Canberra's move against TikTok hurts confidence in Australia

Australia's discriminatory restrictions against TikTok undermine the confidence of the international community in the country's business environment, and harm the interests of Australian enterprises and people, an official with the Ministry of Commerce said, urging Australia to treat all enterprises fairly.

The official made the remarks when asked about Australia's ban on TikTok from all federal government-owned devices, according to the ministry on Friday.

Treating TikTok in a different manner from other social media platforms by imposing restrictions is "not conducive to safeguarding Australia's national security", the official said.

"We urge Australia to treat all enterprises fairly and equally, to provide an open, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment, and create a favorable atmosphere for furthering China-Australia economic and trade cooperation," the official said.

He also said the Chinese government always encourages enterprises to conduct operations abroad in accordance with market principles and international economic and trade rules, and to abide by the laws and regulations of the host countries.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn