There is no doubt that the new law passed last Wednesday in the United States, banning the popular Chinese application TikTok unless its parent company ByteDance sells it, has escalated the ongoing technological war with China. This American decision specifically targeted the first Chinese mobile application to achieve global fame, penetrating various parts of the world. Despite this, Chinese authorities have remained silent and have not uttered a word since last Wednesday, raising questions about the reasons behind this. Chinese officials had previously described American maneuvers against TikTok as an attempt to suppress a successful Chinese company and an example of American hypocrisy.
However, the scene changed a few days ago when, when repeatedly asked about the new American ban law, they did not attack Washington and only indicated that they had previously expressed their stance. It seems that Beijing took into account Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit, which concluded yesterday, and did not want to escalate tensions ahead of the American guest, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Yet, the most significant reason may lie elsewhere. China appears to have deliberately avoided associating "ByteDance" with itself, especially since the Chinese company is more than half foreign-owned, including investors like Carlyle Group and General Atlantic, and has sought to distance itself from Beijing after finding itself in the crosshairs of the American agenda.
In addition to this reason, there is another equally important factor related to the significance of TikTok itself for Beijing. Sources indicated that this popular application holds less strategic value for China than Huawei. Beijing does not regard it as crucial in its pursuit to become an industrial and technological power.
Nevertheless, Beijing's public silence regarding the American ban in recent days did not prevent the propaganda department of the Communist Party from seizing the opportunity to stir local sentiments against the United States. They issued directives to state-owned media to prepare reports on TikTok's problems in the United States, aimed at benefiting ByteDance, according to knowledgeable sources.
It is worth noting that ByteDance explicitly stated yesterday that it would not accept selling the application to investors in the United States. Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter indicated that the Chinese company prefers to shut down the application rather than sell it, noting that shutting it down would have a limited impact on ByteDance's business while allowing the company to retain its "core algorithms," which are crucial for them.
Zhou Zhiqi, the CEO of TikTok, confirmed last Wednesday that the company expects to win a legal battle to stop the implementation of the law signed by President Joe Biden, which calls for banning the application used by 170 million Americans.
