Attempts to cleanse the world of China's growing influence continue. The super popular TikTok application, originally from the Middle Kingdom, may be blocked in the United States until September 15, Donald Trump promised. The alternative is to sell the local service division to Microsoft or some other "very, very American company." It’s even better if TikTok is consumed entirely and simply ceases to be Chinese. The global hegemon does not tolerate competitors. Russia from this epic battle of the giants is still slightly out of the way. How long?
The US President personally held talks with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. He needed a buyer (Apple refused). But even in the company of Bill Gates, the final decision is being pulled. Despite the White House's approval of the TikTok acquisition, Microsoft's decision could still be changed. It seems that they are not very eager to invest, and Trump is twisting the hands of not only the Chinese, but also his compatriots, literally forcing them to make a deal. Why? This story is not about business at all.
One of the discussed scenarios is the purchase of TikTok in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Britain is not enough for the full bouquet, but it may appear on this list later, or Washington's younger brothers will take over their TikTok segment on their own. One way or another, the configuration unmistakably indicates the political nature of the deal. The Anglo-Saxon world is mobilizing. And Trump's words about transferring "a significant amount of money" to the treasury for his participation in preparing the sale are nothing more than a policy gesheft.
Of course, the American authorities have a good excuse. It's about national security. Like, TikTok transfers data about Americans, including military personnel, to China. But no evidence of these charges was presented. And this despite the fact that the North American segment stores data on local servers, and backups are in Singapore. Another way to remove TikTok from China is to appoint a well-known top manager in the United States, Kevin Mayer, to the post of CEO of the company. However, the political expediency turned out to be higher than common sense. TikTok is guilty, Trump decided and uncovered the trunks.
The American president's fear of TikTok is understandable. A billion users in 150 countries around the world, almost half of whom are under 20. This is the future of the world, and it is in Chinese, not American hands, apparently decided in Washington. Born as recently as 2018, TikTok is kind of repeating its country's incredible success story. Let us recall the famous dynamic diagrams of GDP growth, on which China grew rapidly until it finally came out on top in the world, overtaking the United States. You will worry here.
America's effectiveness in dealing with TikTok is questionable. The total share of app users in the US and their satellites does not exceed one tenth. That is, the service will not seriously suffer, even if it is completely blocked in Anglo-Saxon countries. But all the same, the Chinese do not want to sell TikTok. The China Daily newspaper called the upcoming deal "an officially approved theft." There is information that Beijing is preparing a retaliatory strike. After Canada has taken hostage the daughter of the founder of Huawei, it is no longer possible to lower the Yankees.
But the trend is much more important. And it consists in the steady nationalization of everything and everyone in the world. Global corporations, if they are good, are only those with an American residence permit, according to Capitol Hill. Actually, this was the case before, it is just that the United States did not have comparable competitors. Therefore, one could tell tales about a certain supranational business.
As soon as they appeared, they remembered about the protection of the market. And this is not Trump's will. The Democrats, albeit not so aggressively, will continue the business they started, seizing along the way pieces of someone else's property.
This is a lesson for Russia. This was indicated, perhaps, by the businessman Oleg Deripaska, who is most affected by the American sanctions (and therefore the most courageous - there is nothing to lose). “The Americans have insolently squeezed business from the advanced Chinese company [TikTok]. They are also trying to squeeze GAZ away from the Russian shareholders, ”he slashed at the truth. Indeed, after the United States forced the businessman to reduce his influence over the company, a second phase began, reminiscent of an attempt to either take away or destroy the enterprise. And the Russian workers will suffer.
As it turned out, with the onset of the supposedly blessed 21st century, nothing fundamentally changed in the relations of ownership and control over it. There is no difference between the ultra-modern TikTok and the "old" company "GAZ". If their functioning depends on America, then America will at least put a stick in its wheels, and as a maximum it will take the lucrative piece for itself. Because it can. Not so long ago, the power of its regulatory mechanisms was learned by another Russian businessman - Pavel Durov, who never managed to launch his own cryptocurrency.
Conclusion: the time of globalization is coming to an end. And if Russia wants a decent future for itself, it will have to be built in some isolation from the West. Himself.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.