BEIJING: Australia’s “discriminatory” ban on TikTok from all federal government-owned devices harmed the interests of Australian businesses and the public, a statement by China’s commerce ministry said on Friday (Apr 7).

Urging Canberra to treat all firms fairly, the statement read: “Australia treated TikTok differently from other social media platforms and adopted discriminatory restrictive measures, which are not conducive to maintaining Australia’s national security.”

China also urged Australia to create a favourable environment for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.