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China 'Firmly Opposes' US Decision to Ban Downloads of TikTok, WeChat

On Friday, the US Department of Commerce published new rules banning its citizens from downloading the Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat from 20 September.
Sputnik

On Saturday, China's Commerce Ministry said it is "firmly opposed" to the Trump administration's move to ban WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok.

"China urges the US to abandon bullying, immediately stop wrongdoing, and earnestly maintain fair and transparent international rules and order. If the US insists on going its own way, China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies", the statement reads.

The ministry added that such a decision is "seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies and disrupting normal market order".

"Without evidence, the US has repeatedly used national power to "hunt" and suppress the above two companies for unwarranted reasons, seriously disrupting the normal business activities of the companies, undermining the confidence of international investors in the US investment environment and destroying the normal international economic and trade order", the statement said.

Previously, TikTok criticized the decision to prohibit the app, calling the order "unjust" and vowing to challenge it.

According to estimates, TikTok has been downloaded over 175 million times in the United States alone, and now has over 100 million active users in the country. 

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