But is all this investment worth it?
Despite being dismissed by a prominent magazine, China's microbloggers still speak for an important—and growing—sector of society.
And they have a lot to say
The Chinese web provides a candid window into what the country's citizens want from their government -- and admire in the United States.
Web users in the People's Republic aren't taking the government's attempt at distraction lying down.
A popularity tour has Beijing's most powerful men munching on instant noodles and developing a green thumb.
After ten years of the stoic Hu Jintao, Weibo users appear to like the cut of Xi Jinping's jib.
American companies operating in the People's Republic have Communist Party committees, too.
What began as an easy way to pay for train travel has become a customer-service nightmare.
Sola Aoi made a well-meaning effort to calm nationalist anger over some disputed islands, but it didn't work so well.
The image has provoked wide discussion, and some backlash, on the Chinese web.
Chinese web users seem to see little evidence of rule-of-law in Wang Lijun's much-discussed case.
Some Chinese viewers seem a bit jealous of the American political system -- and maybe of President Obama.
"The U.S. is actually a giant, undeveloped farming village," begins an anonymous web post that's actually a subtle critique of China itself.