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China ICT (Info Communications Technology) Industry, Infra, Commerce, Exports: News & Discussions

Very few people use Unicom in mainland because their 4G signal is not very good. Though all three companies have national coverage of 4G.

I noticed that. I just purchased their prepaid service. Minimum charge per month.
 
China adopts law on cybersecurity
2016-11-07 12:47 | Xinhua | Editor: Mo Hong'e


China's top legislature on Monday adopted a Cybersecurity Law to safeguard sovereignty on cyber space, national security and the rights of citizens.

The government will take measures to "monitor, defend and handle cybersecurity risks and threats originating from within the country or overseas sources, protecting key information infrastructure from attack,intrusion, disturbance and damage," the law reads.

Efforts will also be made to punish criminal activities online and safeguard the order and security of cyberspace.

Individual users and organizations are not allowed to jeopardize security on the Internet or use it to "damage national security, honor and interests," according to the provisions.

Online activities that are attempts to overthrow the socialist system, split the nation, undermine national unity, advocate terrorism and extremism are all prohibited, according to the provisions, which also forbade activities including inciting ethnic hatred, discrimination and spreading violence and obscene information online.

The law was passed at the bimonthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, which concluded Monday, after a third reading.
 
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-37932751
Singles Day: How China's Alibaba wants to change shopping
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Image copyrightALIBABA
Image captionAlibaba customers could use virtual reality to shop
Chinese internet conglomerate Alibaba singlehandedly created the world's biggest online shopping event known as Singles Day. Now it's looking to change how people shop, but this is not without its challenges, reports the BBC's Tessa Wong.

Every year on 11 November, millions in China and across Asia engage in a massive shopping spree online. Many visit Tmall and Taobao - Alibaba's answers to Amazon.

Traditionally customers do their shopping on their websites and mobile apps. But this year Alibaba appears to be piloting several new concepts aimed at changing the way people shop.

Virtual reality

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Media captionHow did a made-up festival in China turn into such a sales bonanza?
One highlight is the Buy+ virtual reality (VR) experience.

Customers either use a VR headset or buy a 1-yuan (12p, $0.15) cardboard frame - similar to Google Cardboard - to slot in their smartphones and explore virtual replicas of stores such as Macy's and Costco.

Those with headsets can "walk" around the shop, "pick up" items to examine them virtually, and make instant purchases by staring at floating buttons.

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Image copyrightALIBABA
Image captionShoppers with VR headsets can examine items, pull up information and purchase goods instantly
Observers say VR shopping could take off as it gives online shoppers a more immersive experience - and Alibaba is the first to do it in a big way.

"If brands could do it themselves, it would encroach on Alibaba's eco-system. So this way the company is pre-empting that and building their own VR mall to keep these brands in their eco-system," says Jack Chuang of OC&C Strategy Consultants.

But there is one big problem - the lack of affordable hardware. Not everyone can afford expensive headsets, and smartphones, while widely used, offer a limited and sub-par VR experience.

Augmented reality and gamification
Like in previous years, Alibaba has been holding online contests and giveaways of vouchers known as "red packets" in the lead-up to 11 November.

This year it's also using augmented reality - the same technology behind the hugely popular game Pokemon Go.

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Image copyrightALIBABA
Image captionLike Pokemon Go, the Tmall game has a virtual map that players can explore
Using agame within the Tmall app, shoppers "capture" Tmall's cat mascot at participating shops and restaurants to unlock and win "red packets".

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Image copyrightALIBABA
Image captionUsers have to tap on their phones to capture Tmall's cat mascot
Gamifying shopping, where customers have to make repeat visits to win rewards, helps to "lock" customers into particular retailers, says Andrew Milroy of Frost and Sullivan.

"Pokemon Go has done a lot to accelerate the acceptance of augmented reality and gamification. Both will do well and can be expected to be widely used by online retailers over the next few years."

But shoppers may soon grow tired of the novelty factor. Mr Chuang points to the steep drop-off of players of Pokemon Go several months after its launch, and says businesses will have to figure out how to use augmented reality in more complex ways.

First mover advantage
Alibaba has also madelivestreaming introductionsto foreign retailers for Chinese consumers, and held an"interactive television"event with its lavish countdown show on Thursday night featuring celebrities like Kobe Bryant and OneRepublic.

Observers say such attempts to innovate show Alibaba is intent on getting first mover advantage, and these new ways of shopping are likely to take off in Asia first, where the company is aggressively expanding.

"Asian countries like China, Japan, South Korea have more experience leapfrogging technology and their consumers are more willing to adopt these new technologies. But there's nothing to stop them from spreading to other countries as well," says Mr Chuang.
 
Tencent pilots smart ID cards
2016-11-11 09:00 | China Daily | Editor: Feng Shuang

More than 900 people in the southwestern city of Nanning have obtained a smart ID card as part of a pilot for the new technology.

