US President Donald Trump has said that he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping approved a deal on the future of TikTok’s US operations during a phone call on Friday, although there was no confirmation from Beijing.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the call was “productive” and he “appreciated” Xi’s approval of deal, which would reportedly see TikTok’s US business sold to a group of US investors.
China’s official state news agency Xinhua left the outcome of their discussion less clear, with Xi quoted as saying that Beijing “welcomes negotiations over TikTok”.
TikTok, which is run by Chinese firm ByteDance, was previously told it had to sell its US operations or risk being shut down.
Trump, however, delayed implementing the ban four times since it was first announced in January, and earlier this week extended the deadline again to December.
In his post, Trump wrote the two had “made progress” on trade issues and would meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, scheduled to begin at the end of October in South Korea, and said he would travel to China.
“I also agreed with President Xi that we would meet at the Apec Summit in South Korea, that I would go to China in the early part of next year,” Trump said, adding that Xi would travel to the US at “an appropriate time”.
Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon that a deal still had to be signed, and signalled there could be a formal process to do so soon.
“We look forward to getting that deal closed,” he said, adding that the US would have “very tight control” of the app.
That deal will reportedly see a group of US firms – said to include Oracle, which was co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison – that would enable TikTok to continue operating in the US, using algorithm technology licensed from ByteDance.
A sticking point in negotiations appears to be who will own the powerful algorithm that pushes content to TikTok’s 170 million American users.
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Thursday, Trump sidestepped a question from a reporter about whether an American buyer would need to build a new algorithm, or if they could continue to use the current algorithm.
Trump added he believes TikTok has “tremendous value” to the US.
“The people that are investing it are among the greatest investors in the world,” he said. “And they’ll do a great job – and we’re doing it in conjunction with China.”
Xinhua reported that China’s position on TikTok is “very clear” and that it welcomed firms to “conduct commercial negotiations based on market rules and reach solutions that comply with Chinese laws and regulations and a balance of interests”.
“We hope that the US will provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest in the United States,” it added.
A statement by ByteDance on Friday cast further doubt on the status of a deal.
“ByteDance will work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok US,” a ByteDance spokesperson said.
The spokesperson thanked both presidents for “their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States”.
Many US lawmakers – including some from within Trump’s own party – have expressed unease with the prospect of a deal, citing ongoing concerns about ByteDance’s links with the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.
“I am concerned the reported licensing deal may involve ongoing reliance by the new TikTok on a ByteDance algorithm that could allow continued CCP control or influence,” Michigan Republican representative John Moolenar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement.
While Trump initially called for TikTok to be banned during his first term, he has changed course, and on Thursday said he viewed the platform as a key part of his 2024 electoral campaign.
In January, the US Supreme Court upheld a law first passed in early 2024, banning the app unless ByteDance divested from its US operations. The app went “dark” only briefly at the time, before the ban was delayed.
The US Department of Justice previously expressed concerns that TikTok’s access to the data of US users posed a national security threat of “immense depth and scale”.
The call between Xi and Trump is the second so far this year.
In June, the two leaders spoke to discuss China’s export of rare earth minerals, resulting in China agreeing to approve a “certain number” of export permits to US companies, as well as the magnets made from them.
Chinese and US officials have held four rounds of talks in recent months, and so far held off on implementing extremely high tariffs and strict export controls.
The US has already imposed 20% tariffs on some Chinese goods it says are linked to fentanyl trafficking.
Other thorny issues – including tech export restrictions and Chinese purchases of US agricultural products – so far remain unresolved.
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