China passed this week the threshold of 802 million users and with less than 60% of citizens online, growth is not stalling. And while China’s government has a reputation of controlling the internet, that growth can jeopardize control, says business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, to the South China Morning Post.
The South Morning China Post:
“[Expansion of internet access] is a double-edged sword. It’s good for internet companies, and good for the government if they want to control the population better, but it also means there are more risks,” said Shaun Rein, the managing director at China Market Research Group. “It’s easier for a lot of criminals to push gambling, pornography or drugs because it is such a large internet market.”
As of June this year, seven in 10 Chinese internet users have shopped and paid for purchases online. About 566 million people use mobile payment, an increase of 7.4 per cent compared with six months earlier.
More at the South China Morning Post.
Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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