Inside China Tech

The world is witnessing an unprecedented growth and transformation of online services and consumption as a result of the Covid-19 crisis – are online services taking over the globe completely, and what changes will stick around? Further, will the rollout of ultra-fast 5G networks enhance this trend?  

People around the world are adapting how they mourn their loved ones amid the coronavirus pandemic. Live-streaming funerals are being organised, while social media accounts of the dead are being transformed into virtual memorial pages. However, one's digital presence can be vulnerable. On this episode, we look into how technology has changed the way we die and mourn. Music courtesy of DK (Unfinished Farewell) Cover design courtesy of Jiabao Li 

SCMP reporters dissect why Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has found itself in Washington's cross-hairs and where matters might go from here. You can read more about Huawei in a series of in-depth articles from the Post.

In China, one way or another, at least 260 million students and 15 million teachers had to migrate their entire offline learning and teaching activities online. Digital educational centres, applications and tools have seen a surge in demand. National curriculum classes are being recorded by teachers across all forms, and are being broadcasted on TV for free. We look into the technologies that facilitate this migration and ask: are we closer to education equality in China?    

We're digging deep into China's version of TikTok called Douyin. How different is Douyin from its international version TikTok? Why are there two almost-identical apps out there? And how are Chinese people using Douyin differently from users of TikTok? To truly understand Douyin, we attended a weekend class that costs about US$1,400 in Shenzhen, China, about how to get rich on the app.

The impact of the countrywide lockdown on the economy has the potential to cut China’s GDP growth in the first quarter from 6 to 4.5 per cent. However, new tech opportunities and markets are emerging under the pressure of the public health emergency and tech companies in China are pulling out all the stops in helping the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease as well as facilitating the continuation of people’s daily life under the lockdown.

Two of the Post's tech reporters are among the hundreds of millions of people whose lives have been directly affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Reporter Celia Chen, who’s based in Shenzhen, China, and couldn’t go back home to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province and the epicentre of the outbreak, talks about how her family spent this Lunar New Year bonding over news and mobile apps. Another tech reporter, Jane Zhang is going to tell us about being trapped in her hometown Enshi, Hubei.

To better understand how TikTok works in domestic and international markets, our producer Yang Yang went to visit TikTok stars with millions of followers - one is a 16-year-old who initially moved to Los Angeles to develop an acting career; the other, coming up in the next episode, is a family of toddler triplets living on the outskirt of Zhuhai, a city in Southern China.

China is no stranger to vegetarian food. If anything, the Chinese have invented countless vegetarian dishes that imitate meat throughout their centuries-old history of Buddhism. In this episode, we try Impossible Meat, we try its counterpart in China, we talk to people who sell it and who study the market, and we ask - how should companies introduce, or perhaps reintroduce, meatless meat to China?

E-commerce giant Alibaba started trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on November 26, 2019. The company raised a whopping US$13 billion, making it the largest share launch of the year, beating out Uber and Lyft. On the back of its listing, we got a chance to speak to Daniel Zhang, executive chairman and chief executive of Alibaba, while he was in Hong Kong.   Zhang spoke about how technology is transforming companies and reshaping consumer buying habits, with increased consumption now…

On November 11, also known as Singles’ Day, more than US$38 billion was spent in 24 hours on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms alone — that’s more than Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day combined.  But what really sets Singles’ Day apart from other shopping fests? Why are people shopping on a day that’s not even a holiday? And … is that Taylor Swift at Alibaba’s Singles’ Day gala? Senior tech reporter Zen Soo and podcast producer Yang Yang spent the day where it all began: at Alibaba’s…

This week on Inside China Tech we look at why – for the first time – 5G has to tap into extremely high radio frequencies and why space agencies think this might mess with your weather forecast.

What are China’s DNA testing companies doing differently? What do your DNA test results really mean? We speak to 23Mofang’s CEO, and a geneticist from the University of Hong Kong, to find out.

Alex Zhou, chief executive of US-based e-commerce site Yamibuy, has built a business out of selling hard-to-find items for Asian immigrant communities

We talked to Jianxiong Xiao, the founder and CEO of AutoX, a high-tech company working on self-driving vehicles

Castbox CEO Renee Wang looked to China for inspiration and then sold her idea around the world.

SCMP visits one of China’s treatment centres for internet addicts more than a decade after such a disorder was classified as an official disease.

