The Trump administration has ordered download blocks on both mobile apps.
Geneva:
China said at a World Trade Organization meeting that the United States’ restrictions on Chinese mobile apps TikTok and WeChat were in violation of the organization’s rules, a trade official said.
The Trump administration ordered download blocks on both mobile apps and ordered ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to sell its operations to a US company, citing national security concerns. However, US judges questioned the government’s case.
A representative of China said in Friday’s closed-door meeting that the measures “are manifestly inconsistent with WTO rules, restrict cross-border commercial services and violate basic principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system,” question , who did not wish to be identified, said.
The official said the delegate described the failure of the United States to provide concrete evidence of the reasons for its measures as a “clear abuse” of the rules.
At the same meeting, the United States defended their actions, saying they were aimed at mitigating national security risks, the trade official said. The government has previously said that US user data is viewed by the Chinese government.
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not immediately comment. An official at the Chinese mission to the WTO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Chinese statement will have no consequences on its own, although China may file a formal complaint about it with the Geneva body.
