An executive order that bans all transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay, was signed by the United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday, the White House said.
This latest move against suspect Chinese firms has escalated the tensions between the US and China with just two weeks left for Trump to hand over the presidency to the President-elect Joe Biden.
Curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications us the aim of the latest move by the trump administration. The targeted Chinese software have large user bases and gave over the years gained access to sensitive data, according to reports quoting a senior Trump administration official.
In order to protect national security, “aggressive action” against developers of Chinese software applications should be taken by the United States, the executive order argues.
The identification of which transactions will be banned under the directive has been left to the US Commerce Department and that is to be ascertained within 45 days. According to reports, the Chinese companies targeted through the executive order include Tencent Holdings Ltd’s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay, CamScanner, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate and WPS Office.
No comments from any of the Chinese firms named in the executive order nor the Chinese authorities were available.
“By accessing personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information,” the executive order states.
The order further adds that such data collection “would permit China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, and build dossiers of personal information”.
According to analysts, this latest move also has the aim of cementing Trump’s legacy of being tough on China prior to the January 20 handover of presidency to Biden, who has spelled out little about his plans on addressing the specific threats from China.
The latest order however can be revoked by Biden even on the first day of his presidency. No comment form Biden’s transition team was available on the issue.
Analysts see the latest Trump executive order increasing tensions between the two largest economies of the world who that have been locked in a long drawn and acrimonious trade war since the muddle of 2018. In recent times, bilateral tensions between the two countries have deteriorated over multiple issues including over the origin and the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic form China and the unilateral imposition of the sweeping national security law in Hong Kong.
According to reports quoting US officials, the process of identification of the prohibited transactions will be completed by the Commerce Department before January 20 despite the 45-day time line laid out by the order.
In August last year, Trump had passed a similar order directing the US Commerce Department to block some US transactions with WeChat and the Chinese-owned video app TikTok.
He supports Trump’s “commitment to protecting the privacy and security of Americans from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party”, the US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
(Source:www.indianexpress.com)
This latest move against suspect Chinese firms has escalated the tensions between the US and China with just two weeks left for Trump to hand over the presidency to the President-elect Joe Biden.
Curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications us the aim of the latest move by the trump administration. The targeted Chinese software have large user bases and gave over the years gained access to sensitive data, according to reports quoting a senior Trump administration official.
In order to protect national security, “aggressive action” against developers of Chinese software applications should be taken by the United States, the executive order argues.
The identification of which transactions will be banned under the directive has been left to the US Commerce Department and that is to be ascertained within 45 days. According to reports, the Chinese companies targeted through the executive order include Tencent Holdings Ltd’s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay, CamScanner, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate and WPS Office.
No comments from any of the Chinese firms named in the executive order nor the Chinese authorities were available.
“By accessing personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information,” the executive order states.
The order further adds that such data collection “would permit China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, and build dossiers of personal information”.
According to analysts, this latest move also has the aim of cementing Trump’s legacy of being tough on China prior to the January 20 handover of presidency to Biden, who has spelled out little about his plans on addressing the specific threats from China.
The latest order however can be revoked by Biden even on the first day of his presidency. No comment form Biden’s transition team was available on the issue.
Analysts see the latest Trump executive order increasing tensions between the two largest economies of the world who that have been locked in a long drawn and acrimonious trade war since the muddle of 2018. In recent times, bilateral tensions between the two countries have deteriorated over multiple issues including over the origin and the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic form China and the unilateral imposition of the sweeping national security law in Hong Kong.
According to reports quoting US officials, the process of identification of the prohibited transactions will be completed by the Commerce Department before January 20 despite the 45-day time line laid out by the order.
In August last year, Trump had passed a similar order directing the US Commerce Department to block some US transactions with WeChat and the Chinese-owned video app TikTok.
He supports Trump’s “commitment to protecting the privacy and security of Americans from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party”, the US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
(Source:www.indianexpress.com)
