AppsFlyer CBO bullish on international expansion of Chinese app makers

Chinese mobile application companies are recalibrating their global expansion strategies, shifting focus from saturated Western markets to high‑growth regions in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, according to senior industry executives and newly released data.

Gal Ekstein, chief business officer of AppsFlyer, a modern marketing platform, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily that the trend reflects both intensifying competition in traditional markets and the search for more cost‑effective user acquisition.

"We see a significant number of Chinese companies expanding into the Middle East — that is now a primary market," Ekstein said. "Southeast Asia and Latin America are also attracting strong interest. The US and Europe remain large, but competition there is fierce. Smart Chinese firms are exploring regions where mobile penetration, consumer income, and technology adoption are rising rapidly."

While gaming has long been the flagship category for Chinese apps overseas, more app categories such as short‑form dramas are emerging as strong growth engines, Ekstein said.

E‑commerce platforms — led by players such as Alibaba and Shein — are also expanding aggressively, while fintech applications have recorded a 14 percent increase in activations in the first quarter of 2026, according to AppsFlyer internal metrics.

A particularly noteworthy development is the explosive rise of re-engagement campaigns. Wang Wei, general manager for AppsFlyer Greater China, explained that the market has moved from a phase of rapid new‑user acquisition to one of steady, mature growth.

"The cost of acquiring new users is becoming increasingly high," Wang said. "Many clients are shifting their focus to existing users, seeking to maximize lifetime value. This has become a fundamental driver of re‑engagement."

Meanwhile, AI is profoundly altering the competitive landscape. Ekstein highlighted that AI has lowered the barrier to launching new products, leading to a resurgence in app deployments after years of stagnation. However, he cautioned that this also intensifies competition for the same user base.

"We call it the 'AI squeeze'," he said. "More products are entering the market, but the number of users is not growing at the same pace. That makes re‑engagement and measurement even more critical."

A recent report by PwC ranks Chinese enterprises among the global top tier in "AI fitness,", surpassing the global average and outperforming some established AI leaders in specific dimensions.

Ekstein said the urgency to adopt AI in China appears even greater than in other markets. "The eagerness to move faster and become AI‑native is quite impressive," he observed.

Despite the momentum, experts said that the AI industry is still defining best practices. "There is no ready‑made playbook," Ekstein said. "We are writing it as we go."

Fu Qiang, head of growth technology at Moonshot AI, a leading Beijing-based startup behind the Kimi chatbot, said today's bottleneck to speed is no longer technical overhead in R&D, but organization, people, and decision-making itself.

The real AI-native approach, Fu said, treats AI agents as equal peers to human employees and incorporates AI into the team structure from the very outset of organizational design.

According to Ekstein, AppsFlyer itself is transforming into an AI‑native organization, having appointed a chief AI officer, integrated AI into its measurement platform, and opened agent‑based capabilities to clients.

With a decade of presence in China and a market share of approximately 70 percent among Chinese mobile advertisers, AppsFlyer remains bullish on the country's outward expansion. Wang said the company targets annual growth of 15‑20 percent in the Chinese market, in line with the broader industry trajectory.

"We have witnessed the entire journey — from utility apps in 2015 to entertainment, fintech, short dramas and now AI‑powered tools," Wang said. "We are committed to this market for the long term and believe Chinese developers will continue to lead global innovation."