visa has been streamlined for professionals. “If you’re a foreigner without a bachelor’s degree and you want to start up something in China, it’s almost impossible for you to get a working visa in big cities like Beijing, but it’s possible to get one in Hainan,” said William Bao Bean, a general partner at SOSV.

More in the South China Morning Post.

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Luxury brands got it wrong on Douyin - Ashley Dudarenok

Ashley Dudarenok

Luxury brands jumped on Douyin, a hip short video app that is popular among China’s young social media users, that has even been called the WeChat for luxury goods. Wrong, very wrong, says marketing veteran Ashley Dudarenok to the Jing Daily.

Jing Daily:

To Ashley Galina Dudarenok, author of the Amazon bestseller “Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs,” it was a typical example illustrating how luxury brands over-cater to fashion and digital trends in China.... 

Another concern is whether their targeted audience has the purchasing power to buy luxury goods. “As it turns out, most of the Douyin users cannot afford luxury goods,” said Dudarenok,...“Given the premium and exclusive nature of luxury goods, the sales-conversation rate generating from marketing on Douyin will be relatively low. In other words, there will be more people viewing the content but [far fewer] people purchasing products.”

More at the Jing Daily.

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Xi's road for China to become a global power - Arthur Kroeber

Arthur Kroeber

President Xi Jinping is effectively replacing former leader Deng Xiaoping as the thought leader of China's development, and he is well on his road to set the road for the country as a global power, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, at Bloomberg.

Bloomberg:

When President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2013, many hoped he’d turn out to be a leader in Deng’s reformist vein. But while Deng wanted his market-based reforms to make China rich, Xi has reasserted the control of the state in an effort to turn the country into a political and technological superpower. 

“One of Xi’s overarching goals in terms of economic management is to effectively, if not formally, declare the end of the era of reform a la Deng Xiaoping,” said Arthur Kroeber, a founding partner and managing director at research firm Gavekal Dragonomics. Whereas Deng and subsequent leaders bolstered the role of private businesses in the economy and reduced that of the state, Xi seems to think the balance is now about right, Kroeber said.... 

The economy expanded 6.5 percent in the third quarter, the slowest pace since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009. But if China can keep the rate above 5 percent well into the 2020s, per capita income levels will close the gap on developed nations, said Kroeber, who is the author of “China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know.”

More at Bloomberg.

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China's grim trade outlook for 2019 - Sara Hsu

Sara Hsu

2019 does not look good for China's economy, says financial analyst Sara Hsu, as the effects on import and export of the trade war kick in, and China was experiencing a slowdown already before the trade war started. In the US specific industries are hard hit, like automotive, agriculture and tech, she adds.

More details on the declining automotive industry by Sara Hsu here.

Sara Hsu 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.

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Sex, money and guanxi - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Author Zhang Lijia of Lotus, a novel on prostitution in today's China talks ahead of her lecture at Spittoon Book Club talk January 19 at Timesdirect.tv in Beijing. (Follow the links for more details)

Timesdirect:

It seems that in your book, prostitution is portrayed as a legitimate choice when rampant capitalism condemns a young woman to a life without any thrill or space for individual expression. 

I certainly wouldn’t use the word “legitimate.” Rather, for some of the most vulnerable women, it is one of the few or only choices they have – to sell their own bodies. For girls serving the upscale market, it is sometimes a lifestyle choice, a way to obtain quick money. For clients, yes, some visit prostitutes seeking thrill, among other reasons. 

At some point in the book Lotus, the protagonist, finds pleasure with one of her clients, one pleasure that she never felt before. The stigma of prostitution is one thing, but the stigma of women’s sexuality is also another subject that you touch upon. 

I’d like to portray women as three-dimensional human beings with sexual desires. I found it quite interesting that some women experienced sexual pleasure that they never experienced with their husbands. Some felt bad about it as they regarded their work as “dirty” and it felt wrong to get pleasure out of this disgraceful job. This is one of the reasons that Lotus turns to Buddha – to cleanse herself. 

Lotus finds a very understanding and open-minded man in the character of the photographer Bing but their relationship is still complicated. What was the meaning behind Bing’s character? 

The photographer Bing is obsessed with photographing the girls. Apart from his noble reasons, there are also selfish reasons. It is a complicated relationship because they come from such different backgrounds and have different expectations. By introducing the character Bin, a better educated urban man, I was able to discuss some broad social issues. 

In the end, we learn that Lotus’ happiness is not going to be dependent on her relationship with a man. 

Yes, for me, it is a novel about a young woman finding herself. 

