The Acquired podcast puts out some of the very best business and technology content out there, and is one of our co-hosts? favorite listens. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal are inspirations, and so we?re always flattered to be referenced as the ?Acquired of China tech?! We had a lot of fun recording this episode together. Here at Tech Buzz, we typically write out our scripts ahead of time, and this was a rare chance to go unscripted. Let us know how we did! 

As Tech Buzz continues to broaden our content formats, you can follow us at techbuzzchina.com, subscribe to our YouTube channel, join us in the Inside Asia group on Clubhouse, tweet at us at @techbuzzchina, and write to us at [email protected] & [email protected]. As always, our transcripts are available on our website, as well as at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

Thank you to our teams at SupChina and Pandaily, and especially Bryce Ye, Kaiser Kuo, and Jason MacRonald. If you enjoy our work, please leave us an iTunes review! They do matter and we appreciate it so much!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

One of Tech Buzz China?s partners is leading alternative data firm BigOne Lab, who is one of the best sources on detailed operational data for large Chinese tech companies. In Tech Buzz's quarterly update, BigOne's head of research, Robert Wu, joined Rui for a live webinar going over everything interesting among the big China ecommerce players, which are now Alibaba, JD, Meituan, Pinduoduo, Douyin, and Kuaishou. 

We begin with the latest in community group buying, the group-buying next-day pickup business model that is sweeping over China. We go over market shares, warehousing efficiencies, and best-selling items and explain what that means in terms of strategy across the big players. We also talk about how much progress the Douyin and Kuaishou platforms have made in ecommerce, but point out their weaknesses vis-a-vis Alibaba, who is still the towering giant in the space. We touch upon what GMV breakdowns look like across the platforms, and finally end up with some interesting observations you might not have expected regarding creator engagement in Douyin and Bilibili. 

If you are new to these companies, we highly suggest checking out episodes 28, 55, 57, and 80 on ByteDance, Kuaishou, Bilibili, and community group buying, respectively.

Although we edited the audio to make it easy to follow along, such events in the future are best experienced live, as much of the data is presented visually! To sign up for future events like this, please go to www.techbuzzchina.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 81 of Tech Buzz China continues our series of audio experiments, and features co-host Rui Ma in conversation with Wharton professor Karl Ulrich on his latest book, Winning in China. The book was co-authored with Wharton Global Fellow Lele Sang, and presents 8 carefully researched case studies of successes and failures, from Amazon to Sequoia Capital. The episode is a recording of a conversation that was broadcast live on the Clubhouse app on February 1. 

As Tech Buzz continues to broaden our content formats, you can follow us at techbuzzchina.com, subscribe to our YouTube channel, join us in the Inside Asia group on Clubhouse, tweet at us at @techbuzzchina, and write to us at [email protected] & [email protected]. As always, our transcripts are available on our website, as well as at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you are a Tech Buzz listener and would like a free copy of Karl and Lele?s book, please email us at [email protected].  

Thank you to our teams at SupChina and Pandaily, and especially Bryce Ye, Kaiser Kuo, and Jason MacRonald. If you enjoy our work, please leave us an iTunes review! They do matter and we appreciate it so much!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 80 of Tech Buzz China, Rui and Ying talk about community group buying ???? shèq? tuángòu, or CGB, which is the hottest thing in China tech right now. In addition to startups raising crazy funds ? one just raised $700 million ? the internet giants have all gone in with guns blazing, and investors are bullish. 

Listen and follow along with us as we explore what exactly CGB is, and what makes it so special ? and controversial. Listeners will also hear from one of our favorite China tech writers, Lillian Li of the Chinese Characteristics newsletter, who just wrote two issues on this topic. 

Yup, Rui is still researching and writing on ByteDance for her ebook. You can get updates on it and our other work by subscribing to her newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. Be sure to also check out the Tech Buzz China YouTube channel, which has some video-only content. Our transcripts are available on our website, as well as at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

Thank you to our teams at SupChina and Pandaily, and especially Caiwei Chen, Kaiser Kuo, and Jason MacRonald.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 79 of Tech Buzz China, Rui and Ying talk about a company that aspires to be ?China?s L?Oréal? for the digital age: Yatsen Group, owner of smash hit cosmetics app Perfect Diary (????) among other brands. Though we at Tech Buzz have never directly covered the company, we have mentioned it, including in Episode 70 with Lauren Hallanan; as well during last week?s Q3 Market Trends call (link available through Dec. 9) with BigOne Lab?s Mengyao Ren. Yatsen recently listed on the NYSE, and it?s got a nearly $12 billion market cap. 

Listen and follow along with us as we explore Yatsen?s founding story, their evolving strategy,  reasons for their success, and the role of clever marketing. We?ll also talk about how the company?s various tactics speak to the evolution of China?s content ecommerce ecosystem. Finally, listeners will hear from Mark Tanner, the founder and Managing Director of Shanghai-based marketing and research firm China Skinny. 

Yup, Rui is still researching and writing on ByteDance for her ebook. You can get updates on it and to our other work by subscribing to her newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. Be sure to also check out the Tech Buzz China YouTube channel, which has some video-only content. Our transcripts are available on our website, as well as at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

Thank you to our teams at SupChina and Pandaily, and especially Caiwei Chen, Kaiser Kuo, and Jason MacRonald.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 78 of Tech Buzz China features our co-host Rui Ma in conversation with Yán Xi?o ?? on the timely topic of China?s proposed national digital currency. Yan is a San Francisco-based Project Lead at the World Economic Forum with deep experience in fintech, having worked as senior legal counsel at Ant Group. She is also a lawyer by training and holds both American and Chinese legal licenses. Her current work focuses on digital payments and cross-border payments. Yan?s opinions on this episode are her own thoughts, and do not reflect those of the Forum in any way. 

Rui was an early observer of the cryptocurrency space, and has witnessed the rise of Bitcoin and other technologies unfold concurrently in the U.S. and China. Listen to their conversation to find out: What does Yan think about the prospects for China?s proposed digital currency, which is typically called digital yuan or digital RMB? How are these prospects affected by the existing payments and digital landscape in China? What are the key features of digital RMB? What technologies form its backbone? What are other countries doing -- what is the global landscape for this type of national initiative? 

Yup, Rui is still researching and writing on ByteDance for her ebook. You?ll want to get front-row updates on it and to her other work by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. You?ll also want to check out the Tech Buzz China YouTube channel, and can view all of our past transcripts on our website, as well as at pandaily.com and supchina.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 77 of Tech Buzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying Lu tackle a topic that has become the next big thing in China ecommerce: C2M, or consumer to manufacturer. Although the acronym itself is not new, the term has been redefined within the past two years, driven by the choices of a handful of key founders and companies. Listen to learn about why Rui and Ying think this new iteration is at once innovative and transformational, why both factories and brands stand to benefit, and what this all means for the future of manufacturing and commerce -- in China and globally. 

Rui is still researching and writing on ByteDance for her ebook. You?ll want to get front-row updates on it and to her other work by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. 

We have finished uploading all of our past episodes onto the new Tech Buzz China YouTube channel and putting them together into playlists by sector ? check them out! As always, our past transcripts are viewable on our website, as well as at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

Thank you to our ever-talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as to Jason MacRonald at SupChina.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 76 of Tech Buzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying Lu take advantage of the recent Lufax IPO filing (Chinese name: ??? lùj?nsu?) to talk about the P2P lending industry in China, which has been an oft-requested topic! We get into China?s (lack of) regulation of the nontraditional form of financing, drivers behind the industry?s quick boom and bust, and some of the reasons Lufax is one of the few, and biggest, survivors. 

We have started uploading all of our past episodes onto the new Tech Buzz China YouTube channel and putting them together into playlists by sector ? check it out. You?ll soon be able to find this and other relevant episodes under the ?fintech? category. 

Yes, Rui is still researching and writing on ByteDance, for publication as an ebook! You?ll want to get front-row updates on it by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. As always, our past transcripts and other content are also viewable at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

Thank you to our ever-talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as to Jason MacRonald at SupChina.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 75 of Tech Buzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying Lu talk about China ecommerce SaaS (software as a service), which currently primarily refers to WeChat ecommerce as it takes place through mini programs. Listen to learn about major players Youzan and Weimob, the difference between public and private traffic, and what Alibaba?s and Tencent?s future strategies might be given their actions up to this point. How accurate are the various players? much-sought comparisons to Shopify, and how closely do the companies truly compare with that platform in their journeys to becoming China?s dominant ecommerce solution provider? 

