US and China Agree on Preliminary Deal for TikTok Ownership Transfer

According to Rokna, citing The Guardianm 

Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, announced Monday that Washington and Beijing have reached a preliminary understanding regarding TikTok’s transition to US oversight.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking after high-level discussions with Chinese officials in Madrid, confirmed that an agreement is in place but declined to disclose the commercial terms. “We have a framework for a TikTok deal,” Bessent said, adding that while the Chinese team presented aggressive requests during negotiations, the commercial terms have been finalized between the private parties.

Li Chenggang, China’s chief trade negotiator, later confirmed that both sides had agreed on a basic framework for addressing TikTok-related issues through cooperation, reducing investment barriers, and promoting trade. He emphasized that friction between the two economic powers is normal but warned against continued suppression of Chinese companies by the US.

This preliminary deal represents a breakthrough in the long-running dispute over TikTok’s ownership, which has raised US national security concerns regarding the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. In April 2024, US legislation gave ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok to a US-approved buyer or face a complete ban—a deadline extended repeatedly by President Donald Trump.

TikTok has over 135 million active users in the US, including an official account launched by the White House. Security concerns have centered on potential Chinese influence campaigns, mass data collection on American users, and vulnerabilities that could compromise devices.

The TikTok saga dates back to 2020 when Trump initially ordered ByteDance to divest the app or face a shutdown. Various acquisition attempts by Microsoft, Walmart, and Oracle were explored but ultimately stalled due to regulatory and security reviews. Oracle has remained the US cloud provider for TikTok since 2022 to address these concerns.

Bessent indicated that the final details will be settled when Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Trump has suggested that the deal was already in progress, posting that young Americans would be pleased with the resolution. Greer confirmed that the framework now awaits approval from both leaders.