https://www.scmp.com/rss/506039/feed The place to go to learn more about China Tech's movers and shakers from Xiaomi to Huawei and Tencent to Baidu. Plus, we diver into trends that are making waves such as the growth of 5G, adoption of QR Codes and much more en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The complete withdrawal of US and allied forces from Afghanistan later this year does not mean China will be able to establish its influence in the region or fill the security vacuum left by Washington, analysts have said.  Instead, the withdrawal and the uncertain security situation it poses, including the likelihood of a civil war, is likely to challenge China’s economic interests in the country and may even threaten security within China’s own borders, in the northwestern Xinjiang region... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3131837/biden-leaves-china-xinjiang-terrorism-problem-us-exit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3131837/biden-leaves-china-xinjiang-terrorism-problem-us-exit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2021 09:00:08 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS The term “refresh rate” doesn't really sound sexy, I know.  Of all the features that can coax people into buying a new phone -- better cameras and a bigger screen, for instance -- it’s hard to get most users to care about how often their display blinks. It’s simply one of those things that’s hard to comprehend without seeing it for yourself.  But high refresh rate displays are coming anyway, and many flagship phones are making it their prime selling... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3085377/fancy-phones-now-have-higher-refresh-rates-should-you-buy-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3085377/fancy-phones-now-have-higher-refresh-rates-should-you-buy-one?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2020 03:19:30 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Twitch might be synonymous with live-streaming games in the US, but in China, there are two giants dominating the field. Douyu is the larger of the two, but rival Huya is growing fast by focusing on a different target: Mobile games like Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile. Huya made its platform more mobile friendly in a bid to beat its larger rival, and in a way, it’s working. Huya’s 146 million monthly active users (MAUs) might fall short of Douyu’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3038692/how-live-streaming-site-huya-uses-mobile-beat-its-larger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3038692/how-live-streaming-site-huya-uses-mobile-beat-its-larger?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2019 02:05:28 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Depending on who you ask, TikTok might be described as a Gen-Z entertainment app that’s better than therapy, a global threat to freedom of expression or a national security menace. But to Alex Zhu, it was a project born out of desperation. TikTok, the viral short video sensation, has its roots in China In the summer of 2014, the Chinese entrepreneur and his co-founder Louis Yang were still reeling from the failure of their first brainchild -- an... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3038639/alex-zhus-journey-failed-startup-tiktok-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3038639/alex-zhus-journey-failed-startup-tiktok-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2019 12:24:36 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen In China, the world’s largest internet population is subject the world’s most sophisticated censorship system: The Great Firewall.  With 854 million internet users, China’s online population is more than two and a half times larger than the entire population of the United States. But for most of these people, the world’s most popular websites aren’t easily accessible thanks to a sophisticated system of blocking and deterrents. This system is commonly referred to as the Great Firewall, but it’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3089836/story-chinas-great-firewall-worlds-most-sophisticated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3089836/story-chinas-great-firewall-worlds-most-sophisticated?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2019 03:54:00 +0000 Inside China’s Great Firewall, the country has its own IMDB. And Goodreads. And Reddit. But it’s all in one site. Douban is a community-centered site that is also China’s best-known ratings site for books and movies. But comparing it to any specific site from abroad betrays the uniqueness of Douban, which some say is one of the few online platforms in China that wasn’t based on an existing Western product. Douban was named after a hutong in Beijing, but it literally means a bean cotyledon -- an... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3100865/how-douban-went-chinas-imdb-its-spiritual-corner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3100865/how-douban-went-chinas-imdb-its-spiritual-corner?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Oct 2019 02:30:00 +0000 PUBG Mobile is the biggest mobile game in the world. It was so popular in China that the country got two of them. When Shenzhen-based Tencent got the rights to make a mobile version of the popular PC battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, it had its top two gaming studios make competing versions of the same game for China. And yet, PUBG Mobile isn’t available in China today. Instead, Chinese gamers have to settle for a suspiciously similar game called Game for Peace. It has the same... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3091767/why-pubg-mobile-became-game-peace-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3091767/why-pubg-mobile-became-game-peace-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:31:00 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Gaming could be on the verge of a huge transformation, triggered by streaming. Just as streaming services like Netflix meant people stopped stockpiling DVDs, cloud gaming -- aka game streaming -- like Google Stadia and Microsoft’s xCloud could soon liberate people from consoles and PCs. The promise of cloud gaming is that people can browse a huge game library online, select a game and start playing immediately without needing to download the whole game.... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028278/cloud-gamings-promise-why-microsoft-google-and-tencent-are-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028278/cloud-gamings-promise-why-microsoft-google-and-tencent-are-all?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Aug 2019 14:55:28 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS At 41, Min-Liang Tan is older than his audience. But he connects just fine with them anyway. Razer, the Singapore and San Francisco-based company he founded some two decades ago, is unabashedly oriented toward millennials. From the brand’s iconic black and green gaming hardware to its fledgling business of virtual wallets for users without credit cards, Razer makes its money by going after young gamers. But Tan isn’t afraid of disconnection with his... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028277/gamer-who-quit-his-job-create-gadget-empire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028277/gamer-who-quit-his-job-create-gadget-empire?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2019 14:10:04 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Think of a city in China, and the image that springs to mind is likely Shanghai or Beijing. But there are over 100 cities with a population of 1 million in the country. Far from being focused in a few huge megacities, China’s internet population is almost evenly split between the big cities and the smaller cities. And the two are also evenly split in other ways: The apps you use and even the phone you own will likely be different depending on where you... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028276/china-where-you-live-determines-tech-you-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028276/china-where-you-live-determines-tech-you-use?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Aug 2019 09:10:23 +0000 Karen Chiu Karen Chiu This article originally appeared on ABACUS During his first year in college in the US, Lu Zhongming became a victim of the "freshman 15" -- the supposed phenomenon of university students putting on weight during their first year, said to be about 15 pounds. “I added 20kg in just one semester and had very low self esteem,” said Lu during a 2016 appearance in Chinese Partners, the Chinese version of ABC’s entrepreneurship reality show Shark Tank. To turn things around, Lu got into weight-lifting.... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028275/millennial-entrepreneur-creating-chinas-answer-beyond-meat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028275/millennial-entrepreneur-creating-chinas-answer-beyond-meat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:13:50 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS What do smartphones, electric cars and NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover have in common? They all run on lithium-ion batteries. Since Sony managed to use one in a camcorder in 1991, the rechargeable cells have grown in popularity and are now used to power virtually all portable consumer gadgets, from game consoles and e-cigarettes to scooters and hoverboards. They’re also increasingly used on hybrid and electric vehicles. The world’s biggest supplier of... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028274/chinese-billionaire-keeping-batteries-exploding-your?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028274/chinese-billionaire-keeping-batteries-exploding-your?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Aug 2019 14:47:49 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS You’ve probably seen smartphones photos that look almost as good as if they were taken with professional camera gear. It’s more than just hardware. AI features are increasingly helping people snap beautiful pictures with just a tap on their smartphones. In 1994, Michael Deng rounded up funds from friends and family to build software that would do just that. It uses visual AI technology to improve cameras not just for phones, but for the smart cars and... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028273/chinese-billionaire-built-ai-help-samsung-and-huawei-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028273/chinese-billionaire-built-ai-help-samsung-and-huawei-take?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2019 16:27:59 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Chen Wenyuan began his career as a technician, like many others of his generation, coming of age just in time to catch the glory days of China’s manufacturing boom. This summer, thirty years since he first stepped foot in a magnet wire plant, 50-year-old Chen is now a freshly minted member of China’s billionaires club. He's the wealthiest among a crop of founders whose companies became the first to list on the country’s new Nasdaq-like market. His... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028272/how-chinas-new-star-market-made-chen-wenyuan-billionaire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028272/how-chinas-new-star-market-made-chen-wenyuan-billionaire?