People have been able to apply for a digital version of their identity card since last week, when internet giant Tencent and the city's public security bureau announced a strategic partnership to accelerate digitization of urban management.

From next month, the smart ID card will be accepted for household registration applications, according to authorities in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. After that, the pilot could be expanded to include opening bank accounts, booking train tickets or applying for a driver's license.

The service is available through the bureau's smartphone app or its account on WeChat, Tencent's messaging app. Users need to send a photo of their ID card and a selfie for authentication, and in return they receive a QR code, which acts as their smart ID.

"To avoid fraudulent use of the QR code, the code is designed to change every 24 hours," according the head the public security bureau's technology department, surnamed Li.

Tencent has also assured that its facial recognition technology will keep users' personal data safe.

"It's pretty cool to have an ID like this," said Zhang Jie, a 23-year-old university student in the city. "Most people carry a phone with them all day. We can now pay through WeChat, so why not use it as an ID card."

Li said the digital service reduces the risk of residents losing their physical cards, which can be inconvenient.

"With just a quick scan, people can save a lot of time spent searching their pockets," he said.

"But their use still remains a challenge as there's no legal reference yet. It's expected to be first used for household registration, but in the not too distant future, it will no doubt expand to hotel check-ins and security checks."

The ID system is the tip of the iceberg of digital development in China.

The Nanning government has previously worked with WeChat on a wide range of other projects, including emergency and immigration services.

Tencent has also worked with the government in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to promote a smart driver's license and has said its ambition is to extend its Internet Plus services to 24 provinces and cities through strategic partnerships.
 
Baidu maps out global expansion
China Daily, November 29, 2016

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A Chinese visitor buys Santa Claus gifts in Rovaniemi, Finland. Baidu Map is expanding into Nordic countries to help Chinese travelers. [Photo/Xinhua]

Baidu Map, a desktop and mobile map service provided by China's online search giant Baidu Inc, is set to become a world mapping service provider covering more than 150 countries and regions.

On Wednesday, the company will launch its map services for more countries and regions. The new map services will cover countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania, and provide services for 99 percent of the world population.

"This signals that we will finally transform from a Chinese map provider to a world map provider and become the Chinese brand that provides global services for mobile travel applications," said Li Dongmin, general manager of Baidu Map.

Currently, Baidu Map claims that it accounts for about 70 percent of domestic market share, with more than 300 million active monthly users and about 100 million car owners using its mapping service, according to the company.

At the beginning of the year, Baidu Map initiated its internationalization strategies and has been expanding rapidly globally.

On Monday, Baidu Map started strategic cooperation with the tourist administrations of four northern European countries-Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The two sides will exchange data, share resources, and jointly develop more events to improve the traveling experiences of Chinese visitors.

"The cooperation signals a further step forward in the localization of Baidu Map in the course of its internationalization, following our cooperation with the tourist administrations of South Korea and Thailand," Li said.

In the first half of 2016, Chinese people made 59.03 million trips abroad, up 4.3 percent year-on-year, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

Baidu Map said it has covered 25 percent of Chinese outbound tourists, and, by 2020, it aims that overseas users will account for half of its total users.

"We will strengthen in-depth cooperation with overseas governments and leading enterprises and choose some key countries to provide mapping services in local languages and increase our local impact," Li said.
 
Alibaba’s YunOS to overtake Apple’s iOS as China’s 2nd-biggest smartphone operating system
Bien Perez
Monday, 28 Nov 2016 | 12:44 AM ET

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YunOS, the mobile operating system developed by Alibaba Group, is on track to corner a 14 per cent share of smartphone shipments in mainland China by the end of this year, pulling ahead of Apple's iOS to become the second-largest operating system for that device in the market, according to analysts.

The forecasts would confirm Alibaba's claim earlier this year that YunOS had initially passed iOS on the mainland in the three months ended March 31.

Despite the strong strides made by the Alibaba platform, Bernstein senior analyst Mark Li told the South China Morning Post that growth prospects for YunOS outside of its home market would likely be limited to "cheap or subsidized smartphones".

According to research firm Strategy Analytics, Alibaba-backed Meizu, XiaoLaJiao and Doov are the top YunOS smartphone suppliers.

It estimated the total shipments of YunOS-powered smartphones this year will top 100 million units, echoing the earlier projection made by e-commerce giant Alibaba.

New York-listed Alibaba, which owns the Post, has also adapted YunOS to work as an operating system for television set-top boxes, smart home appliances, tablets, internet-connected smart TVs, smart cars and even SoftBank Group's humanoid robot called "Pepper".

At Alibaba's cloud computing conference last month in Hangzhou, YunOS product director Aiden Yong said: "We want YunOS to be the 'go-to' operating system for China's smart industry."

