China raises prospect of retaliation after US House approves Bill that could lead to nationwide TikTok ban

SINGAPORE: China has raised the prospect of retaliation after the United States’ House of Representatives passed legislation that could lead to short-video platform TikTok being banned in America, but analysts say there are several key factors Beijing will have to consider in making its decision.

“The US should truly respect the principles of a market economy and fair competition (and) stop unjustly suppressing foreign companies,” a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said at a press conference on Thursday (Mar 14), adding that China would “take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”.

The Bill passed overwhelmingly in a bipartisan vote in the US House on Wednesday, and will now go before the Senate. It would give TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance about six months to sell its controlling stake or the app would be banned in the US.

The vote in the House is the most serious blow to TikTok in an ongoing political battle over allegations the company could collect sensitive user data from its 170 million users in the US and politically censor content.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the Bill is contrary to fair competition.

“It puts the US on the opposite side of the principles of fair competition and international economic and trade rules,” said Mr Wang during a daily press briefing on Thursday.

US government officials have not offered public evidence of the Chinese government using the app for surveillance or propaganda purposes, according to US news outlets.

But there have been several cases in recent years that have stoked concerns over TikTok being used to such an end. On its part, TikTok has repeatedly stated it has not and will not share American user data with the Chinese government.

TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi has said that TikTok will exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban. The Bill gives the company 165 days to file a legal challenge after it is signed by the president.