China has issued a
stern warning to the United States over its demand that Chinese video-sharing
platform TikTok must be sold to a U.S. corporation.
China urged the U.S
to refrain from setting such an example that other countries could follow
against its (US) businesses.
China gave the
warning through its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin on Tuesday, saying
that the U.S. could fall victim to similar circumstances.
Recall that President
Donald Trump had on Monday said during a meeting at the White House that he had
set Sept. 15 as the deadlinefor
TikTok to be bought by an American company, such as Microsoft, or stop
operating in the country.
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Earlier,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, hinted that actions would be taken against
TikTok and other Chinese companies believed to share data with the Chinese
government.
“Following the U.S.
erroneous logic, any country can take similar measures against any American
company under the pretext of protecting national security.
“The U.S. should not
open Pandora’s box, otherwise, they will reap the bitter fruits themselves,”
Wang said at a briefing.
He called on the US
to take heed of the international community and the U.S. public and to not
politicise economic issues but provide an open, non-discriminatory, free
investment and business environment for companies.