China asks the US for a ‘fair business environment’ and to ‘hear the voice of reason’ on TikTok
China called on Tuesday for the US to “listen to the voice of reason” and provide a “fair business environment”after the new American president, Donald Trump, assured that he would like companies in his country to have a 50% stake in the video application TikTok so it can continue operating.
In a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that TikTok “has been operating in the United States for many yearsis loved by American users, and has played a positive role in promoting employment and boosting consumption” in the North American country.
Guo asserted that “business operations and procurement should be decided by enterprises themselves in accordance with market principles.”
Photo:EFE
“If Chinese companies participate, they must comply with Chinese laws and regulations,” the spokesperson added.
Trump signed executive order halting TikTok ban
Shortly after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order that halted the ban on TikTok in the United States for 75 days.
On Sunday, the Republican had announced that he would like American companies to have a 50% stake in that platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance to keep it “in good hands.”
Trump asked American companies not to allow TikTok “remain in the dark.”
In his first term (2017-2021), the Republican tried to ban the social network, but this time he promised during the campaign that he would “save TikTok“, a service that has “a place in its heart” for the supposed role played by the application in attracting the young vote.
Beijing has a ‘golden share’ in ByteDance that gives it the right to veto any decision, gaining influence over the company’s strategy and operations. TikTok defends that this situation only affects ByteDance in China but not its businesses abroad.
In any case, since Beijing’s export control regulations prohibit Chinese companies from selling the algorithms of their software, a possible sale of TikTok It should have the explicit approval of the Chinese government, which gives it an even more prominent voice in the situation.
It should be remembered that, like Western services such as Facebook, X, Google or Instagram, TikTok is blocked in the Asian giant, where Bytedance operates an application called Douyin, aimed at the Chinese market and completely independent of TikTok.
EFE
