Successful apps caught in spiteful sights of lawmakers

In a report published on April 14, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission affiliated to the US Congress blamed quick fashion platform Shein, shopping app Temu and other Chinese apps overseas for "data risks, sourcing violations, and trade loopholes".

A glance at the report will find, not coincidentally, that Shein which has a "dominant position" in its sector, also suffers the most. The report noted the fact that Shein has surpassed its competitors such as Zara and H&M, saying that its growth was supported by what it claimed to be "controversial practices", such as analysis of consumers' search history and fast supply chains. This presents a range of challenges to the United States, it claimed.

Similar to the hundreds, even thousands, of reports produced in the US every year, the USCC one follows the old dirty logic that everything from China is risk-laden. Even the excuses they use are the same, namely data risks or analysis of the users' browsing history.

Certain US think tanks are attempting to distort all Chinese apps into the same rigid mold of being malicious in intent. They neither care about the fact that Chinese companies follow US laws in running their businesses nor that US users benefit from these Chinese apps so much that these apps are extremely popular.

Chinese blood is the original sin of any Chinese company that serves US consumers. It is the "decoupling" approach of US politicians that drives so many organizations into a frenzy to produce the biased reports claiming malpractices.

In the report, the USCC concludes that the low tariff rate of the US caused these Chinese companies to grow. An interesting conclusion that implies the Democrat-led Congress has a similar tendency to that of the Republican-led one during Donald Trump's presidency, as both are rather keen on raising tariff rates so as the US can get more money from the foreign commodities that enter the US territory.

They should be taught that tariffs are taxes and the additional tariffs paid by foreign companies will ultimately be paid by US consumers that buy these global products. In franker words, by advocating higher tariff rates they mean to increase the tax paid by US residents.

The Democrats are as narrow-minded as the Republicans.