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Aug 2019 15:12:57 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Want to watch women eating light bulbs and grown men lighting firecrackers in their underwear? That’s the sort of short video content that sends many people to Kuaishou. With more than 300 million monthly active users and a market valuation potentially reaching US$25 billion, Kuaishou has become a video streaming giant in China as it expands into other areas such as video game live streaming and long-form videos. China Internet Report Founded in 2011,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028271/kuaishou-chinas-original-short-video-king-and-it-now-hosts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028271/kuaishou-chinas-original-short-video-king-and-it-now-hosts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 2019 15:42:49 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Since raising US$775 million on the Nasdaq, Douyu has the largest IPO of any Chinese company on Wall Street in 2019. With 160 million monthly active users, the Tencent-backed company that focuses on game-related live streaming has more MAUs than Amazon’s Twitch with 140 million. The company is a giant in China’s live-streaming sector, along with rival Huya. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Douyu, though. The company’s rise to dominance was... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028270/how-douyu-won-live-streaming-war-become-chinas-twitch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028270/how-douyu-won-live-streaming-war-become-chinas-twitch?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 2019 15:50:18 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS For many people, a game involving monsters roaming a chess board and smashing each other until one side wins will bring to mind a very iconic scene in cinematic history: The “chess scene” from the original Star Wars. While the holographic chess game (dejarik for the real fans out there) from the film might not exist in the real world, there are some similarities with a new, very modern type of strategy game: Auto battlers. An auto battler is a... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028269/auto-battlers-started-dota-auto-chess-and-now-valve-and-riot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028269/auto-battlers-started-dota-auto-chess-and-now-valve-and-riot?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2019 14:03:36 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Imagine if YouTube pivoted to licensing and producing professional content years ago, transitioning away from user-generated videos to become more like Netflix or Hulu. This more or less sums up the story of Youku Tudou, a major Chinese video streaming company. To many, Youku, the company’s flagship site, is often dubbed the YouTube of China because of its close resemblance to the Google-owned streaming site in its early years and its strong focus on... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028268/how-youku-went-being-chinas-youtube-chinas-hulu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028268/how-youku-went-being-chinas-youtube-chinas-hulu?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 15:01:27 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS In April 2019, around 15 years after it first purchased a Chinese shopping site that would later become Amazon China, the American retail giant finally announced it would stop running its China marketplace. The failure didn’t come as a surprise: Many Chinese consumers had been attached to homegrown platforms for a while, with Tmall being one of the most popular.  Tmall started as a spinoff from Alibaba’s Taobao. Both platforms make money by taking a cut... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028267/tmall-alibabas-answer-amazon-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028267/tmall-alibabas-answer-amazon-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jun 2019 09:00:45 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Despite sharing the same parent, Oppo does not have the same high profile in the US as its sister brand, OnePlus. But back home in China, it’s one of the biggest names in smartphones. In both 2017 and 2018, Oppo held the second spot in the Chinese smartphone market, trailing only Huawei. Globally, it’s also the fifth biggest smartphone maker by shipments in the first quarter this year, according to IDC. Instead of OnePlus, Oppo is actually closer to... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028266/how-oppo-became-one-biggest-smartphone-makers-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028266/how-oppo-became-one-biggest-smartphone-makers-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2019 13:36:40 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS China’s dockless bike sharing boom was born out of an idea that might sound, well, insane: Placing bikes freely on the streets and expecting nobody would steal them. Ofo was one of the first startups to try it in 2014… and it worked. The company, founded by Peking University graduate Dai Wei, was at the forefront of a Chinese tech trend that swept the world. It spread from Peking University’s campus to Chinese cities and then beyond, inspiring startups... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028265/story-ofo-one-wildest-rides-chinas-tech-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028265/story-ofo-one-wildest-rides-chinas-tech-history?