True dominance of China's Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent revealed – and how their influence extends worldwide

China’s internet giants are competing with each other on multiple fronts either by nurturing their in-house products and services, or by investing in external players for access to technology and users in artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and media and content. The China Internet Report, an in-depth look at China’s internet landscape with its 772 million internet users, is the second such report after its introduction in 2017. The China Internet Report also highlights the role of Chinese internet companies in empowering the country’s next wave of development in rural areas, where around 490,000 online shops are run by rural households, and 55 million rural students are connected to live-streaming classes. Baidu, Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings – collectively known as BAT in the industry – have grown so large, with combined revenues of 550 billion yuan (US $87.3 billion), that they dominate nearly every aspect of the Chinese internet, with core businesses ranging from web search and social media to e-commerce and entertainment.