Comments on: Why China Isn’t “The Next Silicon Valley”

By: The Chinese Internet: Why the “Copy Cats” Win | 心灵家园 HeJinJian

The Chinese Internet: Why the “Copy Cats” Win | 心灵家园 HeJinJian — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:58:29 +0000

[...] industries like consumer packaged goods and entertainment—are all growing and developing at in parallel. In the US, you could argue social networks are the Web 2.0 answer to the Web 1.0 online dating [...]

By: The Chinese Internet: Why the “Copy Cats” Win

The Chinese Internet: Why the “Copy Cats” Win — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:31:05 +0000

By: Will China’s Best Coders Flock to Kai-Fu Lee’s New Incubator?

Will China’s Best Coders Flock to Kai-Fu Lee’s New Incubator? — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:30:24 +0000

[...] market opportunities are certainly there, and we’ve written before about the $20 billion in capital chasing Chinese high-growth ideas. So the biggest gamble in Lee’s analysis is whether [...]

By: simonuk

simonuk — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:12:11 +0000

Interesting article. My big question is; given that there is a boom in China and there are many startups, are they innovating ie. Do the startups create new ideas or do they copy the West and make it better? Would they have created Twitter, or come up with a cloud computing concept, blackberry, iPhone, google, Apple etc etc. exportable to the west. Is the observation one of mass innovation and creativity historically associated with the valley?

By: Remember McAfee? - Global Affairs Forum, Politics, Law, Science, Health

Remember McAfee? - Global Affairs Forum, Politics, Law, Science, Health — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:06:19 +0000

[...] Valley has become more conservative, so it will not be as innovative as before. But there is a dissenting opinion that says China still doesn’t have the social infrastructure to create an innov… And I would say, when it does develop that infrastructure, its population will be too old to be a [...]

By: Khyber

Khyber — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:19:45 +0000

I agree with the assessment in the article. After all the Indians and Chinese go to the original silicon valley and are able to create successful start-ups. It is not as if suddenly in the US they become more capable and competent. I am sure that the eco-system, social and general ‘infrastructure’ plays a very crucial role. If not, these Indians and Chinese should be able to replicate the same successes back home (but they are not able to do so).

By: 中国为何不是下一个硅谷 - Hong Xiaowan 中文版

中国为何不是下一个硅谷 - Hong Xiaowan 中文版 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:16:17 +0000

[...] Why China Isn’t “The Next Silicon Valley” Hong Xiaowan Posted @ 06.02.2009 in 新闻 tempwidth = 396;tag="a6ef0575270a6a3dd0b665413b86eeaf";username="";count=50; tagsCallback([ {"created_at":"Sun Jun 28 12:58:50 +0800 2009", "source":"this blog", "text":"这是我博克，欢迎回访 http://sites.google.com/site/wsaelel/", "id":"96", "user":{"profile_image_url":"http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/?d=identicon&s=16", "name":"也许知道", "screen_name":"0", "description":"zuosa.com", "location":"zuosa.com", "url":"", "id":0, "protected":false}} ]); $(document).ready(function(){ //hide comments_body after the first one $(".comments_body").hide(); //toggle comments_body $(".comments_head").click(function(){ $(this).next(".comments_body").slideToggle(100) return false; }); //zuosa me $("#button5087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9").click(function(){ postdata5087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9(); }); //comments vis zuosa $("#button6087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9").click(function(){ postdata6087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9(); }); //twitter me $("#button7087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9").click(function(){ postdata7087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9(); }); }); function postdata5087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9(){ url = "http://api.zuosa.com/direct_messages/new.json?user=hongxiaowan&callback=data&text="+encodeURIComponent($("#5087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9").val()); $.getScript(url,function(data){alert("zuosa me success");}); } function postdata6087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9(){ url = "http://api.zuosa.com/statuses/update.json?callback=data&status="+encodeURIComponent("[3b64667daac06cdde905ad53e1fc92e8,a6ef0575270a6a3dd0b665413b86eeaf]"+"@hongxiaowan "+$("#6087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9").val()+" "+location.href.replace(/#[A-Za-z-0-9]+/g, "")); $.getScript(url,function(data){alert("comments vis zuosa success");}); } function postdata7087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9(){ url = "http://twitter.com/direct_messages/new.json?user=hongxiaowan&callback=data&text="+encodeURIComponent($("#7087e7df2361abe3b1e11ecadac232a9").val()); $.getScript(url,function(data){alert("twitter me success");}); } .comments_head {padding: 5px 0; cursor: pointer;width:150px;} [...]

By: Young/Old, Analysis/Speculation, Serial/Parallel, China/Saudi/Egypt | CNReviews

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:48:02 +0000

[...] during her visit to China, TechCrunch’s Sarah Lacy returns home to the US to explain “Why China Isn’t The Next Silicon Valley“. Her observations and points go beyond China’s tech scene and apply quite well to the [...]

By: Rebecca Cottrell » Design for the other 90% in China

Rebecca Cottrell » Design for the other 90% in China — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:45:12 +0000

[...] Sarah Lacy describes a cause for the fascination-factor with China succinctly: What makes China so staggering is that everything that happened to corporate America over decades—think the television and media studios build out of the 1950s, the greed of the 1980s, the dot com bubble, the build out of physical and IT infrastructure, current Web 2.0 and CleanTech innovation—is all happening to China at once. [...]

By: Varun Aggarwal

Varun Aggarwal — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:07:13 +0000

Great post Sarah – I totally agree with you! In fact, I was in Shenzhen recently as part of my MBA curriculum. Did you visit Tencent’s offices? I highly recommend it – they surely are blazing away and have huge plans for future expansion. For starters, check out their new office where they will move in next year – it has to be the tallest office of any web company in the world! And with qq.com and other Chinese web properties, they are a company to watch out for!

