Smartphone applications developed by Chinese companies are expanding internationally. A survey of the five most downloaded apps in 95 countries and regions revealed that Chinese apps, such as the video publishing software "TikTok", made up more than 30% of the total. Compared to three years ago, the proportion has increased and is now on par with US applications. Despite increased regulation in the US for reasons of safety and security, the prevalence of Chinese applications has continued to grow.
Based on data from Sensor Tower, a US-based research firm, the Nikkei analyzed new downloads of Google and Apple's app release services in the US from January to March 2023. Out of the top 5 apps in 95 countries and regions, including Japan, China, and the US, Chinese apps accounted for 33%, or 156 out of 475. This represents an increase of approximately 8 percentage points compared to Q1 of 2020.
The app with the highest number of downloads is TikTok, developed by ByteDance, which ranks among the top five in 82 countries and territories, accounting for 86% of the total. Additionally, CapCut, a video editing application provided by the same company, has also experienced significant growth and is ranked among the top five in 48 countries (51% of the total).
SHEIN, an online clothing shopping application that imports apparel and groceries from China at a competitive price point, has gained significant popularity among the younger demographic. It has secured a spot in the top five rankings across ten countries, primarily in European and South American regions such as Spain and Brazil.
In terms of countries and regions, four Chinese applications occupied four out of the top five positions in the United States, ranking first, second, third and fifth respectively. Chinese apps are present in 90% of countries and regions' top five rankings while only ten countries including Japan and India have no Chinese apps among their top five.
Regarding the Chinese app, Toshihiko Okano from NTT Data stated that "new technologies and initiatives are required in the Chinese market from a user-centric perspective. The companies that have succeeded in China are expanding their business globally and demonstrating strong competitiveness." He also mentioned that TikTok's algorithm for recommending videos based on users' preferences and SHEIN's ability to leverage the Chinese supply chain to ensure stable product supply are both supported by young people.
In the past, the top five apps in the US accounted for over 30% of the market share, which is comparable to China's app market. Meta apps like Instagram alone held a quarter of the total share, but American companies' overall percentage dropped from over 50% in January to March 2020. Currently, Chinese and American enterprises are counterbalancing each other.
This has raised a number of concerns as the Chinese government is entitled to request personal data held by domestic Chinese companies.
In response to the Chinese app, countries are strengthening controls in areas such as risk management for safety and security. The US and Europe have prohibited its use on public terminals for government employees, while Montana state legislature passed a bill in April banning the activities of TikTok's operating company. Additionally, in April, the US parliamentary advisory body published a report titled "Risk of Data Infringement and Intellectual Property Infringement" regarding SHEIN.
New Chinese apps continue to be introduced and welcomed despite the presence of adverse forces. Temu, the most downloaded online shopping app in the US and Canada from January to March 2023, was released by China's PDD Holdings in the autumn of 2022, and the photo-sharing app "Lemon8" by ByteDance, released after the autumn of 2021, is also gaining popularity in Japan and US.
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