Newsletter: Transgenders Face Barriers to Legal Recognition in China

Here’s this week’s roundup of China tech stories.

A report jointly released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and China Women’s University offers an in-depth discussion on the current legal predicament faced by the transgender community in China. The authors believe that law and society will catch up with the increased exposure of discrimination cases.

Another report released by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) shows that there are altogether over 800 million Internet users in China, among which 788 million are mobile Internet users.

Talking about internet users, the latest startup scandal that broke out involve Redcore’s plagiarism of Google’s Chrome browser. The company claimed that the “homegrown” web browser was independently developed while in fact users discovered that it used parts of Google’s Chrome files.

As for new on the BAT, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad chose Alibaba as the first destination for his China tour which started from August 17. Jack Ma showed him the company’s latest technologies on inclusive finance, intelligent delivery and artificial intelligence.

Months after Lu Qi stepped down from the COO position at Baidu, he took on a new role as the CEO of Y Combinator China, the China branch of the Silicon Valley-based incubator. He said it was a result of “the right time”, “the right place” and “the right people”.

Below are the details.

Editor’s Pick

Transgenders Face Barriers to Legal Recognition in China

Market Briefings

China now has over 800 million Internet users, as indicated in the half-year report on China’s Internet by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC).

Alibaba Group ranked fifth in Fortune magazine’s Change the World 2018 list for the philanthropy work done through its subsidiary mapping service that drove money into rural China.

Toutiao recently released a white paper on online public opinion and user reputation of mobile phone brands in the Chinese market in the first half of 2018. According to the report, OnePlus ranked the highest in user satisfaction, followed by Samsung and Xiaomi.

Cheetah Mobile stock price soared over 23 percent in the U.S. stock market, after the Chinese mobile internet company published its “better-than-expected” Q2 financial reports.

JD.com, China’s second largest e-commerce platform, reported a 31.2 percent rise in its second-quarter revenue, falling short of analysts’ estimates after a worse-than-expected sale season.

Tencent published its quarterly results, showing a year-over-year profit drop for the first time in 13 years.

Lu Qi, former Chief Operating Officer at Baidu, was named founder and Chief Executive Officer of Y Combinator China, signaling the Silicon Valley incubator’s ambition to expand its global operations.

Didi Chuxing unveiled its latest AI R&D at the DiDi Tech Day in Beijing, reaching new heights with the integration of AI and AR technology.

Redcore, a Beijing-based start-up, advertised a so-called “homegrown” web browser that can break the “monopoly” of U.S. software, however it was later exposed for using Chrome’s software architecture.

Automobiles

XPENG Motors announced fundraising plans and the delivery schedule for the G3 electric SUV during brand day celebrations in Guangzhou.

Faraday Future has set up its operating headquarters in China and plans to build five R&D and production facilities across the country in the next decade, according to the company’s largest shareholder Evergrande Health Industry Group Ltd.

New Releases

Smartisan Technology released its third new product of the year, the Nut Pro 2S smartphone, with the amazing “Infinite Screen” function.

Vivo revealed major features of the vivo X23 smartphone with wide-angle camera as one of its biggest selling points.

Podcast

In this episode of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma tell the story of Google in China – or rather, its 2010 departure and oft-rumored return.