Continuing fallout from the announcement of a proposed U.S. ban on Tencent’s WeChat messaging platform has stakeholders wondering whether the ban is going to affect United States companies and individuals in China, or just parties in the United States.
In a broader sense, the White House promotion of a ban on WeChat as part of ostensible American national security efforts is just one more link in the chain, with the POTUS and crew also floating similar blacklisting of enterprises like Huawei and TikTok.
Like these other businesses, WeChat is thoroughly integrated into the core of the global economy, with Chinese citizens using U.S. products and services, and vice versa. That has led to widespread criticism of American trade belligerence that boasts of its protectionism while creating massive uncertainty in global markets.
Mike Masnick at TechDirt, for example, has this to say about documentation of TikTok rules.
“So… because TikTok moderates some content, the US will censor all the content? How does that make any sense at all? In terms of what the actual order does, it bars any US person or company from conducting any transaction with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, or any subsidiary. That would likely mean that neither Apple nor Google could carry the app in their mobile app stores, which would effectively bar it from the US (and potentially large parts of the rest of the world, as well).”
We’re also getting new responses from the business community: a new study from the American Chamber in Shanghai finds that a full 88% of 142 respondents have serious concerns about business operations if the U.S. order should end up including operations in mainland China.
However, 70% of those same parties who were polled said they would not be significantly impacted by a ban that was only applied to the U.S.
Just the fact that this big “if” has not already been answered is, to many, an example of a president and a federal U.S. administration that doesn’t think through complex actions before pulling the trigger. Though experts may warn of unintended consequences, a shoot-from-the-hip approach that has long been favored by elements of the American right seems not to place very much value on gaming out scenarios before choosing an option.
“It’s an extremely dangerous game the President is playing here, with a poorly-aimed sledge hammer,” Masnick writes.
At the same time, others are talking about military testing by the two superpowers, and suggesting that the trade problems might be contributing to other kinds of diplomatic failure. Keep all of this in mind as you do your market research.
