One of China's tech titans, Baidu, is pursuing a new global business twist that takes the Beijing-based search company far from its roots in search to Hollywood movie promotion, Madison Avenue advertising and social media. It sounds far fetched, and the timing might be better given US-China tensions. But Baidu is making a play beyond China and is gaining traction with its latest outreach that blends search, artificial intelligence, advertising, and media overseas. Baidu has recently aligned with social networks Snap, Reddit and Pinterest, and movie producers Sony and Paramount, among others, in about a dozen sales partnerships. Baidu's distinct strategy for its global business unit is part of a trend of Chinese technology companies going outside China and transitioning from an original, core line of business.