China accuses US: The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the media and even the founder of ByteDance, all condemn the American strategy on TikTok, describing as theft.
In recent weeks, the TikTok application has increased the tensions between the United States and China. Earlier this month, the Trump administration was fully considering banning the application across the Atlantic. Now the president is less categorical. He says he’s ready to keep TikTok in the country on condition that Microsoft buys the app.
- Microsoft has an intention to buy Tiktok
- Trump threatens to ban TikTok video app
- TikTok is banned by US Army
Obviously, on the Chinese side, we don’t see things the same way. Thus, yesterday, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, denounced the double standards and measures when the Chinese media side did not hesitate to qualify the American maneuvers as theft.
TikTok: an application criticized but also coveted
Launched in 2016, the TikTok video sharing app now has more than 800 million active users worldwide. Although its headquarters are in California and run by Disney alumnus Kevin Mayer, the app is owned by Chinese company ByteDance – it’s actually the international version of Douyin.
But according to some, Beijing uses TikTok to collect certain sensitive data from users. As such, the application has been attacked several times in court; especially in May by children’s rights associations.
According to the US administration, TikTok also threatens national security, especially with the approach of the presidential elections (set for November 3, 2020). India shares this opinion, since the country, in the midst of a military escalation with its neighbor, blacklisted the application last June.
Nonetheless, as stated above, the United States is ready to leave TikTok in peace. With one small detail: If it is sold to an American company, in this case Microsoft. The ultimatum is set for September 15. Without an agreement by then, measures will be taken to ban the use of TikTok in US. The government could thus take measures to make its access less easy, for example by removing it from the Google Play Store or the Apple Store.
China accuses United States about TikTok with theft
As you can imagine, on the other side of the Pacific, the view of the situation is not quite the same. The Minister of Foreign Affairs did not speak directly. In contrast, his ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told in a press briefing: “ If we follow the bad example set by the United States, every country could use national security as an excuse to target American companies. The United States should not open Pandora’s box, it risks paying the price itself.”
Among the media, the China Daily is particularly vehement. An editorial published Monday, ends with these words: ” But in no case China will not accept the ‘theft’ of a Chinese technology company, and it has many means to react if the administration proceeds to its planned ‘smash-and-grab’.”
Same judgment comes from the founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, who believes that Trump’s real objective is not “to save but to kill TikTok.”
At this time, it is not known whether China will take any measures and if so, what kind of them will be.
