US, China reach deal for TikTok-amtomessage

webadmin

2025-09-16

US, China reach deal for TikTok

The US and China have agreed to a framework for a deal for TikTok. On Monday, President Trump alluded to the deal via a post on Truth Social, saying that the countries had reached an agreement for a “‘certain’ company that young people our Country very much wanted to be saved.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the countries had the makings of a final deal, according to Reuters, saying Chinese negotiators wanted to keep Chinese aspects of the app that they see as soft power.

TikTok is set to go offline Sept. 17 unless parent company ByteDance divests itself of majority ownership of the social media app or Trump extends the deadline. He’s already given the app a number of lifelines by extending its drop-dead date and has refused to enforce a law banning it.

TikTok's headquarters in Culver City, Calif. (Reuters/Daniel Cole) — TikTok’s headquarters in Culver City, Calif. (Reuters/Daniel Cole) · Reuters / Reuters

Trump initially raised concerns about TikTok during his first administration, moving to kill the app on national security grounds. The government claims that Chinese officials could use the service to spread propaganda or otherwise manipulate users in the US.

Former President Joe Biden carried on with the effort during his administration, eventually getting Congress to pass bipartisan legislation banning the app.

But as Trump saw his popularity on the app rise, he flip-flopped and began pushing back on a ban. TikTok briefly went offline as Biden left office in January and Trump was sworn in, though it quickly came back online.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that a number of deep-pocketed parties are interested in buying the app. Oracle (ORCL) is the current frontrunner in the contest. The company’s stock price rose more than 3% on the report. According to the original law banning the app, TikTok’s Chinese parent company would be able to own only 20% of the social media platform.

TikTok, like Nvidia (NVDA), has become a political volleyball in the ongoing US-Chinese trade negotiations, which are taking place in Europe.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet on Friday to discuss the status of the countries’ trade agreement and TikTok.