We need more novels about sex, money, and guanxi. 

Of course!

More at Timesdirect.tv

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Bridge between East and West - Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers and his daughter Happy

US investor Jim Rogers started to explore China in 1984 and has since become a bridge builder between the East and the West. At China's state TV CGTN he dives into his views on China, the way he raises his family in Singapore and the ongoing madness in Washington. Jim Rogers published several bestsellers, including A Gift to My Children: A Father’s Lessons for Life and Investing.

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What Tencent does better than Apple - Matthew Brennan

Matthew Brennan

Zhang Xiaolong, the founder of Tencent's WeChat, delivered a speech on how the future of the company looks like. Tencent watcher Matthew Brennan looks at the way Tencent is doing things different than Apple, and why their mini-programs might be a winner, in Technode.

Technode:

According to Zhang, the strength of mini-programs lies in its decentralized ecosystem. “Our team from now on will invest more manpower and resources in this area, so we can treat all companies equally, including the ones we’ve invested in.” 

Matthew Brennan, co-founder of China Channel said that the concept of decentralization was “a bit counterintuitive” compared to Apple’s carefully-curated App Store. But mini-programs have proved a “great way to acquire users that wasn’t there before.” 

The feature banks on WeChat’s widespread adoption to draw in older or less tech-savvy folks who don’t usually download many apps, Brennan said. It’s spawned successes like a popular mini-program for public dancing—a popular pastime among middle-aged people, particularly women—that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Their small size also lowers the barrier to entry for developers, saving them time and money.

More in Technode.

Matthew Brennan published notes on the 4-hour speech by (Allen) Zhang here.

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How can brands reach China's slash generation - Tom Doctoroff

Tom Doctoroff

Social engagement has changed the Post-'95 generation in China beyond recognition. China veteran Tom Doctoroff dives into the ways brands can reach this complicated "slash generation" for Mumbrella Asia. How a new generation walks away from traditional conventions.

Tom Doctoroff:

Several forces have expanded the Post-95 generation’s world view in China. The country now boasts a generation that embraces multidimensional identities and paths for the future. 

The youth refuse to be confined to a narrow set of interests. They refer to themselves as the “slash generation.” According to a survey conducted by Ctrip, the online travel portal, 85% of Post-90s believe a “modern person should have a multitude of interests.” Their role models are people who have achieved just that: Ji Lingchen is a Taobao brand creator/reality TV star/hip hop song writer. 

The explosion of possible passions combined with the ease of forging online communities has transformed social engagement. Small “tribes” of individuals who share similar niche interests — street culture, bodybuilding, hardcore gaming, gay choristers, cosplayers — have blossomed. 

Acceptance of non-conformist pursuits has shaped the Post-95s’ view of the future. So, too, has the burgeoning of careers that did not exist a few years ago — for example, UX designers, data scientists, short film directors and cloud service analysts. For now at least, the new generation eschews “conventional” definitions of success and dulled-out corporate hierarchies. 

But then looks are deceiving. 

In China, everything is a means to an end, and requires a payoff, now or in the future. Experiences aren’t simply enjoyed. 

Passions need to be converted into social currency that lubricates forward advancement. Broad societal endorsement from parents, teachers and classmates is becoming less important than acknowledgement from “the people that matter”: members of the same sub-tribes. 

For instance, Xu, an independent traveller, says: “My friends and I learn from each other’s experiences so we can plan for an even better trip next time.” Multidimensional passions and a broad worldview are spoken of as “tools” in “the toolbox of life,” skills or “weaponry” that can be deployed to overcome unexpected hurdles.

More in Mumbrella Asia.

Tom Doctoroff 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.

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Can Hainan become China's Silicon Valley? - Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers

US investor Jim Rogers visited on January 8th the Hainan Global Fintech Innovation Summit and explored the possibilities of the island to become China's Silicon Valley at Contact Hainan. "You have fabulous weather, you have a fabulous lifestyle in Hainan if you continue to open up, and make it easy for people to come here, Hainan probably will become the greatest place in China."

Contact Hainan:

"I’m always considering investing everywhere, especially in China, if I can find a good management in Hainan, smart people and they have a good idea, it doesn’t matter whether it’s agriculture, or soap, or technology, it depends on the people with a good idea", he said. 

Jim Rogers is also very interested in the construction of Hainan Free Trade Zone, he said: "Hainan has smart people, zone, it has everything you need, so does Shanghai, so does Shenzhen, if you can get all the smart people here, then you’ll be the Silicon Valley." 

