China may object to the sale of TikTok and would rather see it banned in the US

ByteDance may find it hard to get rid of regulatory restrictions in both countries

The US House of Representatives passed a bill earlier requiring ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, to sell its short-video sharing platform TikTok within six months, otherwise it will be banned in the local area. Recently, there have also been several buyers interested in acquiring TikTok’s US business. However, The Wall Street Journal quoted insiders as reporting that the Chinese government has hinted to senior ByteDance officials against selling TikTok, which is interpreted as China would rather see TikTok banned in the US than have ByteDance sell TikTok, leaving ByteDance with almost no choice.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China responded earlier when the US House of Representatives passed the bill, demanding that the US stop unreasonably suppressing TikTok and stating that the relevant parties should strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations. The report pointed out that some senior ByteDance believe that these remarks reinforce the message conveyed by Beijing to the company, that if ByteDance sells TikTok, it will face regulatory obstacles. Last year, China warned that the sale or divestiture of TikTok involves the export of technology and must be approved by the government.

The report described the remarks as putting ByteDance in a dilemma, as TikTok’s largest market is the US, with 170 million users, but it is facing a serious existential threat in the local area, and either selling or not selling may face regulatory restrictions from China or the US respectively.

China may object to the sale of TikTok and would rather see it banned in the US
ByteDance may find it hard to get rid of regulatory restrictions in both countries

The US House of Representatives passed a bill earlier requiring ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, to sell its short-video sharing platform TikTok within six months, otherwise it will be banned in the local area. Recently, there have also been several buyers interested in acquiring TikTok’s US business. However, The Wall Street Journal quoted insiders as reporting that the Chinese government has hinted to senior ByteDance officials against selling TikTok, which is interpreted as China would rather see TikTok banned in the US than have ByteDance sell TikTok, leaving ByteDance with almost no choice.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China responded earlier when the US House of Representatives passed the bill, demanding that the US stop unreasonably suppressing TikTok and stating that the relevant parties should strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations. The report pointed out that some senior ByteDance believe that these remarks reinforce the message conveyed by Beijing to the company, that if ByteDance sells TikTok, it will face regulatory obstacles. Last year, China warned that the sale or divestiture of TikTok involves the export of technology and must be approved by the government.

The report described the remarks as putting ByteDance in a dilemma, as TikTok’s largest market is the US, with 170 million users, but it is facing a serious existential threat in the local area, and either selling or not selling may face regulatory restrictions from China or the US respectively.