Tech Buzz China Insider Newsletter
The Tech Buzz China Insider newsletter is a bi-weekly publication on Substack, in collaboration with Six Degrees Intelligence, a leading global expert network/quantitative research firm that operates in China.
Each issue consists of a deep dive into a company or trend in China tech and is largely gleaned from multiple proprietary expert interviews you won’t find elsewhere.
We augment each article with relevant information on recent developments from a selection of Chinese language tech media, which rarely make it into English language media. We also provide a visual presentation with diagrams, graphs, and other media.
You can sign up for the free newsletter below. Note that this only gives you a partial preview of each article. The paid version of this newsletter, which includes the exclusive information from the Six Degrees database, costs $25 per month or $250 per year.
Not sure yet? Try out the free articles below for a taste of what we do, or sign up for a 7-day trial membership on Substack, which gives you access to the latest articles.
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Shein 2024 update – Part 2: Sales Models and Profitability
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Shein 2024 update – Part 1: global growth, logistics, assortment and product development
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Chery’s Global Bloom: Loved Abroad, Ordinary at Home
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From 1.0 to 4.0: Geely's Journey in Intelligentization
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Temu Watch #3: Revenue, costs and profitability
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Temu Watch #2: Under Fire - Compliance and Complaints
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Temu Watch #1: How is the semi-managed model doing?
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Tech Buzz China Video Edition: Social Credit, Temu Demystified
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Can Great Wall Motors Ever Catch Up to BYD After the Twenty Lost Years in the New Energy Race?
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How Much Longer Can Atour's Meteoric Rise Last?
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The Staggering Hippo - Part 2: The Transformation of Alibaba’s Hema (Freshippo)
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The Counterattack of Leapmotor, So Far
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Staggering Hippo - Part 1: Ultimate Guide to Alibaba’s Hema (Freshippo) Store Formats
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How Temu’s semi-managed model could change everything …
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Petal to the Metal - How's Huawei Car Business Coming Along?
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It’s Group Buying, Jim, but not as we know it
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The collapse of Alibaba’s New Retail? - Part 2: Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Convenience Stores
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The collapse of Alibaba’s New Retail? - Part 1: Shopping Malls & Home Furnishing
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Decoding the Surge: Inside China's Growing Dominance of LiDAR Industry
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Community Group Buying: the ‘US military vs the Red Army’
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From Smartphones to Smart Cars: Xiaomi's Automotive Business and Its Strategic Implications
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What’s up with…? - Part 5: WeChat Channels
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What’s up with…? - Part 4: Douyin Local Services
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What’s up with…? - Part 3: Cotti Coffee
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What's up with…? - Part 2: Electric Vehicles and Our Takeaways
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What’s up with…? - Part 1: Temu
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The long and winding road of TikTok Shop
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Unravelling the Dynamics of China's Intelligent Driving Industry; Spotlight on XPeng
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Need for Speed 3: Coming soon, from a Meituan warehouse near you!
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Life After the ¥ 8 Billion Hit: How is Didi Faring?
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Need for Speed 2: Can the front-end warehouse model ever be profitable?
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Manpower over Machines: The Calculated Gamble of BYD
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Changing Lanes: Li Auto's Drive from Green Plates to Pure Watts
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Coffee Wars
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Whatever happened to New Retail?
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Taking a Power Swap - Charting NIO's Journey
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Need for Speed: Instant Retail
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Bilibili - The Story Mode So Far
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Temu: from $0 to $3 billion in 10 months
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Redefining Fresh: Alibaba's Freshippo and the New Frontier in Grocery Business
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Alibaba Cainiao: Delivering Innovation, Globally?
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Electrifying the Future: CATL and its Power Play
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Reports about the death of community group buying are greatly exaggerated …
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Baidu's Ernie Bot: Trying to Ern the Chatbot Crown
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WeChat Channels - The Hope of Tencent
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Food Fight! Douyin’s local services business
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Rain or Shine for Alibaba Cloud?
