Published by ChinaMNC ยท Qijiang
Browser Landscape in China: What Foreign Founders Should Know Before Choosing Software
A practical guide for foreign founders in China, summarizing the browser products listed on Tencent's software center and what their features reveal about the local software ecosystem, compatibility needs, and AI-driven trends.
Why the Browser Question Matters for Foreign Founders
Setting up operations in China involves many decisions, and one that is often overlooked is which browsers your team will standardize on. The Chinese software market offers a crowded field of browsers, each targeting different needs: speed, dual-core compatibility with legacy systems, AI assistance, or storage and media features. Understanding this landscape helps foreign founders plan procurement, training, and IT support without assuming that the global default browser will cover every scenario. The information below is drawn from a Tencent software center listing page and is limited to what that source states.
Tencent's Own Browser: QQ Browser
From Speed Browser to AI Browser
According to the source, QQ Browser is developed by Tencent and has been upgraded into an AI browser. While users browse, it provides AI capabilities intended to help them obtain information efficiently and improve the efficiency of processing and generating information. It also offers multiple AI assistants intended to help complete complex tasks. For founders evaluating productivity tooling, this reflects a broader shift in the Chinese market toward embedding AI directly into everyday software.
Google Chrome and the 64-Bit Performance Story
The listing describes Chrome as a fast, secure, and free browser suited to the requirements of modern websites. It states that 64-bit Chrome uses more modern instruction sets and a compiler specially optimized for 64-bit processors, bringing advantages in registers and parameters and therefore noticeable speed gains, particularly smoother handling of graphics and multimedia content, with average performance improvement of 25 percent. It also states that security and stability are considerably improved and that crash rates when rendering web content effectively decline. Chrome is described as having Flash Player built in for watching video online.
Dual-Core Browsers and Legacy Compatibility
Why IE Kernels Still Appear
Several products in the listing emphasize dual-core designs that pair a modern Chromium kernel with an IE kernel. 2345 Accelerated Browser is described as offering Chromium 109 plus IE dual-core compatibility, with the Chromium kernel opening pages faster and the IE kernel easily compatible with scenarios such as online banking and government and enterprise platforms. Xiaozhi Dual-Core Browser is described as supporting IE9, IE10, and IE11 kernels alongside a Chromium 101 kernel, with a clean interface and no ads. Liebao (Cheetah) Browser from Kingsoft is described as a security dual-core browser featuring a BIPS defense system combining active browser defense with Kingsoft cloud security, and an intelligent switching engine that dynamically selects a kernel to match different web pages, with support for HTML5 standards.
For foreign founders, this pattern is a practical signal: some internal or administrative platforms may still expect IE-era rendering, which is why dual-core tools persist in the market.
Internet Explorer 11 Itself
The page's title references Internet Explorer 11, and the listing includes a description stating that IE11 is a Microsoft-developed browser, the successor to IE10, released on November 7, 2013 alongside Windows 8.1. It describes the new IE11 as combining with Windows 7 to bring faster access speed and smoother touch experience, and as fully supporting the latest HTML5 for immersive 3D effects. IE10 is described as installable only on Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or higher.
Microsoft Edge and Default Browser Rules
The source notes that Microsoft Edge is currently the default web browser in Windows and is treated by the system as a basic component, so the system does not support uninstalling it and no uninstaller is currently available. It adds that Windows users can download or change to another default browser at any time. Edge is described as offering world-class performance, more privacy, and improved work efficiency, and as usable on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10, with automatic synchronization of passwords, favorites, and settings. For founders, this is a reminder that preinstalled defaults can be changed, which matters when standardizing devices.
AI, Storage, and Media Features in Chinese Browsers
Quark is described as offering multi-device collaboration and fast transfer of URLs and files, plus AI creation tools: AI image generation with reference-image upload and zero-threshold style conversion; AI writing for copy and outlines across many genres; AI PPT with many templates and automatic layout; AI programming for parsing code and assisting program writing; AI web-page reading that parses study and work documents and extracts key points; one-click summarization of online course videos; and Quark cloud storage with 6TB space, fast downloads of 100GB files, automatic backup, and a free 5x-speed player. UC, described as focused on browsers for 21 years, lists UC cloud storage, bookmark cloud sync, batch AI questioning, and cloud favorites, with 10GB permanent space for regular users, 6TB for SVIP, and 10TB for top-tier members, plus 4K viewing, free 5x speed, subtitle loading, picture-in-picture, multi-window support, online opening and editing of Office, PDF, and archive files, and batch AI questioning for comparing multiple AI results.
Tabbit is described as an AI-centric browser combining browsing, search, dialogue, and intelligent execution, with recent updates including Kimi K2.6 and DeepSeek V4.0 models selectable in chat, a Chromium 147 kernel, scheduled tasks, shareable AI chat links, and homepage shortcuts to pin frequently used sites.
Other Options Listed
- Sogou Browser: described as offering automatic proxy acceleration and the first domestic "true dual-core" engine with multi-level acceleration.
- Firefox: described as free and open source, small and fast, with tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, customizable toolbars, extension management, better search, and a sidebar.
- UU Browser: described as aimed at students and office workers, using less memory with no background processes, supporting full-page translation, full-screen mode, Mac-style interface, and customization.
- Minimalist Browser: described as simple, fast, secure, ad-free, and pop-up free with a clean interface.
- 2345 and Xiaozhi: both list data sync, skins, translation, and privacy protections among their features.
Practical Takeaways for Founders
First, assume heterogeneity: your China team may use several browsers simultaneously, and some internal platforms may require IE-compatible kernels. Second, plan for AI features appearing in browsers as a normal part of the toolset, which affects training and data handling discussions. Third, note that Edge cannot be uninstalled from Windows but defaults can be changed, so device-standardization policies should be explicit. Finally, cloud storage and media features bundled into browsers may influence which tools employees prefer, so procurement should consider overlap with approved storage and collaboration systems.
This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.