On Wednesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted a bill that provides for the possibility of banning TikTok's operations in the United States if its owner, the Chinese company ByteDance, does not sell the platform to an entity unrelated to the PRC authorities.
“Arbitrary suppression of successful companies from other countries”
According to a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this project “puts the United States in contradiction with the principle of fair competition and international economic and trade rules.”
“If the pretext of so-called national security can be used to arbitrarily suppress successful companies from other countries, there is no longer any fairness or justice,” Wang said during his daily briefing.
“The way the US is handling the TikTok case allows the world to clearly see whether the so-called rules-based order serves the world or itself,” Wang added.
“The United States should respect the principles of a market economy”
A spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce also commented on the matter, warning that the PRC “will take all necessary measures to firmly protect its legitimate rights and interests.”
“The United States should truly respect the principles of a market economy and fair competition (and) stop unfairly suppressing foreign companies,” Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a press conference on Thursday.
Washington should also “provide foreign companies with an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment to invest and do business in the U.S.,” he added.
