This week’s action centered around social media, e-commerce, and US-listed Chinese tech stocks.
1. Baidu Mobile Browser gets relaunched, revamped, aims to be China’s number 1
China’s biggest search engine, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), started this week by proving it’s much more serious about going mobile these days.
2. 20+ China e-commerce players to watch
From daily deals to specialist verticals to the nation’s biggest online mall – this list paints a nice picture of the competitive landscape in China.
3. Alibaba slams online shopping rival 360Buy: “Our competition is over”
Speaking of e-commerce, we heard from the chief strategist of China’s biggest e-tailers who had hard words for his closest rival. We also got some insights into the company’s future goals.
4. Sina Weibo testing new ad product targeting brands’ fans
Not a week goes by without some new feature – or new controversy – from Sina Weibo, China’s hottest Twitter-esque service. This time, it’s all about the monetization.
5. Starbucks gets even more social in China, lets fans follow in WeChat app
Also in the social space, we noted how a major global brand doing some marketing within WeChat app heralded the figurative arrival of the popular messaging app as a new social marketing hub.
6. Citron’s Andrew Left defends his China record, considers legal action after personal attacks [INTERVIEW]
As a storm flashed in the skies above US-listed China tech stocks and the short sellers who attack them, we talked to the prominent financial blogger Andrew Left – aka: Citron Research – about the controversy surrounding his reports on Chinese stocks.
7. Student ‘interns’ forced to build Apple iPhone 5 at Foxconn, now returning to schools
In this week’s WTF section, reports from local media about student interns being put to work on the factory floor.
8. Here’s why your data isn’t safe in China: Investment in security just 1% of IT investment
My colleague writes: “The past few years have seen more than a few instances of users — sometimes tens of millions of them at a time — getting their data leaked, stolen, sold, or otherwise removed from web services they expected to be safe.” This news suggests the situation isn’t about to improve.
That’s all for this week, folks! For our full spread of China coverage, you can click here or subscribe to our China RSS.
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