Hill+Knowlton Strategies is working for China's Dalian Wanda Group, the property and entertainment conglomerate, an account earned after a hotly contested pitch.

The WPP unit will handle global branding and projects throughout the world for Wanda, the world's largest operator of movie theaters with AMC in the US and Odeon and UCI in Europe.

Dalian Wanda Group Facebook page image

"We are looking forward to partnering with Wanda Group as it leverages its incredible reputation and agility to aggressively reposition itself as one of the fastest growing international entertainment businesses," said Jack Martin, H+K CEO.

Variety reports that Wanda's "image has been dented" by moves by the Chinese government to reel in the overseas expansion of conglomerates. In 2016, China's government instituted capital controls to stem the outflow of cash from China.

In July, Wanda unloaded a big chunk of its hotel assets in a $9B deal.