BEIJING – The Chinese government is reportedly opposed to the United States implementing a plan to force the owner of the social network TikTok to sell the platform for sharing short videos online.

Governments around the world fear that the Chinese company that owns TikTok, ByteDance, will share the data collected by the application with Beijing, or that the social network will be misused for propaganda or disinformation purposes.

In the US, The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the US government is considering banning TikTok if ByteDance doesn’t sell the company.

“If this news is true, we will firmly oppose it,” said Shu Jueting, a spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry, without specifying Beijing’s specific intentions.

Forcing the sale of TikTok “would adversely affect investors in many countries, including China” and “damage investor confidence in doing business in the United States,” Ms. Shu said.

The Chinese ministry spokesman made the statement hours before TikTok chairman and CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before a US Congressional committee to prevent the government from banning its use.

Mr Chew is expected to argue that TikTok prioritises the safety of its young users and dismiss allegations that the app poses a national security risk. At least that is what was to be read in his statements published before the hearing.

Among others, parliaments in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have banned the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. India has also banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including messaging service WeChat, over security and privacy concerns.