TikTok: A Chinese entrepreneur’s unfinished search for global recognition
- Chinese tech unicorn ByteDance’s global ambitions continue to face headwinds under the Biden administration, said analysts
- The company has been caught in the middle of a widening political and economic rift between China and the West
At first glance, the English and Chinese versions of ByteDance’s website look like mirror images of each other: both feature the same upbeat images of cheerful office workers and a beaming father looking at a smartphone with his young son. Scrolling down the homepage, however, reveals subtle but significant differences.
The English website contains a section showing Beijing-based ByteDance’s five board directors, four of whom are from the company’s foreign investors, including US investment firms Susquehanna International Group (SIG), General Atlantic and Coatue Management, as well as venture firm Sequoia Capital.
Beneath that section is an organisational chart highlighting the separate overseas entities managing the operations of ByteDance’s hit short video-sharing app TikTok in different markets: the US, Australia, Singapore and the UK.
Neither the list of board members nor the organisational chart appear on the Chinese website – a difference that illustrates the geopolitical tightrope that ByteDance has to navigate if it wants to grow as a global company.
