President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would be signing an executive order to keep TikTok going for another 75 days that comes into effect Saturday while his administration works on a deal to bring under American ownership.
According to the Associated Press, White House officials are reportedly nearing a deal for the app’s operations to be converted into a U.S. based company, with Chinese company ByteDance retaining a minority share.
The announcement, however, was shut down by China in response to the sweeping tariffs the Trump administration is imposing on foreign imports into the U.S. which includes hefty tariffs for China. TikTok’s owners were reported to have contacted the White House directly to tell them the deal would no longer be approved until trade and tariff negotiations happen.
The app was facing a complete ban by Jan. 19, after Congress mandated that the platform be divested from China or barred from the U.S. citing national security concerns. However, Trump extended the deadline to sort out a deal, but ByteDance has made it clear that it has no intention of selling the company to the U.S.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a press conference on Thursday that the 34% tariffs that will be imposed on China violate World Trade Organization rules.
“The U.S. announced tariff hikes on imports from many countries, including China, under the pretext of reciprocity,” Guo said. “This gravely violates WTO rules and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system. China firmly rejects this and will do what is necessary to defend our legitimate rights and interests.”
Guo said China urges the U.S. to “stop doing the wrong thing” and work to resolve differences through mutual respect.
“We have emphasized more than once that trade and tariff wars have no winners,” Guo said. “Protectionism leads nowhere. We urge the U.S. to stop doing the wrong thing and resolve trade differences with China and other countries through consultation with equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
