CIW News 29 Feb

Author

Elaine Wong
February 29, 2024

CIW Weekly, is now CIW News, an email newsletter on China digital and tech trends.

Join us as we navigate through the bustling digital streets of China's internet economy, uncovering insights and strategies that are setting the pace for the global digital future. Let’s dive in…

A noteworthy 21 provinces reported an average disposable income exceeding 30,000 yuan (about US$4,222), with seven surpassing the 40,000 yuan (US$5,629) mark. Remarkably, both Shanghai and Beijing have crossed the substantial threshold of 80,000 yuan (US$11,257).

Drilling down to provincial specifics, eight provinces outpaced the national average, predominantly from the affluent eastern coastal regions, including Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Guangdong, Fujian, and Shandong.

An investigation by The Beijing News unveiled a bustling market of “Sora tutorials” across e-commerce and social platforms.

These tutorials, varying in price from a few to nearly a hundred yuan, often promised insider knowledge and strategies to monetize Sora. However, a closer look revealed that up to 90% of the content available in these courses could easily be found online, questioning the actual value offered.

Chinese social media influencer Li Yizhou’s AI course, “AI for Everyone,” sold approximately 250,000 sets within a year, generating around 50 million yuan in sales. This has led to him being humorously referred to as the “best entrepreneur in China for monetizing ChatGPT.”

However, in February 2024, Li Yizhou’s approach to selling AI courses sparked widespread debate, leading to the suspension of his WeChat mini-program “Yizhou Yike” due to violations of regulations concerning public information services on instant messaging tools.

During the 2024 Spring Festival holidays, spanning nine days from February 9th to February 17th, mobile internet users consumed a staggering 674.5 million TB of data.

The top five most-used apps were Douyin, WeChat, Kuaishou, Tencent Video, and Toutiao, collectively comprising over 75% of the total app traffic.

National mobile phone call duration slightly decreased by 0.13% to 697.5 billion minutes, and SMS messaging fell by 2.5% to 318.5 billion messages.

JD.com aims to penetrate the European e-commerce market, indicating a strategic shift towards international expansion.

  • JD.com's move reflects a broader trend of Chinese tech companies seeking global presence, aiming to capitalize on overseas markets.

  • Expansion into Europe offers JD.com access to new consumer bases, diversifying its revenue streams and reducing reliance on domestic markets.

  • The move intensifies competition in the European e-commerce space, challenging existing players and potentially reshaping the market landscape.

The allure of "Dazi" socializing lies in its simplicity and practicality. Unlike traditional, more entangled forms of socializing that often lead to complex interpersonal relationships, "Dazi" offers a straightforward, no-strings-attached type of interaction.

It respects the privacy of individuals and avoids emotional entanglements, allowing participants to engage in shared activities while maintaining their personal boundaries.

This form of socializing is particularly attractive in the modern context, where young people are often on the move, facing the dual barriers of time and space that traditional socializing cannot overcome.

The popular platforms for "Dazi" socializing in China are mainly social media and lifestyle platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has seen the hashtag "fandazi" viewed more than 6.5 billion times, indicating a high level of engagement with the concept of finding companions for various activities.

BRIEF BLASTS

China’s Honor bets on AI smartphones for global growth ahead of an expected market rebound. CEO George Zhao said new Honor phones will have an ‘intent-based user interface’ that uses AI to anticipate user needs and create a seamless experience.

Meituan, Didi Chuxing in the spotlight as China stresses rights of delivery, ride-hailing gig workers. New guidelines stipulate how online platforms should ensure that workers receive time off and pay that meet minimum wage standards.

HTX, formerly Huobi, resubmits Hong Kong crypto licence application days after withdrawal. The resubmission comes days before the SFC’s deadline for firms hoping to operate a legal crypto exchange in the city to apply for a licence.

💼 Nvidia identifies Huawei as a top competitor in chip production, AI, and cloud services. iT anticipates a more competitive environment in the future, particularly in CPU, GPU, AI, and ethernet technologies.

📈 Ant Group outbids Citadel Securities for Credit Suisse's China joint venture, potentially adding regulatory uncertainty.

🚀 China's space ambitions advance with a significant increase in rocket launches.

💰 Li Auto achieves its first annual profit and surpasses the milestone of 100 billion yuan in revenue.

💼 Baidu Inc. and NetEase Inc. are reporting earnings amid China's tightening control over tech companies. Concerns arise over potential further restrictions on private enterprises in China. Beijing's efforts to steer the technology industry may divert resources to AI and semiconductors but could dampen investor enthusiasm amidst struggling Chinese stocks.