Trump announces TikTok deal, surprise China visit ‘early next year’ after call with Xi

“I also agreed with President Xi that we would meet at the APEC Summit in South Korea, that I would go to China in the early part of next year, and that President Xi would, likewise, come to the United States at an appropriate time. The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!” he said.

Earlier, a US official had said the call began at 8 a.m. Eastern time (1200 GMT) and also covered trade. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV confirmed the conversation but did not provide details.

TikTok saga

Congress has ordered TikTok to shut down for US users by January 2025 unless its American assets are sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Trump has not enforced the shutdown, saying he wants time for a sale and does not want to anger the app’s large US audience.

“I like TikTok; it helped get me elected,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “TikTok has tremendous value. The United States has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it.”

Sources told Reuters that a draft deal would transfer TikTok’s US assets to American owners but still allow the company to use ByteDance’s algorithm. That possibility has raised concern among lawmakers that China could retain influence over the platform. Beijing has said there is no evidence TikTok poses a national security threat.

Trump said on Thursday that broader trade talks with China were also progressing. “We’re pretty close to a deal,” he said. “We may do an extension with China, but it’s an extension based on the same terms that we have right now, which are pretty good terms.”

Washington is pressing Beijing to increase purchases of US farm products and aircraft, while also demanding action against fentanyl-related chemicals. At the same time, both sides remain divided on technology, with the US limiting China’s access to semiconductors and other advanced equipment.

Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Reuters: “China’s effective use of sticks (rare earths) and carrots (TikTok) has turned things heavily in their favour.”

Despite tariffs reaching historic highs under Trump, China remains the US’ third-largest trading partner and the source of its biggest goods trade deficit, Reuters reported.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said the leaders’ conversation was important for stability. “Heads-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations,” said spokesperson Liu Pengyu.