U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have made progress on a TikTok agreement and will meet in person in six weeks in South Korea. The two leaders will discuss trade, illicit drugs, and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The first call between the two superpowers in three months appeared to de-escalate tensions, but it’s not yet clear if a firm agreement on the popular short-video app’s fate has been finalized.
The leaders did agree to have further discussions on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which is set to begin on October 31 in Gyeongju, South Korea. Trump also announced that he would visit China early next year, and Xi would visit the U.S. at a later time. “He approved the TikTok deal,” Trump told reporters, adding that a formal signing of the agreement may still be required. “The TikTok deal is well on its way.” Trump also suggested that the two-hour call saw positive movement on trade, fentanyl, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
A deadline for TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app’s U.S. assets has passed. Congress had ordered the app to be shut down for U.S. users by January 2025 if its U.S. assets weren’t sold. However, Trump has chosen not to enforce the law while his administration seeks a new owner, partly due to concerns that banning the app would anger its large user base and disrupt political communication. Key questions about the deal remain, including the precise ownership structure, how much control China will retain over the app’s internal workings, and whether Congress will approve the deal.
