China hinted at retaliation against the U.S. following Joe Biden‘s signing of legislation requiring Chinese company ByteDance to divest from TikTok within one year or see the social media app effectively banned in America. The measure was pushed through as part of legislation providing aid to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine.
Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, urged the U.S. not to implement the “negative, China-related” parts of the bill. “If the United States clings obstinately to its course, China will take resolute and forceful steps to firmly defend its own security and development interests,” Lin said.
Prior to Biden’s signing of the “TikTok ban” law, the Chinese government lobbied fiercely against its passage. The legislation came in response to security concerns regarding TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and its ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
In addition to a potential forced ByteDance divestiture from TikTok, China is also bristling at the aid package itself, which allocated $4 billion in military aid to Taiwan. Despite having no formal diplomatic ties, the U.S. is a crucial international ally and the main arms provider to Taiwan.
China has been consistent in its demand to halt the arms sales, claiming Taiwan as Chinese territory. Following the passage of the aid bill, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it “seriously violates” U.S. commitments to China and “sends a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces.”
