Web conference focuses on 'going global' strategy

A conference room filled with more than 100 reporters seemed too small to fit Chinese internet tycoons' ambitions, as the term "going global" became the buzzword during a one-hour session at the Third World Internet Conference.

Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo Group, said on Thursday in Wuzhen, an ancient water town in Zhejiang province that hosted the top web conference in China, that the country only accounts for 30 percent of the world smartphone market, despite its size.

"Overseas markets account for the other 70 percent," Yang said at a media session attended by the heads of China's leading internet and technology companies.

Yang's vision is shared by rival Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi Corp. Lei said that the next phase of internet development depends on the breakthrough of technology and global expansion.

"Following rapid growth in the past five years, six out of the top 10 smartphone makers worldwide are from China. But we need to aim higher to get in the list of the top three, which means conquering heavyweights Apple and Samsung," Lei said.

With more than 700 million internet users, China is already a giant in the global internet landscape. Its huge internet population has spawned an enormous domestic market not only for smartphone makers, but internet practitioners with innovative business models.

According to an early report from itjuzi.com, a website dedicated to data on tech investments, in the first half of this year, Chinese internet giants and venture capital firms invested more than 42.1 billion yuan ($6.26 billion) in 60 tech-related projects overseas. The United States is the most popular destination, followed by India.