China 101
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Tencent's super app that combines messaging, social feeds, payments, and millions of built-in mini programs, and is effectively the default operating system of daily life in China.
WeChat (Weixin in Chinese) launched in 2011 as a simple messaging app from Tencent and grew into something with no real Western equivalent: part WhatsApp, part Facebook, part Venmo, part app store. Roughly 1.3 billion people use it monthly, and in mainland China it is close to universal.
The key idea is the super app. Inside WeChat you can chat, post Moments (a social feed), pay bills, book doctor appointments, pay utility fees, and run lightweight mini programs from almost any brand or government office without installing anything new. For foreigners, the practical takeaway is that a phone with WeChat and its wallet set up matters far more than cash or credit cards.
Because so much of Chinese digital life runs through WeChat, trends that start elsewhere (Douyin, Xiaohongshu) almost always end up being discussed and shared inside WeChat groups and Official Account articles.