WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over TikTok, which Washington says must pass to US-controlled ownership.
“We have a deal on TikTok, I’ve reached a deal with China, I’m going to speak to President Xi (Jinping) on Friday to confirm everything up,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a state visit to Britain.
The deal was negotiated over two days of talks in Madrid between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
TikTok – which boasts almost two billion global users – is owned by China-based ByteDance.
A US federal law requiring TikTok’s sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump‘s inauguration on Jan 20.
But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause.
In mid-June, Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.
That extension is due to expire on Wednesday.
“We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump told reporters.
He did not specify whether the White House would extend the deadline to allow time to finalise the deal with China.
A US official told US media that Trump had set the deal as a condition for his meeting with President Xi at the APEC gathering in South Korea next month.
According to CNBC, the deal will include new investors as well as existing investors in the platform’s Chinese parent company.
Cloud giant Oracle, which already plays a major role in TikTok’s US infrastructure, will be a key part of the arrangement, sources told CNBC.–AFP
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