Rogers also shared his suggestions for Hainan in terms of opening up and attracting talents. "You have fabulous weather, you have a fabulous lifestyle in Hainan if you continue to open up, and make it easy for people to come here, Hainan probably will become the greatest place in China. The people I met in Hainan are very smart, so I have great expectations," he said.

More at Contact Hainan.

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Trade deal likely, but no peace between US and China - Arthur Kroeber

Arthur Kroeber

There are strong political incentives to reach a trade deal between the US and China, but that does certainly not mean that hostilities between both countries are over, says leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, in an overview of his expectations for 2019.

Arthur Kroeber 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 the ongoing trade war between China and the US? Do check out this list. China In 2019 — Arthur Kroeber from Gavekal Research on Vimeo.

What happens to the trade war after March 1 - Arthur Kroeber

Arthur Kroeber

On March 1 the 90-day truce in the trade war between the US and China expires. Leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, expects a deal is possible, but that certainly does not mean the end of all hostilities, he tells Barron's.

Barron's:

Many investors are still skeptical whether U.S.-China trade negotiations could see any real breakthrough by the March 1 deadline. But Arthur Kroeber from Gavekal Research believes the odds are tilting slightly toward a deal, as an embattled President Donald Trump seeks a political win at home and China is eager to take some pressure off its slowing economy. 

China has taken a number of steps to address U.S. concerns since the December truce, including buying U.S. soybeans, lowering tariffs on U.S. autos, playing down the Made in China 2025 program, and establishing new penalties and laws to restrict the forced transfer of technology. 

But a deal doesn’t have to solve every trade issue. 

“U.S. hard-liners can still use export controls to pressure China,” explains Kroeber. “This would shift the trade war from a macro risk to a tech-specific risk.” But some kind of deal before the deadline can prevent further tariffs and lift stocks of multinational companies in both countries that depend on trade. 

China’s economy has been showing weakness since last year, but recently enacted stimulus measures should start showing results later this year. With policy support and positive trade developments, China should still be able to grow its gross domestic product by more than 6% in 2019, estimates Kroeber. That would certainly help calm fears that a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy will lead to a global recession.

More in Barron's.

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US politicians find common ground: restrict foreign investments - Harry Broadman

Harry Broadman

The American political landscape might be more divided than ever before, political analyst Harry Broadman sees one field where Republicans and Democrats find common ground: restricting foreign investments, especially but not only those from China through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), he writes in Gulf News.

Harry Broadman:

Historically, the US has had one of the most open policies toward foreign direct investment (FDI) — the ownership or control by a foreign entity of 10 per cent or more of a domestic enterprise. Indeed, FDI has played an increasingly important role in propelling US economic growth.

In absolute terms, the US is the world’s largest recipient of flows of FDI, and it has been so ever since 2006 (except for the brief 2010-14 period, when comparable inflows to China were slightly larger). 

The shared concern of both the Trump White House and the Democratic House, however, is that an increasing number of these foreign investors are from nations where there is significant involvement in business decisions by governments whose agendas are perceived — indeed known — to go way beyond commercial objectives. 

China, while hardly alone in not having effective separation between government and business, including in its FDI pursuits in the US, epitomises the case.

The understandable response by the US — as well as by other advanced countries, for example, Germany — is to intensify its scrutiny of the national security risks such inbound transactions might pose domestically, particularly in sectors considered sensitive. The US inter-agency body with the authority to make these national security assessments, The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) — pronounced “syfius” — was established in 1975 by Executive Order by President Gerald Ford.

More in Gulf News.

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China can still step back from repressing religion - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

China's central government has been cracking down on both Protestantism and the Islam over the past year. The direct future looks grim, says journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao at Foreign Affairs in an addition to a piece he wrote two years ago. The government can still go back to its previously pragmatic take, but Johnson is not sure it will.

Ian Johnson

The government’s attitude toward Islam has been even more problematic. Ten of China’s 55 non-Chinese minority groups, primarily the Hui and Uighurs in the country’s northwest and far west, are Muslim. Here, the issue isn’t just control but the forced assimilation of these peoples. 

Officially, the state is pursuing a war on terrorism in its far western province of Xinjiang.  

Although the problem of violence there is real, all independent observers agree that the main cause of unrest is the heavy hand of the state, which for decades has pursued a policy of resource extraction and resettlement in order to increase the population of ethnic Chinese. 

The resulting downward spiral of repression and violence has culminated in a recent campaign of repression aimed at the very practice of Islam. State authorities have forced Xinjiang stores to sell alcohol and tobacco, for example, and forbidden students from fasting during Ramadan. The repression seems to be spreading beyond Xinjiang to Hui communities in other parts of China, where authorities are tearing down Islamic domes, removing Arabic-language signs, and silencing the outdoor call to prayer. 

