Ep. 6: China Tech Podcaster Rui Ma talks TikTok ban, Sino-US decoupling, female expat life in China
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Rui Ma is an investment banker (Morgan Stanley) turned VC (500 Startups) turned podcast host (Tech Buzz China). Her show covers current tech trends in China, with a focus on power players such as ByteDance and Alibaba. Her diaspora journey included a childhood in the China countryside, college and grad school education in the US, a career of finance/tech in Shanghai/Beijing, and podcast operations from Silicon Valley.

We discussed Bytedance ban, Niall Ferguson's "TikTok = China's digital imperium ambitions" quote, Chinese female diaspora experience, China's sexist society, the notorious 996, her podcast-turned-business and more!

Tech Buzz China podcast: https://pandaily.com/podcast/ Rui’s newsletter: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/techbuzzchina/ Rui's twitter: https://twitter.com/ruima

Rui shared with us:

• Childhood in China's countryside, California education, work in China, return to Silicon Valley
• The businesslines and ambitions of ByteDance * ByteDance acquisition of Musical.ly * ByteDance reaction to TikTok ban * Chinese netizens reaction to TikTok ban * ByteDance's negative reputation in China (similar to local gaming industry) * Niall Ferguson's demonization of TikTok as China's weaponization against the West * China bashing recently arose from a corner of Silicon Valley Twitter * Pandemic-induced lockdown has strengthened echo chambers on social media * US' negative attitude on immigration deters inflow of intellectual capital * US still top destination of tech and research talents * Notorious 9-9-6 work schedule in China * Tradeoffs associated with living in China as expat * Female expat's unpleasant experience in China's sexist society * Chinese tech podcast forces the host to do more bigger-picture research than as an venture investor * Bringing interested podcast listeners (pubic equity investors) to visit Chinese tech giants