China Digital Digest Weekly: Exploring the Chinese Digital Landscape
- ClickInsights
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Hi folks, we are back with our weekly edition of China’s Digital Digest, wherein we bring you weekly updates on China’s digital space. The report takes a quick glance at China’s complex and rapidly evolving social media landscape by providing updates on the latest happenings across the social media industry. Here are the major highlights of the report.
1. Elon Musk Reiterates Aim to Transform X Into a ‘WeChat++’ Super App
Elon Musk says he aspires to transform his social media platform X into “WeChat++”, akin to Tencent Holdings’ flagship super app, by integrating various social and finance features.
On a recent People by WTF podcast hosted by entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Musk cited the extensive utility of WeChat as a model for X – previously known as Twitter, which he bought for US$44 billion in October 2022. WeChat, known locally as Weixin, integrates native functionality such as social media, content and payments, as well as third-party services in the form of mini-programs. Weixin operates under strict censorship in China, similar to other domestic social media platforms, while X is blocked in the country.
2. Taiwan Blocks Mainland Chinese Platform Rednote Citing ‘High Fraud Risk’
Taiwan has blocked RedNote, a mainland Chinese social media platform popular among young Taiwanese, citing “fraud prevention” and “information security” concerns.
The criminal investigation bureau of Taiwan’s interior ministry announced an internet shutdown and access restriction order for RedNote, tentatively for one year. Also known as Xiaohongshu, or “little red book”, RedNote is an Instagram-like lifestyle social media platform popular with youngsters around the world. Taiwan’s interior ministry said it had more than 3 million users on the island – around 1 million more than a year ago.
3. TikTok Will Block Under-16s in Australia to Comply With ‘Upsetting’ New Law
TikTok has said that it will comply with Australia’s imminent ban on under-16s joining social media on the day it comes into force, but told users the changes “may be upsetting”.
Australia’s world-first legislation comes into effect December 10, curbing the world’s most popular social media platforms and websites, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Companies face fines of A$49.5 million (US$32 million) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply. TikTok will block under-16s in Australia on the day the law comes into effect, it said, meaning they will no longer be able to hold or create an account.
4. TikTok to Make Its First Venture in Latin America With a $37 Billion Data Center in Brazil
TikTok plans to invest over 200 billion reais (approximately $37.7 billion) in building a data center in Brazil, which will be its first such project in Latin America.
Monica Giese, Head of Public Policy for TikTok Brazil, stated that the company will collaborate with Omnia and Casa dos Ventos to advance the project near the Pecém Industrial Port in the state of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil. The data center will rely entirely on clean energy supplied by wind farms. Giese described this investment as a "historic move and a crucial step" for TikTok in Brazil, reflecting the company's long-term commitment to the Brazilian market.
5. ByteDance Disables Doubao's WeChat Control
ByteDance has disabled the Doubao phone assistant’s ability to operate WeChat on the Nubia M153 after users reported login failures and app crashes.
After the official launch, several users reported on social media that when using Doubao's AI assistant feature through some third-party apps, such as WeChat, they were prevented from logging in or their accounts were frozen on some apps. Some users also encountered pop-up warnings from banking apps that required them to close the AI assistant before proceeding. The company said affected accounts are being restored and added that Doubao’s use of high-level Android permissions requires explicit user consent and is clearly disclosed.
6. Alibaba’s Qwen App Takes No. 1 Spot Worldwide
The latest monthly update of the industry ranking “AI Product List – AI App Growth Chart” has been released, with Alibaba’s Qwen App claiming the No. 1 spot in global AI application growth, recording an impressive 149.03% month-over-month increase in MAUs.
The app entered public beta on November 17, and surpassed 10 million downloads within just one week. Qwen’s explosive momentum is powered by the technical leadership and broad open-source influence of Alibaba’s Qwen large model family. Qwen models have already established a strong presence across both technology benchmarks and developer communities, with over 700 million global downloads of its open-source models and recognition from multiple international tech giants.
7. Huawei & Apple Achieve Full Cross-Device Connectivity With HarmonyOS Interconnect
Huawei has officially launched the Mac version of HarmonyOS CrosShare, completing three-platform interoperability across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
The app enables seamless connectivity between Apple devices and Huawei devices running HarmonyOS 6.0.0.112 or later, supporting fast transfer of files, photos, and more. The iPhone and iPad versions of CrosShare were released on November 20, and the Mac version has now gone live on the Apple App Store.
8. DeepSeek Officially Launches V3.2
DeepSeek has released the full version of DeepSeek-V3.2 and its long-thinking enhanced variant DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale, with the official website, mobile app, and API platform updated simultaneously.
According to official benchmarks, DeepSeek-V3.2 achieves reasoning capabilities comparable to GPT-5 and close to Gemini-3.0-Pro, while producing significantly shorter outputs than Kimi-K2-Thinking to reduce computational cost. The Speciale edition integrates DeepSeek-Math-V2’s theorem-proving strengths and introduces a breakthrough fusion of thinking mode with tool-calling, enabling the model to invoke external tools during the reasoning process.
9. China Delivers Record 180 Billion Parcels In 11 Months as Shoppers Chase Deals
China logged a record 180 billion express deliveries in the first 11 months of the year, according to state media reports, as the country’s online shopping platforms continue to rake in orders despite an economic slowdown.
Xinhua said the bumper parcel deliveries – which reached as high as 777 million per day from January to November, according to the State Post Bureau – reflected the “vigorous vitality of China’s economy”, though analysts cautioned that vendors were often relying on generous discounts and return policies to attract buyers. China has been the world’s largest parcel delivery market for over a decade. Last year, the country recorded a total of 174.5 billion express deliveries, a 21 percent increase from 2023.
Wrapping Up
The vast and diverse nature of the Chinese Social Media space makes it incredibly challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments taking place. However, China’s Digital Digest brings you all the latest updates from there to keep you abreast of all the evolving trends.
To delve deeper into the findings of our latest report, click here.