US, China reach framework agreement on video-sharing app TikTok

The United States and China have reached a framework agreement on short-video sharing app TikTok as part of broader negotiations on tariffs and economic policy that concluded in Madrid, Spain, on September 15, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

The deal would allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, where the app faces being shut down as early as September 17 unless it is owned by a US company.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there could be a short extension for TikTok to finalize the framework agreement.

Earlier, a US official familiar with the negotiations in Madrid on September 15 said the US government was ready to impose a ban on TikTok if China did not drop its demands for tariff reductions and technology restrictions as part of a deal to divest TikTok from its parent company, ByteDance (China).

However, on the same day, Mr. Bessent said the US and China were close to reaching a deal on TikTok when the two sides resumed trade talks in Madrid.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng entered a new round of negotiations on September 14 to narrow differences in trade and technology.

Mr Bessent said the two sides had made good progress on technical details but reaching agreement on other issues would be challenging.

The new talks are expected to last until September 17, which is also the deadline for TikTok to find a new investor or face a ban in the US.

In mid-June 2025, US President Donald Trump gave TikTok another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or it would be banned in the US.

Although Mr. Trump has long advocated a ban or divestment, he has reversed his stance and vowed to protect TikTok, believing that the short-video sharing app, which has nearly 2 billion global users, has helped him win support among young voters in the November 2024 election.

The Madrid talks also touched on Mr Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports. Trade tensions between the US and China escalated earlier this year, with retaliatory tariffs reaching triple digits and disrupting supply chains.

The two countries later agreed to reduce tariffs, with the US imposing a 30% tariff on Chinese imports and China imposing a 10% tariff on US goods, but the temporary trade truce between the two countries is set to expire in November 2025.

The ongoing talks are the fourth round of talks in the past four months between the US and China aimed at resolving trade tensions and a looming deadline for divestment of TikTok.

Experts do not expect much of a breakthrough in negotiations on tariffs and economic policy between the two countries in Madrid.

William Reinsch, a senior trade adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, does not expect anything substantive between the US and China until there is a private meeting between Mr. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/my-trung-quoc-dat-thoa-thuan-khung-ve-ung-dung-chia-se-video-tiktok-post1061985.vnp