Beijing slams US 'bullying' over ban on WeChat, TikTok apps

China said it will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. PHOTO: REUTERS

SHANGHAI • China yesterday accused the United States of "bullying" and suggested it may take unspecified countermeasures after Washington banned downloads of popular video app TikTok and effectively blocked the use of the Chinese super-app WeChat.

"China urges the US to abandon bullying, cease (its) wrongful actions, and earnestly maintain fair and transparent international rules and order," said a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

"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," it added.

Separately, China's embassies to Suriname and Guyana on Friday accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of "spreading rumours" and "smearing" Beijing, after Washington's top diplomat criticised Chinese companies during a four-stop South America tour.

In a joint appearance with newly elected Surinamese President Chan Santokhi on Thursday, Mr Pompeo said Chinese companies often do not compete on a "fair and equitable basis".

"We've watched the Chinese Communist Party invest in countries, and it all seems great at the front end and then it all comes falling down when the political costs connected to that becomes clear," Mr Pompeo said.

China lent and invested heavily in resource-rich Latin America during the decade-long commodities boom that largely ended in 2014.

The Chinese embassy in Paramaribo, capital of Suriname, said in a statement that "any attempt to sow discord between China and Suriname is doomed to fail".

And the Chinese embassy in neighbouring Guyana issued a similar statement later on Friday, after Mr Pompeo visited the capital Georgetown. The statement said that Beijing "attaches no political strings in bilateral pragmatic cooperation".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on September 20, 2020, with the headline Beijing slams US 'bullying' over ban on WeChat, TikTok apps. Subscribe