China’s economic development, investment-hungry entrepreneurs and innovative spirit are creating exciting new opportunities for both Chinese and U.S. businesses, particularly in the world of tech and entertainment. With about 800 million active mobile users in China, mobile apps are becoming China’s main user interface, and they are changing the way businesses sell and users consume information. This, in turn, presents new possibilities for businesses on the home front, which can leverage China’s e-commerce and social media platforms and new technologies to gain a competitive edge and grow their business overseas. To get you up to date with the latest happenings in the U.S.-China tech and entertainment world, here are a few Reach Further stories to get you started.
China is remaking the global film industry. In the last five years alone, China’s box office revenue has grown over 144 percent, compared to only 6 percent in North America, and China now boasts more cinema screens than the U.S. With an expanding Chinese market and declining profits at home, it’s no wonder that many Hollywood companies are looking to China as the next entertainment frontier. But what does it take to make it in China’s film industry? The first thing that seasoned Hollywood veterans recommend is to develop a friendly relationship, or guanxi, with potential business partners. Learn more about the Chinese entertainment industry and what it takes to make a movie in China at What It’s Really Like to Work in China’s Film Industry.
By 2021, augmented reality (AR), a technology that uses computer-generated images and applies them onto the real world to provide a composite view of a user's surroundings, will generate $133.78 billion of industry revenue. The number of apps developed for AR on mobile and head-mount display (HMD) platforms are growing rapidly, and many businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to leverage this exciting new technology. Learn more about how AR will change our lives in the near future and how businesses can seize the opportunities that AR offers at Augmented Reality: Business Opportunities in the Real World.
WeChat, China’s most famous social media network, whose 768 million daily users can send instant messages, order food, shop, order taxis, book a doctor’s appointment and more via the app, makes up one-third of all time Chinese users spend on apps. In 2014, WeChat launched WeChat shops and, a year later, more than 50 percent of small to mid-sized businesses selling on WeChat were already earning revenue. Learn how small businesses can utilize this powerful Chinese social media tool to grow their business in China and set up their WeChat shop at We-Commerce: How to Leverage WeChat for Small Business.
China’s venture capital investment is booming, providing financing for Chinese startups at a record pace. In 2016, over $31 billion was invested in Chinese startups, up from $27.4 billion the year before. Now more than ever, the majority of Chinese VC capital is raised domestically, and many wealthy public and private Chinese investors are ready to invest in unique business models and stimulate homegrown innovation. Find out which industry sectors are attracting China’s VC investments and how U.S. startups can benefit at China’s Red-Hot Venture Capital Tech Scene.
CyberPowerPC, one of the leading gaming PC manufacturers in the U.S. with annual sales reaching $184 million, is a business operating in a highly-competitive field. The key to their success is their quick response to the changing market and their smaller size compared to other PC manufacturing giants, which allows them to be more proactive and nimble. Find out what small businesses can learn from CyberPowerPC and how businesses can use their small size to sharpen their competitive edge at How to Beat Big Competitors to the Market.