Most shocking has been the return of something that indeed has echoes from the Mao era: reeducation camps. At first, the notion of such camps seemed like an unbelievable rumor, but the state has confirmed their existence, justifying them as needed to control extremism. In them, Muslims are essentially secularized by force, forbidden from anything seen as too religious. 

Until now, if one thought of large Asian countries where the mixing of religion and politics has caused strife and violence, India, Indonesia, or Pakistan might come to mind. In the future, this list could include China.

This need not happen. If the state steps back and takes a deep breath, it could avoid the conflicts that its current policies seem bound to create. One has only to think of the years of protest caused by the crackdown on Falun Gong to get an idea of how banning even one sect can become a messy, protracted affair. House churches have also been equally stubborn—just banning the Shouwang Church in Beijing in 2009 resulted in years of protests. And the inevitable backlash against such misguided policies as forcing Muslims to eat pork and drink alcohol is scarcely imaginable. 

Up until now, I’ve always believed in the pragmatism of China’s reform-era leadership, despite the brutality of many measures taken during that period. Yet China is no longer in the reform era. Instead, it is entering a new period, one that may make observers look back fondly on the relatively light touch of the country’s past leaders.

More at Foreign Affairs.

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China tech firms withdraw from CES Las Vegas - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

The US-China trade war has another casualty: the CES consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China's Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to the South China Morning Post.

The South China Morning Post:

It still marks a significant reversal for an event which has jokingly been referred to as the Chinese Electronics Show in recent years as big names such as Huawei Technologies and fleets of component suppliers from the Pearl River Delta region have flocked to the casino town to show off their latest wares. 

“Chinese companies are concerned about tariffs from the trade war,” said Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. “Attending a show like CES is expensive, and with [US President] Trump’s rhetoric towards Chinese technology, companies in China are rethinking their strategy of investing in the US.”... 

“Trump’s trade war makes it impossible for Chinese companies to be treated fairly and invest properly, especially in the tech sector so [many] do not want to go,” said CMRG’s Rein. “And because of the Meng situation, [many] Chinese are also afraid of travelling to the US in case they get arrested.”

More at the South China Morning Post.

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.

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How Apple suffers from China's downturn - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

Apple was already losing ground to domestic mobile phone makers, but the economic downturn and patriotism towards Huawei will make the US giant even more vulnerable, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China's Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to the BBC.

BBC:

In the view of Shanghai-based Shaun Rein, Tim Cook is right to blame China. The founder of the China Market Research Group tells us he is very worried about the state of the Chinese economy: "It's the absolute worst I've seen in the 20 years I've been in China. Everything has really stalled in the last quarter." 

And he says that fall in consumer confidence, coupled with the growing trade war with the United States, has made people more nationalistic about the phones they buy. 

"There's a lot of pride in buying Chinese products made by Chinese for Chinese. After the United States got Canada to arrest the CFO of Huawei that caused a lot of Chinese to be angry. And so a lot of Chinese consumers in a show of patriotism are saying let's not buy Apple let's buy Huawei and show support for the Chinese state." 

Even if those trade tensions ease, it is hard to see Chinese phone buyers turning back to Apple in large numbers now the spell has been broken.

More at the BBC. 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.

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Gift giving in China - Ashley Dudarenok

Ashley Dudarenok

Chinese New Year is just a month ahead of us, so gift giving is high on the agenda. China veteran Ashley Dudarenok, author of Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs, gives some advice on what to give - and what not to - at her daily webblog for both China and what a China expert should bring to Russia.

Ashley Dudarenok 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.  

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China leads innovation in global retail - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

China is leading the innovation for retail and two to three years ahead of the US, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, to CSB News. Internet giants like Alibaba started on mobile and then turned to brick-and-mortar, unlike the traditional retail who try to force online upon their customers.

More at CSB News. 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.

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2019: not just your average trade war - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein

US president Donald Trump might think he is just fighting a trade war, but for China's president Xi Jinping this is going much further, says political analyst Shaun Rein to CBS news. It can be the beginning of a new Cold War or worse, he says.

CBS News:

"2019 is the year we are going to find out whether or not this is just a trade war, the beginning of a cold war, or worse," said Shaun Rein, who runs the China Market Research Group in Shanghai. 

He says the Chinese government may not view this as a simple trade war but rather the United States trying to contain China's rise. 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party's takeover, and President Xi Jinping will want to project strength. 

