Zhang Yiming relinquishes role at firm he co-founded, one of Chinese tech’s biggest global success stories
The chair of TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has stepped down, as the Chinese government tightens its control of China’s tech sector and maintains pressure on the industry’s domestic entrepreneurs.
Zhang Yiming announced in May he would step down as chief executive of the tech company he co-founded and on Wednesday he relinquished his chair title, with ByteDance’s English-language website no longer featuring a page that mentioned his formal board role. Instead, there was a photo of Zhang under the heading of “leadership” with no title underneath. ByteDance declined to comment.