Smiling boy

A video company from the Chinese city of Hangzhou have partnered in managing the boy's Weibo account and the American family's business interests in China, according to Wei Peiran, Thomas' manager in China whose company makes short videos for the US market.

"Earlier this year, some young people from my team told me that Gavin is very popular among Chinese netizens and then we contacted his agent in America and tried to work out a collaboration," Wei says .

"When we launched Gavin's Weibo account this July, we hoped to reach 1 million followers by the end of the year. The goal was achieved in less than 24 hours, which surprised us."

Wei's company received invitations for the boy to endorse products in China but they turned most down, Wei says.

"Gavin is just a kid in elementary school and we don't want any of this to have negative impact on him."

Echoing his words, Ashley adds: "Gavin should do what he wants to do. What is most important is that Gavin has fun doing whatever he wants."