Trump Claims Xi Jinping Agrees to Approve TikTok Deal, But Key Details Remain Elusive
In a surprise development, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed to approve a deal for social media platform TikTok, but key details about the agreement remain unclear. According to Trump, the preliminary agreement was reached in their first direct contact since June.
The proposed deal would see TikTok transferred to US control, with investors such as Oracle set to take a significant stake in its operations. However, Trump offered no details about the agreement or when it would be signed. "He approved the TikTok deal," Trump said about Xi Jinping to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting that the leaders had signed off on a preliminary agreement.
The statement suggests a significant breakthrough in trade negotiations between the two countries, which have been tense over the app's ownership. The deal has been months in the making, with several US companies vying for control of TikTok's operations. Oracle, a leading cloud computing company, is reportedly set to take a major stake in the platform.
According to sources close to the negotiations, the proposed deal would involve a significant transfer of ownership and control from Chinese parent company ByteDance to US investors. However, the exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, and it is not known what concessions were made by either side.
The development comes as a surprise to many observers, who had expected a more contentious outcome in the negotiations. "This is a significant breakthrough, but we need to see the details," said one expert on US-China trade relations. "We don't know what kind of concessions were made or what kind of control the US will have over TikTok's operations."
The deal has been seen as a key test of the US-China trade relationship, which has been strained in recent months. The Trump administration has been pushing for greater control over Chinese companies operating in the US market, citing national security concerns.
In June, the US government announced plans to ban TikTok from app stores unless it was sold to an American company. ByteDance subsequently agreed to sell a majority stake in TikTok's operations to Oracle and Walmart, but the deal has been held up by regulatory approvals.
The current status of the deal is unclear, with no official announcement from either side on when or if the agreement will be signed. However, Trump's statement suggests that some kind of preliminary agreement has been reached, which could pave the way for a final deal in the coming weeks.
As one observer noted, "This is just the beginning of a long and complex process. We need to see the details before we can say whether this is a genuine breakthrough or just another step in the negotiations."
This story was compiled from reports by The Guardian and The Guardian.
