President Joe Biden has also withdrawn Trump-era executive orders that looked to ban new downloads of the Tencent-owned apps and ordered a review of alleged security concerns posed by them
The US Commerce Department is to rescind a list of prohibited transactions by Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat issued by the outgoing Trump administration.
The turnaround came after President Joe Biden this month withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of Tencent-owned WeChat and TikTok, and also ordered a Commerce Department review of security concerns it was claimed the apps posed.
During Donald Trump’s presidency, the Commerce Department had also sought to ban other transactions that would have effectively banned WeChat’s use in the United States and later sought similar restrictions that would have barred TikTok’s use.
China’s foreign ministry described the move as “a positive step.”
Also on AF: Asia-Pacific green energy investment to surge to ‘$1.3 trillion by 2030′
“China has been urging the US side to respect market economy principles and international trade rules, to immediately stop stretching the concept of national security and stop wantonly abusing state power to suppress China’s tech companies,” spokesman Zhai Lijian said on Tuesday in Beijing.
The Biden order directed the Commerce Department to monitor software applications like TikTok that could affect US national security, as well as to make recommendations within 120 days to protect US data acquired or accessible by companies controlled by foreign adversaries.
WeChat, which has been downloaded at least 19 million times by US users, is widely used as a medium for services, games and payments.
TECH TARGETS
Biden’s executive order revokes the WeChat and TikTok orders Trump issued in August, along with another in January that targeted eight other communications and financial technology software applications.
The January Trump order directed officials to ban transactions with eight Chinese apps, including Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s QQ Wallet and WeChat pay. No bans have been issued to date.
The Trump administration had appealed judicial orders blocking the bans on TikTok and WeChat, but after Biden took office in January, the U.S. Justice Department asked to pause the appeals.
A separate US national security review of TikTok, launched in late 2019, remains active.
- Reporting by Reuters
Read more:
TikTok’s US push signals a bet on better ties with China
China says U.S. TikTok, WeChat bans break WTO rules
