Meta Has A China Strategy, And That’s A Very Good Thing

It’s easy to forget that to the rest of the world, the U.S. economy is massive. What we Americans take for granted (it’s all we’ve ever known) is gargantuan to others. That’s why so many of the world’s poorest risk their lives to get to the United States, and it’s also why truly ambitious foreign businesses invariably have a U.S. strategy.

The happy reality that the world’s greatest businesses clamor for a U.S. presence quickly came to mind the other day while reading a rather critical piece on Meta, owner of Facebook, in the Washington Post. The report asserted that “Meta went to extreme lengths, including developing a censorship system, in a failed attempt to bring Facebook to millions of internet users in China.”

The Post cited a “whistleblower” as the source of the information provided in the report, and to perhaps create the perception of nefarious actions on the part of Meta. The reporting was difficult to countenance.

As a business, what is Facebook supposed to do? And in asking the question, would anyone seriously question a non-U.S. corporation for doing somersaults to enter the U.S. market? Hopefully the question answers itself. If not, it should be said that exactly due to the size of the U.S. economy, it’s understandable that any business would go to substantial lengths, including lobbying politicians on the local, state and national level, to attain the right to meet and lead the needs of the American people.

Having hopefully established why cracking the U.S. market is so valuable to businesses the world over, ideally we can similarly establish why success in China would be viewed as so important for all non-China-based businesses. Not only is China’s population (1.4 billion) enormous, that same population is increasingly acquisitive. That’s why McDonald’s has 5,500 stores with plans for 10,000 in China by 2028, it’s why there are 7,000+ Starbucks there, and yes, it explains why Meta went to extraordinary lengths to establish a presence in China. Much as businesses with global ambitions must have a U.S. strategy, so must they now have one for China.

To which some will respond that China is different, it’s a censoring, less-than-free country run by a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) known to violate human rights. Why would Meta try to make nice with a political class thought to be not-so-nice?

The easy answer to the above is that Meta, like other U.S. businesses, has a responsibility to its shareholders to increase its profits. Which is why it’s not just McDonald’s and Starbucks aggressively expanding in China, it’s that Tesla sold 657,000 cars in China in 2024 alone, it’s that Apple sells a fifth of its iPhones in China, and it’s why Nvidia is sidelining politics in favor of growing its customer base in China too. Why shouldn’t Meta?

Some will respond that the CCP yet again has unsavory qualities that make expansion in China unsavory. That’s one way of looking at it, but it’s shortsighted. See the enormous presence of U.S. businesses in China as you’re reading this to understand why.

Without question, the greatest U.S. foreign policy of all is its export of the world’s most charismatic, most popular brands. Precisely because we want China to be more free, we should hope that American businesses will aggressively expand in China as a way of showing people and politicians alike what free people can achieve. Which is a reminder that when Meta tries to expand its franchise in China, it’s doing good for the world doing well for its shareholders.