The Chinese central government has provided an official response to the Trump administration’s decision to ban transactions with a total of eight Chinese apps, including Alipay and WeChat Pay.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on 6 January that China “resolutely opposed the erroneous conduct of the United States, and will firmly support enterprises in lawfully protecting their own rights and interests, as well as reserve the right to adopt necessary measures.”
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 5 January to ban transactions with Alipay, Tencent’s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay, as well as CamScanner, SHAREit, VMate and WPS Office, citing security concerns.
“The United States must take aggressive action against those who develop or control Chinese connected software applications to protect our national security,” said the order.
The order expressed concern that the collection of data “would permit China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, and build dossiers of personal information.”
MOFCOM said that the order “deviates from the principles of fair competition, breaches international trade rules, ruins the normal market order, harms the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, as well as harms the interests of consumers in general, including US users.”
“It will weaken the confidence of global investors in the US commercial environment,” said MOFCOM, who also called for the US to “suspend restrictions on the regular usage of Chinese products and services in the United States.”
