This week we talk about how China's big tech are coping with new regulations on recommendation algorithms; they are simply allowing users to 'turn them off'.

Meanwhile, a Shanghai's games developer "Genshin Impact" becomes the first major Chinese game to go global. This marks a major milestone in China's gaming industry, and some of the most valuable IP content (Intellectual Property) to be created in Greater China since the likes of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Bruce Lee movies.

1) Douyin, Baidu, Taobao, and WeChat now offer an option that allows users to turn off their recommendation algorithms

2) Shanghai game "Genshin Impact" focuses on Japan and US markets, earns $2bn USD in first year

3) Chinese authorities are considering requiring Tencent Holdings Ltd. to include WeChat Pay in a newly created financial holding company

BONUS Content

• Douban is seeking a public apology from Weibo and demanding a symbolic RMB 1 ($0.15) indemnity and the litigation fees from the case. 
• Podcast interview with author of Cashless, all about China's CBDC (Central Bank Digital Coin)

This week Adeh and Kevin cover the latest Chinese government directive from the “Two Meetings”, as they predict the tech crackdown is finally consolidating and bottoming out. I mean... we can only go up from here, right? Also, we look at how East Asia is finally starting to reject their smartphone addictions.

How is smartphone addiction perceived in your country? Are you and/or your friends beginning to reject smartphones, or maybe taper smartphone their addictions? We'd love to hear from you!

1) Beijing's Two Sessions illustrates gov direction 

2) Tencent potential big fine for violating anti-money laundering regulations

3) Tencent firing around 20% of employees, Alibaba about 30%

4) Businesses boom to help kick smartphone addition

This week's theme was 'continuity' – Adeh and Kevin are becoming real podcasters as they revisit previous topics. They recap the impacts of the crackdown on China's tutoring and gaming industry's, notice that another EV company is jumping into smartphones, and examine new policies on food-delivery platforms as Beijing's crackdown on tech continues. 

1) 90% of tutoring companies have closed since July after gov crackdown 

1b) First edtech company to IPO since crackdown "FenBi"; going for $300 mn USD

2) Nio hires former president of Meitu's smartphone unit  

3) Netease looking to be more global as gov crackdown on gaming continues

4) New gov policy to limits merchant fees on food-delivery platforms, and Meituan's stock falls 15%, losing $25 bn market value

After nearly a decade of domination of social tech products, a cute metaverse avatar app seems to be challenging WeChat/Tencent. Adeh and Kevin delve deeper into the metaverse as they talk about tech issues on both sides of the Pacific.

1) A year of China tech layoffs 

2) Metaverse social app flies past WeChat then crashes

3) Meta, Metamates, and Me

Bonus links:

• Mentioned podcast episode on Bored Ape YC
• Bored Ape Yacht Club official website

Kevin and Adeh go through a variety of topics which depicting shifting trends in China tech.  China's tech is maturing and getting more business savvy, Electric vehicles are still booming with Geely getting more tech savvy, and China's gov is getting more savvy on the VC industry and on blockchain. We hope you savor this savvy episode.

Happy Chinese New Year!

- The Great Firechat Team

 1) Geely to buy Meizu

 2) Youzan laying off 30% of employee

 3)  Upcoming regulations could dampen China's VC industry

 4) China moves to create an 'approved' NFT industry or "Digital collectibles" industry

Kevin and Adeh do a deep dive into platform's algorithms and Beijing's upcoming regulations on them. These regulations are aimed at moving responsibility and risk to companies and their algorithms. How can an algorithm be responsible for anything? What would that even look like?  Adeh presents some great examples which help things finally click for Kevin.

We then end on a less complex note with the booming electric vehicle market and new smart helmets that help make zoomie food-couriers safer.

Links:

1) new regulations; Data security (Feb 15), Algorithm March 1

• Beijing’s new algorithm rules shift responsibility — and risk — onto companies, not creators.
• ENG translation of the law

2) NYTimes explains the TikTok algorithm

3) BYD reports 232% year-on-year increase in passenger EV deliveries

 4) Ele.me smart helmets - take order, bright lights, call ambulance, etc.

 BONUS) College majors for "social influencers"

As Tencent and the rest of big China tech continues to suffer from the gov crackdown, Bytedance revenue soars. However, Tencent may just be lying low and contemplating their next move as the company seems surprisingly well equipped for the metaverse and future of tech.

1) Bytedance still growing strong with 60% revenue growth

2a) Gov crackdown begins to traverse time into the past

2b) Big China tech struggling to play nice and open up

3) Tencent is lying low - quarterly revenues lowest since 2004 

4) Into the metaverse - Tencent has been doing this for two decades

This week we talk about more Western tech companies pulling out of China, this time a big and successful one; Microsoft's LinkedIn.

We go deep into the real industry of fake virtual celebrities, talk about Alibaba's waning eCommerce dominance, and end with impending regulation to open up content for search engines which would be a great boon to Baidu, the once massive Google-like search engine which has struggled to remain relevant the past half decade.

1) MSFT pulls the plug on LinkedIn China

2) The growing synthetic media business (like the 2013 movie "The Congress")

• https://www.36kr.com/p/1456252888033415
• Porsche invests in iMaker 
• Virtual human start-up Next Gen raises $5 million in round A 
• More on the industry in China 
• Lil Maquela
• Extra: Deep fakes of celebs

3) $BABA is losing e-comm market share - and it's not just regulations

4) Beijing may force tech companies to share data for search

This week your co-hosts discuss Meituan's anti-trust fine, JD.com's foray into elevator ads and pets, and then go a little deep on the responsibility platforms have for their algorithms. 

This is especially timely as Facebook's whistleblower cries foul in the US, while China implements policy holding products responsible for their algorithms.

1 Meituan's anti-monopoly probe ends with a USD534M fine 

2 JD and Baidu jointly invest $400mn in elevator ads biz now worth >$2bn. 

3 JD.com make Internet Hospital for Pets

4 Algorithm rules get more clear

This week Kevin and Adeh delve deep into China's tech crackdown. The crackdown has wiped hundreds of billions off the value of China's tech companies - is this the end or the beginning?

Your hosts review the crackdown to date, examine how companies are mitigating the current risks, and grapple with convoluted metaphors to predict how this will all play out.

• China has over a billion internet users

China's tech crackdown

• Summary of Tech Crackdown
• Ali and Tencent agree to work together
• Walls are coming down
• Beijing to break up Alipay, separate Loans app
• Ant's spinoff will share data with Gov
• Alibaba feelin' the squeeze from the crackdown
• China orders Alipay and WeChat Pay to disclose IPOs, new products and int.l partnerships

• What's next? Li Guangman's opinion piece

Games:

• No new games! (or 'slow' new games!)
• Tencent gaming global investments sevenfold increase
• NetEase invests $120M in global gaming hub 'Kepler'