China’s response to Trump’s TikTok deal: companies should decide

China is cautiously preparing for Trump’s presidency as he threatened to impose 60 per cent tariffs on over USD 500 billion Chinese exports to the US.

Beijing: China reacted cautiously to US President-elect Donald Trump’s offer that 50 per cent of the TikTok ownership should be in American hands, saying such decisions should be independently made by companies while emphasizing that Chinese laws apply to local firms.

“When it comes to actions such as the operation and acquisition of businesses, we believe they should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday.

She, however, highlighted the conditions attached to Chinese firms, saying that they should abide by local laws.

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“If it involves Chinese companies, China’s laws and regulations should be observed,” she said.

Ahead of the swearing-in on Monday, Trump said that he would temporarily block a nationwide ban on TikTok with an executive order that would give more time to the popular short video-sharing platform to work out a deal to keep the ban from becoming permanent.

At the same time, he offered TikTok to continue to do business in the US, stating that it could become a joint venture with 50 per cent ownership to the US.

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China’s ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has stated earlier that it would not sell the popular app. The company has yet to respond to Trump’s offer.

Mao’s reference to the applicability of Chinese laws to local firms is regarded significant as it underlines the requirement for ByteDance to seek the government’s approval for any such move to decide on Trump’s proposal.

For its part, TikTok sounds ambivalent about its links with the ByteDance.

At the congressional hearing last year, TikTok CEO Shou Chew didn’t directly answer any questions about whether ByteDance is a Chinese company either.

Chew, a Singapore national of Chinese origin, said ByteDance is a Chinese-founded private company operating many businesses in China, but is “global” in nature, according to CNN.

“Without US approval, there is no TikTok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” Trump said.

Mao, however, praised TikTok’s contribution to the US businesses.

TikTok has operated in the US for years and has been very popular with American users. It has played a positive role in boosting US employment and consumption, she said.

“We hope the US will earnestly listen to the voice of reason and provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for market entities from all countries,” she said.

On the assertion of US business tycoon and owner of X Elon Musk that it was unbalanced to allow TikTok to operate in the US and not allow his social media platform to operate in China, Mao struck a familiar line saying that the foreign firms should operate in accordance with Chinese laws.

“The Chinese government manages the internet in accordance with law. We welcome Internet companies across the world to operate in China as long as they abide by China’s laws and regulations and provide safe and reliable products and services”.

All top popular foreign internet services like Facebook, Google, WhatsApp and Xi remained inaccessible in China as they were blocked by firewalls of the Chinese internet.

On Trump’s remarks that he would like to travel to China within 100 days of his office, Mao said China stands ready to work with the new administration of the US, under the strategic guidance of the presidents of the two countries and in the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

Last week, Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone and told him that together they can make the world more peaceful.

China is cautiously preparing for Trump’s presidency as he threatened to impose 60 per cent tariffs on over USD 500 billion Chinese exports to the US.

The main challenge for China is to deal with Trump 2-0. Trump, who threatened to pursue tough policies to contain China, will assume power on January 20.

In his first term, Trump launched a trade war against China by imposing tariffs on over USD 380 billion on Chinese imports in 2018-19, saying China was ripping off America. His successor, Joe Biden, continued the tariffs, denting China’s profits.

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