Michael Paprocki

Updated 04/28/2024 - Virtual Case #7

VC7 ~ Michael Paprocki 

China is an important market in the world’s economy. Boasting the highest population and one of the highest GDPs in the entire world, it is a lucrative market which many companies wish to enter. That being said, being a stakeholder in the Chinese market does not come without risk. Companies and citizens alike face strict control via the government as well as very high censorship levels. 

Some pros of entering the Chinese market include a large potential for increasing revenue. China could be a huge market for Facebook, and it is likely Chinese users would enjoy the platform as most other countries do. However, in my opinion, there are far more cons to entering the Chinese market. Due to the intense amounts of censorship of sites in China, Facebook will be limited in its capability. Additionally, due to China’s reputation on the world stage, Facebook will more likely than not become less trusted, and the rest of the world will become weary of using it, not dissimilar to what has happened with TikTok.  Facebook will also become liable to fines and other sanctions if Chinese government rules aren’t adhered to, making a large financial risk for Facebook. Operating a business in China almost automatically means alliance with China, which may not be a good look for Facebook as a whole. 

All in all, after analyzing with the Belief method, I believe it is NOT a sound idea for Facebook to enter the Chinese market. If Facebook wants to expand, they should consider trying to enter other untapped markets before taking the massive risk that is entering China.