This was a big week in China; big acquisitions, big announcements, big user numbers, big sales and big PR fails. Of course, nearly everything about China is big, but this week really seems super-sized. Want the skinny? Here are the top news stories in China tech this week:
1. Baidu to Buy Mobile Platform Operator 91 Wireless for $1.9B
Baidu is buying big into mobile with this absolutely massive acquisition of 91 Wireless. Next week we’ll take a look at why this happened and what Baidu hopes to gain.
2. China’s Xiaomi Doubles Phone Output, Sells 7M in 1st Half of 2013
Xiaomi continues to sell very well, and the new phone coming next month (probably) should generate even more interest.
3. Sina’s Response to a Report About Weibo’s Dwindling User Activity
This vindictive response is truly bizarre; it’s terrible PR and it does nothing to censor the report in question. A stupid move by Sina.
4. China Now Has 591M Internet Users, 460M Mobile Netizens
China’s internet is huge, and getting huger every day. We’ve got the latest numbers, which show that the country is closing in on 600 million net users.
5. China Unicom Confirms WeChat Subscription Plan to Launch August 8
China Unicom’s rumored WeChat subscription plan is now official, and it might not be a great deal for customers but Unicom hopes the extra income will help it resolve the OTT problem China’s telecoms are having.
6. Inspired by Paypal, Sina Gets Into Online Banking
Sina announced a web banking platform this week that will allow users to do everything from investment management to bank transfers. What it’s going to look like, or when it will actually launch, is less clear, though.
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