A framework deal has been reached for the ownership of the social video platform TikTok, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announced after trade talks between Washington and Beijing held over the weekend in Spain, the Associated Press reported.
At a press conference in Madrid, Besant said that US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping would meet on Friday to discuss and possibly finalize the deal. He said the aim of the framework agreement was to transfer the platform to American ownership.
The minister said he would not comment on the commercial terms of the deal, as it was a matter between two private companies. Chinese officials were not present at the press conference and did not confirm the information.
Besant added, quoted by Reuters, that Wednesday's deadline, which could have excluded the app from the US market, had put pressure on Chinese negotiators to reach a potential deal. He said that deadline could be extended by 90 days to finalize the agreement.
The Madrid meeting was the fourth round of trade talks between the world's two largest economies, which began after the US imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in April. The two sides are also discussing the possibility of a summit between Trump and Xi, but no final decision has been made yet, BTA reports.
During the administration of former President Joe Biden, Congress and the White House passed a ban on TikTok on national security grounds unless parent company ByteDance sold a controlling stake. Trump has repeatedly extended the ban, with the current extension expiring on Sept. 17, two days before his planned call with Xi.
TikTok was created in 2016 by ByteDance as an international version of the Chinese platform Douyin. After acquiring the app Musical.ly and merging it with TikTok, the platform quickly gained popularity in the US and Europe.
The app has reached a peak of popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, with competitors like Instagram and YouTube launching their own versions of short-form videos, called Reels and Shorts. But along with its success, U.S. officials have raised concerns about China's data access laws and the algorithm that determines what content is shown to users.
Besant also told reporters that"in about a month there will be new trade talks, in a different place." The latest round of talks follows Besant's previous talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifen, held in London in June and in Geneva in May.
The head of the Ministry of Finance noted that"it remains to be seen" whether a trade agreement with China can be reached before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Republic of Korea.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that negotiators were"very focused on TikTok and making sure that the deal is fair to the Chinese side and fully respects US national security concerns, which has certainly been achieved."
