AI insights from China’s Tech giants
Technology
Westlake’s latest reports draw on discussions with AI experts from Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba, offering fresh perspectives on China’s evolving GPU and ASIC landscape. Tencent’s AI Product Manager detailed the rationale behind increased domestic GPU procurement this year and outlined potential market shifts if B30A and H20 export policies are relaxed. ByteDance’s AI Solution Architect described surging AI compute and token usage and the rapid expansion of AI investments and custom chip development. Alibaba’s AI Project Manager discussed GPU procurement trends, progress in its T-Head ASIC programme and ongoing Qwen model development, including on-device use-cases.
Edition: 222
- 17 October, 2025
Consumer Discretionary
Arete downgrades JD to Sell, slashing their FY25 EPS forecast from $4.00 to $2.30. JD has sharply scaled back food delivery subsidies, with per-order losses narrowing from ~RMB10 to ~RMB6 last month. As a result, daily delivery volumes have fallen from ~25m to ~12-15m. The incremental market created by JD in the food delivery sector will ultimately be divided up by Meituan and Alibaba as JD retreats. Arete estimates ~5% of JD’s GMV is at risk from SKU overlap with fast-delivery “insta-shopping” categories. Meanwhile, JD’s new initiatives show little traction: its travel business lacks scale, stablecoin plans face regulatory hurdles, while a potential €2.6bn Ceconomy deal brings operational risk. Arete also questions the relevance of JD’s micro-drama platform, which trails dominant rival ByteDance.
Edition: 217
- 08 August, 2025
China’s recent high-profile meeting with private entrepreneurs signalled Beijing’s strategic priorities, highlighting firms advancing state goals while sidelining others. Key invitees included Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei, while Baidu, ByteDance and JD.com were absent. This distinction suggests Beijing’s support for companies driving innovation in AI, advanced manufacturing and strategic industries like EVs and semiconductors. Xi Jinping reinforced the Party’s control, urging businesses to serve national interests and promote "Common Prosperity". Firms like DeepSeek, Alibaba and BYD align with these objectives. Conversely, Baidu and other omitted firms may face tolerance but lack government backing.
Edition: 206
- 07 March, 2025
The Metaverse: A year to forget
A rotten year for The Metaverse which has one more gift to give with the cancellation of ByteDance’s Pico 5 headset, one of the most popular devices for developers. Cancellations like this and a market that halves will only serve to delay the take-off of The Metaverse as well as slow the development of the ecosystem around it. While the release of the Apple Vision Pro in 2024 could trigger renewed interest, Richard Windsor believes the segment remains uninvestable at the moment. He is keeping tabs on Roblox and Unity, but both companies are too expensive and their shares look set to stagnate / decline for a while yet.
Edition: 176
- 22 December, 2023
Consumer Discretionary
Downgrades the stock to Sell as BABA backpedals on plans to spin off its cloud business. The malaise today is an aftermath of overexpansion since the group’s IPO in 2014. The resulting conglomerate not only draws ire from the CPC and runs afoul with trustbusters, but also piles up deteriorating assets. So, what needs to occur for Blue Lotus to turn bullish? 1) Taobao / Tmall need capable management to defend against ByteDance, PDD and JD. 2) Needs to resolve its issues with the government on businesses which pose security uncertainties and invite antitrust actions. 3) BABA must be managed by people with high aspiration for success and corresponding incentives.
Edition: 174
- 24 November, 2023
Communications
ByteDance passed a significant milestone in RedTech's latest survey, capturing nearly 33% of estimated ad spending. However, peak short video, tougher competition and tougher regulation (both domestic & overseas) complicates the story. While growth usually trumps uncertainty, ByteDance is a more mature company than it was and it will only get harder to generate the kind of breakneck growth that investors like to see. The upshot of all this is that the optimal window for an IPO is likely in the next 12 months. Unfortunately for the Chinese tech giant, while it was eyeing a valuation of ~$400bn in 2021, in the current environment RedTech believes it would be lucky to get $300bn.
Edition: 157
- 31 March, 2023
Communications
The shares reacted positively to quarterly results, but Shifara Samsudeen has questions over the sudden increase in losses booked under unallocated items (c.RMB2.0bn in 2Q22 vs. RMB381m in 2Q21) as well as the company not disclosing the key operating matrices for core businesses. Going forward, Shifara also expects Meituan to face severe competition from Ele.me as the latter has formed a partnership with ByteDance’s Douyin to create a take-out mini-app on the video sharing platform. Shifara is also keen to emphasise the fact that the regulatory probe on Meituan is still far from over.
Edition: 143
- 02 September, 2022
China: e-commerce grassroots surveys
Community group buying e-commerce competition landscape further optimised - JD.com shrinks, while Meituan Select, DuoDuo Grocery and Tao CaiCai’s market shares improve. Meituan Select and DuoDuo Grocery are clearly better positioned in terms of order volume, with a combined market share of c.80%. More details on traditional e-commerce business, live streaming e-commerce competition between Kuaishou and Douyin, and express industry dynamics are available in Horizon Insight's quarterly survey report.
Edition: 137
- 10 June, 2022
Communication Services
The American ByteDance? - In a bad week for FB, Mr. Zuckerberg shot down allegations effectively, claiming that the US government wants to utilise events to stifle his company's ability to distribute news and information. The media is not a neutral observer and a draconian crackdown seems on the cards, which would hurt the US as a tech superpower long term.
Edition: 121
- 15 October, 2021
Risky Business: China’s Tech Crackdown & How to Navigate it
While the official ban on the most lucrative activities in the after-school tutoring sector marks a new low in the regulatory crackdown, RedTech maintain that China is not trying to strangle the golden goose. A handful of big losers will be offset by a majority of companies that are well positioned for growth in a tighter regulatory environment. The less risky (Tencent) are being dragged down with the more risky (Didi), creating lucrative, long-term investing opportunities. Other companies mentioned include Alibaba, Ant Group, ByteDance, Douyu, Huya, JD, Meituan, Pinduoduo, Sogou and TAL.
Edition: 116
- 06 August, 2021
Tencent (700 HK)
Communications
Pursuit of global gaming domination; acquisition strategy to continue - Tencent has already closed 50+ video game related deals YTD (vs. 31 in the whole of 2020 and over 5x more than in 2019). Niko Partners discuss how the company's investment strategy has evolved over the last few years and the reasons behind its more aggressive approach in 2021. Topics covered include international expansion (esp. Europe); targeting of high growth areas such as fans of anime content and female gamers; as well as the challenge posed by the likes of Alibaba and Bytedance.
Edition: 111
- 28 May, 2021