No Choice But China

Steven wrote yesterday that Asia has more than 1 billion internet users. That’s huge and that’s largely thanks to China. China has more than 500,000,000 (that’s 500 million) internet users. That’s more than the total U.S population, is so big that it is hard to avoid China nowadays. So many companies have headed into China. Some raise strategic funds in hopes of getting more connections in the country. Even the web is seeing more and more content in Chinese.

(More: China has no innovation? Look closer)

That’s just scratching the surface though. Moving five years ahead, things will be vastly different, I believe. I don’t have a magic crystal ball but I think the signs of this trend are quite compelling. I’m lucky to be able to understand both English and Chinese which helps greatly in my quest to understand the Chinese market. Other folks who are less fortunate struggle as they find it hard to understand the language, let alone the market and culture. Many didn’t want to move in even though they know that the Chinese market is oozing with potential. It is sometimes fascinating to see people putting their guard up when talking about China.

But can a company with international ambition avoid China? I don’t think so. At least not for long. It seems to me that having a slice of the Chinese market (even if it’s tiny) is becoming a must for all big and small companies. It’s a proof to your investors or shareholders that you’re making some real progress in Asia. Yup, if you don’t have China, you don’t have really Asia. Again, the numbers talk — China with its 500 million internet users. Big companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google are exceptions of course. But how many of us can reach to that level?

(More: Copying, Executing, Building)

Many folks find China a mysterious country. In some ways it is, like many Asian countries. But as an entrepreneur, there’s really little to fear. More than 99 percent of startups fail. So having China as part of the plan will increase your failure rate by maybe 0.1 percent? There’s no math in this, but my point is that running your own business is already a huge risk. So getting into China shouldn’t be feared, it should be embraced. We may or may not succeed. But c’mon — I think China is certainly worth a shot. Do it now or it will be too late when the market is flooded with your competitor products. It seems like we don’t really have much of a choice, do we?

(More: The Rise of Social Media in China, With All-New User Numbers)

[Image credit: Chinatown.com.au]