President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have made progress on a TikTok agreement, the US leader says, and will meet face-to-face in six weeks in South Korea to discuss trade, illicit drugs and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The two sides appeared to lower tensions during the first call in three months between the leaders of the two superpowers, but it was not immediately clear that the call had yielded the firm agreement that had been expected over the fate of the popular short-video app.
The leaders on Friday did agree to further talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum that starts on October 31 in Gyeongju, South Korea.
Trump also said he would visit China in early 2026 and that Xi would go to the US at a later date.
“He approved the TikTok deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding there could remain a formal signing of the agreement.
“The TikTok deal is well on its way.”
Trump also suggested positive movement on trade, fentanyl and the Russia-Ukraine war during the call, which lasted about two hours.
“I believe he would like to see it ended,” Trump said of Xi’s view of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Beijing’s final approval of a framework deal reached earlier this week is one of the hurdles Trump needed to clear to keep TikTok open.
Congress had ordered the app shut down for US users by January 2025 if its US assets were not sold by Chinese owner ByteDance.
China’s statement made no reference to a formal agreement on TikTok.
Trump had signalled multiple times that a deal might be forthcoming.
“China’s position on the TikTok issue is clear: the Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question,” the government said in a statement that called for non-discriminatory treatment of its companies.
“The US will work with China on the economy and trade, and support their teams in reaching a proper deal on TikTok through consultation.”
Trump has declined to enforce the TikTok law while his administration looks for a new owner, but also because he worries a ban on the app would anger TikTok’s huge user base and disrupt political communications.
Key questions about the deal remain, including the precise ownership structure of the company, how much control China will retain over the app’s inner workings, what concessions Trump will demand from the parties involved or whether Congress will approve.
“It’s all being worked out,” Trump said, responding to a question over whether the United States or China would have control over the app’s algorithm.
“We’re going to have very tight control.”
Trump also floated the possibility that the US government might take a fee for helping broker a deal to keep TikTok online.
The deal would transfer TikTok’s US assets to US owners from ByteDance.
Sources familiar with the deal said US TikTok would still make use of ByteDance’s algorithm.
That arrangement worries lawmakers who think Beijing could spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.
China has said there is no evidence of a threat posed by the app.
Since retaking office in January, Trump has sharply hiked tariffs and singled out China’s export-oriented economy with especially punitive rates, prompting China to respond in kind.
A succession of limited agreements since May paused the tit-for-tat tariff war between the countries.
Other key issues include US demands that China crack down on the export of fentanyl-related chemicals, a cause of US overdose deaths.
Beijing has accused Washington of distorting the issue.