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| Tik Tok and WeChat are not on the list of blocked transactions |
The US Commerce Department said it lifted the list of banned transactions with TikTok and WeChat published in September because the Trump administration tried to block further downloads of the two Chinese apps in the US.
The cancellation came after President Joe Biden this month rescinded a number of Trump-era executive orders banning new downloads from TikTok and WeChat and directing the Commerce Department to address security issues for these apps.
During Donald Trump's presidency, the Commerce Department also attempted to block other transactions that effectively banned the use of WeChat in the United States, and then attempted to impose similar restrictions to prevent TikTok use.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the move as positive. Spokesman Zhai Lijian said China urges the United States to abide by the principles of market economy and international trade rules, and immediately stop expanding the concept of national security and indiscriminate use of state power to suppress Chinese technology companies.
Biden's order required the Commerce Department to monitor software applications such as TikTok that could endanger the national security of the United States.
The danger of tik tok:
He also asked for recommendations to protect US data within 120 days. It is acquired or visited by a company controlled by a foreign counterparty.
WeChat has been downloaded at least 19 million times by users in the US and is widely used as a medium for services, games and payments.
Biden's executive order replaced Trump's WeChat and TikTok orders that were introduced in August. Another request in January related to eight additional applications for telecommunications technology and fintech programs.
Trump's January order required officials to block transactions with eight Chinese apps. Including Alipay from Ant Group, QQ Wallet from Tencent and WeChat Pay. No ban has been issued yet.
The Trump administration has resumed bans on TikTok and WeChat. But after Biden took office in January, the US Department of Justice called for the appeal to be suspended.
Another US security review of the ByteDance-owned platform began in late 2019 and is ongoing.