After TikTok deal, Chinese companies seek new global path

When Chinese internet giant ByteDance officially split TikTok into separate entities for America and the rest of the world on Thursday, the deal marked a final capitulation for the survival of its popular social media app in the United States after an arduous six-year fight.

- MEAGHAN TOBIN

The US head office of TikTok in Culver City, California. The short-video platform has become a geopolitical football in relations between the United States and China.

(REUTERS)

The outcome of a fractured TikTok underscores the difficult choice facing Chinese technology companies with global aspirations. In the United States, they must contend with shifting geopolitical fault lines, drawn-out legal battles and mistrust of any company with Chinese roots. Alternatively, they could chart a different international path — one with potentially less hassle but without access to the world’s largest economy.

Over the past six years, as TikTok became a flashpoint between China and the United States, some Chinese tech companies thought they found a blueprint to make themselves more palatable to American officials and investors.

A handful of companies, including TikTok, moved their headquarters out of China to locations like Singapore. Others spent millions on marketing to foster familiarity among American consumers. Some firms blocked access to users in China, adding credence to the argument that they are not Chinese companies.

Last month, it seemed like artificial intelligence startup Manus had found a way to circumvent geopolitics when Meta announced it had acquired the company for a reported $2 billion. Manus was founded by Chinese engineers and has affiliated offices in China but moved its headquarters to Singapore last year. Its products are no longer accessible in China.

Manus drew attention from Silicon Valley last March when it introduced an AI agent that could be directed to build websites and do other basic coding tasks with limited human intervention. By December, Manus said it had surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue.