Chinese internet companies to watch this fall

The China Letter: October 2, 2021

The names of the biggest digital players in China are worth knowing in order to keep up on where things are headed there—especially now that Beijing is tightening regulations around how they can operate. And since these companies increasingly play a role in the rest of the world, their influence is extending to every smartphone on Earth.

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Alibaba

MarketWatch @MarketWatch

Chinese regulators are seeking to break up Alipay, the popular payments app from Jack Ma’s Ant Group, according to a new report by the Financial Times.

on.mktw.netChinese regulators look to break up Ant Group’s Alipay: reportFT reports Beijing seeks a separate app for loan business as part of anti-monopoly crackdown

Chinese state firms getting set to take a stake in Alipay was the latest layer to the tale that found Jack Ma, the founder of the payment app’s parent Alibaba, disappearing for three months after criticizing government regulators. Ant Group’s virtual credit card service Huabei will also now be sharing its consumer data with China’s central bank.

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Tencent

CNBC @CNBC

Alibaba apps are starting to support Tencent's WeChat Pay. Here's why it's a big deal

cnb.cxAlibaba apps are starting to support Tencent’s WeChat Pay. Here’s why it’s a big dealFor years, China’s internet platforms have operated as walled gardens. Chinese regulators are forcing giants like Alibaba and Tencent to change their practices.

WeChat Pay operated competitively with apps owned by Alibaba, but the new rules from Chinese regulators are leading to a new rules driven by Beijing’s crackdown on the “disorderly expansion of capital.” Tencent was also ordered to give up its exclusive music streaming rights and has been subject to tightened regulations on video games.

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Huawei

Globalnews.ca @globalnews

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei could be the next hurdle in Canada-China relations.

trib.alTrudeau says decision on Huawei’s fate on Canadian 5G expected ‘within coming weeks’ - National | Globalnews.caThe Trudeau government has yet to decide if the Chinese telecommunication will be granted permission to work with Canadian networks to create a 5G network

Meng Wanzhou’s release from house arrest was huge news, compounded with it being immediately followed by the “two Michaels” getting flown home to Canada—all but proving their concurrent detainment was no coincidence. As a result, the Canadian government faces is facing more pressure to sanction the company managed by Meng.

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ByteDance

TikTok @tiktok_us

✨ 1 billion✨ people on TikTok! Thank you to our global community 🎉 newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/1-billio…

newsroom.tiktok.comThanks a billion!At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. Today, we’re celebrating that mission and our global TikTok community. More than 1 billion people around the world now come to TikTok eve

TikTok has prevailed as China’s biggest cultural export around the planet, partly due to its secret algorithm. The app is also popular enough on home turf that ByteDance’s domestic version Douyin placed time limits on kids. But the Donald Trump order to sell off the American division due to security concerns seems to be dead.

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Shein

Uyghur Human Rights Project @UyghurProject

"Given the fact that Shein is not disclosing any of their supply chain data, we don’t know who their vendors are, we don’t know who they’re sourcing from, we don’t know where they’re sourcing from," said @JewherIlham.

sjuhawknews.comShein: What’s behind the clothes; A closer look at the leader of fast fashion - The Hawk NewspaperIn the last five years, Shein (pronounced she-in), a multi-billion dollar global company, has become a massively popular brand among young adult buyers attracted by the company’s notoriously cheap clothing and in-style trends. The price is one of the main reasons the brand is so popular among colle…

The clothing counterpart to TikTok is a company whose popularity with American youth has been rising fast due to celebrity endorsements despite criticism that its fast-fashion styles rip off more reputable designers. Shein’s success also owes plenty to a U.S. trade war. But now a Chinese state media outlet is throwing shade.

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The China Letter is produced by the Canadian Freedom Institute, a think tank based in Canada. We produce the China Letter every week to keep you informed and to press the ideas of free markets and free people not only in China but around the world. Please consider donating to keep this newsletter running!