Among the issues between the US and China is trade, with relations taking a hit in recent years under the previous administration. The trade conflict between the two countries remains, and now GOP Senator Marco Rubio is calling on the administration of US President Joe Biden to block the video app TikTok in the US.
Rubio issued a statement calling on Biden to block the short-form video app that has become one of the most used smartphone apps from the US. The Florida Republican Senator cited that China has taken an ownership stake in a key subsidiary of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, which is based in Beijing. The Biden administration previously reversed some Trump-era executive orders placing a ban on new downloads of TikTok and another app, WeChat.
“Beijing’s aggressiveness makes clear that the regime sees TikTok as an extension of the party-state and the US needs to treat it that way,” said Rubio in the statement. “We must also establish a framework of standards that must be met before a high-risk, foreign-based app is allowed to operate on American telecommunications networks and devices.”
Biden has already ordered the Commerce Department to conduct a review on security concerns posed by the two apps along with others.
Corporate records have shown that the Chinese government has taken an ownership stake in a ByteDance entity in 2021. The move has raised questions on how much influence Beijing looks to have in the tech sector of the country that already faces regulatory action. Despite having a one percent stake in the entity, the Chinese government so far does not have any share in TikTok, according to people knowledgeable of the matter.
TikTok is also not available in China.
Biden is still facing mounting criticism and pressure over the chaotic situation in Afghanistan even after defending his decision to withdraw the US troops from the ground of the war-torn country. In an interview with ABC News Wednesday, Biden said that chaos was inevitable when it came to leaving Afghanistan.
“The idea that somehow there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” said the US leader in the interview.