Chinese Soft Power and Media Discussion and Updates

solarz said:

I hope the Chinese government is watching this latest development carefully, and realize the potential benefits of making certain Chinese apps less restrictive (right now almost all apps need a Chinese phone number).

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I think it is the opposite. WeChat doesn't require Chinese phone number, Bilibili/Weibo/Kuaishou/etc don't either. Some allows log in through WeChat. Douyin is the only one I came across that you have to have a Chinese phone number.

And some services, including Baidu Tieba, support using US phone numbers.