How credible are China’s complaints about US restrictions on TikTok?
On Monday, Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, gave a press conference where she stated that the various bans and restrictions in the United States on TikTok, are an attempt to deprive his country of “its development rights and perpetuate its own hegemony” as well as to “steal its technological autonomy” by “suppressing” its technology companies.
The accusation is curious to say the least: only a few companies, notably Huawei, ZTE and DJI, have been subject to restrictions in the United States, which I have never supported but that limit those companies’ products from being used for some public tenders or critical infrastructure. Right now, with the trade war at its peak, the list of Chinese companies subject to restrictions stands at 59.
Seen from a US perspective, the situation is very different: huge numbers of US technology companies have been banned from operating in China or trying to access its market. In many cases, these bans have allowed Chinese companies to copy exactly the business model of successful American companies, and to then establish themselves in their huge market free of foreign competition. Services such as Facebook, Instagram, Gmail, Hootsuite, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, Slack, Spotify, Twitch, Twitter, WhatsApp or YouTube, to name just the best-known…
