Zhang Yiming is not the only socially reticent tech billionaire. But the political challenges faced by the chief executive of ByteDance, who is stepping down, are uniquely nerve-shredding. The Chinese group is stranded in a free fire zone in the US-China tech war thanks to its popular livestreaming service TikTok.
The entrepreneur — if he is genuinely taking a back seat — would be trading a nightmare for the daydreams he says he prefers. Realpolitik should be served by his lower profile, even as he retains a key role at ByteDance.
Zhang is credited with helping design the core algorithm that reportedly powers both TikTok and Chinese equivalent Douyin. In just nine years, privately owned ByteDance has attained a valuation of $250bn and has 100,000 employees. But the social media group’s ownership of TikTok and Douyin — and their possible shared technology — has fuelled US spying fears.