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Trump’s WeChat ban will hit US business interests
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US companies based in the financial hub of Shanghai said Washington’s planned ban on Chinese messaging and online payment app WeChat could badly hit their competitiveness and revenue should it apply to US firms and citizens in China.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said 88 percent of 142 respondents to its survey of firms subject to US jurisdiction this week expected a negative impact.
US President Donald Trump this month signed an executive order banning US firms and individuals from dealings with WeChat from mid-September citing national security.
His administration is yet to detail the transactions affected.
WeChat is operated by Tencent Holdings, China’s biggest social media and gaming firm. It has clocked a relatively small 19 million downloads in the US, yet is a ubiquitous platform in China for services as varied as games and payment. It is also used to communicate with individuals and businesses outside China.
AmCham Shanghai said over a third of respondents to its survey said the WeChat ban could lead to a loss of global revenue, with nearly 5 percent saying the hit could exceed 5 percent.
Over 70 percent of respondents, however, said there would be little or no revenue impact should the executive order be limited to transactions within the United States.
About 88 percent said they used WeChat primarily as a communications tool with employees while 78 percent use it for marketing.
Over 36 percent have partnership and content relationships with WeChat parent Tencent.
Tencent on August 12 said it did not believe the ban would apply to its domestic equivalent Weixin, which could limit its impact on the company.
Meanwhile, some US-based users of WeChat said they are suing Trump to block an executive order they say would effectively bar access in the US to the popular app.
The complaint is being brought by the nonprofit US WeChat Users Alliance and several people who say they rely on the app for work, worship and staying in touch with relatives in China. The plaintiffs said they are not affiliated with WeChat, nor Tencent.
They asked a federal court judge to block Trump’s executive order, claiming it would violate its US users’ freedom of speech, free exercise of religion and other constitutional rights.
“We think there’s a First Amendment interest in providing continued access to that app and its functionality to the Chinese-American community,” said Michael Bien, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
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