AP
Washington Hispanic:
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps, including Alipay and WeChat Pay in an escalation of a trade war that has been raging for most of his term. .
The order, however, takes effect on 45 days, almost a month after Joe Biden is inaugurated as the next President, so the fate of Trump’s action is unclear.
The orders follow two other Trumps signed in August banning deals with the popular video app TikTok, as well as the main WeChat messaging application. The fate of those apps in the US is still unclear, and with only 15 days remaining until Opening Day, Biden is likely to drop in on them, or not. The same goes for Tuesday’s executive order.
A representative from Biden’s office did not immediately return a message for comment Tuesday.
Alipay is a widely used digital wallet that is part of the empire of e-commerce billionaire and Ant Group founder Jack Ma. WeChat Pay is a rival service operated by tech giant Tencent. The others named in the order are CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, and WPS Office.
Trump’s order cites unspecified concerns about apps that collect personal information.
The order marks the latest attempt by the Trump administration to hobble China, a rising economic superpower. In recent years, he has lashed out at China with tariffs that have at times rocked the U.S. stock market, blocked mergers involving Chinese companies, and stifled the business of Chinese companies like Huawei, a maker of telecommunications equipment and phones. .
China-backed hackers, meanwhile, have been blamed for data breaches of US federal databases and Equifax credit bureau, and the Chinese government limits strictly on what American tech companies can do in China.
Political analysts expect Biden to try to resume cooperation with Beijing on issues like climate change and coronavirus. However, economists and political analysts foresee little change due to widespread frustration with Beijing’s business and human rights record and allegations of espionage and technology theft.
But deal The fallout from Trump’s latest injection into China could still create more headaches for Biden, in addition to ongoing efforts to combat a pandemic that worsens after he takes office.
Senior Trump administration officials indicated that they had not consulted with the president-elect’s team before issuing the latest effort to ban more apps from China. They described the apps as instruments for a communist government bent on “digital totalitarianism.”
When journalists asked why the administration was only taking these steps now with the Trump presidency until In his final two weeks, an official said executive action probably should have been taken years ago, “but better late than never.” The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the executive action publicly.
National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien framed the order as part of the ongoing effort of Trump to “prioritize the security of the homeland of the United States and the American people.”
Trump’s tariffs and orders against China have raised recurring fears among US tech companies and its shareholders that the Chinese government will retaliate by making it more difficult to do business in the world’s most populous country. If that happens, among those who could be particularly affected is Apple, which generated $ 40 in sales in China in its last fiscal year, making it the third largest market. iPhone maker’s biggest behind the United States and Europe.
Despite concerns of a backlash, Apple has emerged largely unscathed from Trump’s battel with China, which has allowed it to increase its market value above $ 2 trillion amid the pandemic.