China says Trump govt's bans on TikTok and WeChat break WTO rules

In the same meeting, the United States defended its actions, saying they are intended to mitigate national security risks

China said at a World Trade Organization meeting that restrictions by the United States on Chinese mobile applications TikTok and WeChat are in violation of the body's rules, a trade official said.

The Trump administration has ordered download blocks on the two mobile apps and ordered ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to sell its operations to a US company, citing national security concerns. However, US judges have questioned the government's case.

A representative for China said at the closed-door meeting on Friday that the measures "are clearly inconsistent with WTO rules, restrict cross-border trading services and violate the basic