LinkedIn makes a move in China with the hiring of a president to head up its efforts there

It looks like LinkedIn will soon make a concrete move into China — as it revealed today that it has appointed Derek Shen, the founder and former CEO of Chinese Groupon-like group-buying site Nuomi, as the president of LinkedIn China.

LinkedIn does not have a presence in China with a localized language site, but the service already has more than four million members in the country, the company says.

“Derek’s extensive experience in the China Internet space positions him well to lead our efforts to explore what makes the most sense for LinkedIn, our members and clients in China. Ultimately, we hope to be able to help create economic opportunities for professionals in the country, including matching talented individuals with job and business prospects,” LinkedIn said in a statement provided to TNW.

LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman previously said that the company is trying to gain a deeper understanding into the Chinese market, which holds huge potential — and also acknowledged the importance of the Android ecosystem to China.

It seems like other than a localized language site, which would be a natural first step to conquer the Chinese market, we can probably expect LinkedIn to focus its efforts on mobile in the world’s largest smartphone market as well.

Headline image via Ben Scholzen / Flickr