Chinese Government would rather TikTok shuts down than be sold to a US company as officials have opposed the idea of selling the video-sharing app to American companies who are interested in acquiring it.
According to a report, which referred to “three people with direct knowledge of the matter,” it claimed that “Chinese officials believe a forced sale would make both ByteDance and China appear weak in the face of pressure from Washington.”
The stance by the Chinese officials comes only a few days before Trump’s September 15 deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company. According to comments by experts, it’s unlikely that a deal will materialize that quickly, however, Trump is not ready to go back on his decision as he said Thursday he would not extend the deadline for any reason.
More complicating issues are new trade rules in China, which could make it impossible for a buyer to acquire TikTok’s recommendation algorithm. China is looking to use the policy to “delay any deal reached by ByteDance if it had to.”
Currently, the company is in talks with Oracle, Microsoft, and Walmart, who have merged to present a bid. SurgeZirc US has learned that TikTok owner ByteDance is only giving attention to offers that exclude the app’s algorithm at the moment.
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“The Chinese government has never suggested to us that the company should shut down TikTok in the US or any other market,” a ByteDance spokesperson said in a statement.
Vanessa Pappas who is the current TikTok’s top executive in the US had initially said the company believes it has “multiple paths forward” that will allow the app remain in the US.
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