U.S. President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing business with the Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat apps beginning 45 days from now, citing the national security risk of leaving Americans¡¯ personal data exposed.
The bans mark a significant escalation by Trump in his confrontation with Beijing as the U.S. seeks to curb China¡¯s power in global technology. With the U.S. election less than 90 days away, Trump is making his challenge of China a central theme of his campaign, where he trails Democrat Joe Biden in the polls.
Shares of WeChat¡¯s owner, China¡¯s Tencent Holdings Ltd., fell as much as 10 percent in morning trading. The offshore yuan weakened as much as 0.40 percent, the most since July 22, to 6.971 a dollar.
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