Yes, Rui is still writing her e-book on ByteDance! You?ll want to get updates on it by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. As always, past transcripts and other content are also viewable at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription!), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

And thanks to our ever-talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as to SupChina?s Production Associate Jason MacRonald.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 74 of Tech Buzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying Lu talk in depth about Ant Group, Alibaba?s financial affiliate, ahead of its upcoming mega-IPO. Media reports that the company ? which already holds the record for ?largest-ever single private fundraise? for its $14 billion raise in 2018 ? seeks to raise $30 billion. That figure would indeed make it the largest public offering the world has ever seen. 

We first covered Ant Group over two years ago in Episode 11, titled ?After Alibaba, Team Jack Ma?s Newest Centacorn: Ant Financial.? At the time, Ant had said it planned to transition from the payments business, which accounted for over half of revenues, into a company that would rely mostly on ?technical services? for revenue. Looking back, we can see that Ant has achieved that ? and more. This year, its revenues total $20 billion with a 30% net margin, and it has several diversified, significant, and growing revenue streams. But can it sustain this growth? 

Listen to find out: What are the major products and services that Ant offers? In what ways are these offerings mapped to the evolving financial behaviors of Chinese consumers, as well as to the existing product landscape? Where is China?s very young consumer finance industry headed, and what does that mean for Ant Group?s expansion potential and even its investments? What are its weaknesses? Is it more of a finance company, or a tech platform? 

Yes, Rui is still writing her e-book on ByteDance! You?ll want to get updates on it by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. As always, past transcripts and other content are also viewable at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription!), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

And thanks to our ever-talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, and Jason MacRonald.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 73 of Tech Buzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying Lu return to the typical deep-dive format you?ve come to expect, with a timely look into recently listed real estate tech platform Beike ??, or KE Holdings (BEKE). In addition to talking about the two-year-young company, we explore the realities of the Chinese real estate industry, which operates completely differently from (and is arguably messier than) the industry here in the U.S. We cover KE Holdings? founder story, the company?s relationship to traditional real estate brokerage business Lianjia ??, and the role of government policies in developing China?s real estate sector. 

Listen to find out: What are Beike?s core value propositions to its users? How does it make money, and in what ways is it similar to Redfin or Zillow? How apt is the statement ?Alibaba is to retail as KE Holdings is to real estate?? Why does this opportunity exist in China, is it even more massive than meets the eye, and what factors within the local market dynamics make it possible? 

Yes, Rui is still writing her e-book on ByteDance! You?ll want to get updates on it by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. As always, past transcripts and other content are also viewable at pandaily.com and supchina.com. 

If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review (drop us a note saying you did, and we?ll send you an Extra Buzz newsletter subscription!), and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

And thanks to our ever-talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 72 of Tech Buzz China features product expert Eugene Wei in conversation with our co-host Rui Ma on the timely topic of TikTok and the mechanics of what makes the app so successful. Tune in to learn why Rui calls TikTok an ?algorithmic entertainment platform? and why Eugene terms TikTok?s algorithm the ?Sorting Hat.? You?ll also learn why the app was well situated in coming out of China, and what the future ownership and trajectory of TikTok in the U.S. might be. This is a special episode for Tech Buzz ? so tune in! 

We recorded today?s program on the heels of President Trump?s executive order banning ?any transactions? with TikTok or its parent company, ByteDance, by any U.S. resident. Though Tech Buzz usually covers Chinese tech companies in China ? for example, our popular episode on ByteDance?s overall rise does just that ? this headline was too significant for us to pass without a comment. After all, TikTok is the first non-utility app and consumer internet product made by a Chinese company that has really hit it big globally. 

Not to mention, Rui is currently working on an e-book on ByteDance! You can get updates on it by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. As always, past transcripts and other content are also viewable at pandaily.com and supchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 71 of Tech Buzz China features Mu Chen in conversation with our co-hosts Ying Lu and Rui Ma, on the topic of digital and consumption trends in China. Mu is the founder and CEO of BigOne Lab (??Lab), a data intelligence firm for investors. He discusses recent data and trends from key industries such as delivery, recruitment, logistics, travel, online spending, and gaming to illustrate how China?s economy is recovering from the downturn caused by COVID-19. 

This is the fourth in a series of experimental episodes that we will be releasing this summer. Today?s is a lightly edited version of a live webinar that Tech Buzz held in July. To hear these ? and more! ? as they happen live, you can sign up for free at techbuzzchina.com/events. Note that the unedited version of this track can be found on our Tech Buzz China YouTube channel. 

As always, past transcripts and other content are viewable at pandaily.com and techbuzzchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. Amidst the continued global pandemic, and during this particularly chilly time in the U.S.-China relationship, our thoughts go out to listeners who have been personally affected. Stay safe, and be well.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 70 of Tech Buzz China features Lauren Hallanan in conversation with our co-hosts Ying Lu and Rui Ma on the topic of livestreaming ecommerce. In addition to being a former China-based livestreamer herself, with over 400,000 followers, Lauren is a fellow SupChina podcaster at the China Marketing Podcast. Go check it out! 

Today, Lauren gives a fascinating overview of China?s livestreaming ecommerce industry, including its history, key traits and differentiators, common content formats, and product design and features. Throughout, she helps us answer these questions: Why has livestreaming, specifically in ecommerce, become so explosively popular in China? How has it continued to evolve post-COVID? Can ? and will ? we see the same level of success here in the West? 

This is the third in a series of experimental, non-scripted episodes that we will be releasing this summer. Today?s episode is a lightly edited version of a live webinar that Tech Buzz held on June 4. To hear these ? and more! ? as they happen live, you can sign up for free at techbuzzchina.com/events. Note that the unedited version of this episode and other tracks can be found on our Tech Buzz China YouTube channel. 

As always, past transcripts and other content are viewable at pandaily.com and techbuzzchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. Stay safe.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 69 of Tech Buzz China features our co-host Rui Ma in dialogue with Jeff Ding, a Rhodes Scholar and D.Phil Researcher at Oxford in the Future of Humanity Institute. He is also the creator of a free weekly newsletter called China AI. For his talk, Jeff focuses on artificial intelligence in China, specifically, some of the ?unsexy? technical applications of AI across several industries.

This is the second in a series of experimental, non-scripted episodes that we will be releasing this summer. Today?s episode is a lightly edited version of a live webinar that Tech Buzz hosted on June 5. To hear these (and more) as they happen live, you can sign up for free at techbuzzchina.com/events. 

As always, past transcripts are viewable at pandaily.com and techbuzzchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. We hope you enjoy the episode.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 68 of Tech Buzz China features our co-host Rui Ma in dialogue with Shang Koo, the CFO of M17 Entertainment, or M17.asia, which is a livestreaming company popular in Taiwan and Japan. Listen to learn more about entertainment livestreaming and how the industry has developed throughout Asia. Shang goes into the dynamics of gifting, critiques of various business models, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the sector both within China and in markets that M17 serves.

This is the first in a series of experimental, non-scripted episodes that we will be releasing this summer. The recording originally took place in late April in the form of an online webinar. To hear these (and more!) as they happen live, you can sign up for free at techbuzzchina.com/events. 

As always, past transcripts are viewable at pandaily.com and techbuzzchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. Caiwei in particular spent extra time on post-production for this new episode format. We hope you enjoy it!

Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking this brief survey. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 67 of Tech Buzz China, hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu discuss the ByteDance family of video apps outside of TikTok, including Xigua, Huoshan, and Pipixia. Most listeners know by now that ByteDance is very good at video, and these other apps provide noteworthy ? though not comprehensive ? examples of just how good it is. Listen to learn about ByteDance?s extensive video portfolio. In particular, will Xigua win versus Bilibili for the title of China?s YouTube? Is ByteDance?s strategy too scattered and unfocused, or is it thoughtful and comprehensive? 

A reminder ? check out Tech Buzz?s ongoing online events series, including webinars and happy hours, all of which are free! Our next event spotlights John Oliverius of the China Esports Business News Digest. John will be talking about the most interesting events taking place in gaming and esports in China, and what we can learn from the companies that are leading in this space. You can sign up at techbuzzchina.com/events. 

