China-US tech war: Trump’s ban on Alipay and WeChat Pay another problem for Biden to deal with
- Joe Biden will be sworn into office in two weeks and it is not clear whether he plans to implement Trump’s new order, which is meant to take effect in 45 days
- Alipay has more than 1 billion users and 80 million merchants in China but the app was only downloaded 207,000 times in the US last year
US President Donald Trump’s new executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps, including Alipay and WeChat Pay, marks the latest escalation of the US-China tech war and will be a problem the incoming Biden administration will need to manage, analysts said.
President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office in two weeks and it is not clear whether he plans to implement this order, which is meant to take effect in 45 days.
However, the direct financial impact on the targeted apps and their operators is likely to be limited due to uncertainties over the order’s implementation and the limited exposure of the apps to the US market, analysts said.
The latest executive order from the White House cited national security concerns, saying the Chinese programmes could provide the personal data of American citizens to the Chinese government. If the order goes into effect, the US Commerce Department will be responsible for deciding which transactions are prohibited.
The order covers Ant Group’s Alipay as well as Tencent Holdings’ financial arm WeChat Pay and its QQ Wallet and messaging app QQ. Other apps on the blacklist include scanning app CamScanner, cross platform sharing tool SHAREit, video sharing app VMate, and Beijing Kingsoft Office Software’s WPS Office.
Wang Yong, a professor at the Peking University School of International Studies, said Trump’s latest move was an “attempt to set obstacles in Biden’s policy towards China” just before his administration leaves office.