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:33:26 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Qihoo 360 is the biggest cybersecurity company in China, but few people in the rest of the world know the name. These days, however, it’s taking an increasingly important role in China’s cybersecurity efforts. On June 19, 2019, as the tech war between China and US raged on, Qihoo 360 CEO Zhou Hongyi announced that the company has been developing a cyberspace radar system to fight sophisticated cyberwarfare attacks. During a talk at the China Internet... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028264/qihoo-360-chinas-biggest-cybersecurity-firm-wants-become?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028264/qihoo-360-chinas-biggest-cybersecurity-firm-wants-become?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:30:02 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS For the past 45 years, Terry Gou poured his heart and soul into running the company that assembles some of the most iconic gadgets in the world, including the iPhone, Kindle and PlayStation. This week, the 69-year-old Foxconn founder and chairman announced he’s ready to step back from the front lines. Like fellow Taiwan-based tycoon Morris Chang, the root of Gou’s accomplishment can be traced to his ability to discover a niche before anyone else, and... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028263/terry-gou-man-who-built-manufacturing-empire-iphones-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/who/article/3028263/terry-gou-man-who-built-manufacturing-empire-iphones-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Apr 2019 13:29:41 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS You’ll be amazed by how much a single app can do in China. WeChat, for instance, is supposed to be a messaging app. But you can also order food, pay bills, edit photos, play games or test the quality of your sleep. It’s not because WeChat’s maker decided to program all of these things into the app. It’s because WeChat has “mini programs” -- little downloadable apps from other developers that live inside WeChat. The idea isn’t entirely new. There’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028262/mini-programs-apps-inside-apps-make-wechat-so-powerful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028262/mini-programs-apps-inside-apps-make-wechat-so-powerful?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Feb 2019 11:11:34 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Plenty of Chinese phone makers are setting their sights abroad. But while big brands like Huawei and Xiaomi dominate global sales, in some parts of the world you’re more likely to find people using handsets made by Transsion. Chances are Transsion won’t ring a bell. Even in China, where the company is based, few have heard of them. But take a walk on the streets of Nairobi, Abuja or New Delhi, and you’ll find that Transsion’s Tecno is the brand of... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028261/biggest-phone-seller-africa-little-known-chinese-company?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028261/biggest-phone-seller-africa-little-known-chinese-company?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Feb 2019 12:46:13 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS More Americans are listening to podcasts than ever. That could be one reason why Spotify is trying grow its podcast network. But if you’re like me, no matter how much you enjoy podcasts, you’ve never spent a dime paying for any of them. Turns out, that’s quite different from how millions of people in China listen to podcasts on the country’s hottest platform, Ximalaya -- known as Himalaya elsewhere. Case in point: Ximalaya’s “123 Knowledge Carnival” in... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028260/ximalaya-podcasting-startup-behind-itunes-and-spotify-rival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028260/ximalaya-podcasting-startup-behind-itunes-and-spotify-rival?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Feb 2019 11:24:21 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Smartphone brand Redmi burst on to the scene at the beginning of 2019. But it wasn’t an unfamiliar name – Redmi was actually a series of phones made by Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker. And it used to be one of Xiaomi's most popular series. How Xiaomi forged a unique path The Redmi 1 was released in 2013 as a cheap handset with impressive specs. And it sold impressively, too: The first batch of 100,000 units sold out in 90 seconds. So if Redmi was... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028259/xiaomi-spin-redmi-wants-own-budget-phone-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028259/xiaomi-spin-redmi-wants-own-budget-phone-market?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Feb 2019 09:00:11 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Segway used to be hailed as the future of transportation. That was until they started to be associated with airport police and overweight tourists and became a bit of a joke. The bad PR continued when one of the company’s owners died… after riding his Segway off a cliff. Hoverboards had the same boom-bust cycle too, becoming a viral hardware hit… and then a menace, after a string of complaints of broken bones, chipped teeth, and exploding batteries.... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028258/back-future-hoverboards-are-finally-becoming-mainstream-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028258/back-future-hoverboards-are-finally-becoming-mainstream-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Dec 2018 11:11:05 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS It is called Xiaohongshu, or the Little Red Book in English-speaking circles, and it was started by a man called Charlwin Mao. But it is not the handbook of the Communist Party of China. It is exactly the opposite. Xiaohongshu, officially called RED in English, is so named because “red” also means “popular” in Chinese. It is a social shopping platform that has captured the hearts and wallets of the young and vain in China. What is special about it is... