WASHINGTON, Jan 6 — US President Donald Trump yesterday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s Alipay, a senior administration official 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.

The move is aimed at curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data, the official said. — Reuters