Illustration of Chinese and American flags.

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Mark Schiefelbein

It is a global action, but it is seen as a direct blow to the United States.

The Chinese government announced on Saturday the establishment of a mechanism allowing it to restrict the activities of foreign companies, which are escalating between Beijing and Washington.

The mechanism does not target any foreign company by name, but generally mentions a series of actions that make companies on a future "list of unreliable entities" liable to fines, restrictions on activities or entry of material. and personnel in China.

This list will include companies whose activities "undermine China's national sovereignty and its security and development interests" or which violate "internationally accepted economic and trade rules", according to the authorities.

At war with TikTok

The announcement comes as the United States has banned downloading, from Sunday, the TikTok and WeChat applications, owned by the Chinese giants ByteDance and Tencent.

In a statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Saturday accused Washington of practicing "intimidation".

"If the United States persists in its unilateral actions, China will take the necessary measures to resolutely protect the rights and legitimate interests of Chinese companies," he threatened.

Tensions between the United States and China have grown since August when President Donald Trump, in the midst of his re-election campaign, issued an ultimatum to TikTok, which he accuses of industrial espionage on behalf of of Beijing, without however having made public any tangible evidence.

The Chinese telecom giant Huawei is also on an American blacklist to prevent it from acquiring “made in USA” technologies essential to its phones.

The United States is also putting pressure on Europeans to exclude Huawei from their future 5G networks.

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  • Tensions

  • TikTok

  • Trade

  • China

  • United States

  • World