Trump says China approves TikTok operation after meeting with Xi
The Beijing government hints that it supports the agreement, although it also says that the negotiation is not closed.
WashingtonUS President Donald Trump said Friday, after a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, that he "approves" the agreement on the sale of TikTok to disassociate the company from its Chinese parent company ByteDance so that it can continue operating in the US. Hours after Chinese state media had already published the news of the call, the American has valued it on Truth Social, and said in an enigmatic tone: "I appreciate TikTok's approval."
For its part, Chinese state media reproduced Xi's version, in which he reaffirmed legal authority over the platform and apparently supported the negotiations. "The Chinese government respects corporate will and welcomes companies to conduct business negotiations based on market rules to reach a solution consistent with Chinese laws and regulations, and with a balance of interests," Xi said, according to the summary of the meeting in Xinhua. The message, which apparently supports the operation, also implies that there is no closed agreement yet.
Earlier this week, following talks in Madrid between the Chinese and US delegations, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that a framework had been agreed upon for TikTok's disassociation from ByteDance in order to continue operating in the US.
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According to Chinese media reports, the Chinese president also warned Washington against "eroding" the truce achieved during the various rounds of negotiations. "The US side should avoid unilateral trade restrictions that could undermine the results achieved after multiple rounds of talks," the Asian leader said. In fact, as Bessent explained, the reason China would have agreed to divest from TikTok is in exchange for trade concessions. The Treasury Secretary advanced that the agreement would be between "two private parties" and would transfer the social app to US ownership.
