China’s economic slowdown has mainly hit local VC’s, says William Bao Bean, managing director of the Chinaccelerator, at OZY.com. A government crackdown on risky investments and the fallout from the trade war is hitting the industry after the 2017-2018 boom.

Former trade negotiator Harry Broadman warns at Bloomberg the trade war is far from over despite positive sounds on the phase 1 agreement. US President Donald Trump seems more engaged in winning the 2020 presidential elections than ending the trade war. And he introduces agricultural deals for the US that makes the country look more Chinese than ever.

Alipay and WeChat, China’s largest payment options, opened their services for foreign credit card holders, and it was about time too, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein, author of the bestseller The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from New World Order to the South China Morning Post.

Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok is enthusiastic about the announcement of Alipay to open up for tourists visiting China, followed shortly by a similar move by WeChat. On her vlog, she explains how visitors without a Chinese bank account can now use Aliba. Details on WeChat were not yet known at the moment of recording.

When Google entered the China market in 2006 it notified its users they are looking at a censored search engine. The government hated it, says Kaiser Kuo, former head international communication of competitor Baidu to the Go Tech Daily.

Private companies have a hard time getting bank loans, says economist Arthur Kroeber to Barron’s. But that is nothing new, he adds, the problem is that state-owned companies get loans too easy. That division is more important than the level of China’s debts, he adds. “Too much attention has been paid to the debt problem.”

Zhihu, China’s popular Q&A site comparable to Quora, can be a good place to launch your product, says China marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok at the Jing Daily. But the content-driven platform needs – not surprisingly – also a content-driven strategy, she explains.

Understanding the consumer in China is tough for most foreign companies entering this competitive market, says retail analyst Ben Cavender. There is no escape from shopping here, as retail is fully integrated into daily life. “China is where all the future trends are happening,” he says.

China veteran Shaun Rein explains at the WSJ Tech Live conference how the policies of US President Donald Trump help China companies to focus on their own innovation instead of buying technology in the US.

International trade veteran Harry Broadman discusses how the world’s boardrooms have to shape up to deal with the fallout of the trade war and global tumult hitting companies and countries.