US removed Tencent’s WeChat from a list of "notorious markets”

The US Trade Representative's office removed the instant messaging app WeChat under Tencent (0700) from its latest “Notorious Markets List”, after the tech giant was blacklisted by the US defense department.

But the USTR kept major Chinese e-commerce platforms operated by Alibaba’s (9988), Pinduoduo and TikTok owner ByteDance in its latest “Notorious Markets List”.

It comes after Tencent and other Chinese tech giants were blacklisted earlier this week by the US Defense Department which alleged these companies are working with China’s military, dragging down their shares and denting the Hong Kong and mainland stock markets.

After reviews, the 2024 list includes 38 online markets and 33 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.

In addition, Baidu’s (9888) cloud business, or Baidu Wangpan, is on the latest list.

Tencent’s shares rebounded over 1.6 percent in Hong Kong in the morning trade. But Alibaba saw its gains in the morning wiped out and Baidu lost about 1 percent.

The USTR added Alibaba’s AliExpress and the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem to the 2021 list which was released three years ago, as USTR said they were “two significant China-based online markets that reportedly facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting”.

(Themis Qi)