Beijing (AFP)

They are called SHEIN (ready-to-wear), SHAREit (sending files) or Likee (videos): these Chinese applications are downloaded by millions of people around the world.

But now compete in ingenuity to avoid a TikTok-style fate.

The application of entertaining videos has been in turmoil since Donald Trump accuses him of being able to spy on behalf of Beijing.

In general, Chinese applications must now deal with foreign governments increasingly suspicious of technologies from China, sometimes perceived as Trojans of the Communist Party.

To get around this difficulty, some erase their origins, especially in Western countries where debates on cybersecurity are raging.

Others are looking to more welcoming developing markets.

Common denominator: a strong presence on social networks.

The SHEIN women's clothing sales platform has attracted a plethora of influencers and celebrities, including American singers Katy Perry and British singers Rita Ora - responsible for increasing brand awareness.

And it works: it is now in the top 5 downloads of free commercial applications on the AppStore in France, the United States and Australia, according to the American firm Sensor Tower.

"Most of their users around the world don't know a Chinese company" is behind it, notes Philip Wiggenraad, Hong Kong-based retail specialist.

- Servers -

SHEIN indicated in February to be present worldwide and to have achieved in 2019 for 20 billion yuan (2.5 billion euros) of turnover.

Even the TikTok video app, the image tarnished by Donald Trump's accusations, racked up 800 million downloads in 2020, according to Sensor Tower.

A result achieved despite its ban in India since this summer.

New Delhi has banned a total of more than 200 other Chinese apps after a deadly military clash on the border between the two countries.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is currently trying to keep the app in the United States.

The Trump administration is threatening to ban it if it does not come under the control of an American group by November 12.

An example that pushes other Chinese platforms to adopt different strategies.

The SHAREit file sharing app, stuck in India, is rapidly pivoting into new markets.

It now says it has 20 million active users in South Africa and is targeting Indonesia, the 4th most populous country in the world.

Others set up their headquarters or store their data outside China to avoid collusion with Beijing.

"We have servers in different parts of the world, including the United States, Singapore and India," a spokesperson for Bigo, the company behind the Likee video app, told AFP - similar to TikTok style.

"But we don't have any servers in mainland China or Hong Kong."

- 'Techno-authoritarian' -

Likee, whose parent company is headquartered in Singapore, was the third most downloaded Chinese app in the world between January and mid-September, according to Sensor Tower.

But in the long run, app developers may have to fight harder to reassure foreign governments and consumers about privacy and cybersecurity.

A Chinese law theoretically requires companies in the country to provide the personal data of their users in certain cases.

Main difficulty for these applications because of this: not to be perceived as "agents" of the communist regime, notes Alex Capri, researcher for the Hinrich Foundation, an independent organization which monitors developments in world trade.

“It will be increasingly difficult for Chinese companies to compete outside of China's digital techno-authoritarian environment,” he predicts.

But despite tensions with Washington and New Delhi, Beijing has no intention of "putting aside its technological ambitions," notes Ms. Ho Woei Chen, economist at United Overseas Bank.

According to her, a rejection of technologies from China would even have the opposite effect on Chinese companies: pushing them "to improve and strengthen their capacities".

© 2020 AFP