China Politics 23 March 2023 As TikTok faces a ban, other Chinese companies in US try to pass as locals "If you are a Chinese company, you are often guilty before proven innocent." By Viola Zhou and Russell Brandom
China The Platform Economy 22 March 2023 Xiaohongshu is teaching young Chinese women how to buy the perfect life Known as China’s “lifestyle bible,” the social media platform is an aspirational living guide or a consumerist trap. By Viola Zhou
ChinaIndiaMexicoMoroccoSingapore Global Tech Downturn 15 March 2023 How the global startup economy is reacting to SVB’s crash Entrepreneurs and investors in India, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, and China are worried about the fallout of the crisis on the funding and regulatory environment. By Nilesh Christopher, David I. Adeleke, Ee Ming Toh, Daniela Dib, José Luis Peñarredonda and Viola Zhou
China 3 Minutes With 14 March 2023 The data startup helping businesses navigate climate change Karen Wang, founder and CEO of Climind, on how climate data analysis can help businesses make better decisions. By Yi-Ling Liu
China Innovation 9 March 2023 China embraces ChatGPT for love letters, Amazon listings Developers make ChatGPT accessible to users behind the Great Firewall By Viola Zhou
China Creators & Communities 7 March 2023 Xiaohongshu becomes an online oasis for trans people in China As authorities tighten their grip on LGBTQ content, the social media platform is a rare exception. By Xinrou Shu
ChinaIndonesia Ideas 3 March 2023 How Chinese smartphones won the hearts (and wallets) of Indonesia Indonesians spend more time on their smartphones than anyone else. And 70% of those smartphones are Chinese. By William Yuen Yee
China Ideas 28 February 2023 China is bored of Baidu. Here’s how their AI chatbot will transform the company "Ernie" will be much more than just a ChatGPT copycat. By Kevin Xu
ChinaUnited States E-commerce 27 February 2023 How Temu topped the U.S. app charts by turning shopping into a game E-commerce giant PDD Holdings' U.S. app hooks customers with referral giveaways. By Viola Zhou
China Labor 16 February 2023 Heartbroken gamers mourn World of Warcraft’s shutdown in China 3 million players — some of whom made their living on WoW — are now without their beloved pastime. By Caiwei Chen
China Politics 14 February 2023 Chinese social media thinks the spy balloon crisis is a lot of hot air Users believe the U.S. is overreacting, making light of the incident with jokes and memes. By Yaling Jiang
China Bento 🍱 10 February 2023 9 viral phrases that explain China’s work culture From “lie flat” to “let it rot,” common terms have taken on new meaning in recent years. By Yi-Ling Liu
ChinaRussia E-commerce 6 February 2023 As Western brands leave Russia, Chinese companies are cashing in Ozon, one of Russia’s most popular e-commerce sites, has welcomed more Chinese sellers onto the platform to fill the supply gap of consumer goods. By Viola Zhou
China Features 31 January 2023 ‘iPhones are made in hell’: 3 months inside China’s iPhone city Workers describe a peak production season marred by labor protests and Covid-19 chaos, right as Apple reconsiders its China supply chain. By Viola Zhou
China Access & Connectivity 11 January 2023 China’s version of Starlink is government-backed — and has global ambitions A constellation of companies has sprung up in recent years to power China’s satellite internet plans. By Meaghan Tobin
China E-commerce 5 January 2023 An online black market for Covid-19 drugs is exploding in China Purchasing agents are sourcing medicines from India and border regions to sell on social media platforms. By Viola Zhou
BrazilChinaEl SalvadorIndiaIndonesiaNigeriaSouth AfricaUkraine Lists 28 December 2022 The stats, facts, and figures that defined tech in 2022 From Bukele’s bitcoins to the number of accounts banned by Twitter in India, the best stats of the year. By Meaghan Tobin
AfghanistanBrazilChinaHaitiIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaMoroccoNigeriaPanamaRussiaSyriaUkraine Year In Review 26 December 2022 2022’s best stories on global tech (that we wish we’d written) Articles from around the world which we loved, obsessed over, and still can’t stop thinking about. By Rest of World Staff
