[seanmcdirmid]

I've been here for 9 years and am leaving in a couple of weeks. China kicks butt only when compared to itself, but lags in almost everything else. Many Chinese solutions (wepay) are merely solving problems that the west didn't have (lack of bankcard use, no NFC infrastructure, security..well). On the other hand, the internet is absolutely 3rd world for anything international: I get better access in the Philippines or Indonesia. Just this morning, reddit and HN weren't working on my phone/@home for whatever reason I don't know.

And all the countries around China, I visit them often, they use none of China's internet stack. Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, are all very strong in SE Asia. This includes Chinese places around China, like HK, Taiwan, Singapore. If Chinese mobile innovation was so great...wouldn't they have even just a little bit of success outside of China?

> Cutting edge or not, the next century will be driven by China simply because the momentum that they have generated.

China will be continued to be driven by China, but the internet world has already began fragmenting into China and everyone else.