How e-commerce and livestreaming became frenemies

Baidu’s billionaire founder Robin Li. “Home appliance queen” Dong Mingzhu, of electronics maker Gree. Luo Yonghao, the indebted online celebrity founder of smartphone maker Smartisan. China’s livestreaming industry has welcomed a flurry of high-profile figures over the past few months.

Livestreaming is really, really big. From its low-budget, grassroots origins, it has become a mainstream habit and an essential part of marketing in post-Covid-19 China.

Livestreaming is closely intertwined with e-commerce, short videos, and gaming. China’s livestreaming-derived market grew to RMB 61 billion (about $8.6 billion) in 2019, and is projected by research firm Equalocean to achieve a 12% compound annual growth rate to reach RMB 100 billion by 2023.

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Emma Lee is Shanghai-based tech writer, covering startups and tech happenings in China and Asia in general. We are looking for stories related to tech and China. Reach her at lixin@technode.com. More by Emma Lee

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