Last week, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced intense questioning at a U.S. congressional hearing. Following grilling from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he received overwhelming support from TikTok users, who have sought to protect it from a ban by the U.S. government.
In fact, several Chinese apps have gained popularity among young Americans, despite the U.S. government's concerns about data privacy and national security.
During the first three weeks of March, Temu was the most downloaded app across all of U.S. app stores. It was followed by TikTok's video-editing partner app CapCut and then TikTok itself. Fashion retailer Shein came in fourth while Facebook META, the only non-Chinese app, rounded out the top five, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The popularity of Chinese apps is largely due to the fact that app developer firms based in China target the U.S. market and spend to push their apps in the U.S., the publication notes. The firms reportedly test the apps for user preferences and optimize their AI models at home, then export the tech overseas.
"They are totally killing it in markets where they need to constantly reiterate products to meet user demands," Guo Yu, a former senior principal engineer at TikTok's parent ByteDance Ltd, told the Wall Street Journal.
And while TikTok continues to fend off accusations of being complicit with the Chinese government, Shein and Temu have taken steps to distance themselves from their Chinese roots to avoid possible scrutiny from U.S. authorities. Shein has changed its parent company to a Singapore-incorporated entity. Temu, on the other hand, is based in Boston and runs its U.S. business through a Delaware-based company, the Wall Street Journal points out.
According to analytics firm Sensor Tower, Shein was recently the top-ranked shopping app in the U.S. Similarly, Temu raked in 13 million downloads in the fourth quarter, more than double that of Shein.
"When Chinese companies see an opportunity, they are more willing to buy traffic at a much earlier stage and on a much bigger scale than their U.S. counterparts," Ivy Yang, a China tech analyst who formerly worked for e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, told the Wall Street Journal.
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Photo: Nordskov Media via flickr
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