ChinaIndonesiaKazakhstanSingapore Crypto’s Big Collapse 21 December 2022 Crypto miners and traders are closing up shop across Asia From Jakarta to Kazakhstan, the picture is bleak. “We will sell our graphics-processing units to gamers,” says one crypto miner. By Naubet Bisenov, Adi Renaldi and Nicole Lim
China Labor 19 December 2022 As Covid-19 surges in China, sick Foxconn workers are still making iPhones Sick workers say they're being asked to stay on the assembly line as Foxconn ramps up iPhone 14 Pro production. By Viola Zhou
China Culture & Social Media 12 December 2022 “Online testing is a joke”: How Chinese students cheat on U.S. college entry exams For just $5,000, students can buy their way to acing English exams. By Viola Zhou
China Politics 6 December 2022 Apple’s new AirDrop rules will limit viral protest memes in China Users can only enable public AirDrop for 10 minutes at a time, curbing a rare method of anonymous communication. By Viola Zhou and Meaghan Tobin
China Politics 1 December 2022 Graffiti, flyers, word of mouth: China’s protesters embrace low-tech organizing to escape surveillance First-time protesters battle a powerful surveillance apparatus to express dissent. By Viola Zhou and Meaghan Tobin
China Ideas 30 November 2022 China’s livestream shopping craze hits a ceiling Bytedance is looking for other e-commerce revenue streams even as TikTok plans to bring the trend to the U.S. By Rui Ma
China Ideas 30 November 2022 How Chinese influencers are dodging YouTube’s anti-propaganda rules Content from tense frontiers like Xinjiang is being swamped by a litany of rural scenery and delicious food. By Daria Impiombato and Hsi-ting Pai
China Reports 17 November 2022 Inside a boot camp for Chinese TikTok sellers bringing live e-commerce to the U.S. Inspired by Douyin's success, these Chinese sellers think livestreaming is the future of shopping. By Yvaine Ye, Viola Zhou and Meaghan Tobin
China Reports 8 November 2022 “Please give me a chance”: WeChat users are handwriting apologies to get their banned accounts back The Tencent app is so essential to life in China that banned users will go to great lengths to be reinstated. By Viola Zhou
China Reports 26 October 2022 Chinese tech giants are creating a new class of elite workers in Latin America These young employees are so coveted that Chinese tech companies are quick to poach each other’s talent. By Daniela Dib and Meaghan Tobin
China News 19 October 2022 China’s blue-collar workers find jobs over livestream Chinese livestream apps have become an unlikely destination for blue-collar workers searching for jobs. By Viola Zhou
China Features 18 October 2022 The Return of the Lipstick King When China’s top livestreaming salesman, Austin Li, vanished over a tank-shaped ice cream cake, many fans thought he was gone for good. By Viola Zhou and Meaghan Tobin
ArgentinaChinaIndiaIndonesiaJapanRussiaRwandaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States Lists 17 October 2022 Now streaming: Rest of World’s favorite international films and TV shows From Bollywood blockbusters to reality TV, we round up the shows and films you need to watch next. By Andrew Deck
China Bento 🍱 11 October 2022 How Chinese citizens use puns to get past internet censors Chinese social media companies and users are locked in a never-ending battle between free speech and censorship. By Meaghan Tobin and Katherine Lee
China Reports 30 September 2022 Same-sex couples from China are getting married in Utah over Zoom Utah County introduced weddings over Zoom during the pandemic, unintentionally providing a valuable service for China's LGBTQ+ community. By Viola Zhou
China Reports 29 September 2022 Meet the agents teaching TikTok livestreamers how to earn big tips ByteDance is partnering with agencies to cultivate an ecosystem of livestreamers paid with audience tips. By Viola Zhou
China News 22 September 2022 TikTok creators are condensing Hollywood movies into minutes and getting millions of views With machine translation, dubbing apps, and VPNs, Chinese creators are shortening movies for Americans. By Viola Zhou
China Ideas 21 September 2022 How TikTok became an e-commerce juggernaut in China The company made the right bets on live shopping, but it's struggled to bring that success overseas. By Rui Ma