Closer Look: The Battle Lines Are Drawn for Alibaba and Tencent

(Beijing) – The war between the country's two Internet giants, Tencent Holding and Alibaba Group, in the mobile Internet arena has escalated.

Alibaba recently blocked WeChat's access to two of its e-commerce apps. Users who click on links to products and shops on Taobao and Tmall through WeChat, Tencent's popular messaging app, will be directed to the download page for the Alibaba apps. They are unable to browse or make purchases.