China Tech News

Chinese online game developer and operator Perfect World reached a deal with American gaming software and technology company Valve to exclusively operate Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in mainland China.

This is reportedly the second major cooperating product of Perfect World and Valve following Dota 2.

CS: GO is a team-based first-person shooter video game which is a part of the Counter-Strike series. It was officially launched in the overseas market in August 2012. CS: GO features additional maps, tasks, weapons, and the classic contents of the latest version of CS.
Commenting on the cooperation, Perfect World's president Zhang Yunfan said that the current e-sports market has a great potential and shooting e-sports have a large number of players around the world. Perfect World is optimistic about the prospect of CS: GO. In the future, the company will make great efforts in promoting this game in China.

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What's wrong with staying in China? JD.com's CEO will depart for the United States for family reasons and take a lesser role within the Chinese e-commerce company.

Chinese B2C e-commerce website JD.com announced that due to family reasons, JD's chief executive officer Shen Haoyu will move to America and the company has appointed Shen as JD's international business president.

Shen reportedly sent an internal email to JD's management team, stating that he will move to America due to family reasons. Local media report that he had communications with JD's chairman and group CEO Liu Qiangdong and the core management team. In the second half of 2015, they jointly launched JD's business unit reform and completed the training of new business unit leaders. In order to balance his work and family, Shen will locate in America in the future to support JD's expansion in the overseas market. Meanwhile, he will continue to participate in and support other major projects.


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HTC and Alibaba Group have signed a cooperation agreement under which HTC's newly established virtual reality unit will use Alibaba's cloud computing services.

According to reports in Chinese local media, HTC has been vigorously promoting its head-mounted VR device HTC Vive, aiming to gain new success after the decline of its smartphone business. To stimulate consumers' interest in VR and increase product sales, the Taiwanese company has launched many major measures. In April 2016, HTC set up USD100 million investment fund targeting VR start-ups. In July 2016, the company announced plans to open over 10,000 HTC Vive experience sites in mainland China to provide convenient VR experience to consumers across the country.

HTC said that with the cooperation of Alibaba, the two parties will jointly improve data center infrastructure which is needed to offer streaming and reliable VR contents to consumers.


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Whether deep in a forest or high in the mountains, just about any point in China is accessible my mobile phone, and China Mobile is now planning to cancel long distance roaming fees for adventurous consumers who trek far from home.

China Mobile's chief executive officer Li Yue revealed at the company's semi-annual performance conference that the company stopped sales of new packages that include long distance roaming fees in July 2016 and they are expected to cancel the sales of all long-distance roaming packages at the end of 2016. China Mobile will instead gradually promote nationwide unified packages.

Li pointed out that China Mobile's voice services currently account for 37% of the total revenue of the company. Therefore, the cancellation of long distance roaming fee has certain risks. In cancelling the roaming fee in accordance with a government requirement, the group hopes to minimize the risks in one or two years. At the same time, Li said that cancelling roaming packages can simplify its business, which is good for improving competitiveness and making its plans understandable to Chinese consumers.


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Virtual private networks are maybe so abundant in China that a group of Chinese acquirers now have no need for Opera's VPN services.
A Chinese consortium attempted to buy Opera Software ASA earlier this year, but the bid failed because of regulatory approval.
China Money Network now reports that a Chinese consortium including Qihoo 360 Technology Co., online-game company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. and private equity firm Golden Brick Silk Road Fund Management (Shenzhen) LLP has agreed to a revised deal to acquire part of Opera Software ASA.

The new transaction excludes Opera's video-compression and virtual private network business from the sale.

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Lei Jun, founder of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc., has resigned his position as chairman of the board at NASDAQ-listed YY Inc., the company's quarterly reports show.

YY Inc's chief executive Li Xueling will replace Lei Jun as chairman, and executive Chen Zhou will take over as CEO.
Lei Jun's move may be driven by his desire to focus on running Xiaomi, the troubled smartphone company that has seen sales deteriorate, state Chinese media reports.

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With smartphone upstart Xiaomi recently dethroned in China by competitors Oppo and Vivo, Lenovo Group now also is delivering bad news about its smartphone aspirations.

Lenovo Group's global mobile phones sales dropped 31% in the second quarter compared with last year. It sold 11.2 million smartphones, which is slightly better than the industry's average. According to preliminary estimates for the company's financial announcements, Lenovo's global mobile phone market share has declined 1.5% to 3.2% year on year.

Lenovo smartphone sales in the Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe respectively rose by 5% and 19% year on year. Based on these numbers, its sales in China and the Americas obviously dropped. The two regions are the major source of Lenovo Group's income, and the Americas contribute 30% while China contributes 28%.

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Chinese mobile social networking firm Momo Inc. says an investor group including chairman and CEO Tang Yan has withdrawn its non-binding go private proposal dated June 23, 2015.

"During the privatization process, we have consistently maintained our focus on business operations and delivering growth to our investors," Tan Yan said in an announcement.

He said the management team have a great deal of confidence in the growth prospects of the company, which is supported by the strong momentum in revenues and profitability.

In the second quarter of 2016, Momo's live video service revenues reached US$57.9 million, more than tripling the amount in the first quarter of 2016.

Live video is much more than just a monetization opportunity. It is a brand new form of interaction enabled by technological transitions, and reshaping the way young people socialize and have fun via internet, the company says.

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Young Chinese consumers eyeing overseas fashion and products are the targets for a mobile app flush with new funding.

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Though many of Shanghai's main thoroughfares are off-limits to bicycles, the side-streets and alleys in Shanghai afford riders ample opportunity …

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