On September 19, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping broke a three-month silence with a phone call that, while heavy on symbolism, left the fate of TikTok and the broader U.S.-China relationship hanging in the balance. The conversation, which both sides described as positive, marks a tentative thaw in a relationship that many experts have likened to the frostiest days of the Cold War.
Trump, never shy about touting his accomplishments, quickly took to Truth Social after the call, declaring, "It was a very good call … appreciate the TikTok approval." Yet, as reported by Reuters and Xinhua, the Chinese government’s summary was far more reserved. Xi Jinping, according to Beijing’s official account, reiterated that China respects the will of companies and supports negotiations based on market rules and Chinese law. There was no mention of a final deal or a clear green light for the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations.
This ambiguity has not surprised those who follow the intricate dance between the world’s two largest economies. Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al Jazeera, “Trump is the type of person who often announces frameworks or deals to have deals or a deal that still has a lot of details to be worked out, and this seems to be another example of that.” Indeed, the specifics of TikTok’s future in the U.S.—an app with a staggering 170 million American users—remain as murky as ever.
The heart of the matter is not just TikTok’s ownership, but its prized recommendation algorithm. As The Wall Street Journal and Axios have reported, the algorithm is considered the “crown jewel” of TikTok, the engine that drives its addictive content and, some say, its power to influence. Georgetown University’s Robert Rogowsky explained, “The value of TikTok is the algorithm which selects for us what we want to see, but in a way that is remarkably controlling … when that is under the control of a political party or groups [aligned with one], gives them tremendous power to influence.”
Trump, pressed by reporters in the Oval Office on whether the deal was truly done, was characteristically confident but noncommittal: "I think so," he said. "It's all being worked out. We're going to have very good control." ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, issued a statement thanking both leaders for their efforts and promising to work within the law to keep TikTok available to American users.
Behind the scenes, the outlines of a possible deal have been circulating. Reports suggest that a new U.S.-controlled entity—80% owned by American investors and with a U.S. government-designated board member—is being tested, with a new algorithm licensed from ByteDance. But as of now, nothing is final. Trump has, for the fourth time, extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok operations, pushing the ban threat to mid-December.
For Beijing, TikTok has shifted from being a red line to a bargaining chip. As The New York Times observed, Chinese officials once denounced U.S. demands to force a sale as “daylight robbery,” but now state media are framing the negotiations as a win-win. Xi Jinping, during the call, said he “respects the wishes of the company and would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations” that comply with market rules and Chinese law.
Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, explained the strategic calculus: “If China can use these small concessions to trade for a positive atmosphere, better U.S.-China relations, they will want to do it,” she told The New York Times. The real prizes for Beijing, however, are not in social media but in tariffs, technology, and Taiwan. TikTok’s algorithm, once seen as a strategic asset, is now “an expendable concession,” according to Dimitar Gueorguiev, director of Chinese studies at Syracuse University. “A deal now costs Beijing less than when negotiations started, while still yielding the maximum optics of compromise.”
Indeed, China’s leverage has only grown. With U.S. dependence on Chinese rare earth metals and Beijing’s recent directive for businesses to avoid buying chips from U.S. giant Nvidia, the balance of power is shifting. “China is taking a much stronger, bolder stand with regard to the US, partly because that’s the China way,” Rogowsky told Al Jazeera. There is also a sense in Beijing that the United States, not China, is more eager for a deal. As Ali Wyne of the International Crisis Group put it, China hopes to show that Washington is “more eager for a deal than the other way around.”
Momentum is building for an in-person summit between Trump and Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Gyeongju, South Korea, starting October 31. Trump has said he will travel to China early next year, though Beijing has yet to confirm. Recent moves by the Trump administration—such as allowing certain AI chips to be exported to China and restricting a visit by Taiwan’s president to the U.S.—have been seen as conciliatory gestures. Xi, meanwhile, has demonstrated his own confidence on the world stage, presiding over a recent military parade in Beijing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
Despite the positive signals, both sides are wary. “They understand that there needs to be a trade deal to pave the ground for Trump to come to China, and they want to make sure this is not retractable—that they don’t put their hearts on the table and the U.S. just stabs it with a knife,” Dr. Sun told The New York Times. The Chinese leadership is keenly aware of Trump’s unpredictability and the risk of political backlash at home if negotiations go awry.
The phone call also touched on other pressing issues. According to Trump’s Truth Social post, the two leaders discussed trade, fentanyl, and the need to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end. China’s official summary emphasized its desire for the U.S. to refrain from unilateral trade restrictions and to provide an “open and fair environment” for Chinese companies investing in America.
As the world watches, the significance of the Trump-Xi call lies less in the specifics of TikTok’s fate and more in the signal that both sides are, at last, willing to talk. “At least they have broken ice after a long while, and it seems like they are ready to negotiate other more difficult issues,” said Wei Liang, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Whether this marks the start of a new era of cooperation or just a brief thaw before the next freeze remains to be seen—but for now, the world’s two most powerful leaders are, at least, back on the line.