China urges US to listen to 'rational voices' over TikTok ban

China on Monday urged the United States to listen to "rational voices" over the social media platform TikTok, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect.

"We hope that the US side will seriously listen to rational voices and provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for market entities from all countries operating in the United States," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

"TikTok has been operating in the United States for many years and is deeply loved by American users," Mao said.


"It has played a positive role in promoting domestic employment and driving consumption in the US," she added.

TikTok restored service in the United States Sunday after briefly going dark, crediting President-elect Donald Trump, who retakes power on Monday, for making the reversal possible.

The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban.

TikTok had shut down in the United States late Saturday as a deadline loomed for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers.