TikTok parent, ByteDance, already owns DouYin, which is the original APP that TikTok was based on, with significant ingestion from Musically. As a matter of fact, TikTok's previous CEO was Musical.ly's founding CEO.
Although it seems the online records are disappearing fast. I could not find a good source of the TikTok history and key figures any more...
But if the Chinese government wants to prop up TikTok and pick them as the winner, they can.