China_Report_Issue_51_August_2017

E COnOMY

T

he first thing Ming Yue does every
morning is logging on her WeChat
account, the ubiquitous Chinese
social messaging service. It’s not rare for her
to find that dozens of traders have added her
as a “friend” overnight.

WeChat is transforming from being a

messaging service into one of China’s busiest

marketplaces. In March 2017, Ming became

a senior agent of a WeChat food company, in

charge of a team of roughly 200 commercial

agents. Each day, Ming contacts her agents

by WeChat or phone to promote the com-

pany’s products.

WeChat business works through the “mo-

ments” function, where people can post

things visible to all their “friends.” Successful

traders accumulate huge numbers of friends,

WeChat E-Commerce

trading With ‘Friends’

China’s popular online messaging application has moved deep into mobile commerce,

but the lack of regulations and the motley crowd of traders continue to be a hindrance

By He Bin