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"Full control": US President Trump demands that the Chinese owners sell their shares in TikTok
Photo: Dado Ruvic / REUTERS
According to a Chinese newspaper, the Beijing government is unlikely to approve the planned restructuring of TikTok's US business.
The terms of the deal with the US companies Oracle and Walmart "violate China's national security, interests and dignity," it said on Tuesday in the English edition of a comment in the pro-government "Global Times".
"If this US manipulation-driven rebuild of TikTok catches on, any successful Chinese company will be targeted by the US as soon as it expands its business to the US and becomes competitive," the report said.
"Tricks and coercion" would then transform the company into an American-controlled company.
A previous agreement in principle provides for TikTok's US business to be part of its own company, which is to be called TikTok Global.
However, it is unclear, among other things, whether the Chinese parent company Bytedance or US companies would have majority control.
Bytedance has US shareholders, which is why proponents of the deal speak of an arithmetical US majority.
Bytedance sees it differently.
The US government is calling for the conversion on the grounds that the short video service can forward data to Chinese government agencies.
TikTok has always denied this.
Trump demands full control from Oracle and Walmart
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would only approve a deal if the Chinese owners sold their stake in TikTok Global.
When journalists commented that Bytedance would continue to hold 80 percent of the service after the previously negotiated deal, Trump said of Bytedance: "You would have nothing to do with it, and if you do, we will not agree to the deal."
Walmart and Oracle would control TikTok Global after the currently negotiated deal, Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
One would not agree if the US companies did not have "full control", said Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the Chinese government is working on a blacklist to punish American tech companies operating in the Chinese market.
The list should include the large US network equipment supplier Cisco Systems, which competes with the Chinese company Huawei.
According to the report, however, there is a debate in China over whether the list should not be published until after the US election.
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hpp / reuters
