Trump and Xi advance their TikTok agreement and schedule a meeting in South Korea.
US President Donald Trump announced that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached an agreement on TikTok and will meet in person in South Korea in six weeks to talk about trade, illegal narcotics, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The first meeting between the leaders of the two nations in three months seemed to ease tensions, but it was unclear right away whether the call had produced the anticipated strong consensus regarding the future of the well-known short-video app.
The U.S. president stated that Trump would travel to China early next year and that the leaders did agree to additional discussions on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which begins in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 31. He added that Xi would visit the United States later. According to earlier reports from Reuters, the two parties were organizing such a meeting.
“We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” tweeted President Trump.
“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!” Trump wrote.
One of the obstacles Trump had to overcome to keep TikTok online was Beijing’s final acceptance of a framework agreement the two parties agreed earlier this week. Congress had mandated that if Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t sell the app’s U.S. assets, it would be shut down for U.S. users by January 2025.
China’s statement made no mention of any deal on TikTok specifically, and Trump’s speech did not specify what such progress was.
Trump had hinted at the possibility of a deal several times this week.
“On TikTok, Xi said China’s position is clear: the Chinese government respects the will of firms and welcomes companies to conduct business negotiations on the basis of market rules to reach a solution consistent with Chinese laws and regulations while balancing interests,” according to the Xinhua summary of the meeting.
According to a U.S. official, the phone conversation between Trump and Xi started at 8 a.m. Eastern time (1200 GMT), and shortly about three hours later, China released its initial remarks.
Craig Singleton, a senior scholar at the think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated, “Washington is chasing a TikTok headline and a summit, and hopes, I think, for more wins later, while Beijing is banking on optics and time.” “I think the Chinese are very happy with the current dynamic.”
A request for comment from the White House was not answered.
Concerns about national security
While his government searches for a new owner, Trump has refused to implement the TikTok rule. He reportedly has concerns that a ban on the app will enrage TikTok’s massive user base and interfere with political discussions.
“I like TikTok; it helped get me elected,” Trump stated Thursday at a news conference. “TikTok is incredibly valuable. Because we must authorize it, the United States is in possession of that value.