The UK government's ban on TikTok from working phones will eventually hurt the UK's own interests, said a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the country on Thursday.

"The UK side made the decision based on political intentions, not facts," the spokesperson told media. "The ban will interfere with the normal operations of relevant enterprises in the UK, hurt international community's confidence in UK's business environment, and eventually will only damage UK itself."

"We urge the UK side to respect facts, follow fair play rules of market economies, stop overstretching and abusing the concept of national security, and provide a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory business environment," the spokesperson added.

The UK government on Thursday announced banning TikTok from work phones due to security concerns.

"We are going to ban the use of TikTok on government devices. We will do so with immediate effect," Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told parliament.

He said there "could" be a risk to how government data and information is used by the app.

TikTok, a social media platform owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has become one of the fastest growing social media apps in the world, especially among young people.

TikTok said it's disappointed with the UK's decision, adding it remains committed to working with the UK government to address any concerns but "should be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors."

In a separate event, U.S. President Joe Biden called on ByteDance to sell TikTok and threatened with a ban, which drew criticism from China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

"We have been holding the view that data security is not a tool to suppress foreign companies," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "The U.S. side has never provided any proof of TikTok threatening U.S. national security."

"The U.S. side should stop spreading false information on data security," he added.

(Gong Zhe contributed to the story.)