All past transcripts are viewable at pandaily.com and techbuzzchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. As always, thank you for your support. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. Stay healthy, everyone!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 66 of Tech Buzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu talk about Bytedance?s forays into gaming and education ? moves that have been well covered and are eagerly anticipated by Chinese media. Notably, in multiple interviews, CEO Zhang Yiming says that he only wants to go into fields where he feels he is better than the incumbent. While Zhang believes, and we agree, that edtech has a lot of room for improvement, we wonder if Bytedance?s moves in gaming could be more effective if it defended itself against Tencent. What do you think? 

Thanks to some of your feedback on Rui?s special Luckin episode, we have changed the format of this one. Listeners should expect more experiments coming up soon! 

A reminder to check out Tech Buzz?s new events series for investors (open to all), as well as our interactive Virtual Happy Hours with listeners like you! Both are free. Our next Happy Hour is titled ?From FAANG to BAT,? and we?ve invited a product manager who went from working at a large tech company in Silicon Valley to the same role at a large tech company in China. Jason will be sharing his perspectives and personal experiences on Thursday, May 7, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. PST / 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST. You can sign up at techbuzzchina.com/community! 

All past transcripts are viewable at pandaily.com and techbuzzchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. As always, thank you for your support. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. Stay healthy, everyone! 

Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking this brief survey.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 65 of Tech Buzz China is a special one ? a reading of the seventh issue of Extra Buzz, our new biweekly newsletter written by co-host Rui Ma. Listen (and read along) to follow Rui?s thoughts on the biggest story in China tech last week: the alleged fraud of China?s on-demand coffee company, Luckin Coffee ????. At its core, we at Tech Buzz believe Luckin is a story of information asymmetry, with voices on either side of the Pacific at times seeming to be telling different stories altogether. Rui explains why investors and other observers who did the proper digging would never have been bullish, or mistaken Luckin for Starbucks. 

Tech Buzz is holding a Virtual Happy Hour with a special guest, Dan Grover, this Thursday, April 16, 3:00?4:00 p.m. PST / 6:00?7:00 p.m. EST. We have a few spots left, over at techbuzzchina.com/community. Our discussion will center on how Chinese internet companies came together to create initiatives that helped combat COVID-19, and how perhaps you as a technologist or entrepreneur can do more, too. 

Listeners can find our transcripts and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. As always, thank you for your support. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo, as well as SupChina production associate Jason MacRonald. Stay healthy, everyone!

Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking this brief survey. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 64 of Tech Buzz China is the second of two episodes on the Chinese telemedicine sector, which is closely watched in the wake of COVID-19. This week, on the heels of episode 63?s discussion of Ping An Good Doctor, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu talk about other experiments, such as Chunyu Yisheng ????, WeDoctor ???, and Dingxiangyuan ???. We also give overviews of telemedicine efforts by some of the large internet companies, including Alibaba, Baidu, and JD Health. 

The overarching story is that healthcare tech is a clear market opportunity in China, and within the narrow space of telemedicine, there are a lot of companies trying to solve the same set of problems. Listen to find out: How did these players all converge on telemedicine, and what are the factors ? some currently missing ? that must be in place to drive a serious uptick in adoption? 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. You can also subscribe to our Extra Buzz newsletter on our new website, techbuzzchina.com. As always, thank you for your support. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. Stay healthy, everyone!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 63 of Tech Buzz China is on the Chinese telemedicine sector, which has quickly evolved to become one of the most interesting businesses in China, especially in the wake of COVID-19. Co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu focus on the underlying drivers within the complex healthcare industry. They cover topics such as the size of the Chinese healthcare system, the shortage of doctors and reasons why, and challenges for telemedicine. 

Companies mentioned include Ping An Good Doctor, as well as the internet hospitals that the government has approved and that have been in operation for a few years now. Listeners will also hear from Irene Hong, an experienced dealmaker who has worked in China for 20 years and is the founding partner of investment bank CEC Capital Group, where she leads the healthcare group. 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review and tweeting at us @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at [email protected] and [email protected]. In addition, you can subscribe to our Extra Buzz newsletter on our new website, techbuzzchina.com. As requested, we have made the first few newsletters public. Check them out! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. This week, Pandaily intern Song Yuning also helped with the editing process. Thank you all!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 62 of Tech Buzz China is on co-living and co-working, two of the formerly hottest ? and now possibly coldest ? sectors in China tech. Co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu discuss how real estate startups have been hit hard by the coronavirus against a backdrop of how the real estate sector is big business in China. 

From rental startup companies Danke and Ziroom to co-working giant Ucommune, which failed to list last year, listeners will join a whirlwind tour of the biggest players and must-know trends in the space (pun intended). Listen to find out: How accurate are the comparisons between WeWork and Ucommune, and their respective founders Adam Neumann and Mao Daqing? How has China?s development in the co-working sector derived from, among other things, the role of the government and its push for innovation? Why do our co-hosts encourage Western entrepreneurs looking to solve problems in co-living to look toward China, where 2,000 companies have already given it a shot? 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! You can also email [email protected] and [email protected] for feedback. We truly enjoy hearing from you and are constantly working on improving our content. 

Also, we just launched our new website, techbuzzchina.com, where you can subscribe to our Extra Buzz newsletter. As requested, we made the first few installments public so that you can get a sense of how they are different from and also complement this podcast. Check them out! 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. We couldn?t do it without you ? and the full teams at both Pandaily and SupChina!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 61 of Tech Buzz China is on K-12 edtech entrepreneurs, who are seeing their businesses grow instead of shrink in the wake of the coronavirus. Co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu discuss top trends and the key players before the virus hit, and how they are responding now. 

In 2018, the raging headline was that half of the venture capital deployed in edtech that year went to Chinese companies. In the past three years alone, 25 Chinese education companies have gone public. It?s a massive market, but what are the common misconceptions held by Western investors? Listen to hear context on China?s education system and the resulting influence on edtech business models, as well as the stories behind selected companies GSX and Yuanfudao. 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! You can also email [email protected] and [email protected] for feedback. We truly enjoy hearing from you and are constantly working on improving our content. 

Also, we just launched our new website, techbuzzchina.com, where you can subscribe to our Extra Buzz newsletter. Last week, Rui wrote an excellent piece on the latest impacts of the coronavirus on work, entertainment, and the top internet trends of the day. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. A special thank-you to Kaiser for stepping in with additional production expertise to help us make this week?s release deadline. We couldn?t do it without you ? and the full teams at both Pandaily and SupChina!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 60 of Tech Buzz China is a special on the Wuhan coronavirus and its impact on China tech, as seen by co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu. As we produce this episode, all of China is still pretty much on lockdown in response to the virus ? it?s a transformative time. 

We talk about the impact on a range of sectors such as grocery ecommerce, remote work, philanthropy, video gaming, entertainment, education, fitness, and healthcare. Which changes are short term, and which ones might be more long-lasting? Importantly, we also provide context on the city of Wuhan, which is located just 500 miles west of Shanghai and plays an underrated yet important role in China?s technology ecosystem and the country?s economy as a whole. 

For more analyses, including a piece that we wrote on the virus and its impact on China tech, you can subscribe to our Tech Buzz newsletter at bit.ly/techbuzzextrabuzz. As promised last week, we have donated a month?s worth of Extra Buzz gross revenue, or $200, to the Wuhan coronavirus effort to date. 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. Thank you also to our intern at Pandaily, Xu Ruomeng, for helping with this week?s transcript.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 59 of Tech Buzz China takes a retrospective look at 2019 in China internet culture and business happenings. Co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu review their top picks of the need-to-know trends, occurrences, and players that shaped the landscape in 2019. From the saturation of Chinese mobile internet users to the rise of the rural consumer and a decline in funding for tech companies, listen and decide for yourself: do you agree with our analyses and predictions as we enter the New Year of the Golden Rat? 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 58 of TechBuzz China, our first episode of the new decade, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu talk about grocery ecommerce, or buying fresh food over the internet. The sector, which in China is sometimes taken to include ?new retail? concepts such as Alibaba?s Hema, is seen as one of the few remaining ?blue ocean? ecommerce opportunities in China. Thus, it is growing rapidly and attracting a lot of investment and interest. 

Listen to find out: Given the amount of action in the industry, why is the penetration rate still at less than 5 percent? What main challenges within the industry have made it difficult for the various players to scale up? Within the current landscape, what are the differences between purely online services, versus hybrid online-offline, and what have been the growth patterns for both? Finally and perhaps most importantly, what daily habits and cultural factors surrounding grocery shopping in China form the foundation for these realities today?and into the future? 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. Also, a big thank-you to the talented Shaw Wan for her support to date. We wish you the very best in your next role!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here at TechBuzz, we have been busy preparing for our second Investor Trip for March 2?6, 2020. If you are a full-time investor with at least 10 years of experience, consider applying for the trip by writing to us at [email protected]. During our inaugural Investor Trip in October, Bilibili was one of the companies we visited, and it turned out to be one of our most highly rated meetings! We hope you enjoy what we?ve prepared today. 

