China’s digital landscape is evolving at a staggering pace. 

In fact, the country has gained around 440 million internet users in just ten years. The country also boasts of 800 million social media users.

And while this has launched the country’s digital industries to the top, many of us in the West aren’t familiar with the size of China’s online market — nor the channels that dominate it. 

That’s why we’ve curated this list of top China business statistics: to share all the statistics any writer, marketer, or business owner needs to know about Chinese internet channels. So brace yourself for a whole lot of data.

Here are the top channel stats we’ll dive into:

• WeChat Stats
• Baidu Stats
• Weibo Stats
• TikTok Stats
• LinkedIn China Stats
• Bytedance Stats

WeChat statistics

China’s most popular app, WeChat serves as a multi-purpose platform for communication, shopping, and entertainment. 

• WeChat has 1.2 billion monthly active users worldwide.  – Statista
• WeChat daily users reach approximately 900 million. – Technode
• 25% of WeChat users in China are between 25 and 30 years old, while 19% are over 41. – Statista
• WeChat has approximately 150 million international users. – Business of apps
• WeChat has approximately 19 million daily users in the US – Bloomberg
• In 2018, Tencent’s — WeChat’s parent company — advertising revenue increased by 44% to $8.7 billion, representing 20% of all company revenue. – Campaign
• In 2019, internet companies in China spent 21% of their online advertising budget on WeChat advertising alone. – Statista

WeChat Pay statistics

In China, WeChat Pay is an integrated payment method available to WeChat users — and it’s very popular. 

• WeChat Pay has over 900 million monthly active users according to the New York Times. – New York Times
• WeChat Pay banked 1 billion commercial transactions per day in Q4 2019. – WalkTheChat
• 72 million corporations used WeChat Pay in 2019. – China Internet Watch
• Over 200 million bank cards are connected to WeChat pay. –
• …and the platform can now manage 13 different currencies, in 25 countries and regions.

WeChat mini-programs statistics

WeChat mini-programs are integrated platforms within WeChat that let users shop, play games, watch media, and order deliveries without ever having to leave the application. 

• There have been over 1 million WeChat mini-programs, since 2018 (that’s already half the size of Apple’s App Store!) – TechCrunch
• WeChat mini-programs boast 829 million monthly active users. – Technode
• WeChat mini-programs are responsible for a total 1.1 billion transactions a day. – WalkTheChat
• In terms of revenue generated, WeChat mini-programs contributed $117 billion a year, as reported in 2019. – WalkTheChat

WeChat moments statistics

WeChat moments allow users to share videos, photos, and status updates with their contacts, via a social feed.

• WeChat moments has 750 million daily users. – Business of Apps
• The average user logs into view moments up to 10 times a day. – Business of Apps
• Moments register around 10 billion hits every 24 hours. – Business of Apps

Baidu statistics 

China’s largest search engine, Baidu dominates the market with a 76.05% market share. 

• Baidu has 195 million daily active users. – Statista
• … this adds up to 1.1 billion active devices per month. – CNBC
• Baidu is incredibly popular in China, with a phenomenal 71.13% market share vs. 0.98% worldwide. – Statcounter
• As you’d imagine, this means 94% of Baidu users are from China — while 1.7% are from Japan and 1.6% in the United States. – Statista
• Baidu generated $15.43 million in 2019, of which 76% came from ad revenue. – Statista
• Baidu made up 17% of all digital media ad spend in China for the first half of 2019. – CNBC

Weibo statistics

Weibo (also known as Sina Weibo) is a popular micro-blogging platform in China — similar to Twitter and Instagram. It is the second largest social media site in the country. 

• Weibo daily active users: 241 million. – Weibo
• Weibo monthly active users: 550 million. – Weibo
• 40% of Weibo users are between 23-30 years old, and 57% are male. – Pulse advertising
• The platform sees a vast majority of activity from mobile — at 94%. – Weibo
• In 2018, 42.3% of the Chinese internet population used Weibo. – Statista
• In Q3 2018, Weibo’s net revenue totalled $460.2M, of which over 85% came from advertising. – Social Media Today

TikTok statistics

Next up, we have TikTok (known in China as Douyin) – the worldwide sensation and viral video sharing platform, where users share and upload short clips of dance challenges or online memes. 

And it’s a medium you don’t want to ignore, when learning about China…

• TikTok has 800 million monthly active users worldwide – Influencer Marketing Hub
• … approximately 500 million of which are in China. – Fung Business Intelligence
• Within this, the TikTok platform has 50 million daily active US users — and 400 million in China. – TechCrunch
• 57% of TikTok users are based in China. – Business of Apps
• Douyin makes up 67.9% of China’s mobile social network users. – Tech Crunch
• Over 60% of users have college degrees, almost 65% are female, and 80% are under the age of 30. – Uplab
• Over half of TikTok/Douyin users in China access the app from their mobile device. – Statista
• TikTok has been most downloaded in India (99.8M), the USA (45.6M), Brazil (34.7M), Indonesia (30.7M), Russia (25.0M) and Mexico (24.2M) – Statista
• TikTok is available in 141 countries and is in the Top 25 of 136 of those. – Apptrace
• The app has been downloaded 2 billion times, globally. – CNBC

LinkedIn China statistics 

LinkedIn China is an adapted version of LinkedIn for Chinese professionals. It is the most popular professional platform in the country. 

• LinkedIn China has approximately 40 million users and a population reach of 3%. – Thinknum
• Significant growth has been experienced between 2016-18, where its user base increased by over 50%. – Thinknum
• LinkedIn China is now the third-largest LinkedIn territory behind the US and India. – 99 Firms

ByteDance statistics 

The company behind TikTok and Douyin, ByteDance runs several other social media platforms, including Toutiao, and Xigua Video. 

• ByteDance has a staggering collective reach of 1.5 billion monthly active users and 700 million daily active users across its portfolio. – Technode
• In 2019, ByteDance became the second-largest digital ad player in China, securing 23% of all ad spend in Q1, representing over $7 billion. – CNBC
• ByteDance is worth around $100 billion, making it one of the biggest and fastest-growing companies in the world. – Technode

Want to learn more about China’s ever-expanding digital market?

At AdChina.io, it’s our job to help you launch your brand in the world’s most exciting and high-potential market — China. Got questions? Schedule a demo with our sales team today!