China’s tech sector has grown significantly in the past two decades and is making it a challenge for the US to keep its long-standing position of the world leader. Companies like Huawei, WeChat, Baidu, Tencent, and Qualcomm among others consolidate the country’s efforts in becoming the next-generation leader in tech worldwide. Lately, China and the US are battling for the 5G technology leadership, and the competition leads to an economic war that assumes sanctions and restrictions for companies on both sides. 

Mainly there are three pillars of China’s tech sector growth: venture capital, innovation, and distinct entrepreneurial culture. All these with governmental support managed to transform China from a mass manufacturer into a tech giant.

At the same time, Alessandro Cormio from Naturality states that China has a rapidly growing market for IT products and services, with a large and increasingly tech-savvy population. The Chinese government has invested heavily in developing its own tech industry, which has led to a vibrant and innovative tech ecosystem. However, there are also significant challenges. Chinese consumers have started to shift their preferences towards domestic brands, making it more difficult for foreign companies to gain a foothold in the market. In addition, habits and market in general are very different to handle and develop when compared to the west. I always suggest NEVER trying to enter this market with the same strategy and approach as Western countries.

Why you should work with Chinese IT companies

As mentioned above, one of the three pillars of China’s tech sector is distinct entrepreneurship. In China, IT companies and businesses in general work differently than the traditional Western style. It’s about social digitalization where companies don’t need direct human interaction anymore - everything can be done remotely. Even though freelancing is a very well-known practice in the West, Chinese IT companies use corporate freelancing allowing professionals to focus on project tasks from different parts of the country.

Chinese companies don’t have any more language barriers when it comes to communication and project management is at its highest. Tech specialists are doing their job properly and fulfill the exact requirements and instructions mentioned by clients. Honestly, this is no surprise, since discipline is in the Chinese blood for centuries. 

Another reason for working with Chinese IT companies may be an abundant workforce. While European and US markets mainly confront a workforce shortage, it’s not the same for Chinese companies where tech specialists are struggling to get a place in an IT company.

What you should be aware of when working with Chinese IT companies?

On the other hand, the government controls all business processes, especially with foreign clients and investors. As a potential client, you will meet certain bureaucratic barriers that will cut the business’s appetite. The number of papers that need to be signed overlaps several times, and the number of papers you need in Europe and the US. But after having everything done, all will go smoothly.

The prices may vary from region to region and company to company. It depends on how well a region or a company performs on the national level - which still remains the main indicator for Chinese IT companies in terms of notoriety. That makes a good idea to be aware of what regions are likely to provide better services, and in which field. 

To this answer, Alessandro Cormio adds that due to the very different market culture and habits of China, to better enter the market, companies need to be aware of how differently things work in China

How reliable are Chinese IT companies

Same thing we could say about reliability. Since the country has more than 15,000 IT companies, it wouldn’t be fair to rate all companies under the same figures. Companies located in more developed regions and cities perform better, are more reliable, and have a higher credibility rate, while other companies from less-developed regions and cities are nameless, and don’t have enough experience to rate their experience.

On the other hand, in China, a nameless company can become a world brand overnight. It depends on the product they are working on, and the technologies used. Since innovation is the second Chinese tech pillar, any company can become famous, rich, or both if use the right combination.

How does the Chinese IT sector relate to the neighboring countries?

The Chinese tech sector outnumbers all neighboring countries. However, in terms of general performance, it competes with the South Korean IT sector and the Japanese one.  The internal market is enough for Chinese companies to grow and innovate, so assumingly there is no big need for exporting IT services, like in the case of Korean and Japanese companies. However, contacting foreign entities empowers and stimulates the innovation processes in a country. 

Chinese Business Environment: Complex But Rapidly Growing

China has a complex BUT rapidly evolving business environment. On one hand, it is the world's second-largest economy (projected to be N.1 in some years) with a rapidly growing consumer market. On the other hand, because of the significant state ownership and control, it turns out to be a challenging legal and regulatory environment. Working in marketing for Chinese companies looking to go overseas, it's also interesting to feel and understand the complexity and huge potential, on a scale, that this market has. China's rapid economic growth and expanding middle class offer significant opportunities for companies and talents willing to invest the time and resources to establish a strong presence in the market.

At the same time, the difficulty to open a new IT company in China is appreciated as quite open, with wide possibilities, but is getting more and more challenging.

How Chines Government Helps the IT Sector?

While it's difficult to understand all subtilities and Chinese laws all of a sudden, Alessandro Cormio, the founder of Naturality Digital - a reputable IT company with offices in China says that there are three main directions on this topic: 

1. Investment in research and development: AI and 5G on top of all.

2. Support for entrepreneurship: Plenty of initiatives to support entrepreneurship and innovation, including tax incentives, funding for startups, and the establishment of innovation hubs and incubators.

3. Encouragement of investment: establishment of special economic zones and other incentives to attract domestic and foreign companies.

Shenzhen and Shanghai - The Chinese Heaven for IT Companies

Shenzhen has been the fastest-growing city in the world in the last few years, and it keeps pushing forward. At the same time, Shanghai is the most populated and international city in China.

Alessandro considers that both should definitely be considered in the top cities in the world for IT development.

About the Chinese Local Talent Pool

Not too easy to answer this question. From my point of view, there's still a lack of people with high skills in certain things. Too many tend to specialize too much and follow a specific standard, not being beneficial to flexibility and creativity.

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This article was created together with Alessandro Cormio - Co-Founder of Naturality Digital, which is one of the leading digital marketing agencies with offices in Italy, Switzerland and China.

Web development is about creating, building, and maintaining websites or web applications using programming languages and web development frameworks. The main reason why web development services are popular is the need for businesses to establish their presence on the web. 

Building a website or a web application involves creating the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), including the layout, colors, fonts, and images. It also consists in optimizing these elements for mobile and desktop, making the interface accessible to users, and facilitate the interaction between the user and the application. On the back-end, it involves scripting, server configuration, and database management. At the same time, it includes testing, maintenance, and ensuring overall functionality.

According to recent studies, over 4.7 billion people worldwide have access to the Internet. So, it’s obvious that having a well-designed and developed website is essential for any business that wants to succeed online.

On top of that, the number of mobile internet users is constantly growing, with approximately 92% of internet users accessing the web through their smartphones which proves the importance of responsive and optimized websites on mobile devices.

In a nutshell, a web developer, which is providing development services is responsible for:

• Establish a company's online presence via a web application
• Improve and optimize the performance of the website or web app
• Update and maintain the well-functioning of the website or web apps

In addition, depending on the terms of a contract between a company and a web developer, the second can assist with: 

• Backup the data of the website
• Operate changes to the UI
• Migrate the website to another domain or platform

Usually, a web developer should have both soft and hard skills. The soft skills are related to communication and reporting, while the hard skills help in the development process.  

If you choose to work with a web development company, make sure to keep in mind the following criteria in the selection process:

• The company should have experience in developing websites or web applications that are similar to yours.
• A solid portfolio that proves examples of their work.
• Communication abilities enough to pass through cultural, linguistic, and time-zone barriers.
• Transparency and proven track record

Carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose a Web Development company that best aligns with your needs. There are more than 18699 companies on the TechBehemoths platform that offer a wide variety of web development services.

 Explore their detailed profiles, and client reviews, and feel free to get in touch with them. We’ve created also a powerful filter that you can use to narrow down the results based on your requirements and shortlist the companies. 

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We also invite you to read an insightful survey conducted by TechBehemoths in order to identify How IT Companies Use Web Development Technologies - 2022 survey.