The Chinese social network Weibo is monitoring foreign markets and plans to launch new products in different languages, says a senior company official, sweeping away any possible reservations about censorship and credibility. The platform, which is the second-largest one in China after WeChat, a social network, messaging, and mobile payment app, aims to attract those Chinese living outside the borders of the country, as Zhang Zhe, Weibo’s Director of Sports Operations, said. Also, Weibo plans to launch targeted products for global markets.
“We want everyone who speaks Chinese to use Weibo,” said Zhang Zhe, during a conference on the sports economy in Dongguan, in southern China.
But Weibo also wants to reach new audiences with niche products in different languages, partly inspired by the overseas success of another Chinese company, TikTok, which is a video sharing platform and social network that’s very popular among youngsters.
TikTok’s creator, Beijing-based Bytedance, announced this week a partnership with the NBA, the Nationa Basketball Association in the US, that will allow it to broadcast content in several countries, including the United States.
Weibo Wants To Become Global, Following The Example Of TikTok
“Weibo is a highly developed product. Not only do we have videos, but also images, graphics, articles and even live feeds. We have everything,” says Zhang.
Zhang Zhe also admitted that it would make “no sense” to engage in competition with social networks and media platforms that are already in a strong position abroad, such as the giants Twitter and Facebook.
“So, if Weibo is exported, we think we can enter the foreign markets with a targeted product, as TikTok has done,” added Zhang Zhe.
Coming from a country where censorship is affecting the Internet, however, Chinese technology companies are not always well-received outside China, where their presence raises questions of national security as it has happened recently in New Zealand which banned the use of Huawei equipment from developing the 5G network across the country.
