Alibaba Group (9988) added rival Tencent's (0700) payment system to some of its apps, further widening cracks in the internet giants' walled-off ecosystems.
Services including food-delivery app Ele.me, online ticketing platform Damai, e-book reader Shuqi as well as Kaola, a site for imported goods, now offer WeChat Pay alongside existing payment options like Ant Group's Alipay.
An Alibaba representative confirmed the news, adding the company will continue to find common ground with peers to better serve consumers. While WeChat Pay still isn't available on the e-commerce leader's flagship Taobao app, a representative for the business said it is "actively" working toward introducing multiple payment methods on its platform.
Shares of Alibaba rallied as much as 6.34 percent to HK$150.9 yesterday while Tencent's stock rose 1.12 percent to HK$469.8.
The move comes after Beijing stepped up calls to free up the country's internet arena, which has traditionally been dominated by ecosystems built around the twin giants. Earlier this month, Tencent allowed users of the WeChat social media app to get linked to their rivals' content for the first time in years, a major concession to regulatory pressure.
China's top technology regulator has warned internet firms to stop blocking links to rival services as part of a broader campaign to curb their growing monopoly power over data
