China says US TikTok vote follows 'logic of a bandit'

BEIJING, (AFP): China on Thursday said the US House of Representatives' approval of a bill that would force TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent company or be banned in the United States follows "entirely the logic of a bandit".

The short-video app has soared in popularity worldwide but its ownership by Chinese technology giant ByteDance -- and alleged subservience to Beijing's ruling Communist Party -has fuelled concern in Western capitals.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its parent company or face a nationwide ban.

The bill is yet to pass the Senate, where it is expected to face a tougher test in order to become law.

"The bill passed by the United States House of Representatives puts the United States on the opposite side of the principles of fair competition and international economic and trade rules," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press conference.

"If so-called reasons of national security can be used to arbitrarily suppress excellent companies from other countries, then there is no fairness and justice at all," he said.

"When someone sees a good thing another person has and tries to take it for themself, this is entirely the logic of a bandit.

"The United States' handling of the TikTok incident will allow the world to see more clearly whether the United States' so-called rules and order are beneficial to the world, or whether they only serve the United States itself."