Look, I’m not saying that TikTok is likely to be banned in the U.S. later this month, but…
While reports just before Christmas suggested that a TikTok U.S. deal had been signed, ensuring that the app would remain in operation in America, with a local version of the platform to be sold into U.S. ownership, the statements from Chinese officials on any deal sound a lot less definitive, and a lot more like there are things to to be finalized before any such deal might go into effect.
As a quick recap, on December 18th, reports circulated that after almost a year of negotiations, TikTok’s management had informed its U.S. staff that a deal had been signed, and that TikTok’s American operations would continue on, after being sold to an Oracle-led consortium that would oversee its operation within the U.S.
TikTok was technically banned in the U.S. as of January 19th, 2025, as part of the Senate-approved “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.” But upon his inauguration as President on January 20th, President Trump issued an Executive Order to withhold enforcement of the bill, in order to give his team an opportunity to potentially re-negotiate the details.
Trump has since issued four further Executive Orders to pause the act, and in September, Trump and his team held a news conference to announce that they had “saved” TikTok in the U.S., by presenting a viable offer to Chinese officials to secure the sell-off of the platform’s local operations.
But Chinese officials said nothing, and in December, it still seemed like no deal was pending, despite the White House’s assurances.
But then, as noted, just before Christmas, there was seemingly a breakthrough, with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sending an email to staff notifying them of the deal, which will come into effect on January 22nd, 2026, a day before the expiry of President Trump’s fourth Executive Order to withhold enforcement of the bill.
So, all good, right? TikTok negotiates a sell-off to a U.S. entity, meeting the requirements of the act, and TikTok remain in operation for its millions of American users.
Well…
Chinese state media issued a statement on the reported deal on December 25th, which sounds a lot less assured than previous reports.
As reported by China Daily:
“The Chinese government hopes that relevant parties can reach a solution regarding TikTok that complies with Chinese laws and regulations and achieves a balance of interests.”
So, not exactly a done deal then.
“To implement the important consensus reached during the phone call between the heads of state of China and the United States, the economic and trade teams of both sides previously reached a basic framework consensus on properly resolving issues such as TikTok through cooperation, based on mutual respect and equal consultation, the [Chinese government] spokesperson said.”
The spokesperson further “expressed hope” that the U.S. negotiators will “earnestly fulfill” their commitments, as expressed in their negotiations.
“The spokesperson also urged the U.S. to provide a fair, open, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for the continuous and stable operation of Chinese enterprises in the United States, so as to promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.”
So, it sounds like the Chinese government is still not happy about being forced to sell off a Chinese business at the discretion of the U.S. government, and is seeking more assurances that this won’t happen again.
Which could mean that a TikTok deal is going ahead, however TikTok owner ByteDance hasn’t issued any official statement, and the notes from the Chinese government above sound like they’re still weighing the details, and seeking further assurances, before giving the go-ahead.
So, while it had seemed like we had reached the end of the long-running TikTok-U.S. saga, which has really being going on since Trump issued an initial Executive Order to ban TikTok back in 2020 (partly in retaliation for the spread of COVID), we may still see yet another extension, or even a ban of the app, when it’s latest extension is up on the 23rd of this month.
I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but reading the official statements, I’d be less confident about the deal going through than others.
