China's biggest apps are inviting the West closer into its insular internet economy
Business Insider · 2026-08-25
China's traditionally insular internet economy is beginning to open up to foreign users, marking a significant shift from its decades-long closed-off status. Major Chinese tech companies are facilitating this integration, with Tencent's Weixin Pay enabling international visitors to use their home wallets for QR code payments at tens of millions of merchants in mainland China, a collaboration praised by TenPay CEO Wenhui Yang and PayPal. Jeffrey Towson of TechMoat Consulting highlights this as a solution to the previous difficulty tourists faced without WeChat Pay or Alipay.
Beyond payments, Chinese social media platforms are also expanding internationally. Bilibili, a youth-focused content platform popular among anime, comics, and gaming enthusiasts, launched an international app this month and is actively recruiting non-Chinese creators and staff in Japan, the US, and Europe, as reported by Semafor. This follows TikTok's 2017 overseas launch and RedNote's (Xiaohongshu) international audience growth in 2025. Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, observes a trend of Chinese tech and internet companies offering globally competitive products, such as Kimi K3's frontier AI, which is significantly more affordable than Western models. These firms are making "aggressive, intentional forays into foreign markets" to meet global demand.
*The full article also explores the broader implications of these companies' global ambitions and the potential for increased economic interconnectedness.*