Trump's WeChat ban threatens Apple's smartphone sales in China

Users say they would rather give up their iPhones than the 'crucial' app

Chinese smartphone users who want to keep using WeChat may soon be forced to give up their iPhones to do so. (Source photos by Getty Images and Reuters)

COCO LIU, LAULY LI and CHENG TING-FANG, Nikkei staff writers

August 11, 2020 18:34 JST

HONG KONG/TAIPEI -- Washington's decision to ban popular Chinese messaging app WeChat threatens Apple's hard-won position in China's smartphone market as users in the country could soon be forced to choose between their iPhones and their favorite app.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday banning U.S. transactions with WeChat from Sept. 20, describing the Tencent Holdings-owned app as a threat to national security. A separate order issued the same day targeted TikTok, the viral streaming app owned by ByteDance.