AI concluded that 265,000 people joined the protest on July 1, while organisers said 550,000 people marched and the police estimated it was 190,000.

How Steve Zhao staked his life savings for ten years to create a real-life holodeck.

Next episode on ICT, we try Sandbox VR games and learn about how Steve Zhao, CEO of Sandbox VR, staked his life savings to create a real-life Holodeck.

What makes Silicon Valley the global hub of innovation and will China ever catch up?

Silicon Valley was seeded with funding for military research at Stanford University.

China’s Silicon Valley caught in crossfire of tech war as country’s most advanced technologies, from AI to drones and robotics, being developed in the area.

How much does the trade war affect small suppliers and distributors, and does China depend more on the US for its technology industry, or vice versa?

State surveillance camera makers largely benefited from the rise in demand for the technology after 9/11 terror attacks.

Venture capitalist and China tech expert Edith Yeung looks at how Beijing is embracing blockchain and its different approach to the West

The growing number of Chinese students in hi-tech fields face tightening US visa controls.

We dive into the world of influencer marketing and Pinduoduo’s business model.

Millennial workers protesting against the grueling work schedules in China’s tech companies.

Analysing how one of China’s biggest live-streaming companies manages and censors the content from its 250 million monthly users, from cigarettes to cleavage, tattoos and protests.

We talk about how a love for gaming built the world's biggest gaming gear company, while its CEO continues to play games all night long.

Talking e-commerce, livestreaming for vendors and last mile delivery logistics with the head of Lazada Group, and whether China’s methods of connecting consumers with vendors would work in South East Asia.

Zen Soo speaks with Miro founder and CEO Taylor Hun about facial recognition technology at marathon running events and how companies are using the data

China’s app-based business model has set the scene for intense rivalry between tech giants: Meituan and Ele.me compete for market dominance.

What was announced - and what was left unsaid - at China’s annual political summit and policy meetings in Beijing.

On the scene at the 2019 MWC in Barcelona and debating the state of the foldable phone revolution: are they fad, farce or foundational change for smartphones?

Senior analyst Bryan Ma from IDC Asia Pacific tells us why he thinks foldable phones will dominate at Barcelona this year, and takes a deeper look at why and how China’s smartphone giants Xiaomei, Opo and Huawei achieved world dominance.

In the race to develop AI, how does China compare with the US? And how is this affected by the Huawei and ZTE bans – and the US-China trade war?

Zen Soo and Chua Kong Ho look at how technology has changed the Lunar New Year celebrations in China: from digital red envelopes to online market stalls and facial recognition for train tickets.

Zen Soo speaks with economist, author and academic Christopher Balding about the Huawei case, its impact on the company and its broader implications for China’s other tech companies.

He’s from Singapore, based in Hong Kong, and is generating worldwide hype with his smart bike helmet; she’s a 14-year-old from New York, developing an AI-powered app. Both talk to Zen Soo about the passion and pitfalls of their companies.

SCMP tech editor Chua Kong Ho speaks with reporters Iris Deng and Celia Chen about WeChat, its new competitors and the short video craze enveloping China.

Zen Soo reports from the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show on the big tech announcements, major trends and cool new gadgets on display.

SCMP tech reporter Zen Soo and colleagues Sarah Dai and Yingzhi Yang give a forecast for the year ahead for China's smartphones, AI, cryptocurrencies, e-commerce, electric vehicles and other hi-tech industries.

What a year of upheavals for China's tech industry, beginning and ending with massive setbacks for Huawei. SCMP tech reporters Zen Soo, Sarah Dai and Yingzhi Yang break down 2018, starting with Huawei’s first major shock in January, as well as looking at the share bike bubble, the major changes for the operation of Didi Chuxing, updates on self-driving vehicles and major investments in the electric car industry.

The arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou is reverberating on Chinese social media and tech circles. What does it mean for for the company, for US-China trade talks, and for China's 5G ambitions?

Tech reporter Meng Jing was inspired by covering the famous Alpha Go contest to use AI apps to find a way to get her newborn baby to sleep.

An update on the bitcoin collapse, from inside China's tech hub of Shenzhen.

Jane Manchun Wong is a Hongkonger building a global reputation for her skill at reverse-engineering apps and revealing the secrets Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are hiding in their code.

The aftermath of Singles' Day - China's massive consumer event.