China’s ubiquitous WeChat doubles down on mini apps, short videos as it faces stricter regulation, market saturation

With 1.26 billion monthly active users as of September 2021, WeChat is facing headwinds from regulatory crackdowns and fierce competition from rivals. Allen Zhang Xiaolong, known as the father of WeChat and a star attraction at the event for the past six years, was absent this time around. — SCMP

China’s all-purpose WeChat app, owned by Tencent Holdings, is doubling down on mini programmes and short video to drive future growth as its user base reaches saturation point.

The 11-year-old WeChat, known locally as Weixin, is one of China’s most successful mobile apps, installed on virtually every smartphone in the country of one billion mobile internet users.