ByteDance's application to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce can be interpreted from two directions.

From the first point of view, ByteDance may be holding the Trump administration back.

Since the end of August, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China have jointly updated the catalogue of technologies prohibited and restricted from export in China. The personalized recommendation algorithm used by Tik Tok, a subsidiary of ByteDance Company, is restricted from export? Personalized information push service technology based on data analysis? In view of this, ByteDance's sale of all or part of Tik Tok's US or global business to American companies may not be approved by these two ministries.

Since everyone thought that the two ministries and commissions in China would not approve Tik Tok's transaction, ByteDance also applied to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, probably pretending to submit a writ to Trump's government and give it to Trump. I really want to sell it, okay? In fact, we are holding back China's catalogue of prohibited and restricted export technologies.

Secondly, ByteDance may be testing the attitude of two ministries in China.

Although everyone thinks that the two ministries and commissions in China will not approve Tik Tok's transaction, according to China's catalogue of prohibited and restricted export technologies, ByteDance's personalized recommendation algorithm only belongs to export restrictions? Personalized information push service technology based on data analysis? Export is restricted, not prohibited, which means that two ministries in China may still approve it.

Why did ByteDance test the attitude of these two ministries? This may be because ByteDance still wants to sell part of Tik Tok's global business to American companies, which means it has an American background. With the American background, it may be easier for Tik Tok to do business in the world. For example, India banned Tik Tok in the middle of this year. If Tik Tok gets married in the United States, the Indian government may be intimidated by the Trump administration, and Tik Tok will be shelved again.

From this perspective, the partial sale of Tik Tok may be the most favorable result for ByteDance, so ByteDance must test the attitude of the two ministries in China. What if the two ministries approve it?

To sum up, ByteDance's application to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce is interpreted from two angles, both of which are reasonable.