China hits back at Trump’s order to block TikTok, other apps against market principles, asks US to ‘correct mistakes’
China has urged the US to correct its mistakes after President Donald Trump announced sweeping bans on transactions with China’s ByteDance, owner of video-sharing app TikTok, and Tencent, operator of the WeChat app, starting in 45 days.
hina has hit back at the United States after President Donald Trump signed executive orders banning any transactions with Chinese companies which own TikTok and WeChat apps.
In a major escalation of tensions with Beijing, the US President Donald Trump issued orders on Thursday banning any US transactions with Chinese companies ByteDance and Tencent. The executive orders take effect in 45 days.
As it took note of the US move to ban its apps, China warned the United States. China said the US move to block Chinese apps goes against market principles and urges Washington to ‘correct its mistakes’, news agency Reuters reported.
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U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday sweeping bans on U.S. transactions with China’s ByteDance, owner of video-sharing app TikTok, and Tencent, operator of the WeChat app, starting in 45 days, in a major escalation of tensions with Beijing.
The executive orders come as the Trump administration said this week it was stepping up efforts to purge “untrusted” Chinese apps from US digital networks and called the Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok and messenger app WeChat “significant threats.”
Trump issued the orders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law that grants the administration sweeping power to bar US firms or citizens from trading or conducting financial transactions with sanctioned parties.
Tiktok, the hugely popular video-sharing app, has come under fire from US lawmakers and the administration over national security concerning data collection.
The latest move comes soon after the US ordered China to vacate its consulate in Houston, Texas followed by China’s order requiring the U.S. to vacate its consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu.
Trump said this week he would support the sale of TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft Corp if the US government got a “substantial portion” of the sales price but nevertheless said he will ban the service in the United States on September 15.
There are 100 million TikTok users in the United States and Republicans have raised concerns about the political fallout of banning the popular app in the United States.
