Guancha

For other uses, see Guancha (disambiguation).
Guancha.cn
Native name
观察者网
Type of site
News website
Available inChinese
HeadquartersShanghai
Country of originChina
Owner
  • Shanghai Guanchazhe Information Technology Co., Ltd.
  • Shanghai Chunqiu Development Strategy Research Institute
Founder(s)Eric X. Li
EditorJin Zhongwei
Key peopleZhang Weiwei, Zhang Wenmu
URLwww.guancha.cn
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2012 (2012)
Current statusActive

Guancha.cn (Chinese: 观察者网; lit. 'Observer Net') is a Shanghai-based[1][2] news site founded in 2012 by Eric X. Li, a venture capitalist and political scientist at Fudan University.[3] It has been described by independent analysts as “one of China’s most popular and influential online media portals."[4] The website describes itself as an "online news and comments aggregator".[5]

Content

Guancha mainly publishes online news content in Chinese. Its homepage format consists of headline content, followed by a "left column" consisting of op-eds, a "central column" consisting of news, and a "right column", consisting of user generated content. Its content is mainly focused on international news and affairs, with an additional focus on economic issues. The website's reader demographics is "predominantly young people".[6]

Guancha's logotype as displayed on its homepage.

Guancha also publishes content in other formats, such as video. It also has a number of other affiliated video accounts, some associated with individual content producers.

Influence and reach

Guancha regularly hosts essays by prominent academics and public intellectuals. For example, Fudan University professor and Xi Jinping-advisor Zhang Weiwei has published widely read commentaries on the platform that are then cited in international think-tank analysis of Chinese elite discourse.[7] It boasts 150 million total subscribers across its various Chinese and foreign-based social media platforms.

Impact and History

Guancha was launched in 2012 in Shanghai. Before its founding, an online platform known as "Social Observer" had been established in 2010 by Shanghai Chunqiu Development Strategy Research Institute. This early platform has been described as Guancha's predecessor.[8] Originally launched as Social Observer's online arm, the two officially disaffiliated in 2014.

Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, Guancha has played a visible role in Chinese online discourse. A key event during this period was its coverage of Guancha-cofounder Zhang Weiwei’s 2011 debate with Francis Fukuyama, in which Zhang promoted the "Chinese model" and questioned Western liberal democracy.[9] In 2013, prominent Chinese political commentators associated with the Industrial Party began contributing to the site.[10] In 2020, Guancha criticized the suspension of Donald Trump’s Twitter account, with one article describing Trump as a “key driver of clicks” for the site.[6][11]

Guancha founder Eric Li.

Guancha has also reported on international business controversies. In 2021, the site covered Intel’s decision to avoid sourcing components from Xinjiang and criticized the move; Intel later issued a public apology in China.[12] In 2024, Guancha’s coverage included criticism of stand-up comedian Yang Li, which was widely discussed on Chinese social media.[13]

Reception

Guancha has been categorized in an Amsterdam University Press study as a privately owned internet platform outside of state-controlled media.[14] Some Western media have characterized Guancha as nationalist[15] or ultranationalist.[16] It has also been referenced in academic and policy research on Chinese digital media as a significant outlet for public commentary and news aggregation.[17][18]

Eric X. Li—venture capitalist and political commentator—founded the site and is frequently profiled in Western media and academic analysis for arguments contrasting liberal democracy with China’s governance model.

References

  1. ^ "China wants an even more dominant state monopoly on the media". Quartz. 2021-10-11. Archived from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  2. ^ Langley, William; McMorrow, Ryan (2021-12-23). "Intel apologises for banning use of components from Xinjiang". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  3. ^ "Eric Li – World Policy Conference". World Policy Conference. Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  4. ^ Lab, Doublethink (2021-05-01). "Tracing control and influence at Guancha news". Medium. Archived from the original on 2025-05-23. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  5. ^ "-观察者网-全球视野 中国关怀". www.guancha.cn. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  6. ^ a b "这次，观察者网的年轻人被狠狠观察了一回_澎湃号·媒体_澎湃新闻". The Paper (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  7. ^ "Chinese scholars highlight prolonged US-China competition | Merics". merics.org. 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  8. ^ "Tracing control and influence at Guancha news". Doublethink Lab. 2021-05-01. Archived from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  9. ^ Fukuyama, Francis; Weiwei, Zhang (2011). "The China Model: A Dialogue between Francis Fukuyama and Zhang Weiwei". New Perspectives Quarterly. 28 (4): 40–67. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5842.2011.01287.x. ISSN 1540-5842.
  10. ^ Lu, Nanfeng; Wu, Jing (2018). "历史转折中的宏大叙事:"工业党"网络思潮的政治分析" [Grand Narrative at History's Turning Point: A Political Analysis of the Internet Ideology of China's "Industrial Party"]. 东方学刊 [Dongfang Journal] (in Simplified Chinese) (1): 49–60. ISSN 2096-5966. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. ^ Yuan, Li (2021-01-15). "As Trump Clashes With Big Tech, China's Censored Internet Takes His Side". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  12. ^ "Intel faces backlash in China over stance on Xinjiang". Protocol.com. 2021-12-22. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  13. ^ Wang, Vivian (2024-10-31). "Can Men in China Take a Joke? Women Doing Stand-Up Have Their Doubts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  14. ^ Lu, Yingdan; Pan, Jennifer (2022-02-01). "The Pervasive Presence of Chinese Government Content on Douyin Trending Videos". Computational Communication Research. 4 (1). Stanford University: Amsterdam University Press. doi:10.5117/CCR2022.2.002.LU. ISSN 2665-9085.
  15. ^ "When China wants to be feared". The Economist. October 2, 2021. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2023-10-11. Guancha, a nationalist website, created a hashtag mocking the White House statement, inspiring social-media posts that have been read over 300m times.
  16. ^ "Republicans believe Tim Walz has been 'groomed' by China. But how does China view him?". The Conversation. August 22, 2024. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024. An ultra-nationalist outlet, Guancha.cn, contacted his former Chinese colleague from Foshan, who described Walz as "very nice" and "well-liked".
  17. ^ Lab, Doublethink (2021-05-01). "Tracing control and influence at Guancha news". Medium. Archived from the original on 2025-05-23. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  18. ^ Rogers, Richard; Zhang, Xiaoke (2024-04-01). "The Russia–Ukraine War in Chinese Social Media: LLM Analysis Yields a Bias Toward Neutrality". Social Media + Society. 10 (2): 20563051241254379. doi:10.1177/20563051241254379. ISSN 2056-3051.
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