SOURCE / ECONOMY
US government ridiculous to restrict eight Chinese apps: Foreign Ministry
Published: Jan 06, 2021 05:23 PM

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying. Photo: VCG



Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying urged the US government to abide by principles of market economy and fair competition, international economic and trade rules, and provide an open, fair & non-discriminatory business climate for investors in the US, including Chinese companies.

China will adopt necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese companies, Hua said on Wednesday in response to Trump's new executive order banning transactions across eight Chinese apps.

Reuters reported that US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay mobile payment app, escalating tensions with Beijing two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The order argues that the US must take "aggressive action" against developers of Chinese software applications to protect national security.

US claims that the reason for banning Chinese apps is to protect the privacy and data security of US citizens, but as was correctly pointed out, the US the world leader when it comes to monitoring its own people and stealing global data, including from its allies, Hua added. 

"It's like thief, who is stealing on one side, but claiming to protect himself from being stolen from on the other. How hypocritical and ridiculous that government is," Hua said. 

The development of new technology should service the people instead of drawing lines based on ideology, and this behavior shows US is losing confidence in itself, Hua noted.  

Trump's new restrictions on Alipay, WeChat Pay and other Chinese Apps, to come into effect in 45 days, will fall heavily on Chinese-Americans, who could ask the US court to stop the new executive order, analysts say. The move is another last-minute bid by the White House to tie Joe Biden's hands.