Chinese app usage spreading across Brazil

World Today

Chinese apps are appearing on more and more smartphones in Brazil, though many users don’t even realize it.

CGTN’s Paulo Cabral reports.

China is the global leader in “unicorns,” the term used for startup companies valued at over $1 billion U.S. And many of these companies now extend beyond the borders of China, into countries all over the world. From car-hailing apps to banking transactions, there’s a growing Chinese presence on Brazilian smartphones. 

“Most Brazilians are not really aware of the Chinese influence in our apps and in our startup environment. China has already taken over the United States in a number of Unicorn startups. Six of them operate in Brazil and the two biggest ones are Chinese,” said Gustavo Torrent, Mobile Market Expert, FIAP.  

China has been a superpower in Brazil in the apps market for a few years now but many Brazilians don’t realize it because brands often don’t promote their Chinese origins.

China has been investing heavily to develop these technologies and launch a continual stream of new apps. Local developers are embracing and incorporating some of China’s most successful ideas. 

“We see nowadays in Brazil many fin-techs, on-line financial services, that mirror services that already exist in China,” said Torrent. For example, Alibaba and WeChat have already been using QR code payments for a while and now we see this happening in Brazil as well.” 

Brazil has one of the largest mobile markets in Latin America and with competition growing, Chinese companies continue to invest.