LinkedIn has 3 million members in China — and that’s without a Chinese version

LinkedIn may not have a presence in China, but the service already has three million members in the country. Its desktop version is entirely in English, though Forbes notes the existence of a mobile app that supports Chinese language.

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman revealed the statistic in an interview with Chinese media outlet Tencent Tech. He says that LinkedIn is trying to gain a deeper understanding into the Chinese market, which holds huge potential for LinkedIn.

Hoffman also acknowledges the importance of the Android ecosystem to China, and says that “to understand how Android operates in China, you have to use Android smartphones.” In light of this, Hoffman even has a Hongmi phone — the low-cost $130 smartphone developed by China’s popular Xiaomi — given to him by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun when the latter visited Silicon Valley.

It seems Linkedin is taking its time before attempting an official move into the Chinese market. Given that the business social network has been in existence for 10 years and has garnered a sizeable audience in the country with little effort, it might just be time to make that move.

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Thumbnail image via Ben Scholzen/flickr