Red Note’s US expansion is the culmination of years of organic growth, building a global footprint through the Chinese diaspora, which already uses and loves the app.

The global nature of Red Note is not to be underestimated. Beyond its domestic Chinese user base, millions of Chinese speakers across the US, Canada, Germany1, Australia, and the UK were already living on Red Note — using it to find apartments, review restaurants, compare daycares, and navigate diasporic life in a language their daily environment didn’t provide.

Then came the TikTok refugee wave last January, which served as a proof-of-concept beyond that core base. The wave didn’t lead to a sustained spike in user growth, but what the moment affirmed was the thesis that there’s a demographic well beyond Mandarin speakers: a broader segment hungry for authentic engagement and genuine diversity of thoughts, in a register th…

Read more

The global logistics infrastructure battle will determine which e-commerce business models will succeed in the next decade. For consumers, this means a continued evolution toward faster, more transparent delivery systems, but with the growing pains of service consistency and environmental impact.

China's logistics ecosystem has become a competitive advantage in global e-commerce because a number of related players are exporting their expertise to markets elsewhere. One of them, J&T Express, just released its earnings last week, and it’s profitable for the first time, with an adjusted net profit of USD 200 million in 2024. The earnings have some good nuggets, so I am taking the opportunity to write about the logistics space.

Subscribe now

J&T Express in a nutshell

I have critiqued companies attempting …

Read more

Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba are integrating DeepSeek's AI models into their core products and finding new partnerships to build AI moats. The shift isn't just a technical decision. It is a reimagining of how China's tech ecosystem operates.The bigger story is about how a silent innovator is compelling China's most powerful tech companies to rethink their playbooks.

China Tech Incumbents’ Dilemma 

For years, China’s tech behemoths followed a tried-and-tested formula: develop proprietary technology, maintain tightly controlled ecosystems, buy out emerging competitors before they became threats, and monetize relentlessly. This model worked well in the mobile internet era. But AI is rewriting the rules, and the incumbents are now scrambling to respond.

No company has had to eat its words faster than Baidu, once the loudest champion of closed-source AI. Despite the growing trend towards open-source, Li has consistently defended the closed-source mode…

Read more

We all want to know how will RedNote manage content moderation rules and keeping new users engaged. Burning question for Deepseek, did High-Flyer hold short positions in Nvidia? And what did it take to innovate despite all the constraints?

The two companies present an interesting dilemma: if Americans want to use foreign tech platforms that can influence perception, collect lots of data, and become part of daily life and work, what can regulators really do? Will what media say really matter to users?

Both companies are silent and demure at the moment. They don’t have to say anything; both are private companies with no disclosure obligations. They don't have to deal with "China shedding" challenge many of its peers face (ahem, Shein, Temu, TikTok) since they've been clear about their Chinese roots from day one, so the incentive to engage with western media presents more risks than oppor…

Read more

I went on Sinica to talk all things Red Note with Kaiser and David—such a fun podcast to record! I also recently recorded another fun podcast episode wih and we talked about crisis communication and TikTok Ban. Listen here.

Share

Ok, let's break RedNote down from a few angles:

What is RedNote, and why does it matter?

RedNote was last valued at $17B, backed by Alibaba, Tencent, and Silicon Valley VCs like DST and Notable Capital (GGV). But calling it the "Instagram of China" or "C…

Read more

Even with this momentum, the path ahead won’t be easy. It comes down to three big challenges:

1. Replicating China’s livestream model will take time. China’s livestream commerce went through multiple iterations, and even at “China speed.” It took a few years to build an industry of supporting functions and cultivate a streamer base to see the full results. Cr…

Read more

Despite a discount, it is considered the largest IPO since last October, and it marked a rare occurrence of Chinese owners in the U.S. capital markets following Beijing's tech crackdown in late 2020.

I had the pleasure of looking at the Amer IPO with from Following the Yuan. You can read the full piece below.

Following the yuan

Unpacking Amer Sports IPO 📦 | Calling the Shots x Following the yuan

Today, Anta-owned sporting goods company Amer Sports (NYSE: AS) is officially listed in the U.S. on an initial public offering of around US$1.37 billion. Despite a discount, it is considered the largest IPO since last October, and it marked a rare occurrence of Chinese owners in the U.S. capital markets following Beijing's tech crackdown in late 2020…

Read more

2 years ago · 3 likes · Ivy Yang and Yaling Jiang

Why IPO now at a discount? Two words: China and Arc'teryx. 

The factors driving Amer Sports' IPO are its rapidly growing revenue contribution from the Greater China region—particularly from the Arc'teryx brand. In 2022, the Greater China region was 14.8% of Amer's total income, up from 8.3% in 2020, to US$523.8 million.

In the first three quarters of 2023, China makes up around 20% of Amer's total income. Notably…

Read more

This week, I might just have peaked in my PR career — my foam rollers made it in the WSJ's front page A-hed Column.

Share

The media inquiry from WSJ’s Katie Deighton was straightforward:

Why are the likes of Temu, Shein, Amazon etc. selling tiny stuff and badly labeling it as such?

I have several theories, and the growing media interest suggests rising reputational risks for Temu, which could notably impact its international market expansion.

Before going into detail about de minimis value and duty taxes, I want to introduce a new framework to look at cross-border e-commerce platforms in their feverish sprint to capture market share: parcel economics. It is the arbitrage of profit margins, shipping efficiency, and the expansion of the platform growth.

At the heart of the issue is margin.

The race to the bottom on prices is the basis for the relationship between the platform and sellers. Shipping mini versions are a result of the struggle for margin. In this reality of low-priced,…

Read more

My debut op-ed for Financial Times Chinese last year unpacked the then newly passed CHIPS and Science Act. I focused on President Biden's claim that the Act would bolster national security by reducing dependence on foreign semiconductors and redirecting taxpayer investments into core technology areas. The CHIPS and Science Act is a significant move towards re-industrialization, reflecting a consensus among US policymakers and industry leaders to upgrade America’s existing infrastructure technology and to work with allies to make America self-sufficient again.

The passing of the CHIPS Act marked the beginning of TSMC's ascent to become a household name.

Fast forward a year, and TSMC is synonymous with America’s stronghold as a techno…

Read more