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Coco Feng

Uber Technologies’ strategic partnership with Tencent Holdings’ super app WeChat is yielding significant dividends for the ride-hailing operator as it meets a critical demand for Chinese travellers overseas.
Since Uber launched a mini-program on WeChat in July, travellers from the mainland have been actively using Uber’s services via the new channel in 20 markets, said Anthony Wong, who leads Uber’s partnership with Tencent, on Thursday.
While the ride-hailing service provider operates in 70 markets globally, these 20 markets, which included the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, were among the most important for the company, Wong said at a WeChat event in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. About 90 per cent of the mini-program users were new to Uber, he added.
In 2016, New York-listed Uber merged its mainland Chinese operations with Didi Chuxing, the mainland’s largest car-hailing platform, after years of a debilitating price war.

The budding partnership with WeChat, which has 1.4 billion monthly active users globally, has encouraged Uber to launch a new campaign to attract more Chinese users.
During the Lunar New Year in February, when mainland residents will enjoy a record nine-day holiday, Uber would offer a discount of at least 40 per cent for new users who join via the mini-program, Wong said.
Uber is a prime example of how Tencent continues to expand its ubiquitous mini-program ecosystem in China and overseas.
On Thursday, Tencent said merchants from more than 100 markets globally had launched mini-programs on WeChat that serve Chinese tourists as well as local residents. Some of the markets with 1 million monthly active users last year included Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong-Macau combined.
Some markets, such as Italy, witnessed exponential growth, with monthly transaction value there more than quadrupling in the second half of last year.
Tencent is seeking to expand its reach beyond just Chinese tourists overseas. It recently launched the “Tenpay Global Checkout” for mini-programs, which supports multiple payment methods, including digital wallets, local payment networks, and credit and debit cards, allowing users overseas to make payments using local payment methods they are familiar with.
WeChat, known as Weixin on the mainland, was also testing a new feature to redirect Google search results to mini-programs on the app, said Du Zhiyang, a representative from the WeChat mini-program team.
WeChat has formed other major partnerships to serve Chinese tourists. In April 2025, it introduced the Chinese-language mini-program for Tabelog, a popular Japanese restaurant review website, enabling mainland tourists to check restaurant locations, book tables and pay their bills in yuan.
A month earlier, Singapore rolled out a “Sentosa Discovery Guide” mini-program on WeChat, featuring a Mandarin interface.


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Tencent Holdings

Uber’s WeChat tie-up pays off as demand from Chinese tourists rises overseas

New York-listed Uber operates in 70 markets globally. Photo: Shutterstock

Anthony Wong (centre) leads Uber’s partnership with Tencent. Photo: Coco Feng

WeChat and Uber team up to offer seamless overseas ride-hailing for Chinese travellers

The WeChat Pay logo is displayed next to a QR payment code in this illustration picture taken June 28, 2023. Photo: Reuters

This photo taken on July 10, 2022 shows the Tencent headquarters in Shenzhen, in China’s southern Guangdong province. Photo: AFP

From izakaya to haute cuisine: WeChat helps Chinese tourists book tables across Japan

WeChat’s latest mini program offers mainland Chinese tourists in Japan the convenience of finding and booking tables at more than 800,000 dining establishments across the country. Photo: Shutterstock

The latest WeChat mini program enables mainland Chinese tourists to check restaurant locations, book tables and pay their bill with Chinese yuan. Photo: Shutterstock

Tech

Tech Trends

Uber will offer a discount of at least 40 per cent during Lunar New Year for new mainland users who join via its WeChat mini-program


Uber will offer a discount of at least 40 per cent during Lunar New Year for new mainland users who join via its WeChat mini-program.


Uber’s WeChat tie-up pays off as demand from Chinese tourists rises overseas

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Uber will offer a discount of at least 40 per cent during Lunar New Year for new mainland users who join via its WeChat mini-program

Uber will offer a discount of at least 40 per cent during Lunar New Year for new mainland users who join via its WeChat mini-program