New Hope for TikTok: China, US Move Closer to Agreement After Trump–Xi Meeting
TikTok: Hopes for reconciliation between China and the US over the TikTok deal have increased. Following the meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Busan, China stated that it will work with the US to resolve issues related to TikTok.
New hope has once again emerged between China and the US regarding the TikTok dispute. After the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan on Thursday, both countries showed progress on several key issues. China has approved the transfer agreement of the short video app TikTok. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said they are still hopeful that the deal will move forward in the coming weeks and lead to a resolution. In this deal, the US operations of TikTok will be sold to a group of US and global investors.
President Donald Trump had signed the sale plan in an attempt to meet national security requirements and declared that the algorithms would be monitored by the US company. Chinese-based ByteDance will hold less than a 20% stake in this new entity. It will be able to nominate one of the seven board members.
Following the meeting, China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement stating that China will properly resolve issues related to TikTok with the US. However, the ministry did not clarify what decision has been reached regarding the future of TikTok's US unit. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant recently stated that the two countries are close to a definitive deal regarding TikTok's ownership. The Trump administration has long sought to ensure that TikTok's US operations are controlled by American investors to reduce national security risks.
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The US Congress has already passed a law that could ban TikTok in the US if it does not divest its ownership stake from the Chinese company ByteDance. Trump halted the TikTok ban process after becoming president, hoping to find a solution that would allow the app to remain in the US while upholding data security standards.
The core issue behind the TikTok controversy is data and algorithm control. China maintains that TikTok's recommendation algorithm will remain under its control under Chinese law. The US demands that the app be fully owned by the US to prevent data leaks or espionage. Analyst Bonnie Glaser, Indo-Pacific Program Director at the German Marshall Fund, says the issue isn't a major issue for President Xi Jinping, but she sees no harm in letting Trump take credit for the deal. She said the question is whether the deal complies with US law and ensures the security of American citizens' data.
TikTok's popularity is steadily increasing. According to a Pew Research Center report, 43% of adults under the age of 30 in the US regularly access news from TikTok, more than any other social media platform. However, opinions on the TikTok ban in the US are divided. Surveys show about a third of Americans support a ban on the app, while an equal number oppose it.
For now, the new round of talks between the two countries raises hope for TikTok's future. Experts believe that if this deal is finalized, it could be a major step toward cooling the China-US technology war.
