Will TikTok sale go through? China’s new export rules on technology may not allow it

Beijing: The owner of popular video app TikTok said Sunday it will “strictly abide” by China’s new export rules, which could potentially complicate a sale of the business as demanded by US President Donald Trump.

TikTok has been at the center of a diplomatic storm between Washington and Beijing, and Trump signed an executive order on August 6 giving Americans 45 days to stop doing business with TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance—effectively setting a deadline for a sale of the app to a US company.

But China’s commerce ministry published new rules on Friday that added “civilian use” to a list of technologies that are restricted for export.