The contrasting receptions for the bosses of Apple, TikTok reflect the state of Sino-US ties

Representative Kat Cammack (right) questions TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on March 23 during a hearing of the United States House Energy and Commerce Committee, on consumer privacy and data security practices, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (PHOTO / AP)

In the past week, a US CEO spoke at a conference sponsored by China’s government and was warmly received. Meanwhile, an Asian CEO representing a Chinese company in the United States testified before the US Congress and was treated dismissively.

The visit by Apple CEO Tim Cook to Beijing and the one by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to Washington could serve as a snapshot of the current state of US-China relations.

“I am thrilled to be back in China,” Cook said on March 25 at the China Development Forum, hosted by a research center of the State Council. “It means the world to me, and I feel really privileged to be here. We have a very large supply chain in China. We also have a thriving App Store.”

According to Apple, there are more than 5 million registered Chinese mobile app developers within its iPhone ecosystem.

Cook said that every time he visits China, he learns something and takes something back, primarily related to culture. He said many things have changed in China, with cities becoming so large.

“The thing that does not change is the culture that anything is possible,” Cook added.

He was among a group of delegates from leading multinationals attending the forum. Others included Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer.

Meanwhile, on March 23 in Washington, Chew appeared before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee for over five hours, and lawmakers from both parties bluntly questioned him about national security and other concerns involving the app, which has 150 million US users, nearly half the US population.

Chew repeatedly denied accusations that the app shares data or has connections with the Chinese government.

“We’re headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we have 7,000 employees in the US today,” he said. “The bottom line is this: American data stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel.”

However, the US lawmakers seemed convinced that the app poses national security risks, citing its parent company ByteDance in Beijing, and they seemed uninterested in Chew’s answers.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” said Chew, who was interrupted numerous times. 

Despite his assertions, the House panel members seemed to have reached a foregone conclusion.

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington state, told Chew: “Your platform should be banned.”

The consensus among many politicians in Washington is that the Chinese government has access to user data, an allegation that TikTok has strenuously denied.

Chew told the panel: “I think a lot of risks that are pointed out are hypothetical and theoretical risks. I have not seen any evidence.”

“It was really clear to me and to a lot of other people that Congress really, as a whole, does not understand how the internet works and also really just doesn’t understand what TikTok is,” Gabrielle Cerberville, 31, a content creator from Kalamazoo, Michigan, said of the hearing, USA Today reported.

On March 26, US lawmakers seemed determined to follow through with a TikTok ban. US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, said that lawmakers will move forward with legislation to address purported national security worries about the widely used app.

TikTok says it has spent more than $1.5 billion on data security efforts under the name “Project Texas”, which has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and is contracted with Oracle to store the data of TikTok’s US users.

On March 27, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US side has provided no evidence or proof that TikTok threatens US national security, yet it has repeatedly suppressed and attacked the company based on the presumption of guilt.

“The US should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition, stop suppressing the companies and provide an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for foreign companies in the US,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a daily briefing.

“Banning the app — or any like it — would likely still be challenged under the First Amendment,” said John Costello, who oversaw the creation of the office at the US Commerce Department to examine certain foreign technology over national security threats.

Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said: “The First Amendment protects Americans’ right to access social media platforms of their choice.”

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing part of New York City, on March 25 posted her first video on TikTok, in which she supported the platform.

“I think it’s important to discuss how unprecedented of a move this would be. The United States has never before banned a social media company from existence, from operating in our borders,” she said.

TikTok also has received support on social media.

Journalist Harrison H. Smith tweeted: “The ‘TikTok’ ban isn’t really about TikTok, it’s a way for the US Govt to get unrestricted access and control over every single internet communication platform.”

Agencies contributed to this story.

With additional reporting by Cheng Yu and Ma Si in Bejing.

Contact the writers at hengweili@chinadailyusa.com