But for most of the 18 entrepreneurs and investors, and especially for those in their 20s and 30s, last week’s visit largely failed to impress. To many in the group, northern California’s low-rise buildings looked shabbier than the glitzy skyscrapers in Beijing and Shenzhen. They can’t believe Americans still use credit cards and cash while they use mobile payment for almost everything back home, including settling bets for their Texas Hold’em games one night in Palo Alto.
They didn’t see the shared bikes that are ubiquitous in China’s cities nor could they order meal-delivery service at any hour. Office buildings don’t use facial recognition to gain entry.
At several meetings, presentations included slides showing the volumes of China’s online meal delivery and mobile payments are many times that of the volumes in the U.S. Their slides also said e-commerce makes up more than 20% of China’s retail revenue while making up about 10% in the U.S.
“I’ve read about this before from the media and wasn’t sure if it’s for real,” says Ding Jichang, founder and chief executive of Mobiuspace, a mobile app developer. “Now I know we’re not self-delusional.”
Fine, I am willing to concede that China MAY be on the cutting edge but you seem to forget one small but big detail about China - it is not a free, say what you want or do what you want kind of country. Big difference…
Have them visit Las Vegas or Manhattan and they’ll find familiarity with the skyline.
Silicon Valley has never been impressive when it comes to real estate - both commercial and residential. Most folks are disappointed on their first visit here whether they come from overseas or other parts of US. It’s only later that people can look past the shabby office buildings and SFH shacks to appreciate the tech ecosystem, climate and cultural diversity!
“China is like a startup. The U.S. is like a big corporation,” says Mr. Ding, whose company is developing an app to improve video-watching even on cheaper smartphones popular in emerging markets. “China runs very fast, tweaking along the way. The U.S. runs at a steady pace, doing a lot of research and development. It’s hard to tell who will win in the end.”
I’m a very “lame” person… I enjoy staying in a “lame” place like the Silicon Valley… going back to a “cutting edge” society like China is going to “kill” me…
