China state firms invest in TikTok sibling, Weibo chat app

China appears to be taking greater control of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns global video app TikTok, and Weibo, China's version of Twitter

The Chinese government has made investments in two of the nation's most significant technology firms — ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns global video app TikTok, and Weibo, China's version of Twitter — in a move apparently intended to bolster its sway over the nation's flourishing technology sector. In April, ByteDance sold a 1% stake in its Chinese subsidiary, Beijing ByteDance Technology Co., to WangTouZhongWen (Beijing) Technology, a state-backed firm, according to public government records and the corporate information platform Qichacha. WangTouZhongWen is owned by three Chinese state entities, one of which is linked to a fund backed by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the nation's internet watchdog, according to government records and Qichacha data. The Information, a U.S. tech site, earlier reported that Bytedance had also given a board seat to a Chinese government official as part of the deal.