TikTok holdup, unprincipled power play: China Daily editorial

Former US president Joe Biden signed a law last year that required TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance to divest the app in the United States or be banned, ostensibly over "national security" concerns. The law was set to go into effect in January, but his successor said he would delay its enforcement in hopes of reaching a deal to keep the app "alive".

This delay was due to end on Saturday if ByteDance hadn't divested the platform's US operations to a US company. But in the latest chapter of the long-running saga, the US leader claims to be doing China a favor by "working very hard on a deal to save TikTok", which is used by about 170 million Americans, half the country's total population.

The deal would reportedly see a new company owned by a majority of US investors operate TikTok in the US, with ByteDance, the Chinese developer and owner of the popular short video app, maintaining a minority position of around 19 percent.

According to the US president, the proposed deal "has made tremendous progress" but it requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, "which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days".

Perhaps the US leader is trying to cast himself as the Easter Bunny delivering treats. In reality, he is engaging in highway robbery. His stand-and-deliver proposal to ByteDance is basically nothing more than the popular stick-up demand of "your money or your life". Or in this case, "your algorithms or the app's life".

Following China's retaliatory tariffs on US exports in response to his administration's "bonanza for the rich" so-called reciprocal tariffs on all the US' trading partners, the US president initially showboated feigned fury, accusing Beijing of "panicking". Then, in a typical twist, he extended an olive branch by suggesting a potential trade-off: easing tariffs in exchange for concessions on TikTok's US operations.

Despite claiming that "We do not want TikTok to go dark. We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal", the deal he envisions is being persuasively enforced via the barrel of his tariff gun.

On March 26, the US leader had already told reporters in the White House that he'd consider reducing tariffs on China if Beijing agreed to divestment. "Maybe I give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done," he said. A representative of ByteDance said in a statement that it had been in "discussions with the US government regarding a potential solution for TikTok US", but there were still "key matters to be resolved". The statement also pointed out that under Chinese law, any deal will be subject to the central government's approval.

Despite the great lengths the US side has gone to in a bid to cover up its de facto robbery of TikTok, the Chinese authorities have made their opposition to the enforced takeover clear. In response to a question about the proposed lifeline being extended to TikTok's operations in the US, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said pointedly on March 27 that the "acquisition of businesses should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles".

The proposal to enforce a takeover of TikTok in the US serves to underscore the administration's principles are subservient to its geopolitical objectives. By linking TikTok's fate to broader trade discussions, the US leader has highlighted how his administration is leveraging tariffs to coercively gain advantages for the US.

As the two economic powerhouses play out their tug-of-war over the algorithms at the heart of TikTok, the world is watching closely what transpires. The implications of this power play by the US administration extend far beyond the realms of trade and investment as they will have significant implications for the tech industry and beyond, and impact market dynamics and the future of global commerce.

Amid the backdrop of escalating tensions and strategic maneuvers, the TikTok tariff saga serves as a potent reminder of the type of unprincipled power games the US likes to play.