From the perspective of the United States government it makes perfect sense to be hostile towards Chinese influence before its own platforms. If they wanted to curb foreign interference there, they could, their failure to do so is just a symptom of regulatory capture. That’s the whole argument here.

It doesn’t matter for this argument what atrocities they committed elsewhere or how poorly the country is run in various ways.

Besides, China does the exact same thing itself. All foreign corporations in the country operate under strict regulations or as junior partners to Chinese companies, and can and will be kicked out for much less than what tiktok does. And those corporations are not directly tied to foreign governments as tiktok is.