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Tencent America has hired Mercury Public Affairs for Washington representation.
The Omnicom unit will work with the Palo Alto-based arm of the Chinese video & entertainment products giant on issues related to the William (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act.
That measure requires the Pentagon to publish an annual list of Chinese military companies.
The DOD added Tencent, owner of WeChat, to that list in January, a designation that the company called a mistake.
"We are not a military company or supplier. Unlike sanctions or export controls, this listing has no impact on our business," a Tencent rep told the BBC.
Mercury also will represent Tencent on issues related to regulation of the Internet and digital services, and deal with the international media.
Former Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter, and deputy communications director for the Trump/Pence campaign Bryan Lanza are on Mercury’s Tencent team.
Miller Strategies, the well-connected Republican firm, has inked a $1.5M one-year consulting contract from Emirates Global Aluminum, the biggest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil & gas sector.
Anthropic, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence start-up, has retained Republican powerhouse firm Fierce Government Relations for DC representation.
Chad Horrell, who was senior manager for government relations at DoorDash, has joined BGR Group as VP in its state and local practice.
Continental Strategy, which has close ties with the Trump administration, has registered Geneva-based Rolex as a client for services regarding the tariffs on watch imports.
Kimberly-Clark calls on Ballard Partners as it moves to acquires Kenvue, maker of Tylenol. 
