Beijing highlighted on Wednesday the potential backlash associated with a proposed ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok, hinting at the likelihood of adverse consequences for the United States down the line.
Later on Wednesday, the US House of Representatives will convene to decide the fate of a crucial bill, poised to compel the app to sever its ties with its Chinese parent company or face expulsion from the American market.
The enactment of this legislation presents the most formidable hurdle yet for the video-sharing app, which has seen exponential growth in popularity worldwide, eliciting apprehensions from government entities and security authorities regarding its Chinese ownership and speculated allegiance to the Communist Party in Beijing.
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, condemned the proposed ban ahead of the vote.
“Although the United States has never found evidence that TikTok threatens US national security, it has not stopped suppressing TikTok,” he said.
“This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies’ normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order,” he added.
Read also: EU Opens Probe Into Tiktok For Alleged Child Protection
“In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself,” Wang said.
The vote is likely to occur at 10:00 am (1400 GMT) and is expected to pass overwhelmingly in a rare moment of bipartisanship in politically divided Washington.
The fate of the bill is uncertain in the Senate, where key figures are against making such a drastic move against a hugely popular app that has 170 million US users.
President Joe Biden will sign the bill, known officially as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” into law if it comes to his desk, the White House has said.
TikTok staunchly denies any ties to the Chinese government and has restructured the company so the data of US users stays in the country, the company says.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is in Washington, trying to shore up support to stop the bill.
Michael Beckerman, TikTok’s vice president for public policy, expressed in a letter to the bill’s co-sponsors that the latest legislation, being rushed through at unprecedented speed without the benefit of a public hearing, posed serious Constitutional concerns.