I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 806, page 805: "Musical.ly is pretty good? No problem, we'll acquire it."

At this point, a foreign journalist pointedly asked, "I'm a reporter from The Wall Street Journal. There are reports that ByteDance is secretly developing a brand new international short video product. Is this acquisition paving the way for that new product?"

A slight smile appeared on Fang Qingye's face.

Yes, the TikTok that you're all afraid of is coming!

Of course, what they said was to downplay the issue: "ByteDance is always exploring better forms of content presentation. We will not limit ourselves to a single product, but will build a complete content ecosystem."

"Chairman Fang, can you answer a question for me?" A female reporter's voice caught Fang Qingye's attention, and he then realized that it was Chen Ziqing, a female reporter from the South China Morning Post.

This girl, you've been everywhere I've been.

"Miss Chen, please speak!"

Does ByteDance's acquisition of Flipagram mean that the United States will become ByteDance's primary overseas market in the future?

“Ms. Chen, what you said is not entirely correct.” Fang Qingye smiled and said, “The United States will become an important overseas market for ByteDance, but not the most important one. Our goal is globalization. We will continue to build our capabilities in different markets in the most appropriate way.”

The answer was polite and official.

But Zhang Yimin, sitting next to him, had a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Isn't the US a major market? These days, which Chinese company going global, especially an internet company, doesn't consider it an honor to list in the US?

Of course, Zhang Yimin wouldn't say anything in this situation.

Under the spotlight, every word and action must be carefully considered.

After the brief signing ceremony, Fang Qingye immediately convened a meeting of ByteDance's senior management.

In the conference room at ByteDance's headquarters, the celebratory atmosphere of the acquisition of Flipagram had not yet completely dissipated when the core team gathered, and the atmosphere turned focused and tense.

Zhou Kaiwen, the company's deputy COO and head of the international business department, stood in front of the projector, presenting his proposal with great enthusiasm.

Zhou Kaiwen is almost 40 years old this year and maintains an excellent physique. He always wears well-tailored Italian suits in public. His Mandarin is not particularly standard, but he speaks English with a New York Upper East Side accent quite fluently.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the data is very clear: the North American market, especially the United States, has the most valuable users and advertising potential in the world."

“My suggestion is to concentrate all our firepower and strike directly at the United States.” Zhou Kaiwen drew a red circle on a map of North America with his laser pointer. “We will put our core overseas team and most important server resources here—Los Angeles. We will establish our global overseas operations center in Silicon Valley. Only by taking this place can we truly call ourselves a global company!”

Fang Qingye listened attentively.

Unlike Ele.me's senior management, ByteDance's executives, apart from Liang Rubo, an alumnus who followed Zhang Yiming in the early days and is now the COO, are mostly top-notch technical experts or professional managers brought in later. Zhou Kaiwen, standing before us, is one of them.

A Chinese-American, born in China, he immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and later earned an MBA from Harvard University, following a typical "Wall Street-Silicon Valley" elite path. He previously worked in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division and Google's global strategy department, possessing top-tier vision and connections spanning finance and technology. He is quick-witted, confident, and assertive, exuding a sense of superiority and persuasiveness cultivated in his elite environment.

His speech was logically clear and based on solid data, and several executives present nodded slightly, clearly convinced by his focused strategy.

Fang Qingye did not immediately express her opinion but looked at everyone and asked, "Everyone, does anyone have any other comments or different opinions?"

Everyone looked at each other, but no one answered.

Zhou Kaiwen is the only foreign executive in the core team. His international perspective is unmatched by anyone, including Zhang Yimin, a point that even Fang Qingye acknowledges.

Unfortunately... the world is changing dramatically. He firmly believes that globalization based on the "Washington Consensus" is irreversible and that business should transcend politics—a set of ideas that have been shattered step by step by the US president who took office last year.

Since no one spoke, Fang Qingye was just about to speak when she suddenly heard a gentle voice: "President Zhou, I have a different opinion."

Fang Qingye looked to her left and saw a man sitting next to Liang Rubo, about the same age as Zhou Kaiwen. He was wearing a plaid shirt and framed glasses, and looked more like a senior engineer. He spoke with a slight Cantonese accent, in a gentle and unhurried tone.

It's Chen Weian
He is 40 years old, from Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, and is considered a fellow townsman of Zhang Yiming.

His family has a long history of business in Southeast Asia. He graduated from the Computer Science Department of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and worked in Silicon Valley for two years before moving to the UK financial industry. Five years ago, he returned to Southeast Asia, serving as head of technology and operations at several small and medium-sized internet companies. He then joined ByteDance, becoming the Chief Operating Officer of BABE, the group's Indonesian news recommendation platform. His outstanding performance caught the attention of Zhang Yiming, who transferred him back to the group headquarters as the head of the User Growth Department, responsible for expanding Douyin's user base.

"President Zhou's plan has very impressive data and a clear strategic path." He first politely affirmed, then changed the subject, "But I have a small additional thought, which may be a little... not grand enough."

"There is an old Chinese saying, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket.' It sounds old-fashioned, but I have come to understand it deeply from my experiences in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Southeast Asia."

Zhou Kaiwen smiled and said, "Wei An, your experience is indeed rich. But don't forget, neither Britain nor Southeast Asia can replace the United States. Silicon Valley is the heart of technology; taking it over is equivalent to taking over the global commanding heights. You've also been to Silicon Valley, so I think you should feel the same way."

“I admit that Silicon Valley is the technology center, but we are a business, not just a technology company!” Chen Weian said, twirling his pen slowly.

"I've written code in Palo Alto, done mergers and acquisitions in the City of London, and finally learned how to truly succeed in the internet industry in the muddy waters of Southeast Asia. Having witnessed the rise and fall of various markets, I'm even more convinced of the importance of 'not putting all your eggs in one basket.'"

Zhou Kaiwen sneered, loosened his tie, and retorted, "Dispersing resources is a form of slow suicide! We must invest our limited resources in the most effective place—that is, the United States!"

At this point, Zhou Kaiwen raised his voice: "Everyone knows that we're not the only ones making short videos! In the US, Facebook's Instagram and Twitter's Vine are our competitors. But the biggest threat to us is Musical.ly—its lip-syncing and short video social model is very popular among American teenagers, and it topped the US App Store download charts in 2015!"

Zhou Kaiwen's words silenced Chen Weian, and the other executives also whispered among themselves.

Although Musical.ly is an app used in the United States, its development team is entirely Chinese! Moreover, the company headquarters is located in Shanghai, a typical case of "a flower blooming inside the wall but fragrant outside."

Just then, a clear voice broke the heavy atmosphere:
"Musical.ly is very competitive? No problem, we'll acquire it."

Fang Qingye said.

(End of this chapter)