We’re only a month into the new year and the most talked-about apps have been TikTok, RedNote, and DeepSeek. What’s remarkable is that they are all made by Chinese companies—the latest evidence that ostensible national security concerns won’t stop American users from flocking to Chinese apps.
What a twist. When TikTok became a global cultural phenomenon, many saw it as the exception, not the norm—most people outside China weren’t using Chinese apps (not even super app WeChat, which Facebook sought to imitate). But the popularity of RedNote and DeepSeek shows that Chinese tech companies remain hyper-competitive and haven’t stopped innovating.