In episode 57 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu talk about Bilibili, a Chinese company that has no easy Western comparable ? even as it sells a narrative of being ?the YouTube of China.? Bilibili was in the headlines last week for paying $113 million for the Chinese broadcast rights for the next three League of Legends championships. Today, its core businesses include mobile games, livestreaming, advertising, and ecommerce.  

Listen to find out: How was Bilibili founded? In what ways is its founder, hardcore anime fan Xu Yi, distinctive? How does the site ? which has one-in-three Gen Z-ers under the age of 30 in China active monthly on its platform, spending an average of 83 minutes a day on it ? work? What characteristics have enabled it to be one of the few entities to receive investment from both Tencent and Alibaba? Do our co-hosts think the company will be able to scale to the next level, by reaching its own target of doubling revenue, while retaining the sense of authenticity and close connection with its fans that it has been able to build over the years? 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We do truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

Of course, we are always grateful for our talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 56 of TechBuzz China is all about short video, which our co-hosts comment should by now be considered one of China?s ?New Four Great Inventions.? It?s sweeping the world, and has become an arena in which Chinese companies? battle for users and revenue is extending abroad. Most of our listeners will have heard of Bytedance?s product TikTok, and likely even of Kuaishou (see TechBuzz #55), but what about other players such as Likee ? what is their story? 

Short videos shot in China, or on apps made in China, are increasingly common sights on social media feeds around the world. Indeed, chuhai (?? ch?h?i), which literally means ?going beyond the seas,? has come to mean ?doing business abroad,? and it is going to be a bigger and bigger trend in China tech. The stories of how these short-video companies got started, the mistakes they made and turning points along the way, and how that shapes company DNA and long-term strategy can guide you as to how these players are likely to approach the global markets you care about. 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We do truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

Of course, we are always grateful for our talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo. P.S. Congratulations on a successful conference this week, SupChina! 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 55 of TechBuzz China is about a company we have admittedly relegated to a ?supporting role? thus far here on TechBuzz: Kuaishou, which is rightfully known as the original Chinese short-video app. Rui and Ying-Ying explain that while Bytedance and its Douyin and TikTok products seem to be clear stars today, that trend was not always obvious. It is true that Kuaishou is experiencing declining market share and experimenting with new, hard-charging avenues of growth, but our co-hosts argue that its role in today?s content ecosystem has generally been understated by Western observers. 

To that end, this week, we delve into the history, leadership, business models, shareholders, and self-proclaimed mission of the Kuaishou app. Listeners may decide for themselves: Do Kuaishou and Douyin really serve different demographics with decidedly different products? Or does a large 46.5 percent user overlap mean that this doesn?t matter ? that it is, in fact, a battle to the death, and for a greater end purpose than simply short video? 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We do truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

Of course, we are always grateful for our talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo. Thank you!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TechBuzz China is back from China! We are happy to say that the week of back-to-back meetings we had in our first-ever Investor Trip was a great success. We were able to visit a host of companies we?ve previously covered on the podcast, like Ximalaya, Xiaohongshu, Ruhan, Xiaomi, China Renaissance, Tiger Brokers, and more, as well as new ones such as Ctrip, Mogujie, Qutoutiao, and Bilibili, which we hope to talk about in more detail soon. Thank you to everyone who hosted us, and a special thanks to all of our listeners who came out for our happy hours! 

Episode 54 of TechBuzz China is about the rise of the influencer and idol economies in China, which is a major trend that has created an entirely new ecosystem online. Indeed, one-third of China?s total retail sales are taking place online, and its ecommerce platforms are some of the most innovative and advanced in the world. Listen to learn about phenomena such as live-streaming ecommerce (????), multi-channel networks (MCNs), the role of celebrities, and the lengths to which fans in China will go to in order to keep their idols on top. How are these factors influencing the way large Chinese internet companies operate?

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We do truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our ever-talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our intern, Wang Menglu.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TechBuzz China is going to China! As part of our inaugural invite-only TechBuzz China Investor Trip for public market investors taking place right after Golden Week, we will be hosting a live meetup in Beijing?s Sanlitun at Taco Bar on Tuesday, October 8, and in Shanghai at Hotel Indigo on Thursday, October 10. Both will begin at 8:30 p.m. If you are in either of those cities, do come out and have a beer on us! 

Episode 53 of TechBuzz China is about NetEase. Listen to learn about the company?s founder, William Ding, and how he built a $33 billion empire based on a unique business style as well as on his belief that a company doesn?t need a direction or specific labels. Today, NetEase?s offerings range from email to publishing and developing games, and from breeding pigs to educating people. 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We do truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our ever-talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our intern, Wang Menglu. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TechBuzz China is going to China! As part of our inaugural invite-only TechBuzz China Investor Trip for public market investors taking place right after Golden Week, we will be hosting live meetups. These will take place in Beijing?s Sanlitun after dinner on Tuesday, October 8, and in Shanghai after dinner on Thursday, October 10. If you are in either of those cities, do come out and have a beer on us! Check our Twitter (@techbuzzchina) for updates on the exact locations and times. 

Episode 52 of TechBuzz China is on a topic from back in August, when Kuaishou, Baidu, Tencent, and Capital Today invested a collective $434 million into the Q&A site Zhihu ??. The site, which literally means ?Do you know?? in Chinese, is comparable to Quora in its core services. Its 220 million monthly active users (MAU) is also comparable with Quora?s 300 million MAU. In typical TechBuzz fashion, our co-hosts, Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu, dive into Zhihu?s founding story, the company?s business strategy over time, and further comparisons with global sites such as Quora and Reddit. They conclude by explaining why the recent partnership between Kuaishou and Zhihu makes sense. 

Listen to find out: What does Chinese media believe is significant about the hometown province of Zhihu CEO Zhou Yuan ??? Over the course of several years, how did Zhihu beat out competitors that included other startups as well as products created by the likes of Baidu? In fact, how might these past stories help to explain Baidu?s participation in Zhihu?s latest round? What is Fenda ??, how does it relate to Zhihu?s trajectory, and what might explain why it was one of the first instances in which a Silicon Valley entrepreneur openly admitted that he found inspiration in the innovative design of a Chinese company? In what ways is Zhihu?s latest financing so notable, and what does it tell us about the current state of the internet landscape in China? How does Bytedance fit into this fray, and what has been the extent of its investment in the space? Finally, what do our co-hosts think about the future of the user-generated text and voice content space in China?   

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us! We do truly appreciate your feedback and support. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our ever-talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our intern, Wang Menglu.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 51 of TechBuzz China is our second consecutive show that is in a unique format. It features a replay of TechBuzz co-host Rui Ma?s recorded call on SupChina Access, which was originally aired live on July 23. The conversation is moderated by Jeremy Goldkorn, editor-in-chief of SupChina. As longtime listeners know, we are proudly one of the most long-standing podcasts within SupChina?s Sinica Podcast Network. In this episode, Jeremy prompts Rui to speak on some of the hottest topics, trends, and companies covered in past TechBuzz episodes: Luckin Coffee, e-cigarettes, Baidu, Bytedance, EV carmakers, real estate platforms, and 996 work culture. Overall, it serves as a great intro to the past TechBuzz episodes, if you haven?t already listened to them! 

In addition, listen in to hear Rui share her expertise on: What is the current macro environment for venture capital and startups in China ? is the ?tech winter? really coming? What is the status of the STAR market that just launched, and how will it affect the growth of the innovation economy? Does Rui believe that U.S. startups can realistically enter China? What is the most interesting Chinese tech company that Rui knows of, and that listeners on the call may not yet have heard of? What are her thoughts on the business models or revenue models that are unique to China? Is reporting in China ?real? ? in other words, could a story like Theranos also happen there? 

SupChina is an independent digital media company dedicated to informing, entertaining, and educating a global audience about business, technology, politics, and culture in China, and SupChina Access is its paid membership that provides even more content, including conference calls such as what you hear on this session with Rui. So, if you enjoy this episode, you should head to SupChina for details on membership. As always, thank you to the entire SupChina team for your constant support. 

