Dive Brief:

• LinkedIn has launched a simple Chinese beta, “领英” —​ something competitors Twitter, Facebook, and Google have not yet been able to do. 
• The move is meant to help the social network reach a fairly untapped market of 140 million potential users. 
• LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner told the Wall Street Journal, that the move is meant to attract three different groups: Chinese citizens looking for economic opportunities, multinational corporations looking to increase their Chinese presence, and Chinese companies looking to hire professionals and expand globally. 

Dive Insight: 

International expansion, especially in China, is nothing new. But LinkedIn is getting a head start on other social networks with a site focused solely on the Chinese market. Aside from reaching an expanded user base, the social network is likely also looking for new business from global B2B advertisers that would like to purchase sponsored posts and other products in the Chinese beta.