Facebook, NY Times Make New China Moves Facebook和纽约时报在华新动向

By newsdoug on February 23, 2012

There are some interesting new moves in China’s new and traditional media spaces, with Facebook, one of the industry’s youngest players, reportedly looking for young Chinese software programmers while the New York Times (NYSE: NYT), one of the oldest players, is taking a gamble on publishing in the market. Let’s take a look at Facebook first, as that’s the more interesting of the 2 developments as the company prepares for its highly anticipated multibillion-dollar New York IPO. Just last week I wrote that Facebook had registered a number of its trademarks in China (previous post), in the latest preparations for its long-stated plans of entering a market which it has said is critical to any global strategy. Now domestic media are citing a number of students at some of China’s leading science universities saying they have been approached about applying for software programming jobs with Facebook, which would include training stints in the US. (Chinese article) Certainly the implication here is that these bright young students would be sent to the US for cultivation as future leaders of Facebook’s China site, if and when it ever sets up such a site. China followers know that Facebook’s global web site has been blocked in China since 2009, and the company has reportedly run into problems for plans to open a China-specific site, with Beijing laying down several conditions that Facebook would find very unattractive. (previous post) Despite all the setbacks, these latest developments indicate Facebook is still pressing ahead aggressively with plans for an eventual China site, and won’t quit until it finally gets what it wants. Kudos to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for his determination! On the less controversial front, the New York Times, arguably one of the world’s most respected media names, has officially entered the world of China publishing by partnering with a local company to produce a monthly science magazine for distribution in major Chinese cities. In fact, the New York Times is probably one of the last major global magazine publishers to discover China, as most other major global players are already active in the market through similar partnerships. What’s significant is that all of these global publishers now operate in a gray area, since foreigners technically aren’t allowed to publish in China in any form. So the entry of such a major name, and also a relatively conservative one, like the Times looks like affirmation that the market may finally be maturing and perhaps Beijing could even soon lift the publishing restriction on foreigners. It’s also significant that the Times chose to publish a science magazine, as clearly such a topic is far less controversial than other more sensitive social topics. Look for this move by the Times to be followed by other publishers who haven’t entered the market yet, as Beijing gradually releases its restrictions on foreigners in the sensitive industry.

Bottom line: Facebook’s new China hiring campaign highlights its determination to enter the market, while the New York Times’ entry to China publishing reflects a maturation of that market.

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