Pandaily's Digest #20221214 & Holiday Season Offer
Musk's dream of turning Twitter into a 'super-app' like China's WeChat will be an uphill battle.
Can Elon Musk Really Make Twitter Look Like WeChat?
During an interview in May with the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley, Elon Musk lamented the lack of an ‘everything app’ outside China. “My idea would be like, how about we just copy WeChat?” he suggested.
Volkswagen’s Skoda Reportedly Reassessing Future Strategy in China
Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, is reportedly considering a withdrawal from China and will make a final decision next year, according to German media outlet Automobilwoche. In response, a spokesperson for Skoda China said that the company has not made any decision on the necessity of adjusting its strategy.
Binance Resumes Withdrawals of Stablecoin USDC After Short Suspension
Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, resumed stablecoin USDC withdrawals about eight hours after it announced a pause in the service on December 13 while it carried out a “token swap.”
American EV Firm Lucid Motors Launches Recruitment in China
Lucid Motors, an American electric vehicle maker and potential Tesla rival, has commenced a recruitment drive in China, involving 14 positions in digital informationization, hardware engineering, law, logistics management, supply chains, retail and other fields, according to a report by Jiemian News on December 13.
Chinese Economist Uses Baidu Search Data to Forecast Future COVID Cases
A popular economist on Chinese Q&A platform Zhihu released a report on December 11 regarding the initial round of expected mass COVID-19 infections since the government lifted tight restrictions in recent weeks. The forecast, published by a verified account called “chenqin,” is based on Baidu search data for “fever,” showing that many cities in China may reach their peak before the Spring Festival in late January.
CEO of Alibaba’s Grocery Chain Freshippo Shares Views on Europe Trip
Hou Yi, the CEO of Alibaba-owned supermarket chain Freshippo, is currently on a trip to Europe to study local market conditions, including stops in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. While traveling, Hou posted some of his feelings on Toutiao, a popular Chinese news and information platform.
Tmall Supermarket Launches Products Showing Carbon Footprint in QR Code
Tmall Supermarket, an Alibaba-owned grocery purchasing platform, unveiled its “carbon footprint” certification series of products this week at the first Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, China’s Zhejiang Province.
World of Warcraft Team in Talks With New Potential Distribution Partners in China
Blizzard China released a letter from John High, General Manager of World of Warcraft’s production team, to all of the game’s players in China at midday on December 13, saying that it is currently negotiating with some new potential distribution partners. The move follows the Amercian game developer and publisher’s announcement in November that it will be suspending most game services in mainland China due to the expiration of current licensing agreements with China’s NetEase.
China Unveils First Batch of Scientific Images Taken by Solar Probe Kuaifu-1
China’s Space Science Center released the first batch of scientific images captured by the country’s first comprehensive solar probe on December 13. The Advanced Space-Based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), dubbed Kuafu-1, has been operating in orbit for two months since its launch in October.
Electrolyte Water in Short Supply After China Adjusts COVID Policies
With the adjustment of COVID-19 prevention and control policies in many cities in China, in addition to a wave of panic buying of cold medicines, some food products have become unexpectedly popular recently, such as canned yellow peaches and electrolyte water. Reports emerged that “electrolyte water” and related beverage products on Chinese e-commerce platforms were in short supply, with some brands out of stock.
Enjoy Pandaily’s Digest newsletter so far? Subscribe to our premium/pro plan with a holiday season offer to get full access to ALL content on Pandaily.com and our exclusive database of over 100 Chinese tech companies.