TikTok Photo: VCG

TikTok is a platform for people from all over the world, including the US, to share joy, display talent and exchange information, and it has nothing to do with national security. Some in the US have generalized the concept of national security and unreasonably suppressed non-US firms without any evidence, Zhao Lijiang, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular press conference on Wednesday.

Zhao said the US move is "very ugly."

The remarks were made when Zhao was asked whether China plans to include relevant content of TikTok and WeChat in the China-US economic and trade agreement negotiations.

Zhao pointed out that scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation under the wave of globalization should be "all flowers blooming together," rather than "destroying it since it's beautiful." 

Some people in the US seek a ban out of their own self-interest, but doing so will only mean the US ends up in a cocoon.

US President Donald Trump announced sweeping bans on August 7 on US transactions with China's ByteDance, owner of video-sharing app TikTok, and Tencent, operator of the WeChat app, starting in 45 days.