China on Saturday accused the US of “bullying” after Donald Trump’s administration banned the popular short-video app TikTok and Chinese chat-app WeChat in America. Beijing warned that it would take “necessary measures” to safeguard the rights of Chinese companies. 

“China urges the US to abandon bullying, cease (its) wrongful actions and earnestly maintain fair and transparent international rules and order,” a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

Amid escalating tensions with China, US officials ordered a ban on the two apps from September 20 citing them a threat to national security. This comes as TikTok finalised a deal with Oracle, after the US government gave a deadline to the popular video-sharing app to find a deal to leave with an American company and leave China’s ByteDance. 

Beijing said, “If the US insists on going this way, China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

Under the order by the US government, the Tencent-owned WeChat app would lose functionality in the United States from Sunday. TikTok users will be banned from installing updates but could keep accessing the service through November 12.

That timeframe potentially allows for a tie-up between TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, and a US company to safeguard data to allay Washington’s security concerns. US officials described Friday’s measures as essential to national security as President Donald Trump confronts Beijing during a tough re-election campaign.