China ever-so slightly softens stance on possible US TikTok sale
President Trump allows vid app to keep running for 75 days while he reviews security concerns and develops a policy
Updated China appears to have softened its stance on the possible sale of TikTok’s US operations and is now perhaps open to the idea.
The change emerged in the daily briefing of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a daily Q&A between a Ministry spokesperson and media from around the world. Beijing rates the briefing as sufficiently important that it publishes a transcript of each session.
When the US government first passed the law that forces TikTok’s owner ByteDance to divest its US operations or shutter the service stateside, the Ministry spokesperson criticized it strongly, stating that it “puts the US on the wrong side of the principles of fair competition and international trade rules.” China also protested the US had not produced evidence to back claims that TikTok represents a national security risk.
China’s Ministry of Commerce also publishes transcripts of some press conferences, and in March 2023 a spokesperson commented that China will “resolutely oppose” any forced sale.
On Monday, however, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson offered a different take on the matter.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s proposal for the US government to acquire half of TikTok’s US operation in a joint venture with private entity, spokesperson Mao Ning responded as follows:
When it comes to actions such as the operation and acquisition of businesses, we believe they should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles. If it involves Chinese companies, China’s laws and regulations should be observed.
That’s a shift from resolute opposition and criticism of the sell-or-shut-down law, raising the prospect that Beijing may be open to a sale.
However the reference to a transaction being subject to Chinese law is a holdover from previous positions, and Beijing has plenty of legal levers to pull if it decides to halt a transaction.
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At the time of writing, President Trump had not published an executive order regarding TikTok. The Register will update this story if one appears. One order that does impact TikTok, and other social networks, is titled Restoring Free Speech and Ending Federal Censorship and proclaims that the US government has exerted “substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve.”
The new administration prohibits Federal Government officers or employees from doing anything to “unconstitutionally abridge” the free speech of any US citizen, and pledges to “identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the Federal Government related to censorship of protected speech.”
That’s likely a reference to Biden administration efforts to have social media companies consider content felt to contain misinformation about COVID-19. ®
Updated to add at 0115 UTC on January 21, 2025
The Trump administration has published an Executive Order that directs the US attorney general not to enforce the TikTok ban law for 75 days.
The administration will use that time “to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.”
The Order states that President Trump intends “to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok” and “must also review sensitive intelligence related to those concerns and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.”