You can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! We do truly appreciate your feedback. Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our supportive and talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our intern, Wang Menglu. 

Listeners who are interested in visiting China but don?t know where to begin should check out Pandaily?s one-week immersion into China?s tech scene, taking place October 13?19, 2019: decode.pandaily.com. This trip is not to be confused with TechBuzz China?s inaugural invite-only China Investor Trip for public market investors, which will be held October 7?13. Watch out for TechBuzz meetups held in both Beijing and Shanghai!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 50 of TechBuzz China is unique: it?s our first live recording! It features co-host Rui Ma in conversation with author and journalist Matt Sheehan, currently a fellow based at the Paulson Institute?s MacroPolo think tank. It was recorded at the August 13 launch of Matt?s new book, The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for Our Future. As our co-hosts have commented on previous episodes, we respect Matt as one of the smartest and most thoughtful voices on U.S.-China topics. Though his book covers content and industries that we at TechBuzz usually do not, these topics are crucial to understanding the greater context that defines U.S-China tech today ? especially given today?s geopolitical situation. 

Listen to find out: What does Matt think are some of the long-term repercussions of the Chinese education system, and how they may ultimately impact the decisions and preferences of Chinese tech talent? What does Matt mean when he writes that the Bay Area is to those born and raised in China what Shanghai is like for Americans ? and what is the deeper insight here? How do Chinese tech companies often choose to compete in places like India, Brazil, and Indonesia, as compared with American ones, and why? What about Hollywood-U.S. ties: will Hollywood continue to win over hearts and wallets in China, despite the trade war and other macro factors? What about flows of capital between the U.S. and China ? how have they been affected? Importantly, what does Matt predict for the future of the Transpacific Experiment, and why should TechBuzz listeners care about its outcomes? 

You can purchase (and review!) Matt?s book on Amazon. As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. 

We are grateful for our supportive and talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our intern, Wang Menglu. Thank you! 

