Starting on 29 April 2017, users can easily rent a bicycle from one of the six leading bike-sharing companies in China via Alipay without installing additional mobile apps.
China Mobile 4G customers reached 535M in 2016
China Mobile’s operating revenue reached 708.4 billion yuan in 2016, representing an increase of 6.0% from the previous year according to its official financial results.
Mobile apps usage overview in Q1 2017
More mobile apps in China have more than 10 million monthly active users in Q1 2017. The number of installed apps and app usage hours both increased compared to a year ago.
Top App Stores & mobile apps in China for Q1 2017
Apple App Store is the top mobile app store by total downloads in China in March 2017 while BAT lead the Android App Store market. And, Tencent owns the top 3 mobile apps.
Alipay’s internet fund Yu’E Bao exceeds 1 trillion yuan in Q1 2017
Yu’E Bao grows by over 40% QoQ in the first quarter of 2017 and totals 1.14 trillion yuan (US$170 bn).
China smartphone market insights for Q1 2017
iPhone has the highest retention rate (18.6%) in Q1 2017, followed by Huawei (13.4%). However, Huawei is the top smartphone brand in China by sales (19.2%) in the first quarter of 2017, followed by OPPO (18.7%).
China’s environmental penalties close to US$1 bn in 2016
The Chinese government continued to increase its efforts to combat environmental violations in 2016 with a total number of 137.8 thousand cases investigated and fines totaled 6.633 billion yuan on 124.7 thousand cases, a record high according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
China to spend twice as much as the US on development research by 2018
China is expected to invest up to twice as much as the US, or US$658 billion (4.5 trillion yuan) in another five years, in the back end of R&D chain, focusing on translating basic and applied research into commercial products and new manufacturing processes according to BCG.
China outbound tourists spent US$261 bn overseas in 2016
China continued to lead international outbound tourism with a 12% increase in spending in 2016, followed by the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France as top five spenders according to UNWTO.
A snapshot of WeChat Economy in 2016
WeChat has driven information consumption of 174.3 billion yuan (US$25.3 bn) in 2016, an increase of 26.2%. It accounted for 4.54% of total information consumption in 2016.
Top digital video mobile apps in China in Feb 2017
iQiyi ranks on top in China’s mobile video category with 245.61 million active users in Feb 2017, followed by Tencent Video, Youku, Letv, and Mango TV.
China GDP grew faster than expected in Q1 2017
The gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 18,068.3 billion yuan (US$2,626.81 billion) in the first quarter of 2017, a year-on-year increase of 6.9% at comparable prices according to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China.
Top Australian vitamins brand enters China following e-commerce success
With the fast growth of cross-border retail e-commerce market and the increasing consumption strength in China, the Australian natural health brand Swisse announced its official entry into this market on 8 April 2017.
China’s spending on robotics will more than double to $59.4 bn in 2020
China’s spending on robotics will more than double to $59.4 billion in 2020 from $24.6 billion in 2016 (over half from manufacturing) according to IDC.
Alibaba’s cross-border B2C platform AliExpress reached 100M buyers
A girl from Chile bought her father a watch as a gift at US$41.01 from Alibaba’s retail platform AliExpress on 10 April 2017. What she did not know is that she is recorded by Alibaba as the 100 millionth customer.