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The rebirth of XIaohongshu
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Luckin's Revival
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Pinduoduo's Cross-Border E-commerce Platform
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Details on Shein's Operations
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Douyin’s E-Commerce Efforts & Its Increasing Taobao-fication
What Tech Buzzers Say
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Greg D. -- Public Affairs Consultant, New York.
Tech Buzz China Insider is a one-of-a-kind community offering timely news, thoughtful discussion, and well-balanced expert analysis about all things China tech and innovation. Led by leading industry analyst Rui Ma, TBC Insider is ideal for investors and operators looking to level-up their understanding of the Chinese tech space. I highly recommend TBC Insider to anyone seeking substantive conversation, expert insight, and opportunities to network and build relationships with other like-minded individuals.
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Kristina K. -- Digital Marketer, Shanghai.
I initially found the Tech Buzz China podcast and I was obsessed with each podcast episode - so insightful! I then learned that there's an entire community of people on TBC Insider who are just as excited and keen to observe, learn and discuss on the latest tech news and innovation coming out of China. And these are really the type of news and analyses I've not been able to find anywhere else in the media. I work in a China-based tech startup and our business directly depends on these big tech giants. During 2021, a lot of new regulations came out in China and it really changed the internet and tech landscape - TBC Insider helped me navigate all of these changes and participate in making contributions for our business. Also love being able to meet likeminded people on this platform who know what they're talking about - there's so many people making a lot of noise on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, but it's here where I've been able to participate in truly meaningful conversations about China tech.
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QuanNM -- Investment Analyst at A $170mn+ Long-only Asian Equities Fund.
TBC Insider taught me loads about China tech and helped me get back on my feet. It was the podcasts that first got me hooked, and it is really fun to be able to share information and learn about new developments from the very experienced Rui Ma and fellow insiders. There is a good mix of industry veterans, rising stars, and enthusiastic participants that will always give you something new to discover and appreciate. I'd encourage you to apply as soon as you can. — QuanNM. Investment Analyst at A $170mn+ Long-only Asian Equities Fund.
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Y. L. Analyst at Financial Endowment, Boston.
Rui is one of the best resources on China tech I have come across. She is a rare talent equally capable of navigating both Chinese and Western tech ecosystems, parsing out the signal from the noise. Her insights from actual primary sources from China tech are simply not available in the news or research reports. Being a TBC insider has only amplified the experience, giving me the privilege to learn from a whole community of people who are smarter than me.
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S. R. Managing Director and Regional Counsel at a U.S. Fintech Firm, Asia.
I've really enjoyed my reading at TBC Insider and am very interested in China tech because of my personal investments. That said, I have way too many subscriptions and since am not involved in China tech professionally, I can't derive the full value out of the subscription. I really enjoyed reading all the stuff Rui Ma and the TBC team put out.
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Anton M. Assistant Professor, Researcher, Consultant, Shenzhen.
I had been following Rui Ma's nuanced insights on Chinese business and tech for a long time, so I immediately jumped at the opportunity to join the TBCI community. The community offers a wide variety of views and analysis from the perspective of investors and technology companies in China. As a researcher that relies on timely qualitative and quantitative data on Chinese technology firms and VC, I have found the regular analysis, presentations, and conversations invaluable. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of community members and guest presenters, which include individual and institutional investors, people with experience in Chinese tech and finance, as well as legal, financial, and academic experts. From a professional standpoint, you get a very comprehensive view of Chinese tech trends, regulations, government policy and even macroeconomics.
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Sean C. Financial Advisor, United States.
Helpful and informative. The casters clearly have a sound understanding of the tech industry in China. The dialogue is engaging and oftentimes humorous. 30-40 mins per podcast is just the right length. Highly recommended.
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Warren T. China Big TechCo, China.
I find the podcast and the newsletter ... to be among the best secondary sources of information on China tech. The content is well-researched and contextualized to give a good overview of the latest Chinese tech development and its curation of what is worth paying attention to is invaluable in today’s age of information overload.