Zhang Zetian, wife of JD.com’s billionaire founder Liu Qiangdong, recently launched a podcast. It has restarted the conversation about why so many high-profile figures are entering a format widely seen as “hard to monetise”?
Digging deeper illustrates how influence, trust and personal brands are evolving in China. This is the root of why podcasts, despite lagging behind the West commercially, are becoming strategically important.
Podcasts: Big Business in the West, Still “Slow” in China
In Western markets, podcasts have matured into a meaningful media business. Podcast advertising has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, with creators building careers through ads, subscriptions, live events, licensing deals and IP spin-offs. For many journalists, experts and creators, podcasts have become both a revenue engine and a credibility amplifier.
China is much earlier in this journey.
While podcast listening has grown steadily, the commercial ecosystem remains underdeveloped:
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Advertising budgets are relatively small compared with short video
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Revenue-sharing mechanisms are limited
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Most podcasts rely on brand sponsorships, custom content or platform subsidies
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For most creators, podcasts remain a “slow business” with long payback periods
For ordinary creators looking to monetise quickly, podcasts are rarely the first choice. And yet, that is precisely why they have become attractive to celebrities, entrepreneurs and public intellectuals.
For Celebrities, Podcasts Are Not a Traffic Play
Ad revenue hasn’t been a key driver for Zhang Zetian, Luo Yonghao or Chen Luyu to enter podcasting.
They are investing in trust, depth and narrative control. Unlike the uber-popular short video or social feeds, where messages are compressed, edited, and easily taken out of context, podcasts offer something different. They provide a long-form, uninterrupted expression; a self-controlled “home field”; the ability to explain thinking, not just opinions; and – something that is particularly important with China’s stringent online monitoring systems – lower risk of misinterpretation than soundbites
In China’s fragmented, high-noise media environment, time becomes a signal of credibility. If someone listens to you for 45 minutes, trust compounds in a way no viral clip can replicate.
This mirrors what happened earlier in the West, where podcasts became a refuge for long-form thinking as social platforms accelerated and polarised.
Video Podcasts Change the Stakes
China’s podcast evolution is also skipping a step. Rather than remaining audio-first, podcasts in China are rapidly becoming video-native, distributed across multiple platforms at once. Long conversations are filmed, edited, clipped and repurposed into short-form content.
This expands reach as one recording can get coverage across multiple platforms and formats. It also increases risk, with presence, body language and depth all exposed.
This makes podcasts a powerful but unforgiving format for public figures. Weak insights, shallow conversations or awkward dynamics can quickly trigger backlash, as audiences expect authenticity and substance.
This is why successful celebrity podcasts tend to share common traits:
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Unique life experience or perspective
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Ability to listen and converse, not just speak
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Comfort with vulnerability or self-awareness
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Clear personal worldview
Without these, the format can amplify shortcomings rather than strengths.
China’s Podcast Platform Landscape
Unlike the West, where Spotify and Apple Podcasts dominate, China’s podcast ecosystem is fragmented and hybrid.
Key platforms include:
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Xiaoyuzhou (小宇宙)
The most influential dedicated podcast platform, known for a thoughtful, urban, culturally engaged audience. -
Apple Podcasts
Still important for iOS users and more internationally minded listeners. -
Xiaohongshu (RED)
Increasingly central to podcast discovery through short-form clips, video podcasts and social discussion. -
Bilibili
A major hub for long-form video podcasts and conversation-driven content. -
Douyin & Weibo
Not podcast platforms per se, but critical for clip distribution and amplification.
In practice, Chinese podcasters rarely rely on a single platform. Success comes from cross-platform circulation, where podcasts act as the “depth engine” and short video acts as the growth lever.
Why This Matters Beyond Media
The rise of podcasting goes beyond a channel or content trend. It’s a shift in how personal brands and authority are built.
With China’s market dominated by speed, performance and algorithms, podcasts represent a counterbalance. Persuasion has moved to conversation; exposure to trust; and traffic to cognition.
For already high-profile individuals such as founders, investors, experts, and cultural figures, podcasts act as a way to build trust.
There is an element of anticipation the podcasting will eventually lead to riches as it has in the west, but right now, it is the ability to build trust that is attracting the serious players to the format.
The Takeaway: Chinese consumers are increasingly seeking more
Those who approach podcasts as a short-term monetisation tool will likely be disappointed. Those who see them as a long-term investment in credibility, narrative ownership and cognitive depth are already laying foundations others will struggle to replicate.
Podcast’s rising popularity illustrates how Chinese consumers are increasingly seeking the authentic and trusted viewpoints. It shouldn’t just be individuals factoring this in, but brands too.
