The Front Page: TikTok, trade, and Taiwan - what’s testing our ties with China?

TikTok's relationship with the Chinese government is under the spotlight. Photo / Getty Images

Governments worldwide are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of data being shared on the TikTok app.

Owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, TikTok has quickly grown into one of the largest social media apps in the world.

But there are growing concerns that the Chinese government could have access to the enormous amount of user data acquired through the app.

Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Aaron Dahmen tells The Front Page podcast that the concerns are significant enough for Parliamentary Services in New Zealand to tell MPs to remove the app from their phones.

“This really boils down to a 2017 Chinese law that requires companies to cooperate with the Chinese government over any personal data relating to national security,” says Dahmen.

“It’s important to stress here that there is no evidence that TikTok has explicitly done this, but the risk is that data could be accessed by employees in China who are under the jurisdiction of Chinese law.”

The implication here is that the Chinese government could, in theory at least, have access to the interests and general mood of New Zealand citizens.

This concern comes amid a US Congressional hearing which has seen TikTok CEO Zi Chew peppered with questions from legislators about what information the app stores and who has access to it.

Dahmen says New Zealand lawmakers will be keeping a close eye on that situation to determine how best to respond in the local market.

Our response would, however, be further complicated by the fact that China is New Zealand’s single largest trade partner.

“Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told me recently that our trading relationship simply isn’t diverse enough across the board,” Dahmen says.

“New Zealand exports to China are $20 billion in goods and $3.4 billion in services. To borrow from [Newsroom journalist Sam Sachdeva], who has a book coming out in May, we are walking a tightrope. That is exactly the right metaphor to describe our relationship.”

NZ Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta recently spent four days in China meeting with officials, and the tension was clearly on display.

“On the one hand, you’ve got trade, and on the other, you’ve got the big elephant in the room: the Government’s deep concerns and disagreements. It’s very hard to reconcile the two, but we don’t have much choice.”

So, in this broader context, would New Zealand be willing to poke the Red Dragon by banning TikTok? Or are there simply more important battles at stake?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast to hear more about China’s presence in New Zealand and what the Government is likely to do about TikTok.