Professional social-networking-site LinkedIn has a small presence in China and is one of the few foreign social-networking-sites to still have access to Chinese Internet users. Twitter and Facebook are blocked in China over censorship concerns.

LinkedIn shares more than doubled in their public trading debut this month, evoking memories of investors' love affair with Internet stocks during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.

Like LinkedIn, Ushi's website (www.ushi.cn) has features that allow users to add connections and send messages but it is currently in a by-invitation phase. Penaloza said the firm plans to open the website to the public by the end of the year. Ushi is already monetizing users through the presence of Ushi coins which can be bought with real money.

Ushi's key difference from LinkedIn is that it focuses on offline events as Chinese people greatly value face-to-face meetings and are generally hesitant to do business with people they do not know.

"If you ask them to pay $25 equivalent in Reminbi for a three-hour networking party they would not hesitate to pay, they would line up to pay. Chinese people are like that in general," Penaloza said.

Ushi is banking on the value of "guanxi," which means connections in Mandarin, in doing business in China to make money. The firm charges Ushi coins for introductions outside your immediate circle.

The Shangai-based firm raised 10 million yuan ($1.54 million) in its initial round of fundraising.

About 5 percent of Ushi's current users are chief executives.

Last week, LinkedIn told reporters in Beijing it will seek opportunities in China to capitalize on its massive user base even though it sees the market as complicated.

Being called the LinkedIn of China has its benefits as it offers the general public a quick reference to the type of services the firm offers, Penaloza said.