China says proposed TikTok ban will ‘come back to bite’ U.S.

Beijing:

Beijing warned on Wednesday that a proposed ban on Chinese video-sharing app TikTok would “inevitably come back to affect the United States.”

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote later Wednesday on a bill that would force the app to cut ties with its Chinese owners or be banned in the United States.

The legislation is the biggest threat yet to the video-sharing app, which is hugely popular around the world and has raised concerns among governments and security officials about its Chinese ownership and potential subjugation to the Communist Party in Beijing.

Before the vote, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin condemned the proposed ban.

“Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens U.S. national security, it has not stopped suppressing TikTok,” he said.

This kind of bullying behavior that cannot win in fair competition disrupts the normal business activities of enterprises, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order.

“Ultimately, this will inevitably come back to hurt the United States itself,” Wang said.

The vote is likely to take place at 10:00 am (1400 GMT) and is expected to pass overwhelmingly in a rare moment of bipartisanship in politically divided Washington.

The bill’s fate is uncertain in the Senate, where key figures oppose such drastic action against a wildly popular app with 170 million U.S. users.

The White House says President Joe Biden will sign the bill, formally titled “Protecting Americans from Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries,” into law if it reaches his desk.

TikTok vehemently denies any ties to the Chinese government and has reorganized the company so that U.S. users’ data remains in China, the company said.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is in Washington trying to drum up support to block the bill.

“This latest legislation was rushed through with unprecedented speed, without even a Holding public hearings raises serious constitutional questions.”

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