Get ready for the annual insights from TechNode Content Team! The year 2023 can be considered a groundbreaking year in the technology field. As wrapping up this year, we gathered different insights from our content team. We’ll be presenting nine Q&As, with timely updates every Wednesday and Friday in the following weeks!

Today, our Q&A comes from Cheyenne Dong, reporter at TechNode. Cheyenne is a tech reporter now based in Shanghai. She covers e-commerce and retail, blockchain, and Web3.

1. Which company has impressed you the most in 2023?

OpenAI. OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 led directly to the following year belonging to the wild year of generative artificial intelligence. Despite the subsequent launch of ChatGPT-like services by worldwide tech firms, OpenAI’s overwhelming success in AI has made it a challenge for rivals to keep up with its pace.

2. Which company has surprised you the most in 2023?

Alibaba. The Chinese e-commerce giant conducted eye-catching organizational overhauls throughout the past year, and each adjustment has been a big deal, both internally and to the public. What kind of energy the company will unleash in the new year to take on the competition in industries under its startling overhaul?

3. Which industry professional/entrepreneur/startup founder has left the most profound impression on you in 2023?

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. He was able to face around five hours of questioning by dozens of US lawmakers in March.

4. What is the most memorable overseas event for you in 2023?

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman was in the center of media spotlight even before the board abruptly fired him, and this unexpected 72-hour-long firing event gives me a feeling that it’s more exciting than any TV series.

5. If you were to recommend one significant industry trend for everyone to follow, what would it be?

PDD’s market value exceeds that of Alibaba. This landmark event shows that Pinduoduo, which offers ultra-low-priced goods at a time of economic uncertainty, is emerging as the most challenging and disruptive force in China’s e-commerce sector.

6. What industry buzzword have you encountered the most in 2023?

AI, companies in almost every field are looking to rebuild their services and products with the power of AI.

7. Which phrase or sentence best summarizes your perspective on the field you’ve been following in 2023?

Juan or in the English context it can be understood as competition for even some small factors has reached unhealthy levels, like which platform offers ultra-low prices for the same items, delivery times, or providing near-zero threshold after-sales service.

8. What product/company/technology/industry are you most looking forward to next year?

OpenAI’s GPT-5.

9. Do you believe AI has the potential to threaten humanity?

Not at this stage, instead, human beings could be significantly more productive if they had better AI tools, but the future is not easy to predict.

Ant Group, the company behind China’s popular mobile payment service Alipay, is seeing an accelerated adoption rate for its payment services outside of China, less than two years after launching a pilot cross-border payment project. 

Why it matters: The company has pushed to expand in Asia and Europe as countries begin to reopen and offline shopping activities recover. 

• Ant’s businesses in China have faced increased regulatory scrutiny since halting its massive IPO in late 2020. At the same time, China’s consumption has entered a slow period due to recurring pandemic outbreaks and external geopolitical pressure.

Details: On Monday, Singapore-based payment platform 2C2P and Ant entered a strategic partnership, with Ant becoming the platform’s majority shareholder. During the first week of April, Ant saw more than 70,000 merchants outside of China sign up for a business-to-business mobile payment service called Alipay+. The service, launched in September 2020, allows people and merchants from different countries to transact using their local digital wallets. 

• With Alipay+, Ant provides the technology backend and related financial service for digital wallet operators and merchants worldwide, connecting shops with various digital wallet users. For example, the service allows people with a supported Malaysian payment app to shop and pay with their local app in some shops in South Korea. 
• The service supports various digital wallets worldwide, including Malaysia’s Touch ‘n Go eWallet, South Korea’s Kakao Pay, the Philippines’ GCash, Thailand’s TrueMoney, Indonesia’s Dana, and Europe’s Klarna.
• In early April, German drugstore chain Müller, South Korean chain store GS25, and Malaysian company Razer Fintech announced their integration with Ant’s service, allowing their merchants the ability to transact using overseas digital wallets. 
• In March, Ant Group appointed Jia Hang as the new regional head in Southeast Asia. Jia is expected to expand Ant’s ongoing plan to attract more small merchants in the region to use its services. 
• Ant has already integrated more than 1 million offline merchants in Asia and Europe, covering industries including food and beverages, tourism, hospitality, and retail, according to a Monday company statement shared with TechNode. 

Context: Ant Group has quietly pushed to expand its businesses outside of its home country as China intensifies regulatory pressure in the fintech sector.  

