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SHANGHAI (REUTERS) – Beijing is unlikely to pass an “unfair” deal. Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc said they have reached out to ByteDance about the future of the video streaming app TikTok, the state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial.
Large American companies have said they will buy a primarily American-owned startup, TikTok Global, with a board of directors made up primarily of Americans, as the parties work to pacify the administration of US President Donald Trump, which had planned. ban TikTok in the United States for security reasons.
By contrast, ByteDance has said that TikTok Global will be its US subsidiary with 80% ownership.
“It is clear that these articles (terms) broadly portray Washington’s bullying style and hooligan logic. They harm China’s national security, interests, and national dignity,” said the English version of the editorial published on Monday (September 21). ) and that was also published. in the Chinese edition of the newspaper.
“From the information provided by the United States, the agreement was unfair. It satisfies the irrational demands of Washington. It is difficult for us to believe that Beijing will approve an agreement of this type,” the editorial said, echoing the tweets of the same afternoon of the newspaper. editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin.
The Global Times is a tabloid published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party of China, but it does not speak on behalf of the party and the government unlike its parent publication.
China’s government has largely refrained from commenting directly on the details of the deal, though its Foreign Ministry has repeatedly said that the United States should provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies.
The deal requires approval from regulators in both Beijing and Washington, ByteDance said.
China’s Ministry of Commerce reviewed a technology export control list in late August that experts say would give it regulatory oversight over any TikTok deal.
ByteDance and the Commerce Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on Tuesday.
MAIN OBJECTIONS
Over the weekend, ByteDance and Oracle announced that they had reached an agreement that would fulfill Trump’s request to sell TikTok to a US buyer or face closure in the United States.
However, both parties have framed the agreement differently in public statements.
While ByteDance said it will be majority owner of TikTok Global, Oracle and Walmart together said that ownership of ByteDance would be distributed to its investors, many of whom are based in the US, and that ByteDance itself would not have a stake. direct.
They also said that four of the five TikTok Global board members would be Americans.
The unidentified author of the Global Times editorial objected to only having one seat on the board reserved for a Chinese national, as well as the stipulated inclusion on the board of a “director of national security” approved by the United States.
He also denounced the need for a ByteDance to disclose the source code to Oracle as part of the latter’s role as a “trusted technology partner” and criticized the likelihood of TikTok Global blocking Chinese access to its application.
TikTok has never been available in China. It has said that it has more than 100 million monthly active users in the US, compared to 600 million daily users in Douyin, equivalent to mainland China.
“As TikTok and Douyin should have the same source code, this means that the United States can learn about Douyin’s operations,” the editorial continued.
“If the reorganization of TikTok under US manipulation becomes a model, it means that once any successful Chinese company expands its business to the US and becomes competitive, it will be attacked by the US and turned into a controlled company. by the United States through deception and coercion. which eventually only serves the interests of the United States, ”wrote the author.
Beijing-based ByteDance currently has only two Chinese nationals on its five-member board, with the other three being foreigners running US-based companies.
ByteDance has also said that Oracle’s ability to inspect TikTok source code before investing is similar to previous instances of US companies like Microsoft Corp sharing source code with Chinese tech experts.
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