Chinese tech giants are diverging in their responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, the US, Canada, Europe, and the UK haveimposed sanctions on Russian elites and entities. In contrast, China has avoided outwardly condemning Russia’s actions. A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said on Monday the country doesn’t believe in using sanctions to resolve diplomatic issues, a Chinese transcript published on the ministry’s website shows.
That’s put Chinese tech companies in a bind. Unlike their Silicon Valley counterparts many of whom don’t rely as heavily on Chinese consumers Chinese tech giants find considerable support for their products and services both within China and elsewhere.
Keep reading for a look at how Chinese tech giants and their platforms are responding to the conflict in Ukraine.
TikTok(ByteDance’s video-sharing platform)
TikTok which is owned by ByteDance in Beijing has blocked the accounts of RT, a Russian state-run TV network, and Sputnik, a Moscow-headquartered news agency, on its platform in the EU, a TikTok spokesperson told Insider.
The move is in line with the EU’s ban on Kremlin-backed media, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday.
WeChat and Weixin are Tencent’s messaging apps. They are used by more than 1.26 billion users globally each month, Tencent’s earnings report as of September shows.
A Tencent spokesperson referred Insider to a message the company shared on Friday on Weixin, the Chinese-language version of WeChat. In the post, Tencent avoided taking sides in the conflict but appealed to users to be objective when discussing international hot topics. “It’s not easy to maintain peace,” the post reads. “We need to respect and cherish life.”
Weibo is Sina’s Twitter-like service. As of September, 573 million users use it each month, numbers released by Weibo show.
On Sunday, Weibo said it had banned 10,000 accounts and removed more than 4,000 posts that “ridiculed war” and mocked the situation in Ukraine. Offending posts also included “vulgar” ones that denigrated Ukrainian women. Weibo did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment for this story.
Ride-hailing app DiDi appears to have reversed an earlier decision to pull out of Russia.
In a report from Russian state news agency Tass, published days before Russia invaded Ukraine, DiDi’s Russian PR director Irina Gushchina said the company planned to cease operations in Russia and Kazakhstan starting March 4.
But on Saturday, DiDi said in a Weibo post that it would continue to support drivers and passengers in Russia. The post drew support from some users, who said it’s a company’s social responsibility to be aligned with a country’s position.
No reason was given for DiDi’s reversal. DiDi did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Lenovo, one of the world’s biggest producers of personal computers, reportedly halted shipments to Russia, per a Friday tweet from Belarusian independent TV outlet Nexta. Lenovo, which acquired IBM’s personal computer business in 2005, has not responded to the news. Lenovo did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Xiaomi, a manufacturer of mobile phones and consumer electronics, is one of the top smartphone brands in Ukraine. The company had planned for a product launch in Ukraine last Thursday but later cancelled it, according to a South China Morning Post report. Social media posts on Facebook and Weibo referencing the event were deleted, per the SCMP. Xiaomi did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
This is a live list. Insider will update this story as more Chinese tech companies announce their stance on the crisis in Ukraine. Check back for more updates.
Have a tip about Chinese or Asian tech companies? Contact the reporter, Weilun Soon, at wsoon@insider.com.
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