China supports TikTok using legal weapons to defend its interests

BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign ministry on Monday expressed support for companies including TikTok to take up legal weapons to defend their legitimate rights and interests.

The ministry's spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a question concerning announcements by TikTok and some WeChat users in the United States to file lawsuits against U.S. government executive orders to defend their legal rights.

China will also continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, Zhao said.

He said some U.S. politicians are working to crush such Chinese companies as TikTok, WeChat and Huawei because they are down with an anti-China syndrome and will strike at anything Chinese.

"That explains their frantic attempts to hunt down TikTok and other Chinese companies by pinning the ideological label on them under the pretext of 'national security'. All the lies and smears are just disguise for their daylight bullying and robbery," he added.

The wanton actions some U.S. politicians have taken against specific companies, such as TikTok, are in essence organized and systematic economic bullying targeting outperforming non-U.S. multinational companies. U.S. politicians fear their strength and success and would even resort to state power to pummel them, said the spokesperson.

"This is a repudiation of the principle of market economy and fair competition that the United States has always boasted about. This is trampling on international rules and disrupting exchanges and cooperation in science, technology and innovation riding the trend of globalization. The world will only see more clearly the true face of these self-serving bandits-like politicians," the spokesperson added.