15 Mar 2024

TikTok faces US ban

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 15 March 2024
An illustration is being shown in Suqian, China, on January 24, 2024, depicting TikTok's layoffs in the United States. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto) (Photo by CFOTO / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

Photo: CFOTO / NurPhoto via AFP

Tensions between China and the West are rising, as the United States House of Representatives passes a bill offering TikTok's owner ByteDance an ultimatum.

The company has six months to divest the US assets of the social media app, or face a ban.

Meanwhile China's cancellation of the premier's annual post-parliament press conference is causing concern.

The 30-year tradition is one of the rare opportunities where journalists there can ask questions.

Ed White is a correspondent for the Financial Times, based in Shanghai.