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The only reason it works in China because it disallows the competition and also lets the government spy on everyone through a single app. In China the Internet might as well be WeChat. Twitter, sorry "X", is in for a rude awakening unless Elon pulls the app from the EU.

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Also disliking popular things is just a fundamental part of American society. You’d think Musk would get this, given that his whole vibe is “king of the misanthropes.” There’s no way “everything under one brand” works here for long enough to escape the fate of us turning on that brand.

But WeChat does have competition in China.

Are there major micro/restaurant payment apps in China other than WeChat? I imagine it's difficult to compete with an app that's preinstalled on every phone, integrated with every bank and used by every restaurant and street vendor. And that's ignoring the social network effect of the 900+ million daily users.

What are the competitors and what is their market share/active user base like by comparison?

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