Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba break digital wall with Taobao, WeChat integration

Users of Tencent’s WeChat can now buy and pay for products sold on Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace without leaving the multipurpose app

Reading Time:2 minutes

Tencent and Alibaba have torn down another major digital wall between their digital ecosystems. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 5:00pm, 9 Oct 2024

Tencent Holdings has begun letting users shop on Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao e-commerce platform directly through its WeChat app, in another landmark deal aimed at tearing down the digital walls separating two of China’s biggest internet giants.

WeChat users can now open Taobao links and complete purchases within the Tencent multipurpose app, according to checks by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday. When users buy or add a product to their shopping cart, they are asked to link their WeChat account to Taobao to access their delivery addresses stored in the shopping app.

Payments can be made via Tencent’s digital wallet service WeChat Pay, known as Weixin Pay on the mainland, allowing users to complete their shopping without leaving the Tencent app. Users who choose other payment methods, such as Ant Group’s Alipay, will be redirected to the Taobao app to finish their transaction.

Ant is an affiliate of Alibaba, owner of the Post.

WeChat has allowed users to shop for goods from Alibaba’s Taobao without leaving the messaging app. Photo: EPA-EFE

The move comes just weeks after Taobao and its sibling Tmall, the two largest online marketplaces in China, began accepting WeChat Pay for online purchases. Merchants on Taobao and Tmall were given the choice to add WeChat Pay to their shops.