The Chinese foreign ministry has set up its official account on Douyin, the domestic version of ByteDance’s viral short-video app TikTok.
In the short video set in the ministry’s briefing room, with French DJ Cedric Gervais’ track Touch the Sky playing in the background, the ministry announced its arrival on one of the country’s most popular platforms.
“The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Office is now on Douyin,” a terse line at the end of the 15-second read.
Within just a few hours, the account attracted more than 500,000 followers and the short-video was liked more than 400,000 times—a feat that would probably draw envy from many online influencers.
The move mirrors an existing attempt by the ministry, which focuses on affairs outside China, to reach out directly to its domestic audience. The foreign ministry set up its WeChat account in January 2018. This May, it also established a presence on Weibo.
Its new Douyin account underscores an ongoing trend of Chinese government entities setting up official accounts on three major social media platforms—WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin—to disseminate information.
A report published online last August by People’s Daily showed that Douyin already hosted more than 2,800 government accounts, more than a quarter of which aim to promote local tourism.