A woman uses her phone as she passes by the ByteDance headquarters in Beijing, China, on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The Chinese government is complicating the U.S.-government-ordered sale of U.S. TikTok assets. China on Friday, Aug. 28, 2020 introduced export restrictions on artificial intelligence technology, seemingly including the type that TikTok uses to choose which videos to spool up to its users. That means TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, would have to obtain a license to export any restricted technologies to a foreign company. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
By Tali Arbel and Zen Soo
The Chinese government is complicating the U.S.-government-ordered sale of U.S. TikTok assets.
China on Friday introduced export restrictions on artificial intelligence technology, seemingly including the type that TikTok uses to choose which videos to spool up to its users. That means TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, would have to obtain a license to export any restricted technologies to a foreign company.
The Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok by mid-September and ordered ByteDance to sell its U.S. business, claiming national-security risks due to that Chinese ownership. The government worries about user data being funneled to Chinese authorities. TikTok denies it is a national-security risk and is suing to stop the administration from the threatened ban.
Prospective buyers for U.S. TikTok assets include Microsoft and Walmart and, reportedly, Oracle. Oracle has declined to comment.
On Saturday, Chinese state-owned media outlet Xinhua News Agency quoted government trade adviser and professor Cui Fan, who said that Bytedance should consider whether it should halt negotiations to sell TikTok in the U.S.
"As with any cross-border transaction, we will follow the applicable laws, which in this case include those of the U.S. and China," said ByteDance General Counsel Erich Andersen.
The Chinese government's new restrictions may be a "tactic to drive up valuation" of TikTok, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Alex Zukin, who still expects a deal announcement "relatively soon." The Wall Street Journal reported last week that ByteDance is asking for $30 billion for the U.S. operations, but has faced resistance from bidders. The Journal said in a Sunday story that deal talks had "slowed."
Microsoft and Walmart declined to comment on Monday.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, during a White House briefing, did not directly answer whether the administration would accept a sale of U.S. assets of TikTok if the deal were subject to Chinese government approval. "Negotiations are ongoing on a sale of TikTok so we are not going to get in the way of those negotiations," she said.
—
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report from Washington.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Monday as investors weighed record-high Treasury yields, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, potential policy moves from the Federal Reserve, and the start of earnings season. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "We expected volatility to continue after this recent rally of the last past few weeks. None of the big headwinds have really changed," he said.
Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at the Conference Board, joined Closing Bell to break down March CPI numbers, and discuss how skyrocketing prices are affecting American consumers.
McLaren displayed its all-electric, off-roading racing vehicle, the Odyssey, in from of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, joined Cheddar News to discuss bringing the heavy-duty vehicle to a new racing series with an emphasis on sustainability — and even gender equity with a male and female team of two drivers required. "This is McLaren's first-ever Odyssey, which is an EV. Looks like an SUV — but not really much of an SUV — that we raced five times around the world in various locations where climate has impacted the world," he said.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, a select number of creators in Meta's Horizon Worlds will now have the option to sell virtual assets and experiences they create to other players for a profit.
Jannese Torres-Rodriguez, Host of the 'Yo Quiero Dinero' podcast, fills us in on what taxpayers can write off and highlights the best uses for tax refunds.
Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar to break down the March CPI data and outline the bright spots of consumer spending amid rising costs. She noted that with consumers switching more to services coming out of quarantine rather than purchasing goods, it could create a lessening of demand that will help reduce inflationary pressures going forward, but the Fed will still have to move aggressively. "We expect now that the Fed is going to raise rates about 6 to 7 times — a 50-point basis hike is basically baked in the cake right now," Bovino said. "Could there be a second 50-point basis? Certainly, we wouldn't be surprised."
