A Chinese foreign ministry official criticised a US bill to force the sale or ban TikTok, arguing on Thursday that there was “no fairness to speak of” in citing national security to reduce other countries’ competitive advantage.
A bill passed overwhelmingly by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday would give Chinese TikTok owner, ByteDance, around six months to sell the app’s US assets or face a ban.
Wang Wenbin, a ministry spokesman, responded to the US move as follows:
“The US House of Representatives passing this bill lets the United States stand on the opposite side of the principles of fair competition and international trade rules. If so-called national security reasons can be used to wilfully suppress other countries’ superior companies, there would be no fairness to speak of.”
China persistently argued that the US was overemphasising the concept of national security, with Wang saying its actions were disrupting the normal international trade order and would eventually have unpleasant consequences.
The US increasing the (serious) handling of this matter lets the world see clearly whether the United States’ so-called rules-based competition is beneficial to the world or is only self-serving.
US lawmakers expressed concerns that the data of TikTok users in the US could be handed over to the Chinese government. TikTok, which is used by some 170 million Americans, has become a major issue in Washington, where lawmakers complain that their offices are flooded with calls from TikTok users who oppose the bill.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew claimed the firm had never shared or received a request to provide US user data to the Chinese government, adding:
“Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made.”
