preferred option
Chinese authorities said that they will not allow the forced sale of the social network TikTok in the United States due to the bill that bans it in the country. he is writing The Wall Street Journal newspaper quotes sources.
The owner of the social network (ByteDance) reportedly received a notification from Chinese authorities. He said blocking TikTok from being viewed by American users was a preferable option for them than selling it to any American buyers.
Additionally, the unnamed WSJ interlocutor stated that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce requested the United States to stop putting pressure on the social network and called on it to comply with Chinese laws. ByteDance believed that China would block sales of the social network.
Forbidden cannot be sold
This question arose in China on March 13 after the House of Representatives of the American Congress approved the bill “Protecting Americans from applications controlled by foreign attackers”, which stipulates the withdrawal of TikTok from the parent Chinese company ByteDance or the popular company. Within six months, the short video streaming service will be banned in the United States.
The House of Representatives prepared a draft on the grounds of threat to national security; authorities believe personal information about American TikTok users was collected and transferred to the Chinese government.
The Senate is currently considering the bill. US President Joe Biden has promised to sign the agreement if it is approved by both houses of the US parliament on March 9. US presidential candidate Donald Trump is also in this trend to countHe said TikTok poses a threat to the country’s national security. But he doesn’t think it’s necessary to block the service. According to him, banning the app would strengthen the position of Meta (recognized as an extremist and banned in Russia), whom the politician criticized.
Forced sale
Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated about being ready to rally investors for TikTok acquisitions. If the deal actually goes through, the company could be worth $100 billion. WSJ cited data showing TikTok’s revenue in the United States in 2023 is about $20 billion.
According to the newspaper, Chinese authorities have vowed to prevent the forced sale of TikTok in the United States because the People’s Republic of China classifies the company as a sensitive technology. Even if the sale takes place, the PRC will do everything to prevent the social network from being sold along with its source code. Without this, the deal would be meaningless, the WSJ noted.
March 14, He Yadong, official representative of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China statedIt was stated that Beijing will take action in connection with the US’s intention to ban the social network TikTok “in order to reliably protect its legitimate rights and interests.” As the ministry representative emphasized, Washington should stop applying “unreasonable pressure” to companies from other countries operating in the United States. He called on US officials to ensure “an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for companies in all countries” investing in the US economy.