How an Israeli became a Chinese Internet celebrity

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Europe

‍By CGTN's The Point

“Anyone with a little idea, a little dream, with a little cost can make his way in China,” said Raz Galor on “Because of China,” a 2017 year-end special program from CGTN’s The Point.

Galor is a 23-year old Israeli and the co-founder of Foreigners Research Institute, a video content startup launched in Beijing in January 2017. Galor and his team hit the streets of Beijing to interview people, mostly foreigners, about everyday topics and random things in China. Then, they make a video about it, usually with a comedic twist, and post it online.

“We want to show Chinese people how foreigners live here and think of China. We also want to show the world how foreigners in China think about this incredible country and its people,” Galor said.

He described his first extraordinary experience when he launched his business. His team made a video about what foreigners think of WeChat, a Chinese social media app, and posted the video on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The video was a true turning point for the team.

“It reached 3.5 million views in 24 hours and got us 100,000 fans,” said Galor.

“All from just an idea, and that’s where we saw an opportunity.” This early success inspired him to build his business. They’ve already attracted 5.5 million followers on social media sites this year, and each video reaches an average of 10 million viewers.

Talking about his entrepreneurial journey, Galor said that he really had his father to thank for bringing him to China in the first place.

Ten years ago, Galor’s father decided to move the entire family to China because, as a veteran businessman, he felt that “the next opportunity for him to explore would be China.”

Galor said in the future he wanted to “take what’s happening in modern China and spread that to the world” to give the international community a better understanding of Chinese technology, opportunities, and the high education standards.

At the end of his talk, Galor shared the best advice he’s received from his own experience in China, saying, “try things. Don’t be scared of failure. In China, everything is possible.”

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).

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