A growing number of mobile apps developed by Chinese companies are rapidly gaining popularity around the world, with growing influence on overseas users.
Chinese apps have consistently ranked among the top 10 of download charts across 169 countries and regions this year. In 18 of these countries and regions, more than half of the top 10 spots are taken by Chinese apps.
Dominating Chinese apps have transcended from games to shopping, catering, logistics, AI, and photography.
One outstanding example is Xiaohongshu or RedNote, a popular Chinese social media platform, which scaled to the global download top 10 for the first time in January. The platform's authentic user-generated content has broken down regional barriers, allowing foreign users to experience the warmth, enthusiasm, and vitality of Chinese life and culture.
In February, DeepSeek, a free AI-powered chatbot, was launched and, within a few weeks, it surged into the global top three in download rankings, marking another significant achievement for Chinese apps abroad.
April saw a surge in cross-border e-commerce, sparked by a series of U.S. tariffs. Taobao, one of China's leading online shopping platforms, topped the shopping charts in 29 countries.
Data from mobile app analytics platforms revealed that several Chinese apps have topped the U.S. app rankings in recent weeks. On April 14, DHgate surged to the top of the shopping chart, while trend-toy maker Pop Mart topped in Apple's U.S. App Store on April 25.
Chinese apps gain popularity overseas
Chinese apps gain popularity overseas
Cities across China have come to life with a surge of holiday shoppers, as consumption-boosting policies drive demand and lift confidence ahead of the Spring Festival.
The 2026 "Shopping in China" and Spring Festival Consumption Season was launched early this month, aiming to fuel a consumption boom through measures targeting goods, services, and diverse spending scenarios.
In downtown Xiamen City of east China's Fujian Province, a distinctive shopping district built on an old factory has become a popular new tourist attraction. It has introduced nearly 40 high-quality brands covering retail, entertainment, sports, and other fields, attracting a large number of citizens and tourists.
In north China's Tianjin Municipality, a newly built market space integrates cultural and creative product exhibitions, catering, leisure, and nearly 100 cultural performances, becoming a new choice for citizens and tourists during holidays. The city launched a three-month Spring Festival consumption season, creating a number of new consumption formats, models, and scenarios, such as exhibitions and ice and snow activities, to unleash consumption vitality.
In Liaoyang city, northeast China's Liaoning Province, an 80-hectare indoor temperature-controlled greenhouse garden brought a new cultural tourism format different from its iconic ice and snow season. Here, tourists can not only enjoy flowers and scenery but also buy local specialty agricultural products and watch Yangko dance performances.
This year, the eastern Chinese province of Anhui launched the 2026 Spring Festival consumption season for new energy vehicles (NEVs), reducing the cost of car purchases by issuing consumption vouchers together with trade-in subsidies.
In 2025, Anhui ranked first in the country in terms of automobile and NEV production, and maintained its leading position nationwide in vehicle exports which surpassed the one-million mark.
This year's Spring Festival begins on February 17, and heralds the Year of the Horse.
China’s 2026 consumption season fuels holiday shopping boom nationwide
