The US and China reach a framework agreement on TikTok, with US ownership and control?

On September 15, US officials announced that the administration of President Donald Trump and China had reached an agreement allowing TikTok to continue operating in the United States.

TikTok has approximately 170 million users in the US, the majority of whom are young people - Illustration: REUTERS

According to CNN, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Beijing have reached a framework agreement. US President Donald Trump will have a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 19 to finalize the agreement.

"President Trump played a crucial role in this. We had a call with him last night, received specific instructions from him, and shared them with our Chinese counterparts. Without his leadership and the leverage he provided, we would not have been able to reach this agreement today," Bessent stated in Madrid, Spain, on September 15th.

Mr. Bessent said that TikTok would "transfer to U.S.-controlled ownership" under the framework agreement.

The Trump administration has not named the American buyer. But in January, Trump said he would support Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison's acquisition of TikTok in the US.

US and Chinese diplomats met in Spain this week to discuss trade and other issues. Bessent, who led the US delegation, said TikTok was one of the topics discussed.

"We focused heavily on TikTok, ensuring that this was a fair deal for China and fully respected U.S. national security concerns. And that is the deal we reached. We also wanted to ensure that China had a fair investment environment in the U.S. But U.S. national security is always our top priority," Bessent said on September 15.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance (China) have not responded to requests for comment on the deal.

Trump has repeatedly extended the deadline to reach an agreement with China on selling at least part of ByteDance's TikTok business in the US to a Washington-backed owner.

Reuters noted that this is the second time this year the two sides have indicated they are close to reaching a formal agreement on TikTok. The previous announcement was made in March, but ultimately did not materialize.

It remains unclear whether parent company ByteDance will transfer control of TikTok's core technology to the US buyer. Details about the aforementioned framework agreement are currently scarce.

Any agreement would likely also require approval from the U.S. Congress , which is currently controlled by the Republican Party.

In 2024, the US Congress passed a bill requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok due to concerns that TikTok user data in the US could be accessed by the Chinese government , allowing Beijing to spy on American citizens or conduct influence campaigns through TikTok.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/my-va-trung-quoc-dat-thoa-thuan-khung-ve-tiktok-quyen-so-huu-my-kiem-soat-20250915225216973.htm