Interview with Jiang Hongwei, 58.com Front‑End Architect on React Native Architecture and Its Impact

Jiang Hongwei, author of "React Native New Architecture Practice" and senior front‑end architect at 58.com, leads the 58RN and Hybrid frameworks and has extensive experience in cross‑platform development and performance monitoring.

Question 1: He introduced himself, noting his transition to front‑end engineering in 2015, his promotion to lead the 58RN project in 2018, and his current role guiding technical direction for React Native within the company.

Question 2: Before taking charge of the RN architecture, he worked on RN business development in 2016‑2017 and participated in early RN infrastructure work, driven by his strong curiosity and early research on React.

Question 3: He explained that the new RN architecture brings two main values: it enhances user experience—e.g., enabling high‑performance short‑video features that H5 cannot deliver—and reduces development cost by allowing a single codebase to run on both iOS and Android, leveraging a rich internal RN ecosystem.

Question 4: The most difficult issue is upgrading the RN architecture, which is more an engineering risk than a technical one. He emphasized careful risk, cost, and benefit assessment, noting that the stable release is expected by the end of the year, with early adopters testing it in low‑risk apps.

Question 5: Compared with other cross‑platform solutions, RN’s shift from the Bridge architecture to the JSI‑based new architecture is a major change. He mentioned alternatives such as WeChat Mini‑Programs, Hippy, Weex, Lynx, Flutter, and Airbnb’s server‑driven rendering, noting that large‑scale changes to these frameworks are unlikely.

Question 6: He entered the field without a computer science background by self‑studying HTML, CSS, and JavaScript after learning about higher front‑end salaries, capitalizing on the rapid growth of mobile internet in 2015, and securing multiple job offers.

Question 7: He offered three career paths for technologists: moving away from tech to other roles, deepening expertise to become a technical specialist, or transitioning into product, management, or entrepreneurship, each providing different forms of long‑term value.