Listeners who are interested in visiting China but never knew where to begin should check out Pandaily?s one-week immersion into China?s tech scene, taking place October 13-19, 2019: decode.pandaily.com. This trip is not to be confused with TechBuzz China?s inaugural invite-only China Investor Trip for public market investors, which will be held from October 7-13. Watch out for TechBuzz meetups held in your city!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 49 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma continue their exploration of the converging trends between the U.S. and China?s ecommerce sectors, this week covering the topic of the resale market for sneakers and streetwear. Notably, entrepreneurs in the U.S. and in China, such as the founders of smash-hit sneaker site Pozion, seem to have discovered this space at roughly the same time. Perhaps, our co-hosts muse, due to the tech-savvy nature of the Gen-Z demographic, differences across the two countries are far less than we think. Globally, this and other ecommerce platforms thus far have catered only to women; Poizon and other brands are showing the way to a category in which men are the primary consumers. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by explaining the impetus for this episode: the fact that two unicorns of roughly the same valuation, the same business (selling sneakers and other streetwear to urban youth), and the same lead investor (DST) were born in this space this year. One was the aforementioned Poizon, which is based in Shanghai and was spun off from Hupu, China?s leading sports news and community website. The other sneaker unicorn, called StockX, was birthed in Detroit in June. Listen to find out: What are some of the factors behind this ?coincidence?? What is behind the growth of China?s athletic footwear market? How do most streetwear brands market and distribute their products today, and how does this lead to some items selling at a (at times massive) premium? How are these market trends tied to the rise of the NBA and the CBA in China? How do Poizon?s founders enter and drive the story, and in what ways is the company linked to entities such as Bytedance and China?s Most Eligible Bachelor? What is interesting about the stories of other global sneaker-sellers such as Stadium Goods, which expanded almost immediately into China and only later into Europe? What are the challenges that these sites face, including but not limited to a fake rate of at least 1 percent? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our supportive and talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our intern, Wang Menglu. Thank you! Listeners who are interested in visiting China should check out Pandaily?s one-week immersion into China?s tech scene, taking place on October 13-19, 2019. Applications will be available soon on pandaily.com. This trip is not to be confused with TechBuzz China?s inaugural invite-only China Investor Trip for public market investors, taking place on October 7?13. Additionally, Bay Area listeners may come out to join TechBuzz co-host Rui Ma, in dialogue with Matt Sheehan at the launch of his new book, The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for Our Future. The event will take place on the evening of Tuesday, August 13, at the Asia Society, and you should definitely pre-order Matt?s book on Amazon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 48 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma take a look at the direct-to-consumer, or D2C, brands in China. Specifically, they highlight one of the early winners of the business model: Three Squirrels, a Chinese internet snack brand that started off with selling nuts and went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange last week with a market cap of close to $2 billion. Though the company has not been covered much in English, it has been all the buzz in China?s tech community, and is a story that our co-hosts think is good for demonstrating both the similarities and the differences in the rise of D2C in the U.S. and China.  Rui and Ying-Ying begin by explaining what they mean by the ?snack market? in China. Though estimates differ on the market size, as well as the definitions of the market itself, our co-hosts agree that the market is enormous as well as highly fragmented. Enter CEO Liaoyuan Zhang (???), whose background prior to founding Three Squirrels ? in contrast to many of the founders we have featured so far on TechBuzz ? was decidedly unprivileged and unremarkable. He was a street vendor, motorcycle taxi operator, and more, before being hired into a firm that sold nuts and eventually being promoted all the way up to managing director for sales.  Listen to find out: What insights did Zhang glean from his experiences in sales, and in the nut industry? Why do we say that Zhang had the right idea (investing into the Chinese version of D2C brands) and the right timing (early 2012) for starting Three Squirrels? How has Zhang?s genius for marketing fueled the growth of the brand? What about the company?s obsession with intellectual property? What reasons other than branding did Kathy (??), the founder of Capital Today who led the company?s Series B, give for investing? Overall, what were and are the company?s weaknesses? Finally, how does the story of Three Squirrels converge with what we are seeing in the U.S. with direct-to-consumer brands such as Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club, Glossier, Kylie Cosmetics, and more?  As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our patient and talented producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our wonderful interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Thank you! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 47 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma dive into a topic they have been wanting to cover for a while now: Chinese educational technology (edtech). Specifically, they focus on VIPKid, a company that has an incredible number of competitors but is by far the largest in terms of scale for its cross-border model of English-language instruction. Notably, 8 of the 12 startup unicorns categorized as edtech by CBInsights are from China ? and this does not include the number of publicly listed Chinese education companies in the U.S. Our co-hosts explain that edtech (alongside the recent TechBuzz topics of online brokerages, e-cigarettes, plastic surgery, and e-sports livestreaming) is yet another example of an industry that is thriving in China but is either not widely reported on or would not work well in other markets. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by exploring the landscape for English learning in China, in the context of edtech. They remind our listeners that while over 300,000 students from China study in the U.S. every year, this demographic is a drop in the bucket as compared with the 1.4 billion Chinese citizens who are alive today. The reality is that the country as a whole ranks low in terms of education attainment: The average Chinese person has only had 7.5 years of formal schooling. Of today?s Chinese millennials, almost 20 percent have college degrees, already a sharp increase from the less than 5 percent of Chinese people who are college educated and now in their fifties and sixties. These and other trends, combined with a highly regulated education sector in China, mean that the ?TTE? ? test prep, tutoring, and extracurricular activities ? market for K12 in China is an enormous $18 billion opportunity. Listen to find out: Just how much are Chinese parents spending on extracurricular tutoring for their kids ? and how does that compare with the spending of parents here in the U.S.? How much of that funding is going toward English-language tutoring, and what are the reasons behind the Chinese obsession with learning English? How does this all provide context for the legend of 36-year-old VIPKid founder Cindy Mi, a high school dropout who then made her way to an elite M.B.A. program? How did the company first gain traction, and what are its curriculum and business models like today? How did VIPKid come to raise over $800 million from the likes of Sequoia, Tencent, Sinovation, and Coatue, and how did it come to generate at least half a billion dollars of annual revenue with over 600,000 paying customers? What are some of Rui and Ying-Ying?s predictions about the macro factors that may impact VIPKid?s business in the coming years? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our awesome producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and our interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Thank you! Our co-hosts plan to take the week of July 4th off and to return in mid-July. Happy Independence Day to our U.S. listeners! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 46 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma take a look at the market for China?s overseas online brokerages, which help Chinese people to invest in securities outside of mainland China. Of note, two Chinese fintech startups, Futu (?? fù tú, or ?path to riches?) and Tiger Brokers, went IPO in quick succession in March. This episode tells the stories of Futu and Tiger against a backdrop of relative volatility for U.S.-listed Chinese equities, as compared with their NASDAQ and NYSE peers. Join us as we explore the potential links between the rise of overseas online brokerages and this volatility, including the large pops ? and subsequent bursts ? of companies such as NIO, Luckin, and Qutoutiao that have listed in the U.S. in the past year. Indeed, Reuters has cheekily called the seesawing prices ?trading with Chinese characteristics.? For listeners who are new to this topic, we recommend that you press the pause button and first listen to episode 40, which provides a history of the Chinese stock market and its various exchanges, culminating in a primer on the new Technology Innovation Board on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by exploring some of the reasons for the incredible demand for foreign-listed securities, which is a core driver of the rise of securities brokerages. Listen to find out: How did Alibaba?s U.S. listing help to kick this demand into high gear? How large is the brokerage market, and how is that size affected by such trends as the unprecedented rate of wealth creation by Chinese people, the do-it-yourself attitude of millennials, and China?s overwhelmingly retail (versus the U.S.?s institutionally dominated) market? What is the nature of Futu?s strong ties with Tencent, and how did they come about? In what ways are the founding stories of Futu and Tiger Brokers similar? Today, despite comparable trading volumes, in what ways are these two companies? business models and sources of revenue divergent? What types of risks do the companies and their competitors face in China, and why do our co-hosts consider regulatory risks to be the greatest? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. If you enjoy our content, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our incredible producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and our interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Thank you! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 45 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about the rise of what has been touted as ?the next big trend? in China tech: electronic cigarettes. Despite being criticized as a trap for entrepreneurs and investors alike, as well as concerns around ethical considerations, a large number of high-profile hardware entrepreneurs and consumer internet executives in China have jumped into the fray. Although China has yet to birth a decacorn in this sector like U.S.-based Juul, which is now valued at $38 billion, our co-hosts bet that at least one unicorn will emerge. After all, a recent research report by China?s Sinolink Securities projected the size of the domestic e-cig market to reach over $4 billion in the next four years ? in many ways, we are only at day zero as measured against the market potential.   Rui and Ying-Ying begin by explaining that since smartphone purchases in China have slowed, a lot of the wealth and entrepreneurial talent that was focused on that product has shifted to four newer consumer electronics categories: smart speakers, wireless headphones, translating devices, and e-cigarettes. Our co-hosts comment that these product areas are similar to some of those that are getting major attention in Silicon Valley right now. In terms of e-cigarettes, most of the companies covered in this episode are very much like Juul in that they use a liquid cartridge to deliver nicotine. In contrast to electric smoking systems, which are a different category, e-cigs heat up ? but do not burn ? tobacco. While many Chinese articles reference both under the same label (???), in this TechBuzz episode, Rui and Ying-Ying are only talking about the liquid cartridge device. Listen to find out: What are some of the factors that have contributed to the high, and growing, number of smokers in China? How is it that the country has one-third of the world?s smokers, but only accounts for 3 percent of the global e-cig market, despite also owning 90 percent of the world?s e-cig production? What inspired Han Li, a Chinese man and the first person to successfully commercialize the e-cigarette, to do so? What role does regulation ? or the lack thereof, unlike in the 68 countries that have codified guidelines ? play? Who are some of the celebrity entrepreneurs and well-regarded VC funds in China that have made a foray into the space? What role do WeChat mini programs, and other new marketing channels, have in the growth of this market? What about the impact of China?s state-owned media, CCTV, on both the telling of the story and on its outcomes? Importantly, how about ethical factors ? how are these considerations affecting the moves, or non-moves, made by large internet players and top venture investors? At the end of the day, is the Chinese e-cigarette industry totally lit, or just a bunch of hot air? