China’s Best Business Websites 2021

January 6, 2021 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 3 minutes

Op/Ed by Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Every year we feature a round-up of the most informative China business websites and blogs, and by this we mean not just the normal business coverage and reporting, but those that offer real analytical insight into how doing business in China works. Catering for an international, rather than Chinese audience, we feature websites written in English language, and base our rankings on those provided by Amazon’s Alexa ranking facility, which tracks global views. We have only featured sites within the top 1 million of global viewer rankings.

China Briefing
www.china-briefing.com
Alexa Ranking: 105,647
Top Three Phrases: Company Chop, Digital Yuan, China Minimum Wage

Retaining pole position for the second year running, the primary intelligence resource for foreign investors in China covering legal, tax and trade issues.

Marketing to China
www.marketingtochina.com
Alexa Ranking: 138,953
Top Three Phrases: China Killed Google, Gentlemen Marketing Agency, Taobao

The website to view with an angle on selling to China with regular articles about Chinese consumer buying trends and China market opportunities.

Quality Inspection
www.qualityinspection.org
Alexa Ranking: 198,469
Top Three Phrases: Certificate of Conformity, T/T Payment, AQL

China’s best technical blog for global manufacturers and professional importers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China.

Walk the Chat
www.walkthechat.com
Alexa Ranking: 231,644
Top Three Phrases: Weibo, Wechatpay, Pinduoduo

Assisting international brands sell to China via WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book, and other online platforms.

China Internet Watch
www.chinainternetwatch.com
Alexa Ranking: 328,713
Top Three Phrases: Tabao, Jingdong, Double Eleven

A well-focused website and valuable resource for examining the China internet and its consumers with well written and insightful articles.

Sinocism
www.sinocism.com
Alexa Ranking: 457,325
Top Three Keywords: Bill Bishop, Sinocism, China Newsletter

Sinocism is behind a paywall; however, it is a popular Washington-based resource concentrating on China and the US political issues, featuring hard to find translated text from original Chinese language sources and some opinion. Well regarded among politicians and academics.

China Check Up
www.chinacheckup.com
Alexa Ranking: 492,898
Top Three Phrases: China Company Check, Chinese Wholesale Websites, AliExpress Reviews

Good all-round due diligence resource, with some strong articles, updated once a month.

China Skinny
www.chinaskinny.com
Alexa Ranking: 526,846
Top Three Phrases: Nongfu Spring, China Skinny, WeChat Register With Email

China Skinny discusses tailored research, strategy, and digital solutions for sales and marketing in China.

Silk Road Briefing
www.silkroadbriefing.com
Alexa Ranking: 766,474
Top Three Phrases: Blue Dot Network, Belt And Road Initiative, Belt And Road News

Intelligence for foreign investors interested in developments along China’s Belt & Road Initiative.

Supplier Black List
www.supplierblacklist.com/
Alexa Ranking: 847,501
Top Three Phrases: Blacklist Suppliers, Supplier Backlist, Ethnik Creation

As the title suggests, with a great deal of China content.

Not Featured from 2020:

SupChina
www.supchina.com

Has evolved into a New York based website focusing on general China rather than business news, now somewhat US-centric and China negative in opinion.

Farewell to:

China Law Blog – now folded into its Seattle parent law firm’s website along with Cannabis Law Blog, having developed an increasingly negative China business and investment attitude seeing its rankings fall to well below one million, while the firm’s interests have developed into other global markets.

Summary

There has been a sifting out of China business blogs and websites, and especially among American commentators, with many seemingly feeling the pain of the recent US-China trade war, the COVID-19 outbreak, and decrease in US-China trade. These have largely become China negative as a result and offer little in the way of business advice, tending to reflect a changing market as a result of their own government’s policies. A US trade ‘divorce’ from China has impacted on the performance and content of US-based websites about China.

Instead, they have been replaced in the main by a number of new, more proactive China intelligence websites, dealing with the practical fundamentals of sales and marketing to China, in addition to on-going associated matters, such as China law and tax, due diligence, and quality control. These websites see the opportunities as China moves to a consumer-based rather than manufacturing-based economy, and their move into this sphere has been rewarded with an increasing readership while others have fallen away. 2021 will no doubt see the introduction of additional new websites and blogs as China continues to evolve and new players attract new readers to showcase this.