U.S. and Chinese officials have reached a preliminary framework to shift TikTok’s ownership to U.S. control, a development that could be confirmed during a Friday call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The agreement emerged after two days of intense negotiations in Madrid. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the looming September 17 deadline, which could have forced TikTok to halt operations in the U.S., pushed China to consider a deal.
“They’re interested in Chinese characteristics of the app, which they think are soft power. We don’t care about Chinese characteristics. We care about national security,” Bessent told reporters.
This is the fourth round of high-stakes talks in four months aimed at resolving a string of trade disputes alongside the social media divestiture. Delegations, led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, have met in multiple European cities since May, navigating a tense trade environment defined by tariff escalations and the halting of rare earth exports to the U.S.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described the TikTok agreement as a demonstration of good faith. “It’s no secret that there are serious issues on trade, economics, and national security between the United States and China. To be able to come, sit down, quickly identify the issues, narrow them down to a very granular spot, and be able to come to a conclusion, subject to the leaders’ approval, I mean, that is remarkable,” Greer said.
Bessent acknowledged that China made what he called “very aggressive asks” in trade and technology concessions in exchange for the divestiture. He stressed that national security would not be compromised for a social media platform.
The talks coincided with Washington urging allies to impose tariffs on Chinese imports over Beijing’s purchase of Russian oil, which China denounced as coercion.
Separately, Beijing announced a preliminary probe into U.S. chipmaker Nvidia for alleged anti-competitive practices, widely interpreted as retaliation for U.S. restrictions on China’s semiconductor sector. Bessent called the timing “poor.”
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been under pressure since January, when the app faced a potential U.S. ban under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
Trump extended the divestiture deadline multiple times. It’s not yet known if this latest announcement will satisfy the law or whether Congress will weigh in.
Trump took to Truth Social to signal optimism about the outcome. “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!”
Negotiators from both sides stopped short of disclosing whether ByteDance would transfer control of TikTok’s underlying technology. Chinese officials indicated that the deal could include licensing intellectual property, including the app’s algorithm, to a U.S. entity.
The Madrid talks are a critical juncture for U.S.-China relations. While TikTok dominates social media culture, the discussions are embedded within concerns over national security, trade, and technology access.
