Chinese tech giants led by Alibaba and Tencent donate millions towards flood relief efforts in Shanxi

The donations by China’s Big Tech come as technology firms are under scrutiny by both Beijing and society for putting profits before social responsibility
Donations from China’s Big Tech has reached US$46.6 million so far

Alibaba

Jane Zhang

Published: 5:00pm, 11 Oct 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

China’s big tech companies, including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, have announced donations amounting to over 300 million yuan (US$46.6 million) towards flood relief efforts in Shanxi province, where heavy rains and landslides have killed at least five people and displaced over 120,000.

Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, said it has donated 30 million yuan. Its payment affiliate Ant Group plans to donate 20 million yuan, while founder Jack Ma’s foundation and co-founder Joe Tsai’s foundation will each give 10 million yuan.

Social media and gaming giant Tencent, Beijing-based ByteDance, search engine and artificial intelligence major Baidu and discount online retailer Pinduoduo said on Sunday they would donate 50 million yuan each.

Didi Chuxing, the ride-hailing giant under cybersecurity review, has also said it would give 30 million yuan and pledged additional resources. Smartphone makers Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo will give 10 million yuan each.

01:17

5 dead, thousands displaced in floods in China’s Shanxi province as rescue efforts under way

The rush of donations by China’s Big Tech, along with multiple corporate initiatives to help people and businesses in the flood-hit areas, come as technology firms are under scrutiny by both Beijing and society for putting profits before social responsibility.

To answer Beijing’s call of “common prosperity”, China’s Big Tech are scrambling to prove their commitment to social values. Alibaba had earlier this year earmarked 100 billion yuan to help the national strategy of equal distribution of wealth, while Tencent has set up two batches of funds totalling 100 billion yuan.

Shanxi has recorded more than five times its usual rainfall since the start of the month, resulting in the destruction of dams and railway lines. The province’s emergency management department said on Sunday that 1.75 million people had been affected and more than 17,000 buildings had collapsed.

Apart from monetary contributions, China’s Big Tech are also using their platforms to help.

Alipay, the online payment platform operated by Ant, has opened a donation channel for Shanxi and 18 charity organisations have already initiated fundraising, with more than 220,000 people making donations.

Since early October, ByteDance’s short video platform Douyin, video-sharing platform Xigua Video and news aggregator Jinri Toutiao have launched special pages on Shanxi’s inclement weather so that people around the nation are aware of the situation on the ground.

Chinese tech giants have initiated efforts in times of crisis, donating almost 1 billion yuan to flood relief efforts in central Henan province in July.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Funds flow in