Jinri Toutiao parent company ByteDance is reportedly planning to launch a messaging app as the firm sets its sights on WeChat and escalates its rivalry with tech giant Tencent. ByteDance and Tencent have fallen foul of each other as they fight for the attention of China’s netizens. ByteDance’s Zhang accused Tencent-owned WeChat of making excuses to block Douyin videos from being shared on the platform. He also accused Tencent’s short video app Weishi (微视) of plagiarism, adding that it could not stop Douyin’s growth. Several Chinese tech powerhouses like Alibaba, NetEase, and Bullet Messanger have failed to compete with the messaging giant.