• In November 2020, Ant Group suspended what would have been a record-setting $34.5 billion IPO offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
• Alibaba, which has a 33% stake in Ant, was fined RMB 18.2 billion ($2.8 billion) for antitrust violations last April. 
• While China adheres to a strict dynamic-zero Covid-19 policy to control local outbreaks, many other Asian countries have begun moving to a full reopening since the beginning of April. South Korea and Singapore reopened to fully vaccinated visitors on April 1, and Indonesia has lifted all quarantine rules for international travelers.

Cross-border e-commerce has become one of China’s hottest trends. However, it doesn’t only include the import of goods into China—already a trillion-yuan market last year. Firms are increasingly exporting locally manufactured products to the rest of the world. Among these trendsetters is Club Factory, an e-retailer that runs the third-most-popular online shopping app in India.

The backstory: Club Factory is a B2C (business-to-consumer) marketplace that connects consumers with manufacturers, offering price-setting, product recommendations, customer services, and overseas logistics.

• Founded in 2014, the company is the brainchild of former Facebook employee Vicent Lou and his technical team.
• Club Factory is based out of Hangzhou, home to Jack Ma’s Alibaba, which has helped foster a positive environment for e-commerce-focused entrepreneurship and innovation in the eastern Chinese city. It is also home to Kaola, the cross-border e-commerce giant that was recently bought by Alibaba.
• Originally set up as an enterprise-facing data service provider for cross-border e-commerce firms called Baokuanyi.com, the company shifted focus in August 2016 to a consumer-facing model to sell non-standard and affordable goods.

Unique selling point: Similar to Taobao, Club Factory does not stock goods itself, adopting a lighter asset model compared with other platforms like JD. Club Factory requires domestic suppliers to send products to them to quality check before sending them on to buyers.

• The company is lowering prices for overseas consumers by connecting them with manufacturers, instead of sellers, like on eBay, Wish or Amazon.
• Club Factory employs an AI-based algorithm to deal with issues like product selection, product recommendation, and price fluctuations.
• The cross-border e-commerce market is promising in that China has a unique advantage over overseas rivals due to an abundance of suppliers.
• To attract merchants in the destination market and expand inventory categories, Club Factory does not charge local sellers commission fees in India.

“In India, e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart adopted an operation pattern similar to that of China’s JD.com, which pursues high product quality through a closed chain. Indian customers also need another kind of e-commerce platform—a more open one—which provides more options to customers and more vitality. This is the main reason why Club Factory can rapidly develop in the country,” 

Founder and CEO Vincent Lou, speaking with tech media in October

The investors: Club Factory received $100 million in Series D funding last month led by Qiming Venture Partners, and with support from German investment corporation Bertelsmann Asian Investment, IDG Capital and other Fortune 500 companies from the U.S. and Asia.

• The new financing round comes eight months after a $100 million Series C from Bertelsmann Asian Investment.

Present condition: The e-commerce upstart, with a focus on the global market, especially India, has been on a steep upward trajectory for the past few years.

• Club Factory overtook Indian firm Snapdeal in terms of monthly active users on Android in September. This made it the third-largest e-commerce shopping app in India, following Amazon and Flipkart, according to App Annie.
• Club Factory says it has more than 70 million users, of which about 40 million are from India. The rest come from emerging markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
• It plans to bring in 10,000 sellers on its platform before the end of this year and expand to more inventory categories.

The landscape: Facing a slowing economy and a saturated local market, Chinese e-commerce giants are expanding aggressively into the global market. The Indian market, which is expected to surpass the US as the second-largest market by 2034, has become a crucial frontier.

• In addition to global players like Amazon, Club Factory is also going up against Chinese peers like Alibaba’s Ali Express and fashion platform Shein.
• Russia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East also represent key markets for Chinese e-commerce giants.
• Alibaba is setting up a joint venture with a series of big-name Russian partners, including media and information technology conglomerate Mail.ru.

Prospects: Despite the rapid growth, the company is facing a greater challenge in the Indian market due to tighter local regulations and consumer complaints.

• Club Factory was primarily focused on selling imports from China in India. However, growth hit a roadblock when the Indian government started a crackdown in April on Chinese e-commerce platforms that evade customs duty by claiming commercial consignments to the country as gifts.
• Club Factory said last month that Indian SME business on its platform has expanded more than ten-fold to 5,000 over the past six months, thanks largely to its zero-commission strategy.
• Club Factory’s Chinese rival Shein shut down partially following the crackdown.
• User complaints are another challenge. Tech media firm Entrackr reported that the platform has a nearly 50% return rate, which is way above the industry average.
• The most recent funding comes at a crucial time, indicating that venture capital is still bullish on the company’s prospects.