Tsinghua Unigroup semiconductor affiliates Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronic last month jointly launched with Alibaba's YunOS business unit a new chip platform for hardware manufacturers to create innovative products for the so-called Internet of Things market of smart, connected devices.

In a report on Friday, Bernstein pointed out that the key motivation for hardware manufacturers to adopt YunOS are the subsidies from Alibaba.

Set-top box makers on the mainland, for example, reportedly receive from 20 to 60 yuan per box as a subsidy to encourage the adoption of YunOS.

Li said that figure may sound insignificant, but it is meaningful when put in the context of "the razor-thin margins of these hardware vendors", especially the smaller manufacturers.

The low price afforded by YunOS smartphones has made these devices gain most of their users across the mainland's lower tier cities.

Data from Sino Market Research and Bernstein showed that 54 per cent of YunOS adoption last year was found in tier-4 or smaller cities in the country, compared with 9 per cent in the tier-1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The smartphones and other devices that run YunOS serve as the conduit through which Alibaba reaches users, as well as learn more about their preferences and behaviour, according to Li.

He said that deeper understanding enables Alibaba to better provide the various online services, content and advertising under its vast ecosystem.

YunOS, an operating system built from the free Linux software, made its debut on July 2011 with the Tianyu K-Touch W700 smartphone, but struggled to find strong handset partners due to the popularity of Android devices. That prompted Alibaba to acquire a US$590 million minority stake in Meizu last year to help ramp up YunOS adoption.

"For China, YunOS addresses the concern that the majority of smartphones in the nation run on an operating system that is ultimately led by a foreign company, Google," Li said.
 
Alibaba restructures e-commerce business to get ready for 'new retail'
2016-12-03 11:17 | China Daily | Editor: Wang Fan


Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Friday its plan to restructure its e-commerce business in an effort to get ready for the era of data-driven new retail.

Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group, said that the company's business-to-customer site Tmall will be merged with its digital marketing unit Juhuasuan.

The decision aims to bring synergy among the company's business, marketing and operation units and explore all kinds of opportunities to digitalize existing businesses and make new businesses out of data, a move intended to better empower retailers.

Zhang made the announcement in an internal memo that was later made public on Friday. "We need to unify the service strategies for our customers and make sure the entire retail group can coordinate and act smoothly like one person," he said.

China's biggest e-commerce player earlier announced its plan of re-positioning itself as a service provider to build digital and physical infrastructure for the future of commerce.

"With e-commerce itself rapidly becoming a traditional business, pure e-commerce players will soon face tremendous challenges," Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, said in mid October.

"This is why we are adapting and it's why we strive to play a major role in the advancement of this new economic environment," Ma added.
 
Incentives for younger people to think trash
By Hu Min | December 13, 2016
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PEOPLE can now use Alipay to collect points for gifts by dumping their rubbish in the right bins.

The incentive comes after Shanghai’s greenery authorities teamed up with Alipay in the latest drive to spur interest in garbage sorting among young people, officials said yesterday.

The points collected can be exchanged for various coupons on Tmall supermarkets and businesses, the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau said.

The list of the first batch of businesses will be announced next month, it said.

Green account holders earn points by dumping dry and wet garbage into different bins in Shanghai’s “green account” scheme. They can redeem the points for milk, soup, toothpaste, phonecards and tickets to tourist attractions — or use them to pay their utility bills.

Volunteers work in neighborhoods to help people to sort their garbage. They also issue the reward points.

Now citizens can redeem the points via an Alipay app on their mobile phones, rather than doing so in person, according to the bureau.

The gifts distributed by the neighborhood committees will also be expanded to virtual coupons. These are considered to be more convenient and attractive for young people, the bureau said.

“The measure aims to attract more young people to join in the city’s garbage sorting efforts, which proved to be more popular among middle-aged and seniors residents now,” said Qi Yumei, deputy director of the sanitation management department of the bureau.

“Green account has been promoted for more than three years, and has raised people’s awareness on garbage sorting, but the incentives are still limited,” said Qi.

Before gifts were not attractive to youngsters, and could not be redeemed immediately, which also affected enthusiasm, she said.

By cooperating with the online payment platform, the points can be redeemed more quickly with a bigger scope of gifts covered, she added.

To date, more than 2 million households in Shanghai are included in the scheme, with more than 900,000 added this year. The target is 5 million households by 2020.

The amount of domestic garbage being treated per day in Shanghai was estimated at 16,435 tons last year, compared with 18,902 tons in 2011.
 
South Korea Approves Alibaba Affiliate-Backed Internet Bank - Caixin
By Coco Feng

(Beijing) — A group that includes Alibaba's Ant Financial Services Group affiliate has won permission to open South Korea's first online bank, marking an important overseas move into a market that hadn't approved a new lender in 24 years.

