China-US relations: Beijing condemns Trump ban as WeChat’s US users brace for a life of ‘inconvenience’
- China slammed Washington’s ban on the Chinese-owned mobile apps and has vowed to take countermeasure
- For overseas users of WeChat, the ban is more of an inconvenience in the short term
Beijing has condemned Washington’s move to target popular Chinese messaging app WeChat alongside its ban on video platform TikTok, which is angering users at home and abroad, and forcing many to look for possible alternatives to communicate with friends and family.
The US commerce department on Friday announced the ban – effective from Sunday – on downloads of TikTok and WeChat from American app stores, citing national security concerns.
Updates to existing versions of the two apps, as well as money transfers via WeChat – one of its most popular functions – would also be prohibited within the US, the commerce department said.
On Saturday China slammed Washington’s ban on the Chinese-owned mobile apps and has vowed to take countermeasures.
The US move had “severely disturbed the companies’ normal operations, hurt the confidence of global investors in US markets and undermined the global market order,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
“If the US insists on going its own way, the Chinese side will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese companies,” it said.