US-China Relations

Following US Ban on WeChat, TikTok, Beijing Reacts Angrily While Chinese Users Ponder Uncertainty

Following US Ban on WeChat, TikTok, Beijing Reacts Angrily While Chinese Users Ponder Uncertainty
The WeChat app is displayed in the App Store on an Apple iPhone in Washington on Aug. 7, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Nicole Hao
|Updated:

President Donald Trump on Aug. 6 ordered a stop to all U.S. transactions with Chinese companies ByteDance and Tencent, effectively banning their popular developed apps TikTok and WeChat from the country. The ban will take effect in 45 days.

The Chinese regime responded angrily the following day, while Chinese users in the United States pondered what would happen to their transactions and communications with mainland China.

The Regime

Spokesman for China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Wang Wenbin said at an Aug. 7 press conference that Trump’s decision was “using state power to suppress non-U.S. companies unreasonably. It’s obviously bullying.” He repeated the statement twice.
Nicole Hao
Nicole Hao
Author
Nicole Hao is a Washington-based reporter focused on China-related topics. Before joining the Epoch Media Group in July 2009, she worked as a global product manager for a railway business in Paris, France.
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