Trump Bans Transactions With Alipay and eight Other Chinese Apps

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a professional order banning transactions eight Chinese-owned apps, citing cybersecurity concerns.

The apps impacted by the order are Ant Group's Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay and WPS Office. The ban goes into effect in 45 days, after Trump's term as president is finished.

In accessory for banning transactions using the named apps, an order also bans transactions with “persons that develop or control” the apps.

The order is similar to previous executive orders that Trump levied against prominent Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok in 2021. Both orders happen to be blocked by federal courts, with US users still able to download and use the targeted apps.

As surprise parting shot against China, the order is likely to further heighten tensions between your US and Chinese governments. Inside a statement on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying known as the move an example of US “bullying” and accused the Trump administration of “stretching the concept of national security.”

Alipay, a mobile payments app using more than 1 billion users, and many of the other named apps did not comment on the executive order. Kingsoft, developers of WPS Office, said inside a statement authored by state media it did not expect an order to substantially impact its business in the short term.