Tencent’s Pony Ma, ByteDance’s Zhang Yiming in online spat over accusations of blocking and plagiarism

ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming said ‘the progress of Douyin was unstoppable despite Tencent’s blocking and Weishi’s plagiarism.’ Photo: Handout

The CEOs of two of China’s biggest tech companies engaged in an online bickering match on Tuesday after one accused the other of plagiarism.

Pony Ma Huateng, head of internet giant Tencent Holdings, fired back with an uncharacteristic public retort when Zhang Yiming, whose Douyin video platform is blocked by Tencent’s WeChat, accused Tencent’s Weishi video platform of “plagiarising” Douyin.

Print option is available for subscribers only.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.