“黑五”来袭，亚马逊中国如何打造纯正的海淘狂欢？– ifeng.com

What happened: Global e-commerce giant Amazon is bringing the Black Friday sales to China. From November 22 to November 24 (Beijing time), Amazon China’s international sales channel allows users to purchase discounted items as same as how global consumers including those from US, UK, Germany, and Japan do. According to Amazon, the event waives global shipping fees for cross-border orders over RMB200 ($28.8).

Why it’s important: Amazon’s Black Friday sale is likely to attract more consumers though Alibaba is still leading cross-border commerce. Amazon’s sales directly offer items labeled with clear discounted prices, whereas the Singles’ Day online shopping mania created in China asks consumers to use coupons and follow complicated sales rules – often confusing consumers and raising doubt about the reliability of the discounted deals. However, Amazon’s special sales need more time to educate the market. The company also lacks strong ecosystem partners including logistics support in China.

While China’s insatiable consumers are still recovering from their hangover on Singles Day—the country’s equivalent of Black Friday and now the world’s largest shopping spree—Amazon China is bringing the real Black Friday to the country as Thanksgiving falls on Thursday this week.

Many Chinese shoppers may not be aware, but the American e-commerce giant has been running its Chinese version of Black Friday since 2014. The 72-hour campaign comes in less than two weeks after Singles Day and aims to capture China’s increasing appetite for imported products. With discounts on oversea brands aside, Amazon Prime members are eligible for unlimited domestic and international free shipping.

This year will mark Amazon China’s largest Black Friday by the number of products on sale, the company claims. On Amazon China’s curated list of “must-buy” items are some of the favorites among China’s rising middle-class, such as UGG’s classic cuff tall boots, Sam Edelman’s over-the-knee boots, Bose’s noise-canceling headphones, and Phillips’s electric toothbrush.

Despite its dominance in many Western countries, Amazon has yet to crack the Chinese market. Amazon Prime made its foray into Asia last year and quickly took off in India, but its future remains obscure in China where local competitors Alibaba and JD.com dominate. According to iResearch and the US Department of Commerce, Amazon holds less than 1% of China’s B2C e-commerce market in 2016. The rest is divided up by Alibaba’s Tmall at 56.6% followed by JD.com at 24.7%. The country’s cross-border e-commerce market is a fierce competition between Alibaba’s Tmall, JD.com, and NetEase’s Kaola.

Amazon has sought to continue its Chinese e-commerce dream through working with local players, including its $20 million funding in Chinese online food vendor Yummy 77 in 2014 and a strategic partnership China’s electronics appliance maker GOME starting April 2016.

Alibaba has marked another milestone in its globalization drive: the e-commerce giant signed this Wednesday a strategic partnership with Mexico to bring Mexican products and services, especially from small-and mid-sized enterprises, to its marketplaces.

According to the memorandum of understanding, Alibaba will create a special program specifically for Mexico to benefit from the company’s business-to-business trading platform Alibaba.com. In addition, Alibaba will share best practices in the operation of its logistics and payment platforms so that Mexican companies might bolster their cross-border e-commerce operations, as well as attract Chinese tourism to Mexico.

Alibaba said it would also provide training in the kinds of analytics that have driven consumer insight and product innovation in the Chinese market.

“Alibaba is committed to inspiring, motivating and enabling SMEs from around the world to grow and thrive through e-commerce and the use of technology,” Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma said. “We are delighted to help promote cross-border trade with Mexico through this MOU.”

For Chinese online buyers, the world is just one click away since cross-border e-commerce is in full swing in the Middle Kingdom. As a pioneer in this trend, Alibaba has been laying out in the sector as early as 2014 with the launched of dedicated channel Tmall Global to tap the rising demand of domestic customers for international products. Through partnerships with different countries, curated shopping sites or “pavilions” on Tmall Global are set up to sell popular products and specialties from selected companies to Chinese mainland customers.

After inking partnerships with countries in East Asia, North America and Europe, Alibaba is gradually expanding its focus to Latin America. This is the third MOU that Alibaba has signed with a government in Latin America. In May, the company agreed to help bring food and wine from Argentina to China, while a partnership with Brazil’s national postal service, Correios, was signed in in 2014.