Wechat and Alipy photo: VCG

 
China urges the US to stop its unreasonable suppression and reserves the right to “take necessary measures” against the Trump administration’s new ban on Chinese apps’ monetary transactions, China's Commerce Ministry said late Wednesday night.

The remarks came after Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese applications on Tuesday, including the popular payment apps Alipay operated by Ant Group and Tencent's WeChat Pay.

The order, which goes into effect in 45 days, tasks the US Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned and implementing the order, according to the executive order published on the website of the White House on Tuesday.

China firmly opposes these wrongdoings and urges the US to stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese apps and restricting the normal use of Chinese products and services in the US, said a spokesperson from the ministry, according to a statement published on the official website of the ministry.

“We will resolutely support enterprises in safeguarding their rights and interests in accordance with the law and reserve the right to take necessary measures,” said the spokesperson.

The transactions ban on Chinese apps deviates from the principle of fair competition, violates international economic and trade rules, disrupts market order, harms the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms, and also harms the interests of consumers, including American users, and will weaken global investors’ understanding of the US business environment and confidence, said the ministry.

The eight applications involved in Trump’s administrative order have been widely welcomed by the market and consumers.

During the epidemic, these applications provide people with contactless payment options, facilitate people to communicate with each other, improve home office efficiency, and reduce social and economic costs, said the ministry spokesperson, noting that it is unwise for the US to take restrictive measures against these eight applications, and is not conducive to epidemic prevention and control and economic recovery.

The functions of the eight Chinese apps range from payment, enterprise tools, to short videos and messaging. The list includes Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office.