WEIBO: Internet Execs Hobnob In Wuzhen; Xiaomi Aims High
Most of China’s high-tech attention was focused on the scenic canal city of Wuzhen near Shanghai this past week, as a who’s-who of top Internet executives gathered for a conference that billed itself as a global gathering. Most of China’s top names were reportedly at the event, including Baidu’s (Nasdaq: BIDU) Robin Li, Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Jack Ma and NetEase’s (Nasdaq: NTES) Ding Lei. But the guest list was notably lacking in major global names, and at least one executive commented on the sensitive subject of the exclusion of global leaders like Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) and Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) from the Chinese Internet.
Meantime, the marketing savvy Lei Jun, who is also CEO and hypemaster supreme for smartphone sensation Xiaomi, also managed to make his own mini splash in the microblogging realm by declaring his own ambition to overtake Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to become the world’s biggest smartphone brand. Such hype from Lei isn’t all that unusual, though I was somewhat surprised to see several executives from other firms chime in with support for this upwardly mobile company.
Let’s begin our weekly microblogging round-up in Wuzhen, where executives were gathered for most of the week at one of China’s first attempts to host a truly global Internet conference. While the event attracted plenty of Chinese, led by Premier Le Keqiang, the only major foreign attendee I noticed in the steady flow of reports was Paul Jacobs, chairman of leading global smartphone chip maker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM). And even in that case, it’s unclear if Jacobs was at the actual event or just nearby for a meeting with Premier Li Keqiang.
Jacobs certainly had plenty of reason to be in China, which is one of his company’s top markets. But his company is also under investigation in China for anti-competitive practices, and he undoubtedly spent some of his time on this visit trying to argue his case in front of anti-monopoly regulators who could soon levy a record fine against Qualcomm.
The absence of major global names from the event was observed by Cai Wensheng, CEO of smartphone maker Meitu. As others like Robin Li and Jack Ma were rushing from session to session at the conference, Cai noted that a global Internet will only exist on the day when sites like Facebook and Twitter are accessible in China. (microblog post) Both sites have been blocked in China since 2009 because they don’t police themselves for content that Beijing considers sensitive.
Most other talk coming from Wuzhen was relatively frivolous, reflecting the fact that these events are often more important for networking and insider talk than a place for major news. Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) vice president Chu Dachen forwarded an interesting post noting that Alibaba’s Jack Ma was uncharacteristically dressed in a suit and tie and was even a bit nervous at the event. (microblog post) The post speculated that Ma, who is known for his casual dress and outspokenness, may have been nervous in the presence of so many Chinese Internet regulators and also around someone so powerful as Premier Li Keqiang.
A couple of recent high-tech defectors were also microblogging from the event, though neither said much of interest. In one instance Zhang Yaqin, who recently left a high ranking position at Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to join Baidu, forwarded a post with names of many top executives attending the event. (microblog post) The other saw Chen Tong, who recently left a high post at Sina to join Xiaomi, commenting that executives shouldn’t be judged on how they dress, in response to another post poking fun at many top executives for their dated fashion sense.
Despite the broader fixation on the Wuzhen conference, Xiaomi’s Lei Jun also managed to make his own mini-splash by modestly expressing his aspirations to become the world’s largest smartphone maker. Xiaomi has risen rapidly since rolling out its first trendy smartphones less than 3 years ago, and surprised much of the world by being named the world’s third largest smartphone maker in the third quarter of this year, behind only Apple and Samsung.
Lei has never been one to miss an opportunity to promote his company, and caught people’s attention this time by expressing his hopes to take the global smartphone title within the next 5 years. (microblog post) I was surprised by the strong support he got from other Chinese tech leaders, who seem to be buying into Xiaomi’s own efforts to portray itself as a homegrown Chinese version of Apple.
Derek Shen, China chief of US professional networking giant LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD), said foreign tech companies didn’t give Chinese counterparts enough credit for innovation, in an apparent reference to a recent controversy that saw a top Apple designer brand Xiaomi as a copycat. (microblog post) Even Zeng Xuezhong, an executive at smartphone rival ZTE (HKEx: 763; Shenzhen: 000063), was surprisingly supportive, saying all manufacturers should aspire to become global leaders. (microblog post) Xiaomi certainly has momentum on its side, though 5 years is a relative eternity in this day and age for mobile telecommunications.
