Baidu Replaces Bing on Edge Browser in China

Chinese Internet giant Baidu Inc has struck a deal with Microsoft Corp to make Baidu.com the default home page and search engine for the US behemoth’s Edge browser in China, the companies announced in Seattle on Wednesday. Clearly this deal was struck well ahead of the Seattle tech summit during President Xi’s recent US visit.

China Nears One Billion Mobile Web Users

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) says that China is nearing one billion mobile web users. We believe that some of these are double counted because of the use of multiple mobile devices.

Xiaomi’s Advertising Issues

A new law in China prohibits the use of superlatives in advertising, according to a story we found in Slashdot.com. Xiaomi is rumored to be one of the companies being investigated to see whether it violated that law, after a complaint from a competitor about Xiaomi’s advertising campaigns.

Children of the Yuan Percent

We thought this was an interesting read: “The fuerdai, China’s second-generation rich kids, are the most loathed group in the country. They’re also its future.”

Updates from Sinocism

From our friends at Sinocism:

1. China Mulls Plans For a Digital ID Card to Track Internet Users: China’s public security ministry is pressing ahead with moves to force more of the country’s 668 million netizens to use their real names and a digital ID card online. The move is part of a raft of tighter Internet controls enshrined in the draft Cybersecurity Law being debated in China’s parliament, the China Youth Daily newspaper said in a recent report. Officials at the ministry are already preparing to implement the measures, although the bill has yet to be passed into law by the National People’s Congress (NPC), the paper quoted cybersecurity official Li Qingqing as saying. // 公安部将明确细化网络实名制

2. Beijing 100 Percent Covered by Web of Surveillance Cameras-RFA: The city’s police department said in a statement that “every corner” of the capital is now covered by the municipal surveillance system, the official Xinhua news agency reported. “The complete coverage by the video system during the holiday is part of a move to tighten the capital’s security and avoid crimes in crowds,” it said. The upgrade, which has seen a 29 percent rise in the number of cameras on Beijing’s streets, is part of a nationwide “skynet” policy requiring cities across China to achieve full video surveillance coverage.

Niko Partners on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter @nikochina to see these comments in real time as we publish them! Here are a few of our tweets from last week:

  • Nadella of Microsoft and Zuckerberg of Facebook also at head table w Xi at White House dinner
  • Full guest list of White House state dinner for Xi https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2015/09/25/complete-guest-list-for-the-state-dinner-in-honor-of-chinese-president-xi-jinping/ …
  • Vietnam is the best market bet for games studios: Niko Partners http://e27.co/vietnam-is-the-best-market-bet-for-games-studios-niko-partners-20150922/ …
  • Zynga acquires social casino studio Rising Tide Games http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-09-14-zynga-acquires-social-casino-studio-rising-tide-games …
  • Interesting article “Maybe China thought no one would notice that it just killed the biggest stock futures market” http://www.businessinsider.com/china-kills-stock-futures-market-2015-9 …
  • China’s mobile gaming industry will surpass the U.S. as it grows to $5.5B this year http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/01/chinas-mobile-gaming-industry-will-surpass-the-u-s-as-it-grows-to-5-5b-this-year/ … via @GamesBeat
  • Chinese mobile games revenue to surpass US mobile games revenue this year! Our Chinese Mobile Gaming Report is out: http://bit.ly/1Kplss7
  • Gamasutra – U.S. mobile industry revenue about to be overtaken by China: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/252722/US_mobile_industry_revenue_about_to_be_overtaken_by_China.php