The new K-Bank, which will provide services without brick-and-mortar branches, will begin operating in January or February, South Korea's banking regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ant Financial, whose main asset is the Alipay electronic payments service, is among about 20 shareholders that will back K-Bank. The consortium is led by leading local telephone company KT Corp., and also includes local partners Woori Bank and Hanwha Life Insurance.

A second online lender, Kakao Bank, has obtained preliminary approval to open a similar bank in South Korea, and is preparing for a final review. The group behind that bank is led by Kakao Corp., operator of South Korea's leading messaging app, and includes Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.

South Korea had last issued new banking licenses in 1992. The country started to ease restrictions on the sector last year with a goal of facilitating convenience, bringing in competition and innovation, and expanding globally.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent are China's largest internet companies, and have become two of the most aggressive as Beijing opens up the financial services sector to private investment. Alipay was originally part of Alibaba, but was later spun off as Ant Financial's primary asset due to restrictions on foreign ownership.

China's financial services sector was traditionally dominated by big state-run banks, and only a handful of the largest players ever ventured overseas. A new generation of private firms has been far more aggressive and quickly expanded at home.

Ant is one of the few to venture abroad so far, moving into markets where it mostly targets Chinese travelers. It currently has about 400 million users, and is eying an IPO in Hong Kong or the Chinese mainland as soon as next year.

Most of Tencent's payment services are still confined to China, and are connected to its popular QQ and WeChat social networking platforms.
 
https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/19415/wearable-devices-2016/

Wearable devices reached 47% penetration in China in 2016
December 19, 2016ByCIW TeamLeave a Comment

The penetration rate of wearable device in China increased to 47% in 2016 from 32% in 2015, closing in on that of tablets.

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Smart watches (49%) are the most popular wearable devices in China to be purchased by Chinese consumers in the next 12 months, followed by smart bands. Consumers between 25 years old and 44 y-o are the main target age group for buying smart watches in China, accounting for 65%.

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China retail consumer goods market overview Nov 2016

December 15, 2016ByCIW TeamLeave a Comment
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The total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 3,095.9 billion yuan (US$448.36 billion) in November 2016, up by 10.8% YoY according to National Bureau of Statistics of China.

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Of the total, China’s retail sales of consumer goods of units above designated size was 1,479.2 billion yuan, increased by 9.5%.


From January to November in 2016, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 30,056.0 billion yuan, up by 10.4% YoY. Of the total, the retail sales of consumer goods of units above designated size was13,720.3billion yuan, increased 7.9%.

Retail sales of consumer goods in China urban areas was 2,674.8 billion yuan in November 2016, up by 10.8% YoY; while that in rural areas was 421.0 billion yuan, up by 11.0% YoY. From January to November, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 25,858.1 billion yuan up by 10.3% YoY while that in rural areas was 4,197.8 billion yuan, up by 10.9% YoY.

China’s online retail sales of goods and services were 4,599.0 billion yuan, increased by 26.2% YoY. Of which, the online retail sales of physical goods was 3,747.0 billion yuan, increased 25.7%, accounting for 12.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. Of the online retail sales of physical goods, food, clothing and other commodities went up by 28.4%, 17.9%, and 28.8% respectively.
 
Alibaba Double 12 promotion focuses on social commerce in 2016

December 13, 2016ByCIW TeamLeave a Comment

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One month afterAlibaba Double 11 online shopping festivalonSingles Dayin China, Alibaba launched Double 12 online shopping festival on its C2C websiteTaobao.

Alibaba’s Double 11 is more focused onTmallfor brands on Tmall while Dobule 12 is more towards social commerce for smaller merchants and individual sellers via blogs, live-streamed videos and other promotional content.

MobileTaobao has been developing new social commerce features within its mobile app, such as the hosting of special interest groups called Quanzi (circles) where like-minded individuals communicate. One of the most popular social functions on Mobile Taobao is a Q&A feature that enables shoppers to ask questions and get answers from the community.

How Taobao Primes shoppers for Double 12 Promotion
Taobao Headline, a news aggregator within the Mobile Taobao app with over 100 million MAUs, has been featuring a “topic of the day” to encourage users to tell personal stories.

More than 30 million consumers make purchasing decisions based on feedback offered from their peers on Taobao through Wendajia, Taobao Mobile app’s Q&A feature.

According to Taobao, video bloggers, retailers and others broadcast more than 20,000 live-stream video sessions in the lead-up to Double 12. A live broadcast hosted by fashion blogger Zhang Linchao, who has about 3 to 4 million followers onWeibo, on 6 December 2016, attracted more than one million viewers.


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Double 12 promotion viaAlipayKoubei started on 10 December drives huge promotion in offline retail stores; over 1 million retailers have registered their participation this year. Shoppers can enjoy special discounts and offers if they make payment with Alipay.
 

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