China's Response to US TikTok Ban: An Act of Bullying or Diplomatic Standoff?

China has called a possible TikTok ban "an act of bullying" that could harm America. The statement was made by China's foreign ministry on Wednesday. This came just before a House of Representatives vote on a bill that would require TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American company. If not, TikTok could be banned in the US, where it has more than 170 million users.

"During a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry, mentioned that the US has been targeting TikTok despite not having any evidence of it posing a threat to national security.

Wang criticized the US for engaging in bullying tactics when unable to compete fairly, warning that such behavior could disrupt market activities, weaken investor trust, and harm the global economy."

He mentioned that this could end up causing problems for the US in the future.

US officials and lawmakers have been worried for a while that the Chinese government might force ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, to give them data from American users. They are also concerned that the app could be used by Beijing to spread false information, propaganda, or try to influence people in the US.

Cybersecurity experts believe that the national security worries related to TikTok are still hypothetical, but concerning. So far, US officials have not shown any proof that the Chinese government has accessed the data of American TikTok users. Lawmakers are pushing the bill to prevent this from happening.

The House will vote on the bill using fast-track rules, needing a two-thirds majority for approval. With bipartisan support, it seems probable that the bill will pass in the House. After that, it will move to the Senate, where its fate is less certain.

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who leads a House select committee on China, recently clarified the purpose of the bill in response to reporters. He emphasized that it is not a ban on TikTok.

According to Gallagher, the bill aims to give TikTok the option to cut ties with the Chinese Communist Party. He highlighted that if ByteDance no longer has ownership of the company, TikTok can still operate. The key requirement is for the ownership structure to be altered.

China has stated its opposition to any forced sale of TikTok in the past. Last year, a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry emphasized that the sale or divestiture of TikTok involves technology export, and must comply with Chinese laws and regulations for administrative licensing procedures.

The Chinese government will base their decision on the law.

On Wednesday, Tiktok was a top trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo. The hashtag "Tiktok starts to fight back" garnered 80 million views. Many users showed support for the app's efforts to challenge the bill. This includes a full-screen notification prompting users to contact their representatives. Some users criticized the US, calling them hypocritical.

A comment with 2,000 upvotes jokingly mentioned that American society is liberal, democratic, and has a complete market economy.

In addition, the state-run Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, has also come to TikTok's defense.

Last week, in an editorial, it accused the US of trying to "openly rob TikTok." It also stated that in the US, the image of free speech and rule of law is in bad shape. The editorial mentioned that the latest bill is just more proof of this.

CNN’s Brian Fung contributed to this story.

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