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028257/little-red-book-not-maoist-propaganda-its-social-shopping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028257/little-red-book-not-maoist-propaganda-its-social-shopping?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Dec 2018 12:20:54 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS ByteDance is, in many ways, different to the classical Chinese tech giant. Unlike many local companies that looked up to the West for inspiration, ByteDance decided to export Chinese products, most notably with short videos. But ByteDance has achieved more than that: It made Facebook copy them, after the social giant launched the short video app Lasso -- aimed at ByteDance’s TikTok. Facebook has reasons to be jealous. As of October 2018, ByteDance was... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028256/chinas-viral-king-bytedance-first-major-chinese-tech-player?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028256/chinas-viral-king-bytedance-first-major-chinese-tech-player?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Dec 2018 12:21:08 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS 1998 is seen as the start of China’s internet portals, when three of the country’s four giants were started: Tencent, Sohu, and Sina. (The other one, NetEase, was started one year earlier in 1997). Sina was started by Wang Zhidong, who led the merger of a software company and an international news site. That combination formed the original Sina web portal. In 2005 it launched Sina Blog, which became one of the country’s most popular content platforms.... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028255/weibo-maker-sina-one-chinas-oldest-web-portals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028255/weibo-maker-sina-one-chinas-oldest-web-portals?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Dec 2018 12:49:26 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS China is the world's biggest gaming market. But between 2000 and 2015, most game consoles weren't officially available for purchase in the country. The reason? A government ban. It hasn't always been this way. After China opened its market to the world in 1978, home consoles found their way in. They were very expensive for the average Chinese consumer though -- and consequently, homegrown knockoffs started to populate the market. The most famous one was... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028254/why-impact-chinas-15-year-console-ban-still-lingers-today?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028254/why-impact-chinas-15-year-console-ban-still-lingers-today?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Nov 2018 13:26:47 +0000 Just weeks before Twitter announced that it was shutting down Vine in 2017, a globally obscure start-up in China called ByteDance launched a new app. Named Douyin, meaning “trembling sound” in Chinese, its premise was decidedly similar to Vine: provide people with simple tools to create and share looping 15-second videos. Today, even if Douyin sounds unfamiliar, you have probably heard of its international counterpart, TikTok. Since its merger with the lip-sync app Musical.ly in 2018, TikTok has... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028253/tiktok-viral-short-video-sensation-has-its-roots-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028253/tiktok-viral-short-video-sensation-has-its-roots-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:21:50 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Being single can be kinda sad. So why not cheer yourself up with some shopping? That’s what a few lonely Chinese university students thought in the 1990s. They wanted to celebrate their single status by treating themselves, and since “11/11” looks like four lonely men standing next to each other, they held their little shopping spree on November 11th. From those humble beginnings, the world’s largest shopping event was born, dwarfing Black Friday and... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028252/singles-day-shopping-event-makes-black-friday-look-yard-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028252/singles-day-shopping-event-makes-black-friday-look-yard-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2018 13:39:28 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS It’s a simple premise. 100 players jump out of an aircraft, heading for an island. The island is deserted, but its many buildings and structures are littered with weapons. Players scramble to arm themselves -- and then fight to the death, battling to be the last player standing. That’s the basic structure of all battle royale games, 2018’s hottest gaming genre. Popularised by PUBG, it was taken to a new level by the incredible success of Fortnite, which... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028251/how-fortnite-and-pubg-made-battle-royale-hottest-trend-gaming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028251/how-fortnite-and-pubg-made-battle-royale-hottest-trend-gaming?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Oct 2018 12:58:03 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS To put it simply, Baidu is the Google of China. That comparison comes direct from Baidu’s own former group president. Admittedly, Lu Qi is a little biased here. But he’s also not wrong: Google and Baidu have a lot of similarities. Like Google, Baidu made its name as a search engine. And like Google, it’s now trying to establish itself as a leader in artificial intelligence. China has 772 million web users, Baidu holds more than 70% market share in... