President Trump recently announced that China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has given his approval for a deal to separate TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr. Trump confirmed the progress, stating, ‘He approved the TikTok deal.’ However, he emphasized that more work is needed to finalize the agreement and refrained from providing specifics. ‘We have to get it signed,’ he noted, adding, ‘The TikTok deal is well on its way. We look forward to getting that deal closed.’
These comments followed a statement Trump made earlier on Truth Social after a call with Mr. Xi. He wrote, ‘The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval.’ He also mentioned ‘progress on many very important issues,’ including the TikTok deal, again without further elaboration.
A Chinese state-run news agency’s report on the call was similarly vague but indicated Xi’s support for a commercial resolution. It stated 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 future in the United States has been uncertain since January, when a federal law mandated the company to find a non-Chinese owner or face a ban. This law aimed to address national security concerns that Beijing could leverage the app for propaganda or to collect sensitive data on Americans. Trump has previously extended this deadline four times.
For months, ByteDance has been in discussions to spin off TikTok’s American operations into a new entity, bringing in U.S. investors like Oracle to reduce its Chinese ownership and comply with legal requirements. The exact lineup of potential investors has been subject to change.
Mr. Trump’s remarks seemed to align with this proposed structure. ‘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 stated.
In response, ByteDance released a statement thanking both leaders for ‘their efforts to preserve TikTok in the United States.’ The company committed to ‘work in accordance with applicable laws to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.’
The app’s fate has become intertwined with broader US-China trade negotiations, covering tariffs, mineral supplies, and other contentious issues. Trump’s Friday post also indicated future meetings with Xi, including a summit in South Korea this fall and a trip to China early next year, with Xi reciprocating.
It’s worth noting that past significant deals announced by Mr. Trump have not always fully materialized. For instance, a 2020 trade agreement with China, where China pledged to purchase an additional $200 billion in American goods and services by 2021, only saw 57% of those promised exports fulfilled by 2022.
Crucially, in his recent comments and social media post, Mr. Trump did not address the fundamental national security concerns that have fueled the six-year debate over TikTok’s presence on American phones. The core issue revolves around who controls TikTok’s proprietary algorithm, which drives user engagement by tracking choices and feeding tailored content. This algorithm is often considered TikTok’s most valuable asset.
Chinese law dictates that this algorithm must remain under Chinese control. However, the U.S. law requiring American ownership of the app was enacted precisely to prevent China from potentially using this algorithm to disseminate disinformation or misinformation within the United States.
When asked, Mr. Trump assured reporters, ‘It’s all being worked out. We’re going to have very good control.’ He then added that the American investors ‘will have control of it.’ Yet, these statements leave ambiguity as to whether ‘control’ refers to the new American company or the crucial algorithm itself.
Earlier this week, Trump hinted at a ‘tremendous fee’ the U.S. would receive for facilitating the deal. If this materializes, it would mark another instance of government involvement in corporate transactions, following recent instances where the Trump administration secured a 10 percent stake in Intel and a ‘golden share’ in U.S. Steel during its sale to Nippon Steel.
Regarding the potential fee, Mr. Trump clarified on Friday, ‘it hasn’t been fully negotiated, but we’ll get something.’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had initially announced a ‘framework’ for a TikTok deal in Madrid on Monday. Chinese officials, who had previously vowed to oppose a forced sale and amended their export control list in 2020 to include algorithms, decided to proceed because the agreement ‘serves the interests of both sides,’ according to China’s vice minister of commerce, Li Chenggang.
On Tuesday, just a day before TikTok’s separation deadline, Trump granted a fourth extension, pushing it to mid-December. With the president’s latest suggestion of approval, this extension could indeed be the final one.