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. Lenovo Targets US$16 Billion in Sales of AI-Powered Devices via Partner JD.Com
Lenovo Group, the world’s largest personal computer (PC) maker, and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com have renewed their partnership with a mission to drive sales of new artificial intelligence (AI) devices to consumers across the nation.
The two Hong Kong-listed partners are targeting 120 billion yuan (US$16.6 billion) in sales over the 2024-2026 period via JD.com’s online and offline channels, covering Lenovo’s next-generation AI PCs, AI-powered smartphones, tablets, and other AI-oriented infrastructure such as servers, according to a statement published by both companies on their respective WeChat accounts. That total would double the three-year, 60-billion-yuan goal the two firms had set in 2016, according to their statement.
2. Microsoft Reports Increase in China-Based Influence Activity
Microsoft has released its latest threat analysis update, warning that Chinese-based groups seek to influence voters in other nations through coordinated social media activity.
Microsoft notes that there’s been an increased use of Chinese AI-generated content in recent months. According to the report, deceptive social media accounts by Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated actors have started to pose contentious questions on controversial U.S. domestic issues to understand better the key issues that divide U.S. voters. This could be to gather intelligence and precision on key voting demographics ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
3. TikTok’s Photo App Moves a Step Closer to Reality
https://sairam-io.medium.com/tiktoks-new-photo-app-looks-to-be-a-step-closer-to-reality-1b6f68ff95c5
It looks like TikTok may be close to launching its new dedicated photo app, which has been in the works for a while, and may now have a new, official name.
Some users are now being informed that their still image uploads on TikTok will soon be viewable on “TikTok Notes” as well. TikTok has been experimenting with a photo app for some time, with references to “TikTok Photos” spotted in the back-end code of the app early last month. That’s now seemingly been updated to “TikTok Notes” instead, which could also be another potential dig at Instagram, which has its own “Notes” feature, which now includes the capacity to share different types of updates with selected friends.
4. TikTok Expands Science-Based STEM Feed To European Users
TikTok has announced that it’s expanding its science-based STEM feed in the app, which will see the platform broaden its slate of educational content, with a specific focus on younger users.
TikTok originally launched its STEM feed to U.S. users last March, but now, it’s bringing it to European audiences as well. TikTok will partner with a range of science creators to help populate the new stream, including physicist @particleclara who works on The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and @NewScientist magazine, which provides insights into the latest scientific discoveries.
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.