Washington and Beijing have reached a “framework” agreement on the future of TikTok’s US operations, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bassant.
Bassant said the framework was hammered out in Madrid during trade talks to pave the way for American ownership of the social media giant’s US arm. He added that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to finalise the deal on Friday.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the negotiations “went very well.” China confirmed the framework but stressed it would not agree to any deal that sacrifices the interests of Chinese companies.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, faces a fast-approaching deadline to either sell its US operations or face a shutdown and ban in the United States.
Bassant announced the framework on the second day of US-China trade talks aimed at easing the trade war. He said the threat of shutting down TikTok in the US helped push Chinese negotiators to drop demands for tariff cuts as part of any sale. He added that reaching consensus on trade terms would protect US national security interests.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who is part of the delegation in Madrid, said the deal still requires “leaders’ approval” but added his team “is not in the business of granting repeated extensions.”
China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, said Beijing will not strike a deal at the expense of its principles or Chinese companies’ interests. He noted the country’s leadership will review any agreement before signing off.
In January, the US Supreme Court upheld an April 2024 law banning TikTok unless ByteDance sells its US division. The Justice Department has argued that TikTok’s access to American users’ data poses a national security threat.
ByteDance has repeatedly denied those claims, insisting its US operations are completely independent and that it does not share data with the Chinese government. The company argues the ban would violate free speech rights for its 170 million American users.
After the law took effect in January, TikTok briefly went dark for a day before Trump intervened to delay enforcement for 75 days. The sale deadline has since been extended three times, with the latest delay set to expire on September 17.
Potential buyers have included high-profile figures like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, YouTube creator MrBeast, and billionaire investor Frank McCourt.
