US And China Reach Agreement On TikTok
- 15.09.2025, 21:54
The fate of the social network was discussed personally by Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
The US and China said they have reached a framework agreement to bring social network TikTok under US control. The agreement will be confirmed during a Friday phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Si Jinping, writes Reuters.
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the September 17 deadline for the app to operate in the US prompted China to go ahead with the deal. That deadline could be extended by 90 days to finalize it, he said.
Bessent said the social network will retain the cultural aspects of TikTok that the Chinese side cares about. "They are interested in the Chinese specificity of the app.... We don't care about Chinese specificity. We care about national security," Bessent told reporters after the conclusion of two days of talks in Madrid.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier wrote on his Truth Social media page that a major trade meeting in Europe between the U.S. and China had gone "very well." "An agreement was reached on a 'certain' company that the youth of our country were very eager to save. They will be very pleased! I will be talking to President Xi [Jinping] on Friday. Our relationship remains very strong!" - the Republican wrote.
American authorities have long tried to ban TikTok in the country because of the Chinese company's ownership. Washington wants ByteDance to sell the U.S. division to U.S. owners, as authorities consider the collection of data on TikTok users in the States a threat to national security. The company has promised it will not hand them over to the Chinese government, even if Beijing demands it. At the same time, Chinese authorities considered banning the social network in the US preferable to a forced sale of the business.
In January 2025, US President Donald Trump demanded that ByteDance sell TikTok's US assets. Otherwise, the service was to be blocked in the US. TikTok restricted access for US users and was removed from app stores.
In April, TikTok's US deadline was extended for another 75 days to finalize the deal with ByteDance. However, the U.S. divestiture deal was put on hold after China did not give approval for its completion. On June 19, President Trump again signed an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok to operate in the U.S. - this time until September 17, 2025.
In July, Reuters reported that TikTok would launch a separate app for U.S. users, which would have to be powered by an independent algorithm and data system. But TikTok later denied that it was creating a separate U.S. app.