6 Must-Read Tech Stories in China This Week

China was on public holiday for three of the working days this week, but we still managed to dig up plenty of new tech developments and put forth some opinions of our own. Here are the most popular ones:

1. The New York Times Gets Xiaomi Way, Way Wrong

It seems that the ‘old gray lady’ of the media world needs a new pair of spectacles, because this tedious New York Times article seems to be only able to see startup phone maker Xiaomi through the prism of Apple. (No, not that Prism).

2. Why Don’t More Chinese Internet Companies Expand Overseas?

Check out my colleague’s five reasons for this tech industry insularity.

3. Apple’s iOS 7 is Copying Other Operating Systems, Say Chinese Net Users

On one of China’s top tech blogs, 60 percent of respondents to a poll reckon that Apple’s iOS 7 has “plagiarized” Android and Windows Phone in some way. Personally I think that’s nonsense; iOS 7 looks really good and will hopefully – I’m talking as an Android user here – shake up some of the more eye-stabbingly awful Android skins out there [1].

4. China Leads Asia in VC Investments in E-Commerce; Sadly Acquisitions Are a Rare Sight [STATS]

From 2010 to the present day there has been more than $6.9 billion in investments made in Asian e-commerce sites. While China attracts far and away the majority of that investment, check out how few acquisitions there are – that really can’t be healthy.

5. WeChat Under Suspicion from Indian Intelligence Bureau

The Hindu reports that Indian intelligence officials have told the National Security Advisor that apps like China-made WeChat pose “new cyber threats.”

6. WeChat Competitor Feixin: 100 Million Users, But Low Activity Levels

It’s not often that a mobile telco – those beastly behemoths – is ahead of the curve on innovation, but China Mobile was doing group messaging before WeChat made it cool in the country. But its app is now looking like a bit of a wasteland.