The Chinese livestreamer known as Brother Three Thousand had previously filmed himself participating in contests in which alcohol was consumed. (Credit: sanqian9237/Douyin)

(CNN) -- An influencer died shortly after livestreaming how he drank several bottles of high-proof alcohol on China's version of TikTok, according to the country's state media, in a move likely to renew debate over how to regulate the sector.

The "Sanqiange" (or "Brother Three Thousand") influencer was found dead a few hours after broadcasting his participation in a competition with another influencer that consisted of drinking Baijiu, a Chinese alcoholic beverage with a typical graduation of between 30% and 60%, reported Shangyou News.

One of his friends told the outlet that Sanqiange — identified by his real-life surname, Wang — had participated in an online challenge known as "PK" against another influencer in the early hours of May 16, and livestreamed the results on his Douyin channel.

"PK" challenges consist of one-on-one battles in which influencers compete against each other to win rewards and gifts from viewers, and often involve punishments for the loser — apparently, in this case, drinking Baijiu.

"I don't know how much I had consumed before tuning into the show. But in the last part of the video, I saw him finish three bottles before starting with a fourth," the friend, identified only as Zhao, told Shangyou News.

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"PK's games ended around 1 a.m. and by 1 p.m. (when his family found him) he was dead."

Wang, described as a "decent and simple" person by Zhao, had a history of filming himself participating in similar contests involving alcohol consumption and posting them on the app.

A video that appeared to show Wang participating in his latest challenge went viral on Chinese social media, but is no longer available for viewing.

In recent years, the rise of live streaming has given rise to a multibillion-dollar industry in which influencers with an entrepreneurial spirit compete to sell their products in real time on social media.

Wang's death is likely to add to the debate surrounding regulation of the sector, which has attracted the attention of authorities in recent years due to the lavish lifestyles of some streamers and the extravagant challenges in which they participate.

Last year, the country's broadcasting authorities banned children under 16 from tipping streamers and restricted their access after 10 p.m.

China's National Video and Television Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have also taken steps to ban "31 misconduct by live broadcasters."

Among those misconduct are "encouraging users to interact in a vulgar way or inciting fans to attack with rumors," according to the state-run Global Times.