TikTok โDeal Nears โฃApproval After Trump-Xi Conversation
Washington D.C. – President Donald Trump revealedโฃ Saturdayโค that Chinese President Xi Jinping has “approved” the sale ofโฃ TikTok’s U.S. operations to American investors, though he acknowledged further negotiations are needed to finalize the agreement.
“I just had a talk โขwith President โขXi and, as everyone knows, he has approvedโฃ the TikTok deal,” Trump โขtold reporters at theโข white Houseโข following a conversation with โthe Chinese leader. “We’re now operating, and weโ hope to close this deal soon.”
Both the U.S.and China haveโฃ indicated that additional work remains to iron out the final details of the proposed deal with โByteDance,TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement โคthat โdid not confirm final approval, but emphasized a desire for fair treatment.
“China’s position on the TikTok issueโ is clear. The Chinese government respects the needs of relevant companies and is willingโ to โขsee creativeโ trade negotiations, in accordance with โmarket rules, leading โขto solutions that are consistent with Chinese laws and regulations and considerโ the interests โฃof both parties,” the Ministry stated. โ”The United States โneeds to provide an open,fair,and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese investors.”
the conversation between trump โand Xi occurred just days after U.S. andโข Chinese negotiators announced an agreementโ for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. business to American buyers. Trumpโ hadโค previously floatedโข the idea โof a “special fee” associated withโข the deal,โฃ but details of the fee structure – including the potential government share โ- remain unclear. He also denied Friday reports that the U.S.would receive a seat on the new business’s board.
The valuation of TikTok’s U.S. โoperations is estimated to be between $35 billion andโ $40 billion, though tech valuations areโ subject to rapid โchange, particularly with the current boom in artificial intelligence.
To allowโ moreโข timeโ to finalize the โขsale,โ Trump has extendedโข theโข deadline for ByteDance to divest its U.S. investment for another three months, until December โฃ16th. This marks โthe fourth extension granted since the President initially raised โconcerns about theโ app.
Democratic Representative Richardโ Blumenthal expressed โขcaution, stating, “Congress should investigate this agreement to ensure that ByteDance, which โhas its headquarters inโค Beijing, will not be able โขto control orโฃ influence algorithms, โคrecommend โคcontent, โor โคTikTok users’ information.”
Notably, in โฃAugust, the White house itself began using TikTok,โ and Trump stated atโ the time that national โsecurity concerns regarding the app had been โ”exaggerated.”
