Trump and Xi seek TikTok win to break US-China gridlock

WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will seek an agreement on Friday to help keep the video app TikTok online in the US and ease tensions between two superpowers locked in a standoff over trade. The agreement is at the top of the agenda alongside trade for the leaders’ first known call in three months, expected on Friday morning, US officials said. However, China has not confirmed plans for the call.
Trump and Xi’s effort to steady relations comes as the two governments have been discussing a potential in-person summit between Xi and Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea from October 30 to November 1, Reuters has reported. Beijing’s sign-off is one of the hurdles Trump needed to clear to keep TikTok open. Congress had ordered the app shut down for US users by January 2025 if its US assets weren’t sold by Chinese owner ByteDance.
Trump has declined to enforce the law while his administration looks for a new owner, but also because he worries a ban on the app would anger TikTok’s huge user base and disrupt political communications. US flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken January 8, 2025. — Reuters
“I like TikTok; it helped get me elected,” Trump said during a press conference on Thursday. “TikTok has tremendous value. The US has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it”.Key questions about the deal remain. It’s not clear the precise ownership structure of the company, how much control China will retain or whether Congress will approve.
The deal would transfer TikTok’s US assets to US owners from ByteDance, Reuters reported. Sources familiar with the deal said US TikTok would still make use of ByteDance’s algorithm.That arrangement worries lawmakers concerned that Beijing could spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app. China has said there is no evidence of a national security threat posed by the app.