On Tuesday, September 16th, President Trump announced that the United States and China have reached an agreement allowing the Chinese short-video app TikTok to continue operating in the United States. Additionally, its U.S. assets would be transferred from the Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to American owners.
This signifies a breakthrough in the months-long negotiations between the U.S. and China, and the TikTok deal could be a turning point. President Trump and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to have a call on Friday, September 19th, to finalize the agreement.
President Trump stated on Tuesday, “We have reached an agreement on TikTok… We have some very big companies wanting to buy it.” However, he did not disclose the specifics of the transaction.
Any acquisition deal related to TikTok will need approval from the Republican-controlled Congress. Concerns over the possibility of the Chinese government accessing TikTok’s U.S. user data for surveillance or influence operations led to the passage of a law during the Biden administration in 2024, requiring the divestiture of TikTok assets.
TikTok boasts 170 million users in the United States, equivalent to half of the U.S. population.
President Trump mentioned that TikTok helped him garner support from young voters in the 2024 election and his personal TikTok account has 15 million followers. The White House launched an official TikTok account in August.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on Tuesday that the commercial terms between ByteDance and the new investors had been essentially agreed upon since March or April.
As early as the spring of this year, plans were being made for a deal to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations and establish a new company majority-owned and operated by American investors. However, after President Trump announced high tariffs on Chinese goods in April, Beijing indicated it would not approve the deal, leading to its suspension.
Bessent stated that President Trump’s message of either sell or shut down TikTok became a “key turning point” in reaching an agreement framework between the U.S. and China during trade talks in Madrid.
In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Bessent said, “President Trump made it very clear that he was willing to shut down TikTok, and we would never abandon national security for the sake of this deal.”
He added, “We have reached a series of agreements, primarily about what we will not do in the future, which will not affect our national security.”
CNBC reported on Tuesday that the deal is expected to be completed within the next 30 to 45 days and will include existing and new investors of ByteDance.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, still needs to consider divesting its U.S. operations by the deadline of September 17th, or face closure in the U.S.
The Trump administration has not officially extended this deadline. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated on Monday, September 15th, that finalizing and signing the agreement may require more time.
CBS reported on Monday citing sources that Oracle is one of the “several companies” involved in this potential deal.
In recent months, several potential American buyers mentioned by Trump include Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a startup founded by the creator of OnlyFans, and multiple bidders including Amazon have shown interest in acquiring TikTok. Analysts estimate TikTok’s valuation could reach as high as $50 billion.