China asks Alibaba and Tencent to open up platforms to each other – media

SHANGHAI, Sept.11 (Reuters) – China’s Ministry of Industry has called on tech companies like Alibaba Group Ltd (9988.HK) and Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) to stop blocking each other’s links from their websites from their platforms, the 21st Century Business Herald said on Saturday.

The newspaper, citing anonymous sources, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Friday offered companies standards for instant messaging services, telling them that all platforms must be unblocked before a certain time. time.

The ministry said it may have to resort to other measures if companies do not comply, according to the newspaper.

The move is the latest in a regulatory crackdown spanning sectors from tech to entertainment and game companies.

Companies that attended the meeting included Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Baidu Inc, Huawei Technologies Co (HWT.UL) and Xiaomi Corp (1810.HK), the newspaper said. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Chinese internet is dominated by a handful of tech giants who have historically blocked rivals’ links and services on their platforms, creating what analysts have described as “walled gardens.”

In recent months, regulators have cracked down, accusing companies of creating monopolies and restricting consumer choice.

In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that Alibaba and Tencent were gradually considering opening up their services to each other, for example by introducing Tencent’s WeChat Pay to Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall e-commerce markets.

Reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Yingzhi Yang in Beijing; Editing by William Mallard

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