Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is facing challenges in bringing its Oculus Quest virtual reality headset to the Chinese market due to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s past criticisms of the Chinese Communist government.
According to reports, Zuckerberg and other Meta executives have been in contact with Tencent Holdings, a massive Chinese tech company, to discuss the possibility of launching the headset in China, home to over 1.4 billion people.
However, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese business leaders are hesitant to partner with Zuckerberg due to his previous accusations that the Chinese government allows businesses to steal technology and his criticism of TikTok, a popular video-sharing platform owned by a Chinese company.
Zuckerberg’s Criticisms of the Chinese Government
The perception of Zuckerberg among Beijing officials could complicate Meta’s efforts to obtain licenses and approvals for its products and services in China. Meta’s refusal to comply with the Chinese government’s censorship demands in 2009 led to the effective ban of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in the country.
In his speech in 2019, Zuckerberg said:
“It’s one of the reasons we don’t operate Facebook, Instagram or our other services in China. I wanted our services in China because I believe in connecting the whole world and I thought we might help create a more open society. I worked hard to make this happen. But we could never come to agreement on what it would take for us to operate there, and they never let us in.”
Zuckerberg’s recent outreach to Tencent may be a result of increased competition in the metaverse space, with Apple unveiling its own augmented reality headset called the Vision Pro, which carries a price tag three times higher than Meta’s Oculus Quest Pro.
Meta has recently reduced the prices of its headsets, including the Meta Quest Pro priced at $999.99 and the Quest 2 sold for $299.99. However, these price reductions have not resulted in significant market success.
According to The Wall Street Journal, in 2021, Zuckerberg questioned why US tech companies like Tesla and Apple could freely operate in China while Facebook was blocked from the market.
Zuckerberg has also expressed concerns about TikTok’s threat to American values and freedom of expression, and the alleged technology theft by the Chinese government. In the speech, the founder of Facebook said:
“While our services, like WhatsApp, are used by protesters and activists everywhere due to strong encryption and privacy protections, on TikTok, the Chinese app growing quickly around the world, mentions of these protests are censored, even in the US.”
During a congressional hearing in 2020, Zuckerberg took a more assertive stance compared to other industry leaders from Amazon.com, Apple, and Google. He asserted:
“I think it’s well-documented that the Chinese government steals technology from American companies.”
I've been Zucc'd since this.
Google: Uh, can't tell if the Chinese are stealing from us.
Apple: Yeah, can't say they do it at Apple.
Zucc: Congressman, I think it's well documented that the Chinese government steals technology from American companies.https://t.co/1fzL4rQGQX— Cody Moser (@LTF_01) August 30, 2022
Meta Struggles to Re-enter the Chinese Market
Meta’s attempts to re-enter the Chinese market have faced various challenges over the years. Despite courting Chinese officials and hiring a China policy chief, the company has been unable to overcome the ban on its platforms.
Meta CEO has also privately discussed these concerns with US officials and lawmakers, including a private dinner with then-President Donald Trump.
Meta’s discussions with Tencent and other Chinese tech companies have raised hopes of a potential partnership. However, concerns remain about how Meta would navigate content restrictions in China and potential future regulations on VR content. China has tightened control over online content, and prospective partners are wary of how Meta would handle these restrictions.
A potential tie-up between Meta and Tencent could be mutually beneficial. Tencent, as the world’s largest video game publisher, could leverage China’s massive consumer market to help Meta recover some of the costs incurred in developing headsets and Metaverse-related products.
However, Tencent executives have debated the partnership due to concerns about Zuckerberg’s stance on China.
If a deal is reached, Tencent would become the exclusive seller of Meta’s headsets in China, including the upcoming Quest 3. This would give Tencent a new revenue source and the opportunity to integrate its own products into the VR hardware business.
Meta would also face competition from established Chinese rivals, such as ByteDance and its Pico device, which currently dominates the Chinese market.
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