80: Libra lessons from WeChat and QQ

As the coronavirus swept through China, communities, local governments, and business have been trying to figure out how to best follow social isolation rules. This being China, of course, tech majors and telcos jumped at the chance to serve the country by leveraging their vast data pools. But how much tech is actually behind the country's health code systems? Should we be more worried about how China is using data. LinksBecome a member of TechNode SquaredOur newslettersTechNode’s coverage of the coronavirusGuestDavid Cohen, @MartynvanBurenHostsJohn Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNodeMatthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina, ChinaChannelEditorPeter IsachenkoPodcast informationiTunesSpotifyRSS feedMusic: “Theme from Penguins on Parade” by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

The coronavirus epidemic doesn't show any signs of getting any better just yet. While the future of the outbreak is still unclear, the winners and losers of this are clear. In this episode, Matt and John discuss how the coronavirus is changing the face of tech in China.LinksBecome a member of TechNode SquaredOur newslettersTechNode's coverage of the coronavirusHostsJohn Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNodeMatthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina,ChinaChannelEditorPeter IsachenkoPodcast informationiTunesSpotifyRSS feedMusic: “Theme from Penguins on Parade” by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

This episode, Matt and John embark on a wide-ranging discussion about China tech in 2019. Using Bytedance as a lens, they explore the disruptive power of new companies, Bytedance's successes and challenges outside of China, as well as what the world is learning from China tech.Key QuestionsWhat's changed with Bytedance since we last talked about them?What challenges are they facing outside of China?How are other countries dealing with highly successful Chinese consumer products?How is Bytedance acting as a disruptor at home and abroad?What should we be thinking about as 2019 comes to a close?LinksBecome a member of TechNode SquaredOur newsletters66: The next Facebook will be ChineseHostsJohn Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNodeMatthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina, ChinaChannelEditorPeter IsachenkoPodcast informationiTunesSpotifyRSS feedMusic: “Theme from Penguins on Parade” by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

China's social credit system (SCS) gets a lot of attention outside of China yet it's still very misunderstood. Many scholars and China watchers have shed light on the topic, but none have done it so concisely and accessibly as Kendra Schaefer and her team at Trivium China. She joins us this week to explain how the SCS is a broad framework for better regulation and enforcement and how it applies to companies, individuals, and government agencies.Key questionsWhat is the purpose of the SCS? How far along is its development?Is the SCS only for individuals?How does the SCS apply to companies?How are China's cities gamifying SCS?Links77: Peer-to-peer lending in China—Tech-driven shadow banking with Andrew PolkThe apps using social credit in ChinaExecutive Summary: UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEMChina's Social Credit System: An Evolving Practice of ControlKeeping track of social creditEUROPEAN CHAMBER REPORT ON CHINA’S CORPORATE SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM A WAKE-UP CALL FOR EUROPEAN BUSINESS IN CHINABecome a member of TechNode SquaredGuestKendra Shaefer, @triviumchinaHostsJohn Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNodeMatthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina, ChinaChannelEditorPeter IsachenkoPodcast informationiTunesSpotifyRSS feedMusic: “Theme from Penguins on Parade” by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

After an extended hiatus, John and Matt are back! This week, they look at the increasingly effective trend of private traffic. Powered by WeChat and its mini programs, marketers and brands are increasingly creating and driving organic traffic to their shops. Like owned traffic in the West, this is a direct response to the rising costs of reaching fans and followers. Matt delivered a presentation on the topic during the ChinaChat 2019 conference and they take a deep dive into the phenomenon this week.Key questionsWhat is private traffic?Why are brands resorting to this method?How does private traffic work?How do WeChat and Tencent view private traffic?What are traditional e-commerce platforms like Taobao doing to combat private traffic?LinksTechCrunch Shenzhen Nov 11-12Presentations from ChinaChat 2019China Tech Talk 83: Podcasting and why the open web is dead in China with Rio ZhanChina Tech Talk 10: [Interview] Influencers in China and the future of brands with Elijah WhaleyChina Tech Talk 37: Weibo’s KOL woes with Elijah WhaleyBecome a member of TechNode SquaredHostsJohn Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNodeMatthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina, ChinaChannelEditorPeter IsachenkoPodcast informationiTunesSpotifyRSS feedMusic: “Theme from Penguins on Parade” by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3 

