US and China Establish 'Framework' Agreement on TikTok Ownership Before Trump's Discussion with Xi

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Key Points

A confirmation of the deal is expected from Trump and Xi during a call on Saturday AEST.
The US treasury secretary emphasized that national security is a primary concern for the US.
China has referred to US security worries as “unilateral bullying” amidst ongoing trade tensions.

Officials from both the US and China have announced reaching a framework agreement to transition TikTok to US-controlled ownership, which will be validated in a discussion between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This potential agreement regarding the widely-used social media platform, boasting 170 million American users, represents an uncommon stride forward in prolonged negotiations between the world’s top two economies, aiming to ease a broad trade dispute that has unsettled global markets.

Following a meeting with Chinese delegates in Madrid, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent mentioned that the impending 17 September deadline, which might have impacted the app’s operations in the US, motivated Chinese negotiators to reach a possible agreement.

What do we know about the TikTok deal?

Bessent said that deadline could be extended by 90 days to allow the deal to be finalised, but declined to discuss specifics of the deal.

He said when commercial terms of the deal are revealed, it will preserve cultural aspects of TikTok that Chinese negotiators care about.

“They focus on the app’s Chinese elements, which they see as a soft power asset. Our main concern isn’t these aspects but national security,” Bessent conveyed to the press after concluding two days of discussions in Madrid.

It is the second time this year that the two sides have said they were nearing a TikTok deal. The earlier announcement in March ultimately did not pan out.

Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 requiring divestiture due to fears that TikTok’s US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, allowing Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.

Nonetheless, the Trump administration has consistently avoided enforcing a shutdown, which could alienate the app’s massive user base and disrupt political dialogue. Trump has acknowledged the app’s role in securing his re-election last year, with his personal account boasting 15 million followers. The White House recently launched an official TikTok account.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent (center) indicated that the US and China have reached an agreement satisfying US interests and security while also being equitable to China. Source: AAP / J.J. Guillen

“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!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Bessent did not say whether parent company ByteDance would transfer control of the app’s underlying technology to the unnamed US buyer. Wang Jingtao, an official at the Chinese cyberspace regulator, said the deal could licence intellectual property rights, including algorithms.

Beyond TikTok, the US has invoked national security reasons to obstruct the transfer of semiconductors and other high-tech products to China, and to prohibit Chinese goods that, according to Washington, could potentially be employed for spying on Americans or gathering intelligence.

China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, told reporters that those concerns amounted to “unilateral bullying”.

“The United States cannot on the one hand ask China to take care of its concerns, and on the other hand continue to suppress Chinese companies,” Li said.

Li said the two sides had reached a “basic framework consensus” on resolving TikTok-related issues — a slight variation from the language used by the US side.

The US-China meeting at the Spanish foreign ministry’s Palacio de Santa Cruz was the fourth round of talks in four months to address strained trade ties as well as TikTok’s divestiture deadline.

Delegations led by Bessent and Chinese vice premier He Lifeng have met in European cities since May to try to resolve a trade war that has seen tit-for-tat tariff hikes and a halt in the flow of rare earths to the United States.