China is calling for an international standard in data security. For example, the Chinese have drawn up rules to prevent foreign governments from stealing data from other countries.
It is in response to US allegations that services such as TikTok and WeChat are sharing user information with Beijing.
The Chinese government claims the plans aim to improve international cooperation in this area at a time when “individual countries are bullying other countries and hunting companies,” said Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In addition to the TikTok app, US President Donald Trump also blacklisted Huawei and Tencent, because they are said to be a threat to national security.
TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has until September 15 to sell TikTok’s US arm. After that, the movie app will be banned in the United States. Microsoft, among others, would be in the race for the takeover together with supermarket group Walmart.
The international rules set by China are part of a long tradition of trying to control flows of information entering the country.
The government controls and censors the internet and has restricted access to Twitter and Facebook, among other things, for years.