U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that he expects a final agreement concerning the popular short-video app TikTok. This deal is anticipated to be finalized when President Donald Trump engages in discussions with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week.
During recent negotiations held in Madrid, China presented a significant list of requests. Mr. Bessent characterized these talks as comprehensive and conducted with mutual respect, underscoring the serious nature of the dialogue between the world’s two largest economies.
Earlier this week, both the U.S. and China announced they had reached a framework agreement. This understanding aims to de-escalate a broad-ranging trade dispute that has caused considerable unease across global markets for several months.
Mr. Bessent highlighted President Trump’s unwavering stance: TikTok, which boasts 170 million users in the U.S., would be forced to shut down unless an agreement could be reached for its ownership to be transferred to a U.S.-controlled entity. Despite this firm position, President Trump had previously extended the deadline for this deal three times and was expected to issue a fourth extension for the upcoming deadline.
While the foundational agreement is in place, Mr. Bessent noted that the precise commercial terms with new investors are still being refined. He chose not to disclose further details regarding these ongoing commercial discussions.