China's digital ecosystem is a complete rebuild — Google, LinkedIn, and Meta don't apply. With 1.1 billion social network users, the market runs on five platforms, each serving a distinct role in the B2B funnel.

How Chinese B2B buyers behave

Relationships come before transactions (guanxi), research happens on Baidu not Google, and 90% of professionals use WeChat daily for business. European marketing logic doesn't transfer.

The five platforms

• WeChat: A super-app for messaging, content, payments, and CRM. Ideal for relationship management and conversion, not discovery. Requires 4–8 weeks to register for foreign companies.

• Rednote:  Growing B2B research platform among urban professionals. Content has a long lifespan (6–18 months), making organic posts capital-efficient.

• Douyin:  Massive reach (766M users) but skews consumer. Good for brand awareness and trade show amplification. Requires a Chinese legal entity to advertise.

• Baidu: China's dominant search engine (52% market share). Best for capturing high-intent buyers actively searching for solutions. The top starting point for most companies.

• Zhihu:  China's Quora, with a technical, professional audience. Best for thought leadership and complex products. Content is indexed by Baidu, boosting search visibility.

Funnel mapping

Practical notes

• All platforms operate in Simplified Chinese — machine translation damages credibility

• Same-day responses are expected; plan for local or agency support