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.

Share:
More In Business
How Robinhood Cash Card Fits With Gen Z Relationship to Money
Robinhood has released its newest debit card, called the Robinhood Cash Card, which allows users to invest spare change with a rounding up feature while spending money. Robinhood Chief Product Officer Aparna Chennapragada, joined Cheddar News to talk about the latest product from the fintech company. "When we talk to our customers, especially this generation of customers, they want to have their debit primary. They're wary of fees. They're wary of credit cards," she said. "But they are all interested in investing, whether it be in the stock market or crypto, and what we said is, let's build a product that turns spending into investing."
Plane Crash In China Renews Safety Concerns For Boeing's Aircraft
Boeing shares saw a pullback after a 737-800 aircraft with 132 people on board nosedived mid-flight, crashing into the mountains of Southern China. China's Eastern Airlines plane was not a 737-Max model, which was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, but it's once again raising questions about the safety of Boeing's aircraft. Michael Boyd, CEO of Boyd Group International, gave Opening Bell his take on what another crash means for Boeing.
Load More