Trump bans transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay

This July 20, 2020, file photo, shows, the app for Alipay, the mobile payments service operated by Ant Group, on a smartphone in Beijing. - AP

WASHINGTON (Reuters): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Jan 5) signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month.

The order, first reported by Reuters, tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive and targets Tencent Holdings Ltd's QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay as well.