Just weeks after Facebook announced their Libra cryptocurrency project, the People's Bank of China has become quite vocal about their on-going project. Most recently, the PBOC announced that China's digital currency is "nearly ready." Following on from our previous conversation about Libra and QQ Coin, this week we're joined by Zennon Kapron, director of Kapronasia, to look at what Libra means in a global context as well as China's plans to launch its own digital currency. Key questions What are the biggest implementation and adoption challenges for Libra? Why don't governments like cryptocurrency? How does a digital currency affect the RMB's status? What are the downsides of a digital fiat currency? Links China Tech Talk 33: Fintech IPOs and the future of money in China with Zennon Kapron China Tech Talk 80: Libra lessons from WeChat and QQ China fast-tracks development of national digital currency in response to Libra China’s digital fiat currency is ‘nearly ready’ for launch: PBOC official WeChat Conference: CHina CHat 2019! Become a member of TechNode Squared Guest Zennon Kapron, @ZennonKapron Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina, ChinaChannel Editor Peter Isachenko Podcast information iTunes Spotify RSS feed Music: “Theme from Penguins on Parade” by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

At the end of 2018, Connie Chan of Andreesen Horowitz, wrote about how podcasts in China monetize. However, what she calls podcasts aren't really what we call podcasts: they're more like paid-for educational audio content. Podcasting, like what we do at China Tech Talk, is actually still very immature in China. But that doesn't mean there aren't content creators following the "traditional" podcasting model. To talk about this, we're joined this week by Rio Zhan, early stage VC and host of the Crazy Capital podcast. We share notes on podcasting and talk about how China's content models have evolved away from the open web. Key questions Why is the China market different for audio content? Why is the open web almost non-existent in China? What role does culture play in creating acceptance of paying for content? How might Facebook's Libra enable monetization for Western podcasts? Links Crazy Capital (in Chinese) Outgrowing Advertising: Multimodal Business Models as a Product Strategy The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet WeChat Conference: CHina CHat 2019! Become a member of TechNode Squared Guest Rio Zhan, @RioJot Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel Editor Peter Isachenko Podcast information iTunes Spotify RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

In the tech and startup ecosystem, there's always another conference to attend. The landscape isn't all that clear, however, with some conferences getting more public hype and others keeping it low-key. After organizing and attending many of them, John and Matt sit down this week to go over what's out available, what makes certain conferences different, and which are some of the best to attend and why. Key questions What kinds of conferences are there? What should you consider before going to a conference in China? How do conferences monetize? How much work goes into a successful conference? Links WeChat Conference: CHina CHat 2019! Become a member of TechNode Squared Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel Editor Peter Isachenko Podcast information iTunes Spotify RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

In June, Carrefour sold 80% of its China operations to electronics retailer Suning. The news is representative of a much broader shift in the new retails space. When we first covered new retail in 2018, unmanned stores were gaining traction and it was unclear if Alibaba was going to win. In 1.5 years, unmanned stores are almost dead and Alibaba is a clear winner. To discuss this shift, we're happy to welcome Michael Norris, research and strategy manager at AgencyChina. This episode was recorded on June 25, 2019. Key questions: Why would Suning be interested in Carrefour? How did JD lose the new retail battle? What makes Hema and the Alibaba model so successful? What makes the China market so difficult for non-China retailers? Links New Retail Keynote (Dropbox) Carrefour sells 80 per cent of its Chinese retail operations to Suning for 4.8 billion yuan Why it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee on Luckin WeChat Conference: CHina CHat 2019! Become a member of TechNode Squared Guest Michael Norris, LinkedIn Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel Editor Peter Isachenko Podcast information iTunes Spotify RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3

On June 18, Facebook announced the Libra cryptocurrency, a solution to their P2P payments conundrum. As to be expected, this move has gotten a lot of attention. In China, that attention has taken the form of comparing Libra to Tencent's breakthrough Q Coin as well as how WeChat has integrated payments. Key questions: What is Q Coin? What's the difference between a virtual currency and a cryptocurrency? What is the relationship between Libra, Calibra, and Facebook? Will China ever have something like this? Links Everything you need to know about Libra, Facebook’s ambitious cryptocurrency Can Facebook’s Libra replicate WeChat Pay’s digital payment dominance? Facebook, Libra, and the Long Game FACEBOOK’S CALIBRA IS A SECRET WEAPON FOR MONETIZING ITS NEW CRYPTOCURRENCY Become a member of TechNode Squared Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel Editor Peter Isachenko Podcast information iTunes Spotify RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3