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our awesome producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and our interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Our sponsor for this episode is the University of San Francisco. USF?s new M.S. degree in Applied Economics is a STEM-designated program that combines economics training with the practical skills in data analytics needed to understand today?s new digital economy. To learn more, visit usfca.edu/techbuzz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 44 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about So-Young, an internet company that markets and facilitates plastic surgery and other medical cosmetic procedures to Chinese customers. The six-year-old company has a stated mission of bringing ?health and beauty? to everyone, and its stock priced at $13.80 per American depositary share (ADS) last week but is now trading at about $20. Prior to listing, So-Young had raised over $250 million in venture capital funding, including some from Tencent. Last year, it claimed to have made $8 million in net income, plus a market share of 82 percent based on user time spent on similar apps. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by giving an overview of the scale of the plastic surgery market in China. In China, the industry is broadly known as ?????? (y?liáo m?iróng) or ???? (y? m?i), roughly translated as ?medical cosmetology,? which includes procedures such as hair removal, hair transplants, and various kinds of laser- and ultrasound-enabled operations ? thus enabling So-Young to argue that it is going after a larger market size. Indeed, by this broad definition, China is the second-largest market in the world, and it is poised to become the largest by 2021. Listen to find out: Who is the founder of So-Young, a former developer and lifelong tech geek who has himself undergone many reconstructive and plastic surgeries? What does he think is the real problem with the plastic surgery industry? As a platform, what are some notable aspects of So-Young?s revenue and business model? What types of controversies has the company been involved with, and what are some of its risks and legal issues? Regarding the industry, what are some of the societal and deep-seated belief factors ? including some that may be surprising to our listeners outside of China ? that help fuel its growth, and how do these affect the demographic breakdown of those who opt for procedures? Ultimately, do our co-hosts believe that platforms such as So-Young are a part of the ?problem? or the ?solution?? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our rock-star producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and our interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Co-host Rui Ma will be in New York City on Monday, May 20, for SupChina?s third annual SupChina Women?s Conference. Come join her! And, listen to top leaders discuss how women are impacting China?s tech, business, financial, and consumer trends. Jeremy Goldkorn and our producer Kaiser Kuo will also be hosting an on-site live recording of their excellent Sinica Podcast. Our sponsor for this episode is the University of San Francisco. USF?s new master?s degree in applied economics is a STEM-designated program that combines economics training with the practical skills in data analytics needed to understand today?s new digital economy. To learn more, visit usfca.edu/techbuzz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 43 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma dive into the world of gaming live streaming, which is a pretty big industry in China. Specifically, our co-hosts focus primarily on two companies, Douyu and Panda.TV. The former has just filed to go public on the NYSE at a valuation of $500 million, and the latter officially shut down on March 30 of this year. Notably, these and several other players mentioned in today?s episode have all received Tencent investment at one point or another ? not a surprise, since gaming is in Tencent?s lifeblood. Our co-hosts, while both not gamers, acknowledge that the topic of today?s episode is interesting because it is one of the most global ones out there, with plenty of opportunities for cross-border capital. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by launching into the history of the industry, and by giving some topline stats about the current game-centric live-streaming platforms in China. They share that while Douyu claims to be #1, and while it has more users than Huya, Huya is about 25 percent larger by revenue and was profitable last year, unlike the loss-making Douyu. They continue by explaining the critical roles that platforms YY and ACFun have played, and tell the founding story of Douyu. Listen to find out: Why was 2014 considered a good year for Chinese esports in general? What are the synergies between the U.S.-based Twitch and some of these domestic platforms? What has been the role of Wang Sicong, known in China as the People?s Husband due to his status as the country?s most eligible bachelor, in pushing the industry forward? What are the core competencies of any gaming live-streaming platform, and how well has each of these players performed in these areas? On which of these competencies was Panda.TV beaten by Huya and Douyu? What strategies are existing platforms experimenting with going forward, and which of these strategies do Rui and Ying-Ying think are sustainable? As a reminder, listeners unfamiliar with live streaming in China should check out our seventh episode, ?How to Win Fans and Influence Losers.? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our rock-star producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and our interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Our sponsor for this episode is the University of San Francisco. USF?s new master?s degree in applied economics is a STEM-designated program that combines economics training with the practical skills in data analytics needed to understand today?s new digital economy. To learn more, visit usfca.edu/techbuzz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 42 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma turn their attention to the developer-led movement 996.icu, one of the few viral China tech topics in the past few months that has made it to Western media in real time and gotten a good bit of coverage. The movement is so named because there is a popular saying that to work ?996,? or at least 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week ? as many tech sector employees do in China ? is to end up in the ICU. Listeners will also hear from Arman Zand, a lecturer at UC Berkeley?s Haas School of Business. This episode is dedicated to the latest cohort of students from his international business course on China ? who, by the way, are all TechBuzz listeners, debated the concept of 996 incessantly while on a recent immersion trip, and met with Pandaily CEO Kevin Zhou over dinner in Beijing. Thanks, all, for your support! Rui and Ying-Ying explain that what has widely been hailed in the West as one of China?s secret weapons to unseating Silicon Valley as the tech hub of the world is actually a contentious topic within China. They begin with the history of the phenomenon: While some companies always had departments that were overworked, the first truly controversial and semi-official adoption of 996 was in September 2016, when it was rumored that the $10 billion online classifieds company 58.com decided to institute the 996 schedule across its then 20,000 employee base. However, it was not until January of this year that an ecommerce software as a service (SaaS) company named Youzan officially announced that it was moving to a 996 schedule. That was the first time the practice, which had only been tacitly acknowledged, became actual, enforced policy. Listen to find out: What has happened since? Within the Chinese blogosphere, what are the stated pros and cons to adhering to a 996 schedule? What is the role of the government and of China?s legal code? Have Chinese people always just worked a lot ? and what about in other sectors outside of tech? How did the 996.icu movement start, and how did it go viral? What are the sentiments from both sides of the table within the developer community in China? What do Rui, Ying-Ying, and guest commentator Arman think ? is this all just part of the startup hustle, or is it worthy of regulatory scrutiny and change? Will things change? How does this one quality relate to China?s innovation ? in other words, why is 996 so relevant, and is it a competitive advantage for China? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our wonderful producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo, and for our interns, Wang Menglu and Mindy Xu. Our sponsor this week is the University of San Francisco. USF?s new master?s degree in Applied Economics is a STEM-designated program that combines economics training with the practical skills in data analytics needed to understand today?s new digital economy. To learn more, visit usfca.edu/techbuzz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 41 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about Ruhnn (RUHN), a relatively small yet significant company that filed for IPO a few weeks ago in the U.S. on the Nasdaq. Ruhnn has become the clear leader in China?s fast-growing influencer marketing sector, an area in which ? our co-hosts agree ? China should be considered world-leading. Lauren Hallanan, a Chinese social media marketing expert focusing on influencer marketing, and a former livestreamer in China with over 400,000 fans, joins us with insightful commentary on Ruhnn and other influencer incubators. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by explaining that Ruhnn, known in Chinese as Ruhan ??, is ?China?s No. 1. KOL Facilitator? ? with ?KOL? standing for Key Opinion Leaders, or the rough equivalent of what in the U.S. are known as influencers. Unlike influencers in the U.S., however, the term KOL has its roots in the advertising industry and is a more professional term that usually implies that the individual is an expert, has a distinct personal brand, and is ready to represent some business interests. In China, one can be  KOL in a variety of subjects, such as business or books. The KOLs on Ruhan are mostly in beauty and fashion; as of filing time, Ruhan represented 113 of these influencers ? including now-megastar Zhang Dayi, or Dayi, who also serves as the current CMO of the company. Listen to find out: Who are the founders of Ruhan, and how did they get the idea to create such a platform in 2012? How does the fact that the current Ruhan CEO?s wife is an influencer herself tie in to the founding story? How is it that the Nasdaq IPO is technically not Ruhan?s first public listing? How do influencers in China monetize, and what exactly are the so-called Platform Services provided by the company? How large is the role of ecommerce on Ruhan, and how does its team use audience preferences and purchasing behavior to guide product development from the start? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina! Thank you also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We are grateful for our wonderful producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo; and for our intern, Wang Menglu. Our sponsor this week is the University of San Francisco. USF?s new Masters in Applied Economics is a STEM-designated program that combines economics training with the practical skills in data analytics needed to understand today?s new digital economy. To learn more, visit usfca.edu/techbuzz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In Episode 40 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about the new ?Technology Innovation Board? on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which formally announced its first set of rules last week. Rui and Ying-Ying explain that given its recent trajectory, this registration-based NASDAQ-style board could be launched in a few months, if not weeks ? much more quickly than skeptics have assumed. With this news as the backdrop, this week?s episode serves as a quick primer into the differences between China and the U.S.?s capital markets, as well as how these contrasts may explain some of the differences in Chinese tech entrepreneurship and capital versus those in the U.S. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by walking through a brief history of Chinese domestic capital markets, which had a total market cap of $6 billion late last year and are still really young compared with those in the U.S.; in fact, both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the larger Shanghai Stock Exchange were founded in 1990. Notably, prior to last fall, foreigners were unable to invest in A-shares on either exchange. Even after loosening controls earlier this year and doubling the amount foreign investors can invest, China still enforces a total quota of $300 billion, shared globally. Our co-hosts cover a range of core questions in this episode. Listen to find out: How does the fact that the Chinese exchanges are approval-based, and not registration-based, affect listings? What role does the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, play? Why are there only 3,500 publicly listed companies in China? Why did the Shenzhen Stock Exchange create two additional avenues for listing, in the form of the SME Board and ChiNext? How does the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), or New Third Board, fit into all of this? Why is it that most of China?s best internet companies are listed abroad, and how does that fact play into the new Technology Innovation Board?s intentions and potential for impact? From the perspective of a company preparing to list, what are the pros and cons of listing in mainland China versus abroad? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. Special thanks to our awesome producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo. Our intern is Wang Menglu. Our sponsor this week is the University of San Francisco. USF?s Masters in Applied Economics combines economics training with the practical skills in data analytics that you really need to understand today?s new digital economy. To learn more, listeners can visit usfca.edu/techbuzz. