Wechat vs. WhatsApp: Why China is not a nation of copycats

Whilst the preconception of China in the West is often that of a “copycat nation” or “the world’s factory”, the reality of China, however, is very different to how it had been portrayed to us. Coming to China from the West, it has become clear to us that China is establishing itself as a global leader in technology and innovation, far beyond Western nations. As a fast-paced and ever-evolving innovative nation, China already appears to be a leader in service innovation, cashless mobile payments, e-commerce and artificial intelligence. In particular, WeChat - the hi-tech social media platform that integrates functions for almost everything from messaging and calling services, cashless mobile payments, social media and e-commerce, to name a few - and the likes of which is difficult to find anywhere else in the world. WeChat is China’s “app for everything”; it is the first app you will discover when you come to China. In this paper, we compare WhatsApp and WeChat; two messenger apps, one from the East and the other from the West, that seemingly started with similar aims – to connect people through instant messaging and calling functions – yet the evolution of both has been so significantly different that it can be compared to the East–West dichotomy. Through this comparison and paper, we aim to draw attention to and provide a glimpse into the enormous realm of innovation and technological advancement in the world’s most populous country.