The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s unicameral parliament, convened last Saturday to kick off its annual meeting which runs until March 16th. It’s a lot of pomp and circumstance, with the NPC widely dismissed as a “rubber stamp” parliamentary for the Chinese Communist Party. Nevertheless, the meetings offer valuable insight into the Chinese government’s priorities and ambitions for the […]
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Online Grocery Startup Raises $30 Million To Attract Students
Online grocery delivery startup Nanjing Eight Days Online Network Technology Co., Ltd (8天在线) announced the completion of a 200 million yuan ($30 million USD) series B + round on Thursday, led by Chinese cosmetic company Longliqi Group. Grocery delivery has been covered by many Chinese players including Yihaodian, JD.com, and Tmall along with other product categories, but Eight […]
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Alibaba Invests In Online Lotteries Despite Stiff Regulation
It has been a year since Chinese authorities suspended online lottery sales to clean up the once black market. While it’s still uncertain when the halt will be lifted, domestic internet giants are taking a more upbeat view of the industry’s growth in China. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce behemoth poised to expand into entertainment, online health and securities, […]
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Chinese Cloud Company QingCloud Seals $100 Million Series C
QingCloud, a cloud computing platform offering IaaS-based cloud services, announced that they have secured a 100 million USD Series C financing today, led by two RMB funds with participation from existing investor BlueRun Ventures. The new capital will be used for R&D and the construction of cloud infrastructure, the statement added. Co-founded by Richard Huang, Reno Gan […]
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China Doesn’t Tip In Restaurants, But They Tip Millions Online
Tipping wait staff for food, hotels, taxis or other service-based industries isn’t the norm in China. While it is widely believed that Chinese consumers are generally unwilling to participate in the tipping culture, a wealth of online ‘tip’ services shows otherwise. In fact Chinese netizens commonly tip on a range of online services from literary works to […]
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Running A Coworking Space In China: Q&A With Bob Zheng, Founder Of People Squared
China’s coworking space industry has exploded over the past few years, matching the fast growth of the country’s startup ecosystem. According to the Wall Street Journal, there were 3,200 coworking space companies in 2014, compared to 400 in 2008. Not all coworking spaces are connected with startups, however. China Vanke, a real estate company, launched […]
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China’s Apple Stores Now Stock Air Quality Monitors As Pollution Surges
Beijing has once again been shrouded in smog this week, with pollution levels reaching hazardous levels over the past two days. It’s perhaps unsurprising then that the country’s Apple stores have decided to stock a piece of hardware primed for urban China: air quality monitors. As of Wednesday, the Origins Laser Egg hit the shelves in 29 […]
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LeCloud Pockets 1 Billion RMB Series A
LeCloud, the cloud computing and data processing arm of Chinese internet giant LeEco (formerly known as LeTV), announced on Thursday that they received a 1 billion yuan (US$150M) of series A led by Chongqing Industrial Investment Fund, a 80 billion yuan state-owned investment fund by the Chongqing government. LeEco’s stake in the cloud computing unit will […]
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Alibaba’s Finance Arm Looks To Invest In Caixin
Just over two months ago Alibaba agreed to acquire Hong Kong’s flagship English language daily, the South China Morning Post, and now it appears the media spending spree isn’t over. In a statement on Wednesday, Caixin Media Company Ltd., the well-known publisher of Chinese finance magazine Caixin, revealed they were in talks with new investors. Sources cited by the Wall […]
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Startup weLian Wants To Connect China’s Fragmented Entrepreneurs
Hangzhou-based startup weLian (微链) announced a 28 million RMB (about $4.2 million USD) round of Series A and A+ funding on Thursday, led by Bojiang Capital (博将资本) and Rushan Venture Capital (如山资本). weLian is a platform that connects different players in China’s startup ecosystem, such as investors and entrepreneurs. “weLian wants to optimize the entire startup […]