'Trump hurts his own voters by banning WeChat,' says Chinese American

New York: U.S. President Donald Trump has unveiled sweeping bans on U.S. transactions with the Chinese owners of messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok, escalating a high-stakes confrontation with Beijing over the future of the global tech industry.

"Me and my mom, she's now in China, and WeChat provides a very easy, convenient platform for her where she comes from. She is from a generation that experienced a cultural revolution, and for many reasons that she couldn't get higher education. And the apps are high-tech these days, for her it is a bit overwhelming. But WeChat is so easy. Just a few clicks, she has sent a message, she can type something, and she can just send a voice message. That's most (of what ) she she does. And this morning she was so worried and called me on WeChat and asked me, 'is it true?' I said they are making a move, but I'm not sure what's the outcome." said Dong Zheng, 36, American citizen, originally from China. 

The executive orders announced Thursday and effective in 45 days come after the Trump administration this week flagged increased effort to purge "untrusted" Chinese apps from U.S. digital networks, calling Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat and Bytedance's popular TikTok "significant threats."

American citizen and originally from China, Leanna Louie said, "A lot of people, WeChat is, like, their life, you know. They live their life around it, you know? Some of them buy food from it, sell food from it. Some people buy houses and sell houses through WeChat. They buy clothing and sell clothing through WeChat. They buy and sell cars through WeChat. They even buy and sell cell phones through it. So, all those basic needs that we're talking about is all transacted through WeChat. And if it's cut out from their lives, then, you know, it's going to make it more difficult for them. And as a president, do you want to make people's lives better, or do you want to make their lives worse? I think that's what you have to ask."

China said on Friday the companies comply with U.S. laws and regulations and warned that the United States would have to "bear the consequences" of its action.