President Trump announced on Friday that a deal to separate TikTok from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, had received approval from China’s top leader, Xi Jinping.
“He approved the TikTok deal,” Mr. Trump informed reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon. Yet, he also indicated that further work was required to finalize the agreement and offered minimal specifics regarding its structure. “We have to get it signed,” he stated.
“The TikTok deal is well underway,” he added. “We look forward to its closure.”
These comments followed an earlier post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump’s social media platform, after his conversation with Mr. Xi.
Mr. Trump shared that the call was “very good” and that they would speak again, expressing appreciation for the TikTok approval. He also mentioned making progress on several significant issues, including the TikTok deal’s approval, but did not elaborate on what this approval entailed.
A statement from a Chinese state-run news agency regarding the call was equally ambiguous, though Mr. Xi seemed open to a commercial resolution for TikTok. The report noted Mr. Xi’s belief that the Chinese government “respects the wishes of the company in question and is glad to see business negotiations in line with market rules and a solution that conforms to Chinese laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides.”
TikTok’s status in the United States has been uncertain since January, when a federal law mandated that the company find a non-Chinese owner or face a U.S. ban. This legislation aimed to mitigate national security concerns that the app’s ownership could allow Beijing to disseminate propaganda or gather sensitive American data. Mr. Trump has extended the deadline four times.
ByteDance has been in discussions for months to spin off the app’s American operations into a new entity, bringing in new U.S. investors, such as software giant Oracle, to reduce its Chinese ownership and meet legal requirements. Sources familiar with the talks noted that the roster of potential investors has been fluid.
Mr. Trump appeared to suggest that the deal would follow this general framework.
“These are American investors, all of them, and they all love our country. They’re all very well-known people, very famous people, actually, financially,” he remarked.
In a Friday statement, ByteDance extended gratitude to both leaders for “their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States.” The company affirmed its commitment to “work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
The app’s future has also become intertwined with broader trade negotiations between the U.S. and China, as both nations have debated tariffs, China’s mineral supply, and other matters. In his Friday post, Mr. Trump indicated plans to meet Mr. Xi at a fall summit in South Korea, followed by a reciprocal visit to China early next year.
Historically, some major deals heralded by Mr. Trump have not fully materialized. This year, the president announced several trade agreements, only for foreign partners to later dispute the terms. Some, like the trade agreements with Vietnam and South Korea announced in July, are still pending completion.
His past deals with China have also seen similar outcomes. In 2020, the president announced a trade deal where China was to purchase an additional $200 billion in American goods and services by 2021. However, a 2022 analysis of trade data revealed that China acquired only 57 percent of the promised exports.
In Mr. Trump’s recent remarks and social media posts, he did not explicitly address the core national security concerns that have fueled a six-year debate over TikTok’s presence on American phones.
Central to the issue is the control over TikTok’s proprietary algorithm, which tracks user preferences and delivers personalized content, effectively keeping users engaged. This algorithm is often considered TikTok’s most valuable asset.
Chinese law dictates that this algorithm must remain under Chinese control. However, when Congress passed legislation requiring the U.S. version of the app to be overseen by American owners, the intention was to prevent China from using the algorithm to spread disinformation or misinformation within the United States.
Mr. Trump assured reporters, “It’s all being worked out. We’re going to have very good control.” He then stated that the American investors “will have control of it.”
However, these comments left it unclear whether he was referring to control over the newly formed American company or specifically the algorithm it utilizes.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump hinted that the United States might receive a “tremendous fee” for facilitating the deal. If realized, this would mark another instance of government involvement in corporate transactions. Recently, the Trump administration secured a 10 percent stake in Intel and a “golden share” in U.S. Steel as part of its sale to Nippon Steel.
When questioned about a potential fee on Friday, Mr. Trump responded, “it hasn’t been fully negotiated, but we’ll get something.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent first revealed that the United States had a “framework” for a deal to allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. during a news conference in Madrid on Monday.
Previously, Chinese officials had expressed opposition to a forced sale of TikTok, and in 2020, China revised its export control list to include technologies like algorithms and source codes.
China opted for an agreement with the U.S. on TikTok because “this consensus serves the interests of both sides,” according to Li Chenggang, China’s vice minister of commerce, who spoke in Madrid after meeting with American officials, as reported by Chinese state media.
On Tuesday, just one day before a critical deadline for TikTok to separate from ByteDance, Mr. Trump granted an extension—his fourth this year—until mid-December. With the president’s recent suggestion of deal approval, this extension could potentially be the final one.