In brief
US President Donald Trump indicated that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a preliminary agreement on the fate of TikTok's US operations in a recent phone conversation. While Trump hailed the discussion as productive, China's state media remained non-committal about the deal's details. The future of TikTok is still under scrutiny, especially concerning who will control its significant algorithm, which raises national security concerns in the US.
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 a 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.
Trump stated he looks forward to closing the deal soon, emphasizing that the US would maintain very tight control over the app. The deal would reportedly involve US firms such as Oracle, co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, to keep TikTok operational in the US using technology licensed from ByteDance.
A major sticking point in negotiations is who will own the influential algorithm that determines content visibility for TikTok's 170 million American users. There are concerns among US lawmakers about ByteDance’s connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Despite previously pushing for TikTok's ban, Trump has altered his stance, viewing the platform as crucial for his 2024 election campaign.
For now, the call between Xi and Trump marks the second interaction this year, with previous discussions centered on other pressing trade issues.
