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The Conversation
The Conversation
Jianqing Chen, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and of Film and Media Studies, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

China's WeChat is all-encompassing but low-key − a Chinese media scholar explains the Taoist philosophy behind the everything app's design

WeChat aims to be everything to everyone but remain mostly in the background. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Elon Musk’s vision of Twitter, now rebranded as X, as an “everything app” is no secret. When the X logo replaced Twitter’s blue bird, the internet buzzed with heated discussions about just what it would mean for X to be an everything app.

Musk promoted his super app project by referring to the Chinese all-in-one app WeChat. But for many American users unfamiliar with WeChat, a train of questions followed. What’s it like to use WeChat? How has WeChat become “everything” in China? Would it be possible to replicate the app’s success in the U.S.?

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