Top Trump aide warns of ‘strong actions’ on TikTok, angering China

A top White House official says he expected US President Trump to act firmly against the TikTok and WeChat social media apps, prompting an angry response from China on Monday.

China dismissed White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s comments as “ridiculous and narrow-minded,” and slammed the United States as “the world’s real hacker empire” amid rising tensions between the two superpowers.

“For a long time now, it (the US) has carried out indiscriminate and illegal cyber attacks, surveillance and theft of secrets on a global scale,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a routine briefing.

“The US continues to have strong values, but why is it so scared of a fun video-sharing social media network loved by young people?”

Trump last week had said he is considering banning the wildly popular TikTok app as a way to punish China over the coronavirus pandemic.

— AFP

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