Lulu Yilun Chen

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK 2022*
NYTIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022*
A TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEARS 2022*
FORBES ESPANA TOP 10 BOOK OF 2022*
PROJECT SYNDICATE BEST READS IN 2022*

‘A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government’ – Guardian

‘Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It’s also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.’ — Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything Store

“Tencent, the company behind the ubiquitous app, rarely opens itself up to journalists or scrutiny, which makes Ms. Chen’s exploration of its
extraordinary rise to become China’s biggest tech group and most important private company all the more vital.” — The New York Times

‘There’s so much fascinating detail here.’ — The Times

‘Lulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China’s Tech Ambition, that will finally change.’ — Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power

‘A book that tells Tencent’s story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen’s account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves.’ — David Barboza, The Wire

‘Lulu Yilun Chen’s Influence Empire is the compelling story of one of the world’s most important, but least understood companies. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how the curious collision of business, technology and politics in today’s China will reshape our world.’ — Peter Martin, author of China’s Civilian Army

‘Chen clearly charts the rise of one of the largest tech and social media companies in the world, which is shadowed by one of the most paranoid governments in the world.’  ‘Chen goes beyond that, we get the stories behind the headline, the characters, the culture and the back stories’   — Mimi Alemayehou, Senior Vice President for Public-Private Partnerships, Strategic Growth, Mastercard 

‘Coming to grips with the tech industry is not easy at the best of times given how quickly the sector evolves. It is even more difficult when it is in China and the relationship (between tech companies) and the government is extremely fluid, yet Influence Empire by Lulu Chen manages to provide important insights across all these dimensions. The book is an engaging look into the Chinese tech world, including the relationship with not just the government there, but also with western capital. It comes at a time, to quote the author ‘alliances and allegiances change within the blink of an eye” and “national champions become public enemies overnight.” This book will be of interest to a very broad range of people, and rightly so, from tech specialists, economists and corporate executives worrying about disruption of supply chains to those interested in innovation, as well as those assessing the increasing weaponization of tech for national security purposes’   — Mohamed El-Erian, President, Queens’ College, Cambridge University, Advisor to Allianz and Gramercy