By: Weekend Reading

Weekend Reading — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:02:29 +0000

[...] Why China Isn’t “the Next Silicon Valley”: by Sarah Lucy on TechCrunch. [...]

By: Peter C.

Peter C. — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:53:48 +0000

I think it already started. There are numerious US companies selling IT product designed in China. If trend continues, it will be not only hardware and software but also services available in USA directly from China provided in the future. Good example is BinaryNow(http://www.binarynow.com) which started to distribute Kingsoft Office – alternative to Microsoft Office in USA. As long as US companiess partners with Chiness companies, it is win-win situation and consumers will benefit.( better price and better quality). It is yin yang deal.

By: Tian Bai

Tian Bai — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:33:50 +0000

This is one of the best TechCrunch posts, indeed.

As a native Chinese entrepreneur, I invite those who haven’t been to China to live in Beijing / Shanghai for at least 1 month. Just walking in the street, you can feel the energy. If you even got a chance to work / startup here, you would realize that the most powerful, unfading engine behind the booming economy is really the hard-working Chinese people who contribute way more than they get.

Although I desperately want more democracy and liberty, I would admit that for now, more democracy / liberty is not most needed for China. Absolute authority means higher risk in going the wrong direction, but also means high efficiency and absolute execution, which is very important for rapidly growing economy.

By: fedd

fedd — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:31:07 +0000

india, china, israel… i’d complain that there’s too little love for russia!

By: Thought Garage

Thought Garage — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:33:43 +0000

Why China Is So Different Than Any Other Country?…

That’s why calling China merely “the next Silicon Valley” misses the singularity of what’s happening there. The Valley has never been like this, and I don’t say that to knock the Valley. In many ways, our steady development has b…

By: 这几天 « Mc

这几天 « Mc — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:46:14 +0000

[...] 前天看techcrunch.com，老外说开心网发掘出了SNS的赢利模式了。一愣，TC的大佬太多，分析家也多，当参考看看吧。 [...]

By: Sarah Lacy

Sarah Lacy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:34:07 +0000

Sarah, great article! You are fabulous! Why aren’t more people praising you for your intelligent insight?

By: steve mobs

steve mobs — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:14:20 +0000

china isn’t the next silicon valley. First off they have been under communist rule for decades, which has squandered the entrepreneural spirit and china’s ability to think outside of the box. They have been conditioned to be obedient.

most of the businesses being started in china are nothing innovative.

By: Anand

Anand — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:08:51 +0000

The more negative PR about China, I am happy..Now you happy?

By: David Scott Lewis

David Scott Lewis — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:55:00 +0000

Now I’m scared: I’ve been living here (in China) for over five years … and I certainly hope that I won’t be here for another five!

Read my “Letter from China” columns over at the AlwaysOn Network and Sand Hill Group. My columns tell it like it is from the inside, not as a tourist.

For reference, I was VP, Business Development at the two largest U.S.-focused, China-based IT outsourcing firms, and SVP for the ITO and ESO arm of Tsinghua University, China’s MIT. Rather than comment on your observations, I’ll just say that the longer you live AND work in China (especially in the tech sector), the more you realize that this isn’t a different country, it’s a different planet. It’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s just VERY different.

My bottom line response: There’s very little in common between ZGC/ShangDi/Haitian District and the Mid-Peninsula/Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve lived and worked in both, in senior positions no less (Director-level at Oracle HQ, VP at the META Group office in Burlingame). Not apples and oranges; more like apples and a Snickers bar.

By: Mich

Mich — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:41:03 +0000

India has had a very anti-entrepreneurial government in the past, high taxes, and way too extensive bureaucracy, not to mention an infrastructure that is in shambles, all which has and will make it to lag China in development.

By: jonathansiloon

jonathansiloon — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:12:13 +0000

China will not replace Silicon Valley, but it will make more money if Silicon Valley keeps constant and stays in the valley. Been in China for 4 years, I have two observations about China:

1. The speed bringing things to the market. I guess this is Sarah’s main point. One time I chatted with a person sitting next to me on a flight from China to Toronto, he said “It is not cheap labor that makes China rich, it is productivity.” Looking ourselves, I could not agree more.

2. Learning the mistakes from Silicon Valley. They do copy ideas, but they enhance them by making money from their own people, a huge market. The education system in China has a problem and cannot provide creative young people. Period! But if they change it (can happen overnight, believe me), new ideas will come along in a big time.

So I believe it is time for Silicon Valley to re-think, and change, especially in the speed to make money. I really like Peter Schiff’s book: Crash Proof. While Americans are busy in building nice golf courts for its people to enjoy, Chinese people are making apples and oranges to feed their own people. When there is not enough apples and oranges, you have to work double harder to survive. Now USA may face shortage of them, while China could produce more than enough soon. So who should work harder?

By: EK

EK — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:02:05 +0000

Sarah your article exposes a considerable lack of business acumen as well as technological understanding. You do yourself and TC a disservice. Challenge yourself by trying to write an article where there is no reference to yourself, farm league.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:49:08 +0000

And the sad thing is whenever you hear something that does not agree with you, we must be paid by Chinese government, brainwashed… etc. It is pretty amazing. Why don’t you just accept the “truth” that there are people will have different point of view, different value?

By: just.a.guy

just.a.guy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:26:29 +0000

One good insight here worth pointing out is that the Chinese notion of “guanxi” (relationships built over time) is less of a quaint, folksy small-town type phenomenon than it is a way to protect yourself from getting screwed in a place where you cannot trust anyone due to rampant fraud, unpredictable civil and criminal law enforcement, and corruption related to both.

When you hear Chinese talk about the importance of guanxi in their country, realize that it’s because they have a hard time trusting outsiders because they can’t even trust each other.