US administration's smash and grab of TikTok will not be taken lying down
After vowing to ban the popular short-video sharing app TikTok in the United States on Friday, the White House is reportedly weighing the advantages of allowing Microsoft to purchase its US operations.
Such shilly-shallying is a tactic the US administration employed during the trade deal negotiations with China.
The tactic involves the White House promising punishment for some perceived wrongdoing, followed by indications from other administration officials that the punishment might not be forthcoming. This is followed soon after by some close to the president saying that he intends to make good on his threat, sparking a sharp rise in tensions again. All with the aim of getting what the US administration wants.
So it was par for the course that after the ban on TikTok was proposed and then left hanging, that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the media on Sunday morning that the president "will take action in the coming days with respect to a broad array of national security risks that are presented by software connected to the Chinese Communist Party".
Although it is yet to be known how that will work, the message will certainly heighten the concerns of Chinese companies.
As TikTok's experience shows, no matter how unfounded the claims against them are, as long as they remain Chinese companies, they will be presented as being a "Red threat" by the administration. That being said, selling its US operations to Microsoft might be preferable for ByteDance, Tik-Tok's parent company in China, as it is working "for the best outcome". And that being the case, the top US diplomat's comments on Sunday were tantamount to inviting potential US purchasers to participate in an officially sanctioned "steal" of Chinese technology.
Washington is well aware that Beijing will be cautious about retaliating like-for-like as it values foreign investment in China, and the sizable US investment in China is of more importance to the Chinese economy than the much smaller and shrinking Chinese investment is to the US economy.
Also, there is the additional bonus that coercing Chinese companies to divest their US business to US enterprises will not incur job losses.
The US administration's bullying of Chinese tech companies stems from data being the new source of wealth and its zero-sum vision of "American first". With competitiveness now dependent on the ability to collect and use data, it offers an either-or choice of submission or mortal combat in the tech realm. There are no carrots to promote cooperation only sticks.
But China will by no means accept the "theft" of a Chinese technology company, and it has plenty of ways to respond if the administration carries out its planned smash and grab.
译文：
美国政府必会为围猎TikTok付出应有代价
周五，白宫宣称要在美国禁掉字节跳动公司旗下的短视频平台TikTok。此后，又有报道称白宫正在考虑让微软公司收购TikTok的美国业务。
美国政府与中国的贸易谈判时就经常玩这种反复无常的把戏。
要演好这套剧本，白宫要先登台，义正词严地声称“罚单”已箭在弦上，然后一些官员会跳出来表态说，一切尚有暂缓执行的可能。但紧接着立刻要有美国总统所谓的几个“身边人”再跳出来放风说，最高决策者已决意采取行动。紧张态势随之再次升级。如此折腾只为美国政府的一己之私。
因此，可以预见的是，在白宫宣称要禁掉TikTok但按兵不动之后，必然会有如美国国务卿迈克•蓬佩奥之流跳将出来。果不其然，蓬佩奥周日一早就对媒体说：“总统将在未来几天采取行动，应对与中共关联的软件给美国带来的广泛的安全风险。”
尽管美国总统将以何种方式采取怎样的行动尚不得而知，但蓬佩奥的此番表态必然会加剧中国公司的忧虑。
TikTok在美国最近的经历表明，不论美国政府针对中国公司的指控多么不切实际，只要它们还是中国企业，这些公司就会被贴上“红色威胁”的标签。此刻字节跳动公司正在争取“最好的结果”，但美国政府的种种表态无不在暗示这家企业：把TikTok的美国业务转让给微软或许是更合适的选择。如是，蓬佩奥周日的表态无异于是在向美国潜在的收购者发出邀请，鼓励它们去参加一次官方认可的对中国技术的“偷窃”行动。
华盛顿认为，北京若采取以牙还牙的报复行动，必然会充分顾忌如此行事对外国在华投资的影响。毕竟，美国在华投资对中国经济的重要性明显大于中国在美投资对美国经济的重要性，况且当下中国在美投资正在日益萎缩。
此外，强迫中国公司把美国业务转让给美国企业也不会造成美国工作机会流失。
其实，美国政府对中国高科技企业的霸凌主要源自两点。一方面，数据越来越成为新的财富源头。另一方面就是以“美国优先”为前提的零和博弈的战略思维。当下，国家间竞争越来越体现为国家间收集和应用数据的能力的比拼。至少在美国政府看来，就技术范畴而言，国家围绕数据的竞争本质上就是一个非此即彼的抉择：要么束手就擒，要么决一死战。不需要胡萝卜去促成什么合作，只要挥舞大棒就足够了。
但中国绝对不会接受美国对中国技术企业的“围猎”。如果美国政府执意要玩儿“砸了就抢”那一套，中国将有很多办法让美国为自己的行为负责到底。
