Microsoft’s TikTok bid spotlights Windows maker’s history with China

SHANGHAI: Microsoft Corp has emerged as the most likely buyer of the U.S. operations of TikTok, the popular Chinese short-video app that U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to effectively ban on national security grounds.

A deal would be in line with Microsoft’s stance toward China where the firm has a sizeable presence – unlike fellow U.S. tech heavyweights such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google which appear to have given up on China’s consumer-facing market with its miscellany of government strictures.

The country accounts for over $2 billion in annual revenue, Microsoft President Brad Smith said earlier this year.