The media reported that Meta is currently trying to establish cooperation with the Chinese company Tencent in order to resume operations in that country.
The tech giant has something to offer the Chinese consumer, but there is a certain obstacle, because of which the company’s intentions may not turn into actions with a concrete practical result. The media say that Meta may eventually be left alone with its unrealized plans to resume business in China because of the position of the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding this country and its actions. This circumstance has not been officially designated as an obstacle to the emergence of a technology giant on the market that requires a solution, or as a reason for an unequivocal and unconditional ban, but the corresponding negative content factor exists and its influence can become decisive even without public statement.
Meta’s main intentions regarding activities in China concern the sale of the Quest virtual reality headset on the local market. The company’s management is much more confident in the prospects of the relevant business plan than in the perception of Mark Zuckerberg’s personality in China.
The list of statements by the head of Meta, which could potentially become an obstacle to the resumption of the tech giant’s activities in the Chinese market, consists of several items. Mark Zuckerberg once claimed that China’s technology sector is involved in the theft of developments. He also criticized the owner of TikTok ByteDance negatively. Another component element of Mark Zuckerberg’s negative position from the point of view of China is the refusal to comply with local censorship rules.
If the tech giant and Tencent agree on cooperation and begin to implement attempts to obtain licenses and approvals from the Chinese authorities, the statements of the head of Meta may become either a complicating factor in these efforts, or even make it impossible for the company to operate in China.
Meta and Tencent have not yet provided any comments on the possible interaction. Experts say that this partnership would be beneficial to both companies. Negotiations with Tencent, according to media sources, have positive dynamics, but this process is far from complete and, due to the ambiguous attitude towards Mark Zuckerberg in China, may be completely in vain.
Tencent is a private investment holding firm that specializes in high-tech business, including Internet services, and developments in the field of artificial intelligence and electronic entertainment. The company’s structure includes social networks, web portals, virtual music platforms, e-commerce tools, search engines, payment and post services, cloud databases, and divisions for creating mobile and online games.
There is also insider information about Meta’s attempt to establish interaction with Lenovo as part of efforts to return to the Chinese market. There are no details about this negotiation process.
Meta social networks were blocked in China in 2009. But the tech giant still receives revenue from local advertisers.
The news about Meta’s attempts to return to the Chinese market came after the company announced a new game subscription service for its virtual reality headset last week. Subscribers will have access to two games per month, which can be played online, using a headset, or through the Meta Quest app.
In March, it became known that since 2020, the company has sold about 20 million copies of the Quest 2 headset. The cost of one unit of this product is $400. Also this year, the company has reduced the cost of the premium version of the headset from $1,500 to $1,000. This decision was made against the background of low sales.
The virtual reality space in 2023 made the launch of the Apple Vision Pro headset for mixed reality the main object of interest. Tipatat Chennavasin, the co-founder of the Venture Reality Foundation, called this headset an ecosystem where millions of developers will earn millions of dollars by selling their products to billions of people.
The implementation of Apple’s project in the field of an alternative configuration of being in the digital dimension turned out to be a complex process, faced with forced restrictions. The technology giant plans to release less than 400 thousand units of the headset in 2024, although initially its plans provided for another figure equal to 1 million copies of the mixed reality device.
Apple fans, who have a kind of loyalty to the brand, have already stated their readiness to buy Vision Pro, but this is not a guarantee of the commercial success of the product on a large scale.
