In brief
The US Treasury Secretary confirmed that a framework deal has been reached between the United States and China regarding the ownership of TikTok's operations in America. This agreement aims to facilitate a potential US acquisition of the popular app, with negotiations continuing amid looming deadlines for the Chinese parent company, ByteDance. While both countries have expressed optimism about the deal, concerns persist regarding national security and the future of TikTok's data management.
The US treasury secretary has said Washington reached a 'framework' deal with China on the ownership of TikTok's American operations.
Scott Bessent said the framework was set in trade talks in Madrid to pave the way for US ownership. He added that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would 'complete' the deal on Friday.
Trump said on Truth Social that the talks had 'gone very well', while China confirmed a framework agreement but said no deal would be made at the expense of Chinese companies' interests.
A deadline is looming for the Chinese owner of TikTok to find a buyer for its American operations or face a shutdown and ban in the US.
Bessent announced the 'framework' deal on the second day of negotiations between the US and China aimed at ending a trade war.
He said the threat to shut down the social media site in the US had persuaded Chinese negotiators to drop demands for reduced tariffs as part of any deal to sell TikTok's US arm.
The agreed upon commercial terms would protect US national security interests, he added.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer, part of the US delegation in Madrid, said the deal struck was 'subject to the leaders' approval', but added his team was 'not... in the business of having repetitive [ban] extensions'.
China's top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, said his country would not reach a deal with the US at the expense of its own principles and Chinese companies' interests. Its leadership would review any deal before it was agreed, he added.
On Monday, Bessent said the deal 'completely respects US national security concerns.'
The details were sparse, however, and some experts were skeptical over issues including who will control TikTok's powerful recommendation algorithm.
Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, said it was also unclear if the data of TikTok's American users would be fully stored and encrypted domestically, and whether independent audits would occur to detect backdoor access by Beijing.
Jim Secreto, a former national security official in the Biden administration, said Beijing has control over whether the algorithm will be transferred to a new owner, which is probably why the TikTok deal was folded into broader trade and tariff negotiations.
ByteDance has repeatedly insisted that its US operations are fully independent and no data has been shared with the Chinese government. The company argued that the ban would violate free speech protections for its 170 million US users.
As negotiations continue, the clock is ticking, with a ban on TikTok set to take effect if ownership is not resolved by September 17.
