So what’s going on with that TikTok-U.S. deal that President Trump approved but China didn’t, or hasn’t as yet?
Well, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, it’s still all good, and TikTok will be sold into U.S. ownership well ahead of the latest extended deadline for the enforcement of the Senate-approved Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
Which is up on December 16th, based on President Trump’s fourth executive order to withhold enforcement of the bill.
As Bessent explained in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” over the weekend, U.S. and Chinese negotiators reached an agreement after meeting up in Madrid recently, and the details, as to his understanding, have now been firmly established, paving a way forward for the sell-off.
As per Bessent:
“I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction on Thursday in Korea.”
Bessent says that he is confident that he has been able to negotiate a passage for the deal with Chinese officials, though he did also note that this was only finalized in recent days. Which makes Trump’s announcement that he was signing off on the deal last month an even more unusual spectacle.
Because of course Trump would approve his team’s proposed deal, which is irrelevant if Chinese officials don’t agree. So announcing that the deal is done, without Chinese government sign-off, is just announcing that you agree with your negotiating team in what to present to Chinese regulators.
But semantics aside, it seems like the TikTok sell-off deal will go ahead, if Bessent is right in believing that Chinese officials have now agreed to the White House’s proposed framework.
Which, I would clarify, is not guaranteed. Even Bessent’s explanation here suggests that a level of uncertainty remains, so U.S. negotiators can’t really, officially confirm that a deal will go through just yet.
And on the Chinese side, things sound less certain.
Following the latest tariffs imposed by the U.S. on China-based trade earlier this month, Chinese officials have criticized America’s approach, suggesting that U.S. trade strategies are more about protectionism than open exchange.
As reported by China Daily:
“In spite of the national treatment concept fervently promoted by the U.S. (and other Western economies), the U.S. administration tends to view any successful Chinese business as a ‘national security threat.’”
Chinese officials suggest that this approach is “just an excuse for the U.S. to impose protectionist tariffs on Chinese goods in the face of China's highly competitive economy.”
In line with this, reports have also suggested that in order for a TikTok deal to be approved, Chinese officials will push for a similarly expansive arrangement that goes beyond direct trade. That, potentially, could see the CCP calling on Trump to support China’s ownership claim over Taiwan, which the U.S. has long opposed, in support of Taiwan’s independence.
With these considerations in mind, it’s not clear that any TikTok deal will be approved, as China is clearly opposed to a forced sell-off, and is not as open to a straight-up deal as U.S. officials suggest.
Though there are suggestions that TikTok is already gearing up for a change in approach, in line with the Trump administration’s preferences.
The platform recently updated its data sharing policies, which could potentially clear the way for TikTok to share U.S. user data with officials for investigative purposes. That could enable government officials from, say, ICE to use TikTok information to track down illegal immigrants, among other applications.
Maybe that’s the first step towards alignment with the Trump team, and the Trump-appointed administrators of the app. Which might also, eventually, see a lot more political content in your TikTok U.S. feed.
Either way, we’re clearly not over the line just yet, though we should find out later this week if the deal will go through, and what Chinese officials will expect in return for such.
