It looks like the U.S. and China are getting ready to decide what happens with TikTok. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to speak at 9 a.m. ET, or 9 p.m. in Beijing on Friday about a framework agreement unveiled this week to shift control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd. to a consortium of American investors.
The U.S. government under President Trump has moved forward with a plan to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations. On Sept. 16, the administration formally extended the deadline for a full separation to Dec. 16, after ongoing negotiations.
Details of the deal haven’t been announced, and Trump remained noncommittal in an interview with Fox News airing Thursday, signaling that a lot rides on how Xi responds.
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“It sounds like they’ve approved TikTok, and TikTok is a tremendous amount of money for the United States so that was nice, but we’ll see how that all works,” Trump said.
“We’re very close to deals on all of it,” Trump said, alluding to trade talks as well as TikTok. “And my relationship with China is very good.”
The leaders’ conversation will be their first since June, with the two countries locked in a standoff over trade restrictions ensnaring key industries including semiconductors and rare earths, that includes wrangling over the future of chipmaker Nvidia Corp.’s access to China, currently hampered by U.S. export controls and Chinese efforts to curb local demand for its products.
“If there are any shortcomings and it doesn’t comply, the president has to call the bluff and proceed with the threat to pull TikTok off the market in the U.S. unless and until they can get back within range,” said Steve Yates, a senior research fellow at the Asian Studies Center at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
The ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and China regarding TikTok represent a critical juncture for the popular social media platform’s future in the United States. With President Trump pushing for ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations, the situation highlights the broader tensions between the two global powers over technology, national security, and economic influence.
TikTok, valued for its massive user base and significant revenue potential, has become a focal point in this geopolitical struggle, reflecting concerns about data privacy and foreign control. The upcoming talks between Trump and Xi Jinping will be pivotal in determining whether TikTok can continue operating in the U.S. under new ownership or face a potential ban.
This situation underscores how technological platforms are now deeply intertwined with international diplomacy and trade policy. For TikTok users and investors, the outcome will shape the platform’s accessibility, governance, and business prospects in the U.S., setting a precedent for how foreign tech companies might navigate similar geopolitical challenges in the future.