Tencent-ByteDance rivalry: Tencent Games takes up top ad spot on China’s TikTok, raising eyebrows

  • Move has surprised some netizens given the turf wars and legal tussles between the two tech rivals in recent years
  • Tencent and ByteDance lead China’s tech industry in terms of user time spent on their products, but the latter has been gaining ground on older rival

The headquarters of Tencent, the parent company of Chinese social media app WeChat, 2020. Photo: AFP

Tencent Holdings has paid for an advert on the splash screen of ByteDance’s Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, raising eyebrows amid increasing competition between the two tech giants as the latter moves into gaming and payments.

Tencent Games’ 15-second advert on Douyin, the most popular short video app in China, features Tencent’s senior vice-president Steven Ma, the unit’s boss, and is aimed at promoting Tencent Games’ ambitious rebranding campaign.
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