Won’t divest stake in TikTok: Chinese parent ByteDance tells US

China-based internet giant ByteDance on Friday said it will not sell its stake in TikTok as directed by the US government in a new bill passed by President Joe Biden earlier this week to ban the short-video making platform in the country.

The Chinese platform’s parent company said in a social media post that it “doesn’t have any plans to sell TikTok”.

The Information earlier reported that ByteDance was exploring the potential sale of TikTok’s operation in the US.

“Foreign media reports of ByteDance selling TikTok are not true,” the Chinese company said in the post.

TikTok has already stated that it will challenge the “unconstitutional law” in courts.

TikTok has also denied claims that China has control over ByteDance.

Biden earlier signed a massive foreign aid package bill that will also ban TikTok in the country if ByteDance doesn’t divest its stake within a year.

The bill gives TikTok owner Bytedance nine months’ time to force a sale, with a 90-day extension.

Meanwhile, on the last day of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China, Beijing has warned of deterioration in relations between the two powers.