Vaccine firms as examples of Chinese domain usage
Kassey Lee examines the domains that these Chinese vaccine firms use as a proxy for Chinese corporate domain choices.
When I read news regarding Chinese Covid-19 vaccines these days, I see international diplomacy in play. If I put on my domain lenses, still, I see a different picture which helps me understand what to invest in for the China domain market.
Undoubtedly, there is a frenzy for Covid-19 vaccines across the world, and China is busy taking orders from Mexico, Chile, Ukraine, Turkey, Indonesia, Philippines, and many other countries. Even Brazil has changed its anti-China stance and ordered 100 million doses of Chinese Covid-19 vaccines recently.
A few weeks ago, South China Morning Post published an article on the Covid-19 vaccine race and listed the key players involved in it. With the help of Baidu search, I have found the domains used by these firms, as shown below.
| English | Chinese | Domain | Upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinovac | 科兴 | Sinovac.com | – |
| Cansino | 康希诺 | CansinoTech.com | Cansino.com |
| Sinopharm | 国药 | Sinopharm.com | – |
| Zhifei | 智飞 | ZhiFeiShengWu.com | ZhiFei.com |
| Biokangtai | 康泰 | Biokangtai.com | – |
| Fosun Pharma | 复星 | FosunPharma.com | Fosun.com |
| Walvax | 沃森 | Walvax.com | – |
| Junshi | 君实 | JunshiPharma.com | Junshi.com |
| I-Mab | 天境 | i-MabBiopharma.com | i-Mab.com |
| Haier Biomedical | 海尔生物 | HaierBiomedical.com | HaierBio.com |
| Aucma | 澳柯玛 | Aucma.com | – |
What can we learn from this exercise? First, focus on .com domains if you want to sell to China. All of the firms on the list own .com domains. More importantly, these .com domains are actually used inside China and trusted by Chinese consumers.
Second, most of the domains are brand-matching. For example, Jack Ma’s firm is called Alibaba Group Holding, but most people remember it as “Alibaba”. Therefore, its brand is “Alibaba” and so the brand-matching domain is Alibaba.com but not AlibabaGroup.com or AlibabaGroupHolding.com. Of course, the acronym version is also acceptable. Therefore, if you own a domain that matches the brand of a firm, your domain is very valuable.
Cansino is an interesting case. The firm’s website actually promotes the “CansinoBio” as its brand but many news articles I checked use “Cansino” instead. Therefore, “Cansino” has become a brand by public usage. For this reason, it is notable for the firm to own Cansino.com. Right now, Cansino.com is a modest website dedicated to the Cansino family, so its buyout may be possible.
Many of the domains are English-based domains. Note that I’m using the term “English” loosely to refer to domains that “look” western. Examples are Walvax.com, i-Mab.com, and Aucma.com. That’s good news to investors who do not invest in Pinyin domains. You still have a chance to sell to China even if you only have English-based domains.
The list also shows that many Chinese firms can benefit from domain upgrades. Examples are Cansino.com, ZhiFei.com, and Junshi.com. The case of Fosun.com also shows how notable it is to use the best domain from day one. The domain is right now owned by Fosun International (a sizable consumer group listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange), so it is unlikely Fosun.com will ever be sold.