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028250/meet-baidu-chinas-homegrown-search-engine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028250/meet-baidu-chinas-homegrown-search-engine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Oct 2018 12:29:41 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS With a market cap close to Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft and Square Enix combined, NetEase is China’s second-largest gaming company behind Tencent. Founded in 1997 by William Ding, NetEase is an old guard of China’s internet business and one of the country’s earliest gaming companies. Although it’s been listed on NASDAQ since 2000, the company was little known in the West until recent years, when it started an aggressive expansion there. If you’re a fan... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028249/meet-netease-chinas-second-largest-game-publisher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028249/meet-netease-chinas-second-largest-game-publisher?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2018 11:29:22 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS In China, college students spend the most time reading on three social media platforms: WeChat, Weibo and Zhihu. The first two names are more familiar, but Zhihu is quickly gaining ground. As of June 2018, the Quora-like Q&A platform said it had 180 million registered users, and 35 million of them were active monthly. Even though it’s not as big as WeChat or Weibo, it’s turning into an important window into what Chinese netizens are discussing online... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028248/zhihu-where-people-china-go-ask-questions-and-get-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028248/zhihu-where-people-china-go-ask-questions-and-get-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Oct 2018 11:14:38 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS If you’ve ever watched esports, chances are you’ve seen League of Legends. The free-to-play game is known for its competitive objective-based, strategy-focused gameplay. Think of it as a hybrid of chess and capture the flag. The map and champions affect how players approach the game, and you have to plan moves strategically as a team. At first glance, LoL is simple enough. Two teams of five start from opposing sides on a map. They then follow paths (or... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028247/league-legends-esports-giant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028247/league-legends-esports-giant?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Oct 2018 10:05:05 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS It’s said to be able to catch a fugitive within minutes. The “Skynet Project”, China’s national surveillance system, has more than 20 million cameras deployed in public spaces across the country, according to state media. Dedicated to “live surveillance and recording”, there are plans to add hundreds of millions more by 2020. State media boasts that it’s the world’s biggest surveillance network, calling it “the eyes that safeguard China” -- but it’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028246/skynet-chinas-massive-video-surveillance-network?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028246/skynet-chinas-massive-video-surveillance-network?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Oct 2018 11:50:23 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Among Chinese smartphone makers, OnePlus stands out. It’s only five years old and only has around 700 employees, but it has carved out a niche for itself amid fierce competition from much bigger companies. And it has something giants like Huawei don’t have: A foothold in the West. OnePlus was founded by a group of 7 Oppo employees in 2013, including its CEO Pete Lau, who was Vice President at Oppo, and Carl Pei, a Swedish college dropout who was in... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028245/oneplus-chinese-smartphone-startup-made-mark-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028245/oneplus-chinese-smartphone-startup-made-mark-west?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 12:50:07 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS In today’s increasingly connected world, watches, fridges, drones, cars and even dog collars are coming online, transmitting vast amounts of data. Until now, 4G has had to shoulder the load. With 20.8 billion devices expected to be connected to the internet by 2020, a new generation of wireless technology is needed -- and that’s where 5G comes in. “But 5G is about much more than just smartphones,” Rob Topol, general manager of 5G technologies at Intel,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028244/why-5g-isnt-just-faster-video-streaming-your-smartphone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028244/why-5g-isnt-just-faster-video-streaming-your-smartphone?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 10:03:16 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Toutiao may not be a name familiar in the West, but it’s quickly growing into one of China’s most important apps. It has 120 million daily active users, who spend an average of an hour and 13 minutes on it every day -- more than Facebook. Some believe it could be one of the next generation of Chinese tech giants, challenging the big three of Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. Toutiao, which means “headlines”, is a news aggregator. Think of it like Facebook’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028243/breaking-down-chinas-most-popular-news-app-toutiao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028243/breaking-down-chinas-most-popular-news-app-toutiao?