Song Guoyou:Trump ban on Chinese apps faces obstacles in becoming reality

Author:Song Guoyou Release date:2021-01-28 12:54:14Source:Global Times on 7 Jan. 2021


As the US transition of power on January 20 draws near, the outgoing Trump administration has rolled out another anti-China measure with a raft of tough new curbs on Chinese companies.

  

The incumbent US president on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Tencent Holdings' WeChat Pay and Ant Group's Alipay mobile payment app.

  

The executive order is the latest arbitrary crackdown by the Trump administration on Chinese companies under the unproven but catch-all guise of national security concerns. With his imminent departure from the White House, Trump is insanely rolling out new anti-China policies in a bid to influence future China-US relations.

  

Accelerating the destruction of China-US relations that have already been severely damaged by trade wars and technological wars in the past few years, the current US administration is trying to force the Biden team to confront China through the route they designed.

  

While the incoming Biden administration may be troubled by the Trump administration's radical China approach, the transfer of power is only a couple of weeks away, and it remains questionable whether the series of rushed anti-China policies can still be implemented as the Trump team has planned.

  

The new executive order tasks the US Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive within 45 days, but the US Commerce Department plans to act before the January 20 inauguration of Biden to identify prohibited transactions, Reuters reported.

  

It's believed that the related Chinese companies will take necessary means including legal action to delay and halt the arbitrary crackdown of the Trump administration. The new order mirrors executive orders signed in August trying to block some US transactions with WeChat and the Chinese-owned video app TikTok. The restrictions, however, were blocked by courts. Trump's latest move may face similar legal challenges.

  

Trump's ramped up efforts to cement the tough-on-China legacy before the transfer of power has ratcheted up tensions further between China and the US. Some of these extreme anti-China policies may not be passed in such a short period, and the others may be revoked by the Biden administration.

  

After Biden takes office, the China-US relationship is not expected to go back to the Obama period, but it's not expected to remain on the spiraling down-trend the Trump administration has created. Fundamental changes have occurred in the bilateral relationship in the past four years, but compared with Trump, the Biden administration will likely be more predictable and stable.

  

In terms of the relationship with China, Biden - a Democrat who has his own policy approach - will not be hijacked by the traps set by his predecessor. Regarding the restrictions newly imposed on Chinese companies, Biden may not revoke them all at once, but new adjustments are inevitable.

  

From a strategic point of view, there is still ample room for Biden to improve relations with China. Biden is expected to make policy adjustments based on the development of China-US relations and the development of the domestic political and economic situation in the US.

  


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