Chinese news aggregator Toutiao acquires Flipagram

Toutiao, one of China's most popular mobile news apps, confirmed Thursday that it has acquired Flipagram, a U.S. video creation app.

Though no financial details were disclosed, Toutiao sources said the deal enabled it to run Flipagram's products and operations.

Flipagram allows users to stitch photos and videos into montages with background music, and was once considered a serious threat to Instagram.

After the acquisition, Toutiao will integrate Flipagram videos into its own personalized content feeds in an effort to expand its international audience.

Toutiao, which literally translates into "Today's Top Headlines," was founded in 2012 and has more than 600 million active users. The company began to explore the international market in 2015 and has expanded its reach to Japan, India, Brazil, North America and Southeast Asia, by creating its own ventures or through acquisitions.

Last year, Toutiao's founder Zhang Yiming said that going global would remain one of the company's key strategies.

Guo Quanzhong, a senior economist with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that the Belt and Road initiative had brought about new opportunities for China's Internet companies to expand overseas.

"We encourage more Chinese companies to build adequate platforms to tell stories about China and spread China's voice to a global audience," Guo said. Endi