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We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.
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AI Influencers Open Up World Artificial Intelligence Conference 🤖
Last week, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference began in Shanghai on July 9. The two and a half hour opening ceremony included features from Elon Musk, Jack Ma, Pony Ma, and more. There was also a special performance by four AI-generated virtual influencers: Xiaoice from Microsoft, DuerOS by Baidu, Mi Ai from Mi, and Lingyuan from Bilibili.
For each of these companies who created virtual idols, the WAIC opening ceremony was a chance to showcase their level of AI expertise. Microsoft’s Xiaoci’s learned music with input from human students at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Bilibili’s virtual idols Lingyuan and Yousa are just two examples of the company’s own virtual idol business division. The technology behind the development of virtual influencers has been progressing over the years and the challenges posed by the coronavirus will accelerate their adoption as marketing tools.
Pinduoduo Helps Embassies Increase Tourism 🗺
Pinduoduo, the premier Chinese social commerce platform home to over 600 million customers, has been partnering with foreign embassies and consulates to help promote their country’s products. By using tools like livestreaming, Pinduoduo is helping these countries sell their unique national products to the huge Chinese market.
As an example, on June 23 the Thai Consulate based in Beijing hosted a four-hour livestream showcasing Thai fruit products like durians, coconuts, and mangosteens. More than 330,000 viewers watched the event and it was directly endorsed by Thailand’s Consul General. Thailand’s durian exports have increased 26% year-over-year and 67% of those go directly to China.
Other embassies have also done live broadcasts on Pinduoduo across the month of June, including Serbia, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria. In another example, the Danish Embassy hosted a livestream on June 20 promoting a Danish cookie brand, jewellery maker, and outdoor clothing brand.
This is a brilliant marketing tactic by the countries who have embraced this, as livestreaming is probably the single best way to reach China’s customers today and the demand for international goods is increasing. Pinduoduo reported that the “global purchase” merchandise category has grown 470% year-over-year during last month’s shopping festival.
Indian E-Commerce Companies Face New Labelling Regulation 💌
By August 1st, every single Indian e-commerce company will have to specify ‘country of origin’ for their products. With this new rule, all products listed online will have to now include this information. Prior to this regulation, e-commerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon, and Jio had no obligation to state where their products came from. Now they are aiming to extend the deadline by a few months to deal with the logistical challenges of applying this to their entire product catalog, which can often amount to tens of millions of different items.
This is part of a broader economic decoupling encouraged by the Indian government, who wants to decrease imports and increase locally produced goods. Given the recent political and economic tensions between India and China, this move by the Indian Ministry of Trade is in line with Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi’s movement towards building a more self-sufficient nation. People have also been calling for boycotts of Chinese products, so these new labels will likely decrease the amount of Chinese goods bought by Indians. And yet, things could always go even further with restrictions on trade and commerce.
Update #25 - AI Influencers, Embassy Livestreams, and Indian Labelling