But in China, where the parent company is based, the postponement was less positive, largely because Trump suggested he might ask the company to give up a 50 percent stake to avoid a shutdown.
“The operation and acquisition of companies should be decided by the companies themselves and in line with Chinese law,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
For his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiaqun said that the United States should “seriously listen to the voice of reason and provide an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory business environment for companies from all countries.”
Backlash in China
On Chinese social media, where TikTok’s fate has emerged as one of many efforts by the United States to thwart Beijing’s technical prowess, Trump’s suggestions have been met with “contempt,” according to a report published by CNN.
-“Apple and Tesla should also give up 50 percent of their shares to Chinese companies,” said one comment with thousands of likes.
According to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, Chinese officials are discussing a possible option that includes selling at least part of the American version of the application to the “X” platform of Trump’s billionaire supporter, Elon Musk.
Musk pointed out that X is not available in China, and said: “I was against banning TikTok for a long time, because it goes against freedom of expression, but X is not allowed to operate in China and that is out of balance. Something needs to change.”
