--- title: "Antitrust settlement! 11-year battle between Taobao and WeChat comes to an end" type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/23694462.md" description: "After tearing down the walls, everything is just beginning. @新熵 Original author 丨 Yu Mei Editor 丨 Jue Ying The moment to witness history has arrived! Two internet giants have officially joined hands, with Taobao platform planning to fully integrate WeChat Pay. Taobao Tmall responded by stating that they always adhere to an open cooperation philosophy, actively exploring interoperability with various platforms to continuously enhance consumers' shopping experience, making it more convenient, enjoyable, and efficient. WeChat Pay responded on the same day: Currently, functional adaptation with Taobao platform merchants is being rolled out. For specific launch dates, please follow Taobao platform announcements. WeChat Pay always upholds an open cooperation philosophy..." datetime: "2024-09-06T10:43:09.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/23694462.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/23694462.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/23694462.md) author: "[新熵](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/10215178.md)" --- > Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/23694462.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/23694462.md) # Antitrust settlement! 11-year battle between Taobao and WeChat comes to an end **After tearing down the walls, everything has just begun.** @新熵原创 Author 丨 Yu Mei Editor 丨 Jue Ying The moment to witness history has arrived! Two internet giants have officially joined hands, with Taobao planning to fully integrate WeChat Pay. Taobao Tmall responded, stating that Taobao Tmall has always adhered to an open cooperation philosophy, actively exploring interoperability with various platforms to continuously enhance the shopping experience for consumers, making it more convenient, enjoyable, and efficient. WeChat Pay responded on the same day: "The functional adaptation with Taobao merchants is currently being rolled out. For the specific launch time, please refer to Taobao's official announcements. WeChat Pay has always upheld an open cooperation philosophy, actively exploring interoperability across various sectors." Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay have long been in a state of "mutual exclusion." The inability to use WeChat Pay on Taobao is a well-known rule in the e-commerce world. Rumors of interoperability between the two companies have circulated for a long time but were stuck at Taobao's end. Now, the moment has finally arrived—Taobao will have to share the pie with its former rival. Is this move a historic reconciliation where Taobao 放下了高傲姿态， or is there more to it? ### **The History of the Two Giants' "Walled Gardens"** The mutual blocking between Taobao and WeChat began in 2013. In July of that year, Alibaba announced the suspension of third-party app services related to WeChat, citing the need to control Taobao transaction risks. To bypass this restriction and improve conversion rates, some Taobao merchants tried posting WeChat payment QR codes as a workaround, but this "crude method" was soon blocked. Shortly after, Taobao sellers received a ban prohibiting them from posting WeChat QR codes, and the term "WeChat" became a forbidden word on Taobao. In November, the mobile Taobao app escalated the blockade by shutting down redirects from WeChat to Taobao product pages and stores. Clicking a Taobao link in WeChat would instead direct users to Taobao's download page. The conflict quickly intensified, with Tencent retaliating by blocking all Taobao links in WeChat under the pretext of preventing malicious marketing, including redirects to download links. Users were met with the message: "The Taobao link you are trying to access has been blocked. To view it, long-press to copy the link and open it in a browser." From then on, the status quo was set—Taobao couldn't use WeChat Pay, and WeChat couldn't open Taobao links. Alibaba and Tencent had effectively blacklisted each other. On the surface, both sides cited security concerns, but in reality, it was a battle for traffic dominance. At the start of 2013, WeChat, then two years old, proudly announced it had surpassed 300 million users, becoming the most downloaded and widely used communication app globally. Faced with this rapidly rising social platform, Alibaba felt threatened. Tencent's link-blocking measures grew stricter, and in 2016, WeChat officially released its "External Link Content Management Standards," systematically cracking down on 违规 external links and erecting high walls around its traffic. It wasn't until 2021, when China's internet antitrust storm hit, that the relationship between Taobao and WeChat began to shift subtly. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology demanded that platforms lift 屏蔽 within a deadline to achieve "interoperability." The State Administration for Market Regulation hammered down with antitrust penalties, imposing maximum fines on several internet giants, including Alibaba, Tencent, Suning, and Meituan-affiliated companies. Under policy pressure, companies realized that mutual 封锁 was not the optimal solution. Taobao and WeChat had to reevaluate their competitive strategies and explore possibilities for cooperation. On August 30 this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced on its official website that it had supervised Alibaba's completion of a three-year rectification. Alibaba responded: "For Alibaba, this marks a new starting point for development. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on innovation, adhere to 合规 operations, increase technological investment, promote the healthy development of the platform economy, and create more value for society." In fact, during the decade-plus of mutual 屏蔽，试探 for interoperability never ceased. Two years after the "severance," Alibaba launched "Taobao Codes" for WeChat. Users could share Taobao product links in WeChat as "Taobao Codes," which recipients could copy and paste into the Taobao app to directly access the product page. Later, Alibaba-owned Ele.me, Freshippo, and Cainiao also joined WeChat's Mini Programs. In 2021, WeChat relaxed restrictions on external links, allowing direct access in one-on-one chats and trialing the same for e-commerce links in group chats. That same year, ahead of "Double 11," Taobao introduced a one-click feature to share shopping carts in WeChat groups and Moments... Since last year, Alibaba and Tencent's "wall-breaking" efforts have accelerated. In April 2023, DingTalk announced that WeChat users could join DingTalk meetings without downloading the app. In September 2023, Alimama and Tencent Advertising announced a deep collaboration, enabling ads from WeChat Channels to link directly to Taobao and Tmall merchants via Alimama's UD platform. This year, cooperation between the two has sped up further. In February, users noticed that some Taobao orders could redirect to WeChat Pay for payment. In August, the Taobao Deals app officially added WeChat Pay as an option. ### **A New Turning Point for Mobile Payments** From 全面封杀 to the current shift, the root cause lies in Taobao's unresolved 利益 and dilemmas. In recent years, China's e-commerce landscape has been reshuffling rapidly, with decentralization and content-driven trends becoming increasingly prominent. Traditional e-commerce giants like Alibaba and JD.com still dominate the market, but their growth has slowed. Goldman Sachs reports show that Taobao Tmall's market share dropped from 66% in 2019 to around 44% in 2022—a one-third decline in four years. Pinduoduo, with its low-price "crazy growth," surpassed Alibaba in market cap by the end of last year. Meanwhile, Douyin Stores, Tencent Video Account Stores, Xiaohongshu Shops, and Baidu E-commerce are rising at multiples of their previous growth rates. Taobao can no longer afford to sit back. Integrating WeChat Pay is undoubtedly a critical step for Taobao to break through in a 存量 market—and also seems like a 妥协。 Looking at the key battleground—payment methods. Although Alibaba's Alipay and WeChat Pay stand as the two dominant mobile payment giants, they differ significantly in scale and user demographics. Tencent's latest financial report shows that as of June 30, 2024, the combined monthly active users of WeChat and WeChat reached 1.371 billion, while Alipay averaged 893 million. WeChat Pay, leveraging WeChat's status as the "national communication app," has 领先抢滩老年人群体 and 下沉市场。 "Can you transfer me 200 via Alipay? I'll pay you back on WeChat." For a long time, many consumers 习惯用微信钱包 but had to scramble to exchange money on WeChat to shop on Taobao，无疑增加了用户的购物成本. Clearly，单一支付方式早已无法满足用户需求。 For Taobao, integrating WeChat Pay will significantly improve the shopping experience and help reach more potential users, reducing 流失. After all, emerging e-commerce platforms are rising rapidly, and Taobao can't ignore this 危机感。 But obviously, making this decision wasn't easy. The payment sector is not just the bridge for completing transactions but also the hub for data flow—a long-standing 顾虑 for platforms. On one side is the 支柱 of e-commerce, and on the other is the 主力军 of payments. Taobao and Alipay are two core platforms within Alibaba's ecosystem—both 手心手背都是 "宝." How to protect Alipay while fully leveraging WeChat is a delicate balancing act for Taobao. It's worth noting that the payment market has evolved into a 多元化竞争 landscape. In recent years, UnionPay QuickPass, JD Pay, Meituan Pay, and others have 各自 carved out niches in market share, user base, and technological capabilities. Thus, "if you can't beat them, join them." Alibaba's 取舍 isn't just about protecting its current 蛋糕 but also about expanding it. Alipay responded: "Openness, collaboration, innovation, and sharing are the fundamental spirit of the internet and the inevitable trend of industry development. Beyond payment products, Alipay will further open up cooperation in internet technology, AI products, and broader ecosystems to create greater 商业空间." ### **Reshaping the Internet Ecosystem** After tearing down the walls, everything has just begun. Currently, the WeChat Pay feature on Taobao's interface hasn't officially launched. Beyond the known 端口接入， ensuring smooth payment processes and avoiding technical compatibility issues like lag or failures is the 首要挑战 for Taobao and WeChat. Facing potential 流量压力 from WeChat Pay integration, Taobao must 提前 upgrade and expand its systems to handle the initial and 持续增长的流量。 Additionally, both sides need 深入协商 on technical 对接，责任划分， and other issues. User habits and 利益分配 are also 不可忽视的因素。 Nevertheless, platform interoperability is the 大势所趋. As experience and technology mature, "wall-breaking" among giants is only a matter of time. On the same day Taobao and WeChat shook hands in a historic moment, Alipay announced a partnership with Meituan, launching "Meituan Takeout" and "Meituan Hotels" Mini Programs on Alipay, along with exclusive coupons and merchant discounts for Alipay users. It's clear that the openness of Alibaba's ecosystem, including Taobao, marks the end of the era of 自我闭环 for internet platforms—and the end of their 高傲姿态. No longer able to rely on 封闭体系， they must now embrace 互联互通 and cooperative development, driven by 政策 and market competition. Regardless, Taobao's handshake with WeChat Pay represents not just technical integration but also a significant step toward an open and collaborative internet ecosystem. Although WeChat Pay's scale is already massive, it has reached a stage of 用户增长饱和。 According to Tencent's latest financial report, in Q2 2023, revenue from its fintech and business services segment grew 4% YoY. In the subsequent earnings call, Tencent revealed that while payment transaction volumes maintained double-digit growth, the average transaction amount declined. **Platforms** can no longer retain users through 垄断 and must dig deeper. Today's e-commerce "卷" is tightly bound to 流量算法—Taobao is no exception:卷直播，卷 GMV，卷各种人造节. Post-interoperability, Taobao must free up resources to optimize the payment chain's user experience. Its collaboration with WeChat Pay is unlikely to remain superficial. For now, however, the market sees no deeper 支撑 or Taobao's 对策. What awaits us is undoubtedly a new round of 试探与博弈 between giants—and a new battlefield in the era of 用户为王。 ### Related Stocks - [BABA-W (09988.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09988.HK.md) - [TENCENT (00700.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00700.HK.md) - [Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BABA.US.md) - [Tencent Holdings Limited (TCEHY.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TCEHY.US.md) - [TENCENT-R (80700.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/80700.HK.md) - [BABA-WR (89988.HK)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/89988.HK.md) - [Tencent Holdings Limited (TCTZF.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TCTZF.US.md)