Wednesday, 06 January 2021_US President Donald Trump has barred transactions with eight Chinese apps which he claims undermine America’s national security.
Citing the measures taken by India to ban over 200 Chinese connected software applications, Trump Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office.
"At this time, action must be taken to address the threat posed by these Chinese connected software applications," Trump said in his executive order.
"The pace and pervasiveness of the spread in the United States of certain connected mobile and desktop applications and other software developed or controlled by persons China, to include Hong Kong and Macau (China), continue to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," the outgoing president added.
The ban against the Chinese apps, which will come into effect in 45 days from Tuesday, is likely to further ratchet up tensions between Washington and Beijing which are already at loggerheads over certain other issues including trade, a new security law introduced in Hong Kong, the origins and handling of the COVID-19 disease, Taiwan, and the disputed South China Sea.
In August, Trump also signed executive orders to block some US transactions with WeChat and the Chinese-owned video app TikTok.
If those orders had gone into effect, they would have effectively barred the Chinese apps' use in the US and banned Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s app stores from offering them for download for new users.
US courts, however, blocked the restrictions mainly on freedom of speech grounds. Early in December, District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued an order blocking the Commerce Department from imposing restrictions enacted by Trump over the summer on TikTok.
Your Comment