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 39 of TechBuzz China is on a topic of special interest to our co-hosts, Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma: podcasting in China! It was sparked by two recent pieces of news within the podcasting industry. The first was the acquisition of Gimlet Media, a podcasting network, by the newly IPOed music-streaming service Spotify for $200 million; the second was the $100 million raised by the podcasting platform Himalaya. In fact, Himalaya?s main investor, China?s Ximalaya FM, boasts 23 million daily active users and is rumored to be going for an IPO soon. In contrast to our typical coverage here at TechBuzz, the above subject barely made a splash in Chinese media ? but it was a big deal in English-language news, with quite a few articles mentioning China as a leader in the podcasting industry. One often-referenced article stated that the Chinese government estimated the ?pay-for-knowledge? economy to be about $7.3 billion in 2017, with the bulk of it coming from paid podcasts. However, Rui and Ying-Ying ask: Is this an accurate reflection of the industry in China? Is it true that the notoriously frugal Chinese just love paying for podcasts? In fact, why are our co-hosts doing an English podcast and not a Chinese one? Rui and Ying-Ying begin by taking our readers on a short journey covering the history of podcasts in China. First, how do we define the ?podcast? industry and how does it relate to markets such as the ?pay-for-knowledge? sector, which is seeing explosive growth in China? Why has this market taken off? How does the expert-celebrity mentality fit in, as well as knowledge anxiety and the concept that information is money? Who are some of the top audio content creators in China today, and how have they generated such incredible revenue streams? How has the threat of censorship affected how content is created and distributed, and which platforms win out? Other than Ximalaya, what are some of the other companies in this space? What do Rui and Ying-Ying think is the future of the industry? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. Special thanks to our awesome producers, Shaw Wan and Kaiser Kuo. Our intern is Wang Menglu. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 38 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma dive into this year?s Battle of the Red Packets. The name refers to the custom of money-giving, which is an important part of the Chinese New Year experience. It has also been taken over by Chinese internet companies as one of their main user acquisition events of the year. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by sharing the history of hongbao, or ?red packet.? In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the traditional gift was simply a stack of coins tied up with red string. With the popularity of paper money came the introduction of the red envelopes we see now. The so-called Battle of the Red Packets emerged in 2014, when WeChat fundamentally changed the rules of the game by allowing users to send digital red packets to the chat groups they are in within the app. WeChat essentially gamified the experience, coining the term ???, or ?grabbing red packets.? In the first year, 5 million users grabbed 20 million WeChat red packets 75 million times, from New Year?s Eve to 4 p.m. the next day. Since 2014, the yearly phenomenon has taken on a life of its own. Listen to hear Rui and Ying-Ying discuss: What additional features has WeChat added to the red packets? function? What was the link between WeChat and the CCTV Chinese New Year?s Gala? How does WeChat?s approach contrast with those of other platforms, such as Alibaba?s Alipay? What moves has Baidu made in all of this, and especially this year? What about relative newcomers Douyin and Kuaishou? Finally, in what way do red packets reflect real-life social concepts in China, such as reciprocity and hierarchy (so much so that a Tsinghua University professor has characterized WeChat red packets as a form of social capital accumulation)? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. We?d like to give a shout-out to our friends over at Panda Club Stories, a bilingual children?s podcast with a big vision: to help raise multilingual and multicultural children through storytelling. Season 1 features well-known tales (and some lesser-known stories) of Chinese mythology. For our listeners who have kids: Join Panda Cub as she dives into the seas of dragon kings and explores jade palaces in the sky! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 37 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma dive into the world of WeChat Mini Programs. Arguably some of the biggest innovations to come out of the Chinese internet, Mini Programs have no real Western equivalent. Ever since it was launched three years ago on January 9, 2016, the Mini Programs function, which is still in an experimental stage, has been touted as a key direction for WeChat. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by exploring the origin story of Mini Programs. They explain that, back in 2016, it was not immediately clear to the WeChat team what to do with the product after its launch. WeChat was observing that while the Official Accounts system was taking off, the main issue was that these accounts were not built to properly handle transactions. So Allen Zhang and his team began to ask themselves if there was something heavier than an Official Account but lighter than a native app that they could make to help businesses transact online, inside of WeChat. The goal was to create something ?small and light, fast and beautiful.? Listen to find out: Did the team succeed at building the above mantra into the evolving product of Mini Programs? In what ways are mini programs superior to native apps? For users, what are the various means in which individuals can access the programs within WeChat? From a small-business owner point of view, what are the benefits of launching a mini program? What about the drawbacks? What are mini games and how do they fit into the picture? What about AI ? what is its role in all of this? And, finally, which other Chinese internet giants are getting into micro apps, and do our co-hosts believe their efforts will lead to the success that WeChat Mini Programs are experiencing? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. Episode 37 is our final one before the Pandaily team takes off for Chinese New Year. We?ll be back in two weeks, likely kicking off with a fresh look at the New Year?s red packet feud between Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT). Happy Year of the Pig! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 36 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about the dirty, risky, and more unseemly aspects of China tech, primarily focused on two stories that grabbed headlines recently: the ?hack? at the ecommerce company Pinduoduo, and the corruption scandal at the drone designer DJI. Although the incidents differ greatly from each other, they have come on each other?s heels, so our co-hosts decided to bundle them together for an episode, reflecting what?s buzzing within the tech community in China right now. Rui and Ying-Ying begin by focusing on the Pinduoduo story. This past week, the company lost millions of dollars to hackers who obtained millions of $15 coupons and sold them for as little as $0.06. At one point, it was rumored that the platform lost over $3 billion in just a few hours, and users wondered if the company would go bankrupt. Pinduoduo has denied these rumors and insists that actual losses will be less than $1.5 million. However, what exactly happened? How did Pinduoduo decide to handle the issue, and what were the ramifications of these actions? How extensive was the damage to both the company and its stock price? Next, our co-hosts shift their attention to a scandal that has rocked Chinese tech this week: the unearthing of over $150 million in losses due to internal corruption at the leading drone maker, DJI. Incredibly, the ?chain of corruption? was unearthed by accident while the company was upgrading its management process late last year. One by one, Rui and Ying-Ying list and review the methods by which employees colluded and completed their dirty deeds. They share how DJI handled the situation: very publicly, by sending out a letter to its 14,000 staff members around the world. Why did it take this approach? Listen to find out: How unusual ? or not ? are these two stories in the landscape of China tech? How are businesses getting scammed by China?s ?black-gray? industry, in which people are committing fraud on a massive scale? How was it that DJI, a decacorn known for its world-class quality, with anti-corruption systems in place, was able to be brought to its knees by a group of criminal employees? Are there more scandals these days?or is there simply more transparency around events when they do get reported or disclosed? What are some of the other high-profile cases that have come up recently? As an investor or entrepreneur in China, what do you need to know about these risks? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 35 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about competitors to the reigning Chinese social media champion, WeChat. Specifically, they focus on three apps that all decided to launch on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, two weeks before Chinese New Year: Bytedance?s Duoshan, Wang Xin?s self-proclaimed ?anti-WeChat? Toilet, and Bullet Messenger 2.0. Following their releases, WeChat promptly blocked links to all three. Our co-hosts ask: Does WeChat have a reason to be scared? Why was it so defensive? Is there truly a chance for any of these companies to topple Allen Zhang?s miraculous creation? And if so, how would that come about? Rui and Ying-Ying begin by giving their perspective on WeChat?s two main weaknesses. The first is its decreasing representation of young users, specifically, teenagers ? a challenge that many other social networks that have been around for a while, including Facebook, also face. The second is the emergence of WeChat Moments as a battleground for user time. This development is a function of the intermingling of personal and professional relationships within one app, and the ensuing messy social graph that WeChat has accumulated. Our co-hosts go on to explain that all three of the apps that were launched this week tried to capitalize on one of the opportunities WeChat leaves open. They describe each product in more detail, delving into them in descending probability of success. Rui and Ying-Ying?s top pick is Bytedance?s Duoshan. They discuss: In what ways has the product stayed true to its short-video roots? How accurate is the Toutiao insider description of the app as a combination of ?Snapchat?s framework? plus ?Instagram and Messenger?s GIF function? and ?Apple Watch?s heartbeat?? Does it truly solve an organic user problem? As for Toilet, which proudly calls itself ?the social network dark web,? just how reminiscent is it of the bygone Secret app in the U.S.? What is the opportunity that its founder sees in anonymous social networking, which, in fact, already exists in China, including in QQ itself?   In third place is celebrity-investor-backed Bullet Messenger?s 2.0 version. It has renamed itself Chat Treasure (??? liáoti?n b?o) and rebranded with a new logo, an image of a smiling gold ingot. The ingot serves as an apt reflection of the app?s new positioning as a portal for poorer users who seek to make some money or find great deals. Rui and Ying-Ying argue that its main competitive advantage is its marketing and aggressive, gamified user acquisition tactics. Listen to find out: What do Rui and Ying-Ying conclude about each of these new entrants, and why? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. Finally, TechBuzz listeners in the Bay Area may sign up for Silicon Dragon?s Silicon Valley event, taking place this week on January 24. You can find more information and sign up here: https://silicondragonvalley2019.eventbrite.com. Please use code SDValley2019Buzz for 50 percent off! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In episode 34 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma talk about the latest version of WeChat, which first came out on iOS the third week of December 2018, and on Android a few days later. It has been over four years since WeChat released an update this large, and since then, it?s added on over half a billion monthly active users. The latest updates included several widely expected features, namely, enhanced sharing of both video and content, which overlap with Bytedance?s core strengths ? definitely not a coincidence. What?s the latest behind what is still arguably the most influential internet product of the past decade? And what has been the impact of WeChat's founder on its product development? Rui and Ying-Ying share that WeChat was created by Zhang Xiaolong, or Allen Zhang, who joined Tencent via the internet giant?s acquisition of Foxmail. He was originally tasked with heading up the Tencent R&D center and leading the QQ Mail team. As the now legendary ? and publicly confirmed ? story goes, Allen had a flash of insight, inspired by the traction the Canadian Kik Messenger had amassed in just 15 days. He sent a late-night email to Tencent CEO Pony Ma about the opportunity and the potential threat to existing Tencent products from this kind of mobile-based instant messaging. Pony agreed, and entrusted Allen to execute the release of Tencent?s own version. Just a few months later, Allen?s team released the WeChat version 1.0. Our co-hosts explain that, though hard to imagine today, WeChat had an extremely rocky start and experienced several shaky periods during its growth. Looking back, it was by no means a sure-bet product from the beginning. Rui and Ying-Ying take listeners on a journey through the app?s turbulent history, through its various version iterations, and up to the present day. Throughout, they explain the impact of Allen Zhang?s ethos: Our co-hosts argue that he is an artist and a philosopher at heart who cares more about the user experience than about business metrics. How have these values shaped WeChat?s most recently stated primary missions: to be a great tool for the users it serves, and to constantly evolve and change in order to do so? As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Do let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Thanks also to our listeners over at our partner, dealstreetasia.com. Finally, TechBuzz listeners in the Bay Area may sign up for Silicon Dragon?s Silicon Valley event, taking place soon on January 24. You can find more information and sign up here: https://silicondragonvalley2019.eventbrite.com. Please use code SDValley2019Buzz for 50 percent off! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.