US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a joint press conference as part of a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 12, 2020.
Petr David Josek | AFP | Getty Images
US Prime Minister Mike Pompeo said President Donald Trump’s executive orders against TikTok and WeChat could be “broader” than just these two apps.
Pompeo did not comment, but his comments could be hinted at action against other Chinese apps like even ByteDance’s parent company TikTok, as TenC’s WeChat owner.
“When President Trump made his announcement about not only TikTok, but about WeChat – and if you read it, it’s even broader than that – it’s because we’ll make sure that US data does not fall into the hands of an opponent like the Chinese. “Communist Party, for which we have used data in Western China that compete with the greatest violation of human rights in the history of mankind,” Pompeo said in a speech in Prague, Czech Republic.
The orders mention both Tencent and ByteDance. One of the executive orders prohibits “any transaction by one person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd. … Beijing, China, or its subsidiaries, including such” a company has any interest “as identified by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Another executive order prohibits “any transaction related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. … Shenzhen, China, or any subsidiary of that entity. “
The executive orders are vague and do not indicate what a “transaction” means. But comments from Pompeo, in which he mentioned these two specific orders, may be a suggestion that the action could extend beyond the two mentioned apps.
Both ByteDance and Tencent were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Pompeo’s remarks come after Tencent executives played down the influence of Washington’s movements.
“WeChat and Weixin are two separate products, with WeChat serving our international users,” John Lo, chief financial officer of Tencent, said on Wednesday at the company’s call. Weixin is the version of WeChat for Chinese mainland users.
“Based on our first reading and subsequent press releases, the executive order is focused on WeChat in the United States and not on our other companies in the US,” he said. “We are in the process of seeking further clarification from relevant parties in the US”
The US accounts for less than 2% of Tencent’s global revenue and less than 1% of total advertising revenue, according to the company.
James Mitchell, chief strategy officer at Tencent, said he did not believe US companies advertising on Tencent platforms in China would be affected because the executive order only covered US jurisdiction.
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