The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it will challenge an order issued Sunday by a U.S. judge that blocked the department's order requiring Apple and Google to remove WeChat from their U.S. app stores, Reuters reported.

On September 18, the U.S. Commerce Department issued an order citing national security grounds to block the app from U.S. app stores owned by Tencent Holdings.

On day after the issuance of the order, China's Ministry of Commerce said it is resolutely opposed to the U.S. move to block downloads of WeChat and TikTok apps.

In the absence of any evidence, the U.S. has repeatedly used state power to suppress the two enterprises for unwarranted reasons, which seriously disrupted their normal business activities, undermined the confidence of international investors in the U.S. investment environment and damaged the normal global economic and trade order, the ministry said in an online statement.

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(with input from agencies)