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 10:01:54 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Think of all the things you can do with your smartphone today. Whether it’s booking a train ticket, finding a hotel, paying bills, messaging a friend, sharing photos, ordering food, and so much more, almost all of these things happen in separate apps -- but in China, you can do all of this inside a single one: WeChat. WeChat is both an app and so much more than that. It somehow combines Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Uber, Venmo, and even the App Store... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028242/wechat-app-does-everything?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028242/wechat-app-does-everything?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:59:28 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS In Season 8 of The Big Bang Theory, Raj had a new toy: A sleek, white, remote-controlled quadcopter. That appearance and another on South Park demonstrated how DJI’s Phantom was quickly becoming the symbol of a growing industry: Small consumer drones with cameras. But this rapidly growing new sector, like the Phantom itself, wasn’t made or designed in the United States. Instead, it was a product of DJI, a Chinese startup that is now the world’s dominant... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028241/story-drone-pioneer-dji?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028241/story-drone-pioneer-dji?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:58:11 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS When Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, it was the first time many Americans had ever heard about the Chinese tech giant. From USA Today to Forbes, media outlets across the country felt the need to explain the company behind the biggest IPO in US history. EARLY YEARS It all began in 1999 in a small apartment in Hangzhou, a tourist city known for its scenic lake, around two hours’ drive from Shanghai. Jack Ma, a former translator,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028240/alibaba-chinas-ecommerce-giant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028240/alibaba-chinas-ecommerce-giant?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:56:50 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Before the world had electronic calculators, smartphones, the Google search bar, or even paper -- there was the abacus. The simple rectangular gadget doesn’t require batteries, RAM, or the internet to run. Spill your coffee on it? No problem -- it’s also waterproof. The origin of the abacus can be traced back to the Salamis Tablet, the oldest surviving counting board. Discovered on a Greek island in 1846, it dates back to 300 BC and is thought to have... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028239/abacus-oldest-gadget-earth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028239/abacus-oldest-gadget-earth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:54:19 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS From June 1 to 18, 2018, Chinese internet users spent a record US$24.7 billion at an annual online shopping event that is starting to rival Alibaba’s Singles’ Day retail extravaganza in November. The “618 Mid-Year Shopping Festival” is a campaign established by JD.com, the country’s second biggest e-commerce services provider, to mark its anniversary month. News of that record transaction, however, was eclipsed by internet search powerhouse Google’s... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028238/googles-new-chinese-partner-jdcom-online-retail-titan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028238/googles-new-chinese-partner-jdcom-online-retail-titan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:52:21 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS In 2018, a wave of new Chinese companies sponsored the World Cup in Russia, hoping to use one of the biggest stages in sport to raise their brands. But one of those companies was already the third biggest TV maker in the world: Hisense. Let’s break down an electronics giant you may not have heard of. ​ More than just consumer electronics Hisense started life in 1969 as a factory that made radios. Since then, the company has grown into a behemoth. It... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028237/chinas-most-popular-tv-brand-hoping-score-goal-high-profile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028237/chinas-most-popular-tv-brand-hoping-score-goal-high-profile?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:49:44 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Anyone watching the World Cup would see their billboards lining the sides of the football pitches: Adidas, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s; massive global brands. But at Russia 2018, they were be accompanied by other names that may not be as well known: Hisense, Mengniu and Vivo. These Chinese brands were taking advantage of one of the biggest stages in sports to raise their profiles and reach millions of people. Among them was Chinese smartphone maker Vivo,... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028236/meet-vivo-fifa-world-cup-sponsor-youve-never-heard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/who-what/what/article/3028236/meet-vivo-fifa-world-cup-sponsor-youve-never-heard?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2018 09:47:27 +0000