Rein said, "I'm very concerned about Trump underestimating the resolve of President Xi to demonstrate to the world that China is now a rival superpower to the United States."

More predictions at CBS News. 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.

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Religion: a double-edged sword for the government - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

The Chinese government has raided a few popular underground churches, illustrating how it sees religion as a double-edged sword, says journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, at NPR.

NPR:

IAN JOHNSON: I think the government sees religion as a double-edged sword. 

SCHMITZ: Ian Johnson is the author of "The Souls Of China: The Return Of Religion After Mao." 

JOHNSON: On the one hand, it is promoting some religions, like Buddhism and Taoism and folk religions. But in terms of these other religions that they think have too many foreign ties and can be influenced by outsiders taking a very hard-line approach, it's all part and parcel of a broader effort to control civil society. 

SCHMITZ: Johnson says Chinese authorities are cracking down on churches that are not officially sanctioned by the government. Nearly half of China's 60 million Christians attend these unregistered churches. The raid on Early Rain was preceded by a raid in September by Beijing police on that city's Zion church, which had 1,500 members. In his book, Johnson profiled Early Rain's pastor, Wang Yi.... 

SCHMITZ: At a sermon in September, Wang called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a sinner, while congregants answer with amen. It was this, Wang's increasing political activism, that Johnson says likely contributed to his arrest. 

JOHNSON: He's denounced Xi Jinping lifting the term limits on the presidency so that he could become president for life. He said that this was destroying the constitution and similar to creating a new Caesar.

More at NPR.

Ian Johnson 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.

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WeChat starts to tell stories, at last - Matthew Brennan

Matthew Brennan

China's most popular short-messages platform WeChat has at last included Snapchat/Instagram style stories. Long overdue, says Tencent and WeChat specialist Matthew Brennan at his website. He tells how it works, and why - if very late - this is a smart move.

Matthew Brennan:

WeChat is coming pretty late to the stories game. For much of 2017-18, we’ve seen them totally focused on building up the mini-programs platform, which might explain some of the lateness. Also worth noting that adding stories into the complex WeChat experience in a meaningful and impactful way without disruption of the existing ecosystem balance is tricky and not without risk. 

But the real reason why we haven’t seen WeChat embrace moments to date is likely to be founder Alan Zhang’s insistence on positioning WeChat as a tool for productively and efficiency rather than one that tries to keep users coming back to waste time. 

Yet it’s likely that the pressure from Tencent head office to leverage WeChat to fight against Bytedance and their flagship short video platform Douyin (TikTok) is proving too much. With WeChat 7.0 we’ve finally seen WeChat make an indirect but bold move into short video. 

Overall I’m pretty positive on how they’ve adapted the stories format to WeChat with this new update. I expect this feature to have a significant impact on WeChat usage habits, increasing stickiness and time spent in the app and negatively impacting consumption of other forms of short video in the China market. There will probably be some degree of cannibalization to traffic on the moments newsfeed also. 

Stories have proven to be an immersive and engaging format across many different apps. The ephemeral nature of the format (24 hrs and they disappear) naturally drives users to return. The original innovation came from SnapChat who Tencent previously looked at acquiring and now own 17% of parent company Snap. 

The most important entry point for traffic into this new feature might be groups and 1on1 conversations, not the newsfeed (Interestingly Facebook also introduced stories into Facebook groups this month). Messaging is traditionally an inhospitable environment for monetization. From a platform owner’s perspective, it’s not simple to monetize chat conversations, you can’t put adverts in there without seriously disrupting the user experience. 

Tencent have done well with cracking this tough nut, firstly using lucky money in chat conversations as a way to kick-start WeChat Pay and secondly with sharing of mini-programs in groups as a way to foster e-commerce (e.g. Pinduoduo). Stories could be a third way to leverage the huge traffic of chat conversations as they can be monetized with ads and full-screen auto-play video ads at that; no wonder Facebook is trying to stuff stories everywhere they can. 

Tencent is conservative with ad inventory, so I expect it will be quite some time before we see ads in WeChat Stories (if ever), but certainly the potential is there for them to turn on the taps if need be. In the short to mid-term, the primary benefit will be increased stickiness and engagement mostly at the expense of competitors. 

Tencent must know that chat conversations are the real key to both WeChat traffic and monetization. They might be reluctant to place more pressure on the newsfeed where traffic has been falling or official accounts that have also seen declines in page views. Chat conversations have incredibly high value to users and unlike in newsfeeds, Tencent’s position is highly resilient to competition.

More at the ChinaChannel.

Matthew Brennan 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.

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